{"id":194,"date":"2023-12-31T20:48:02","date_gmt":"2023-12-31T20:48:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nickelsