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Appalachian Trail – Glossary -Learn the AT lingo

GLOSSARY

Types of Hikers

Thru-Hiker

Anyone who attempts to hike the entire Appalachian Trail in one calendar year. Types of Thru-Hikers include:

Northbound: A hiker who starts in Georgia and hikes north to Maine (aka GAMEr (Georgia to Maine)).

Southbound: A hiker who starts in Maine and hikes north to Georgia (aka MEGA (Maine to Georgia)).

Flip-flopper: A hiker who starts at one end of the trail, hiking north say, and then skips ahead to hike south. Usually flip-floppers change direction because they try to make the hiking easier by choosing the direction with less uphill climb. (Note: I never did this!)

Slack-packer: A thru-hiker who day hikes without their backpack. A lot of hikers do this – they leave their backpack at a hostel, get a ride to the trail, slack for the day, get picked up further down the trail, and go back to the hostel for the night. That way they don’t have to carry the weight of a full pack. (Note: I never did this!)

Purist: Someone (like me!) who hikes every inch of the trail in the same direction, carrying their pack the entire way.

Blue-Blazer: Someone who takes easier trails to bypass going over all of the mountains on the AT (see Blaze below). Most side trails on the AT are blazed “blue”.

Yellow-Blazer: Someone who skips entire sections of the trail by getting rides and jumping ahead (the term “yellow” comes from the yellow lines painted on roads).

Section Hiker

Someone who hikes the entire trail in sections over a period of more than one calendar year. Usually section hikers will hike 100-200 miles/year over the course of 10-20 years.

Day Hiker

Anyone who is on the trail hiking for the day, usually with a day pack and no tent or sleeping bag.

Tourist

Someone who has no clue! Tourists tend to be at places on the trail which are accesible by car, such as Newfound Gap or on the summit of Mt. Washington. They usually have no idea what a thru-hiker is and are totally disgusted by our smell and unkempt appearance. Thru-hikers usually don’t like tourists either and are appalled by how loud they are and how they throw trash everywhere.

Thru-Hiking Terms

Blaze

A blaze is a 2-inch wide by 6-inch high rectangular mark painted on trees and rocks along the trail to designate the trail. The entire Appalachian Trail is marked in white-colored blazes. Other trails that intersect the AT are usually blazed in blue.

Hiker Box

A hiker box is a box where hikers can leave stuff they don’t need or want. There is usually a hiker box in every hostel along the trail and often times there is one at the post office and even at some hotels. Hikers will leave anything from excess food to unwanted gear to clothing to first aid supplies. Of course anything in the hiker box is free to take. It’s much better than throwing unwanted stuff away and sometimes there are really good finds in the hiker boxes.

Home State Blues

This is an affliction that hits almost every thru-hiker on the trail. When you hike through your home state it’s pretty hard not to get homesick. You see familiar license plates and hear familiar radio stations and it can be very tempting to just quit and go home.

Shelter

All along the trail are shelters which are three-sided lean-tos that are available on a first-come first-serve basis for thru-hikers to use each night. There is usually a shelter about every 8-10 miles along the trail.

Shelter Register

Each shelter has a register, or logbook where hikers can sign in and leave messages for each other along the trail. They are the lifeline of the trail and the only real way that hikers can communicate to hikers behind or follow the progress of hikers ahead.

Stealth Camping

When you set up your tent somewhere that is not a designated camp site or in a section where no camping is allowed.

Trail Angel

Someone who gives Trail Magic (see below).

Trail Magic

Anything from finding a soda in a stream to being invited to someone’s house for dinner to getting free food from day hikers – all the “magic” happening on the trail makes it even a more special place.

Work for Stay

Many of the hostels along the trail offer this as an option for thru-hikers who are traveling on a limited budget. The hikers will do one or two hours of work and in return may stay at the hostel for free.

Zero Day

This is a day off from the trail, usually spent in town resupplying food, doing laundry, and calling home. It’s called a “Zero” day because zero miles are hiked that day.

WonderGimp on the Appalachian Trail>Back to AT index & List of Journal Entries

If you find any terms in my journal which are not well-defined, please email me and I will try to add them here!

Journal Index

Georgia – Overview And the poop on the Trail Divorce

0 (miles from Georgia) – Springer Mountain, Georgia Whose idea was this again??
87.7 – Georgia / North Carolina Aint no all-inclusive package vacation story…
161.7 – Fontana Dam, North Carolina No Rain, No Pain, No Maine
204.6 – Great Smoky Mountains National Park I My deodorant gets the heave-ho!
268.7 – Great Smoky Mountains National Park II The Food Appreciation Trail
336.5 – North Carolina / Tennessee & Trail Names How the Gimp got her name
390.7 – North Carolina / Tennessee The famous Roan Mountain hitch
452.9 – Crossing into Damascus, Virginia 3 states down, 11 to go!
516.7 – Grayson Highlands State Park Roughin it at Partnership Shelter
573.3 – Bland, Virginia My wonderful trail angels!
665.3 – Pearisburg, Virginia The switch from boots to sandals
767.4 – Catawba / Troutville, Virginia Heat wave in Virginia
839.4 – Montebello / Rockfish Gap, Virginia ‘Hiking with Gimpy Sr.
920.0 – Shenandoah National Park Rattlesnakes, Jack Daniels, and bears – oh my!
988.3 – Front Royal, Virginia Invasion of the Boy Scouts
1001.1 – Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia The mental half-way point
1061.4 – Maryland / Pennsyltucky Y’all done drank enough beer!
1123.8 – Duncannon, Pennsylvania The Half-Gallon Challenge
1208.9 – Port Clinton, Pennsylvania $1 Yuengling drafts and the rocks of PA
1283.9 – Pennsylvania / New Jersey Friends and family visit WonderGimp
1334.2 – High Point, New Jersey Rain, rain, rain, trail magic, and more rain
1440.7 – Bear Mountain, New York Hike Naked Day!
1486.1 – Kent, Connecticut Gimpy Sr. and Barkeater hike with W.Gimp
1543.8 – Great Barrington, MassachusettsWelcome to Mosquito Hell
1618.0 – Massachusetts / VermontPhoton and strobe lights for the 4th of July
1687.3 – Killington, Vermont The Inn at the Long Trail
1738.1 – New Hampshire Live Free or Die!
1794.4 – North Woodstock, New Hampshire Gettin’ above treeline
1814.4 – AMC-land, New Hampshire Entering the White Mountains!
1854.0 – Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire Mooning the tourists on Mt. Washington
1869.2 – Gorham, New Hampshire My first Moose sighting!
1920.7 – Andover, Maine The way Life should be…
1979.3 – Rangeley, Maine Closing in on the end
2015.6 – Kennebec River, Maine Eye of the Tiger!
2095.7 – Monson, Maine 100-mile Wilderness
2152.0 – Abol Bridge, Maine Katahdin is in sight!
2167.1 – Baxter Peak, Mount Katahdin, Maine Goodbye Capilene – Hello Cotton!!

Other Pages:
Map – Yep, 14 states
Gear – What to Bring
FAQs – See for yourself
Glossary (learn the AT lingo)
Links to Additional Info
Trail Injuries Everything from blisters to swampfoot
Trail Privies Bring your own TP
Class of 2000 Katahdin Thru-Hiker Pictures