">
You’re Not a Real Thru-Hiker if You Do This
Hey hiker! I heard you just completed a thru-hike. I have just one question for you: did you walk the entire trail? Every single red-line mile? No skipping, alternates, or hitching at all?
If you answered no, then I have no further questions for you. Simply put, that means you are not a thru-hiker. Everyone knows that thru-hiking is all about one thing and one thing only: walking every last red-line mile from start to finish. Everything else that happens along the way is irrelevant.
You call yourself an Appalachian Trail thru-hiker because you completed 2,190 miles, missing eight whole miles? Think again. You’re simply a section hiker. Don’t bother calling yourself a thru-hiker. No one will believe you.
In all seriousness, though, doesn’t that sound absolutely ridiculous?
How do you cheat at a game with no rules?
How I look when someone tries to tell me I’m not a real thru hiker. Met this cute kitty at a hostel on the Pinhoti Trail.
After spending an entire season on trail, enduring all of the obstacles and elements, can you imagine being told that your hike is invalid? Simply because you missed a few miles here or there. Maybe you skipped ahead to stick with your tramily or had to bypass a closed section. Or maybe you didn’t even miss any miles at all.
During my Eastern Continental Trail thru hike in 2023, I chose to road walk a 30-mile portion of the Appalachian Trail instead of following the white blazes. This bought me and my tramily some essential time, and we just wanted to do it. While we were walking, a man in a car told us, “You guys are cheating.” I remember thinking, how do you cheat at a game with no rules? After hiking over 2,000 miles, how could someone possibly think we were “cheating”? We were still walking a continuous path, just not the actual trail.
While this school of thought exists on all trails, I think it’s most prevalent on the Appalachian Trail. There is a strong “purist” culture on the AT. Some individuals believe you have to tag every white blaze —no alternates allowed. Otherwise, you didn’t actually hike the AT.
Choosing To Hike in a Particular Way Doesn’t Make It Right or Wrong
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and should feel free to hike their own hike. But forcing those opinions onto others is unfair, and no one has the right to take away anyone else’s title of “thru-hiker.” For some people, a hike is only a thru-hike if you follow the entire red line the whole way. For others, that’s less important.
Some hikers take many alternate routes and side quests, and their main priority is to simply maintain a continuous footpath. And for others, the footpath itself isn’t important. Many individuals are on trail to have as much fun as possible and hike as many miles as they want to. That may mean skipping or hitchhiking around whole sections.
On top of this, there are all the hikers who fall somewhere in between. Just because you choose to hike your hike a particular way doesn’t make it right or wrong. Each individual hiker must do what is right for themselves.
Making a 200-mile marker out of trash along a road walk on the Pinhoti Trail. Every hike looks a little different, and that’s OK!
All You Can Do Is What’s Best for You
During a thru-hike, it’s very common to have to bypass some miles due to unpredictable conditions. This is even a possibility on the Appalachian Trail, although it may be less common. There was massive flooding in Vermont when I hiked the AT in 2023. The entire Vermont section was closed by the ATC for a period of time. Many hikers skipped north to avoid the flooding or road walked around it.
Even if your goal is to hike every last mile of the trail and maintain a continuous path, that might not always be a real option. Coming to terms with that can be hard, but it shouldn’t devalue your accomplishment.
This past year, a massive hurricane impacted the southern portion of the Appalachian Trail. For some time, over 800 miles of the trail were closed as a result. Even now, months later, about 150 miles of trail remain closed. This ended many thru-hikes altogether. Some kept going by skipping or road walking around impassable sections of trail.
All you can do is what is best for you and what makes your thru-hike experience feel fulfilled. If that means going home and leaving 800 miles for another season, that’s OK! So long as that is what you want to do and what you feel proud of and OK with.
Everyone Sets Out With Their Own Mental Image of What a “True” Thru-Hike Looks Like
On the Pacific Crest Trail in 2022, I had to miss multiple small stretches of trail due to wildfire. This is incredibly common on the PCT and happens to many hikers every year. Sometimes there will be alternate routes that allow you to road walk around fire closures. But that is not always the case. All you can do is try your best and hike as much of the trail as is safe and open.
Hiking a closed section of trail simply to “complete your thru-hike” is reckless and could be incredibly dangerous. For me, I knew that I wanted to hike as much as the trail as possible. That meant that I had to jump around and flip-flop to piece portions of the trail together. Even still, I wasn’t able to hike every last mile in 2022 because of fire closures. But I’m proud of the roughly 2,500 miles of trail I did manage to get through, all things considered.
Completing my PCT thru hike in 2022.
Everyone sets out on a thru-hike with their own goals in mind. Their own mental image of what a “true” thru-hike looks like. And that mental image will look drastically different from person to person.
Some individuals want to go slow and savor the experience for as long as possible. Others challenge themselves to complete a hike within a certain number of days. To some people, hiking every last mile is all that truly matters. To others, the miles are not that important at all.
The Best Part of Thru-Hiking: You Get Whatever You Want Out of It. And That Can Look Different on Every Trail
Even on a personal level, these opinions can vary from one hike to another! When I thru-hiked the PCT and AT, I didn’t care as much about hiking every last mile. I wasn’t necessarily concerned with maintaining a continuous footpath. If I had to miss a few miles here or there due to alternate routes, fire, flooding, etc., that was OK!
But this past year on the CDT, I maintained a continuous footpath the whole way. When I got picked up to head into town, I always made sure to get dropped back off in the exact same spot. I would even walk back across the street to connect my path if I had gotten dropped off on the other side. There isn’t a specific reason why I cared about my continuous path this time around. I just did! After months of maintaining it, I began striving to maintain it all the way to Mexico.
Again, that wasn’t the case on all of my hikes. Each hike is a new journey and opportunity, with which you can do whatever you want. For me, when I’m on trail I want to hike as many miles as possible and only skip miles when completely unavoidable. But just because that’s how I like to hike, doesn’t mean that everyone else has to.
The CDT was my first ever 2,000+ mile thru-hike where I can truly say I maintained a perfect continuous footpath the entire way. And I’ve hiked more than 12,000 miles over the years! Along the CDT, I took endless alternate routes and certainly did not stick to the red line. But I tried my best to complete as many miles as possible. That’s just how I wanted to hike that particular hike.
Every trail is different, and you can do whatever you want on each individual hike. That is the best part of thru-hiking. You can get out of it whatever you want. And that can look different on every single hike.
You Can’t Cheat at Thru-Hiking — You Can Only Cheat Yourself
Sometimes when I would get to town, I would party with other hikers (left). Other times I would keep my head down and push out a crazy goal, like hiking 120 miles in 48 hours. On the right is a photo of me after doing just that.
When I’m on trail, I make all my choices based on how I feel. If there is an opportunity to do a shortcut or an alternate route, I first think about how it makes me feel. Do I want to do that? Do I have to? Are there other options? Would I be proud of that choice in the long term? What is the benefit to me in taking that route — is it about time-saving, incredible views, a unique side-quest, safety, or even just making it to town before the post office closes? These choices are very personal.
At the end of the day, all that matters is how you feel. Each hiker is out on the trail hiking for themselves. Fulfilling their own dreams and desires. It doesn’t matter how many miles you do or don’t hike, so long as you are content with and proud of that hike. No one else has to agree or understand. That isn’t what matters.
When you lay your head down at night and remember your hike, only you will know the small details about the miles. The trials and tribulations. You need to listen to your heart and hike in a way that will make you proud of yourself. Whatever that looks like. It could be radically different from one hiker to the next.
To some people that may involve partying, zeroing, and side quests; for others it’s big mile days, keeping your head down, being on a time crunch, etc. I have seen it all and I have done it all. Sometimes I want to party and have fun, and sometimes I want the latter. This all boils down to your own personal goals. You can’t cheat at a thru-hike; the only thing you can cheat is yourself.
Featured image: Photo via Peg Leg. Graphic design by Zack Goldmann.
This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any product or service you purchase using the links in the articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price as they would otherwise, and your purchase helps to support The Trek's ongoing goal to serve you quality backpacking advice and information. Thanks for your support!
To learn more, please visit the About This Site page.
Comments 38
I am just a “simple” section hiker and I completely agree! LOL Ultimately, you may be the only one who remembers your hike; so, what others think about your hike or name your hike does not matter.
Since you’re getting things all technical about a bragging right that should mean nothing to anyone but you. The one who hiked.
Further I’d smack someone (or walk away) if I ever heard anyone act that way to anyone. I would shame them until they cried. For the record YOU made up the word thru hiker. Exactly and no different than me. A thru hike is simply a hike that starts in one location and ends in another…..thats it. Frankly I’ve been way way more impressed by a newby doing a Sierra section hike. The AT is a joke (of course not to you if you did it right). If your lost you know you can walk in any direction and find a town. Its all about the hostels. I won’t even follow anyone here on youtube on an AT hike.
I hate shamers. Same thing with gear. I’ll never forget seeing an old Mexican couple coming down Mt Whitney…maybe 70. Nothing but mexican blankets and the big totes they sell down in TJ. Thats impressive.
Signed. a bitter old man that lost All of his 13 year collected kit. It was an awesome kit. Bad med situation – took my pack off for lunch. walked 40 ft away and as far as I know an alien took it. Small section I searched for two days with no luck. I’ll be back in June to see if it survived a month before being covered in snow.
Losing your pack is as bad as being a trail bully. Love you ALL! have a great day
Greg, chill.
OK. backpacking for me is where there is no division of people, no politics, ,etc. Just great people who would give you the shirt off their back if you were in need. I just got helicoptered out on my last trip. Got separated from ALL my gear. I experienced the best the people had to give. Sorry for the bitter sound of my comment.
cheers
Congrats on completing the Thru-Hiking Triple Crown—an amazing accomplishment. My trips have been much shorter (<100 miles), but I always appreciated the simplicity of it all (I once described my trips to a friend as “WESP”—walk, eat, sleep, and p@@p). It is a great way to reconnect with yourself and the land.
Look forward to hearing of your next adventure.
I had done an Triple Crown in 2005 ( Started in 2001 on the Appalachian Trail) and at that time there was a young guy knocking out more miles than anyone else around on the east coast, I remember the interview he had done with backpacker mag in 2002 on his Eastern Coast Trail Thru Hike! He was a 3 time Appalachian Trail Thru Hiker also part of the Baltimore Jack team of long distance hikers also known as purest! I know those guys meant well, But sometimes you just want to hike your own hike ( words from the legendary Baltimore Jack himself) But Those old school Trail legends like Jack. Doorman, spider bite and SlowFoot just don’t exist anymore and that style of hiking too! These cats got thousands of miles under their belts and most of them are in the 20,000 mile markers ! They are purest, from a different time! Something that todays hikers can’t even imagine doing! Hardcore at its best in time…Too crazy for my style…I do miss hiking with those guys ! Sadly many are gone to the heavens and a few still talk about their lifestyles of long distance Thru Hikes!
Speed Devil 88
John king
Omg ! Yes SlowFoot is still alive! He owns mountain blaze in Maine! I seen his interview on his 5,600 mile 2001 thru hike on the ECT! That’s a awesome interview, He is good friends with Son of Billy Goat ( the woodards ) and his father Billy Goat, I remember going to a ALDHA gathering in Hanover NH years ago and listening to him talk about his long distance hikes! Hes a 7X Vermont Long Trail Thru Hiker 3 of those times in winter! If you’re on Instagram or FB look him up ! Hes a true AT Legend! He got his Trail Name from Earl Shaffer the crazy one👏🏿❤️ I love his knowledge! Congratulations on your Triple Crown! I hiked the AT with Flying Brian and seaside 🌲 Candylady
When trekking through shorter paths in western Europe, people were far more interested in where others were getting on and off the trail, not whether the entire trail was done, i.e. GR 20, Alta Via’s, Rennsteig etc. Thru hiking is a privilege and some people pay for it in the end. Doing what can be done during a 3 week vacation is still a thru – especially if you have real responsibilites like jobs (that lead to a retirement check) or a family.
BTW, you have great posts. Always enjoy reading them!
I agree with doing you own hike, with one minor caveat: if you decide to hike in the trail, hike ON THE TRAIL. Cutting switchbacks is something that just isn’t great for the trail itself, which is harmful to everybody who hikes the trail.
Happy trails
Peg Leg,
Congratulations on completing the Triple Crown! Amazing! I have enjoyed your posts on your journey South and how you go about your days the way it is best for you. I blogged my AT thru-hike on this site and started South on the CDT, pulling off for foot surgery. Those that told me they were “Purists” on the AT were most likely unhappy with my reply as the judgement of purity comes from the holy and not the mortal. Folks don’t like it when you ask them if they are God. Off to the Camino Frances next month and will switch and go NOBO on the CDT in March to walk back home to Montana.
Wondering what your next adventure is and hoping you will share it.
Thanks again! You show a remarkable spirit and drive that puts you in the Warrior category of people. Much respect from this grumpy old Veteran.
Kindest regards,
Charles Gutierrez
“Boomerang”
I think the real challenge is doing these trails and not telling the whole world about it on social media. If you are thru hiking and posting about it on IG or FB or TikTok, you’re just chasing clicks and likes and approval. The real trail challenge is leaving your ego behind and doing it just for one person…you. (obviously tell a few close family members where you are for safety) but don’t turn this into a “look at me” exercise.
Why are you on the thru-hiker blogging website if you don’t think thru-hikers should be blogging?
Funny, this site is called the trek and not the thru hike.
I love the wikipedia definition “The length for a trail to be considered a thru-hike is undefined. Trails most associated with thru-hiking often take several weeks or months to complete, but any completed end-to-end trail in a single hiking season is technically a thru-hike.”
What is a thru hiker ?
Perhaps that is your challenge, but it is not the challenge of most. Thru hiking at its base is a solitary endeavor. You alone pick up your foot and put it down up to 50,000 times a day for months on end whole dealing with heat, dehydration, exhaustion, cold, lightning, altitude effects, injury, sleep loss, while avoiding floods, forest fires, creeps, bears and moose. Sharing your experience with others does not dilute this, it magnifies it as you relive your day while sharing the details. HYOH.
I have posted pictures from my thruhikes on IG and FB to bring my family and friends along my thru hike experience and relive and remember many days on trail. These platforms are not pushing photo posts. I am not chasing clicks or followers. I rarely get more than 10 likes for these posts, they are for me to remember.
Also I have a respect for people who vlog and blog their hikes. At the end of everyday I was too tired to do anything but eat and sleep. Vlogging and blogging takes time and energy I simply did not have on my hike. Also detracts from being present and the simplicity of the experience. They are sacrificing their experience to share with others. As long as they are not negatively impacting other hikers I see no issue with it. I spent 168 days on my PCT thru hike in 2024 and I don’t think I saw a thruhiker recording a video of themselves once. Additionally getting paid to thru hike sounds like a sweet deal.
You don’t have to read Peg Leg’s prose.
What makes you read it even though you don’t like it.
That’s a weird attitude
I am a working parent of three small kids in a busy city where I’m lucky if I get in one hike a year anymore (sad) and reading these blogs is my daily escape and glimpse of the thru hiker experience. One day I would love to join my kids on a thru hike, or do one solo, or even just do section hikes. Reading these blogs keeps me inspired. I enjoy reading about how different people approach the trail and it is always interesting to see who can persevere to the end. I’ve been following Peg Leg since her AT hike and I genuinely look forward to her posts. Thanks for being my window into the outdoors that I miss.
“The following year in 2023 I hiked the entire 5,600 mile eastern continental trail. Which stretches from Key West, Florida all the way to Newfoundland, Canada. When I completed that trek I became the 2nd woman in history to hike the entire trail.”
You have made a public claim to have walked the entire ECT. I don’t know if the ECT is continuously blazed but I do know that the AT section of it is continuously blazed.
IF, and I’m just basing this on the main theme of your blog post, you consciously strived to follow the white blazed trail, then in my opinion your claim is honest.
But, if you didn’t make a conscious effort to follow the white-blazed trail, then your claim is false and certainly not fair to the first woman who did the ECT if she did indeed consciously follow all the white blazes.
everybody’s gotta hate hate hate
For what it is worth, I believe Peg Leg has mentioned that the first woman to complete the ECT was Sparkle. Given how close they appeared this year on the CDT, I assume that Sparkle is okay with Peg Leg’s claim.
I do find it funny that your comment is the exact anthesis of Peg Leg’s entire argument though.
Oh boy. The comments. Shaking my head.
I enjoy your blog, your story, ethics, morals, physicality, athleticism, and dedication. I personally don’t care if you put every foot on the official trail or most of the trail, or whatever. I am in awe of your accomplishments and don’t let anyone detract from them. Period. End of sentence.
Best, R.
I “hiked” the AT and CDT trail by reading your blog. Thanks for letting me follow your trail. No rules about hiking except safety. Thanks for the adventure and photos.
In your inherent bold fashion, you’ve set yourself up for some interesting comments here. Such different perspectives. I’m excited for your next journey. I’m a thru reader; I’ll be along for the entire adventure no matter the blaze color.
Love your comments, Holly. As one pushing 80, “thru reading” has been a glorious pastime, sitting on my porch, enjoying the warmth of the Florida sunshine, rocking in my rocking chair and finding all the beauty, joy, hardship and peace provided by the Trek bloggers. I’ve been following Peg Leg for over a year and have enjoyed all of her hikes and the special hiker friends she has traveled with. I’m looking forward to more adventures in the New Year! Peace…
Florida sounds pretty nice. What else are you reading? I’m reading Cecilia Blomdahl, Life in Svalbard. Also she posts on YouTube every Sunday. She describes living through the polar night near the North Pole. It’s really interesting and different she’ll be in the dark now for several months. !
Love your blogging! Funny way I found out I would not be a real thru hiker:
Going sobo on the AT, I entered one of the first shelter areas in Maine from the north blue blaze then left through the south blue blaze. A nobo hiker told me that I would not be official if I did not go back. Really made me laugh! I actually really enjoyed starting with nobos and flip floppers though.
Enjoyed your trek podcast and looking forward to reading about your next adventure!
Hi Peg Leg,
Congratulations for hiking your way!!! I love this post.
I really enjoy reading your adventures, and the pictures are outstanding
Well put. Not a hiker. Don’t understand the thru hiker mentality, but I do enjoy reading about things I don’t understand. Learn so much. Your main point, I think, is be yourself. Life lesson for me was learning to listen, but not take as gospel what I was told. Others don’t know us or our circumstances. And most are wrong. Why waste energy living to “their” standards. I doubt St Pete will call you out for skipping 5 miles opting for a cold brew or a warm bed or both. L’chaim
Who peed in your cereal, Peg?
A curse on them!
😀
I think you all need to learn how to spell “through”.
Every real thru hiker knows that the o and gh are WAY to much extra weight to be a real thru hiker….
Ha! Loved that punch of humor in all of the discussion.
If you have kids and a mortgage and a job, you’re not a real thru hiker either. Also, if you skimmed this article after the first paragraph you’re not even a real wannabe thru hiker.
I’m guilty of all of the above, but damit, I still love backpacking.
PUULLEEASE, can’t we just “defund” the thru-hike police? It’s your journey. There’s no payoff, no prize, no reward–other than what’s in your own head (and an essentially unverifiable list that some organizations maintain–primarily for fundraising purposes).
Doing a sanctioned work-around because of forces of nature is an entirely different issue from intentionally skipping sections of the trail and should be treated as such. I would never tell anyone that I fought in Vietnam if all I did was play “Call of Duty” on my game console. I would never claim to have run a marathon if all I did was run a 5K race. I would never tell anyone that I thru-hiked the AT if I purposely skipped sections that were open and accessible for hiking. And throwing out all of those after-the-fact justifications like fight your own battle, run your own race, or hike your own hike doesn’t magically transform that battle, race, or hike into something that it’s not. I’ll leave it at that.
I met PegLeg several times on the AT in 2023. I count myself proud and lucky to have spent a little time with one of the very best people, and strongest hikers, out there that year. Several times I heard her unmistakable voice and laughter through the woods and knew who it was immediately. Thanks for the joy you spread, PegLeg… you’re amazing!
Captain Fantastic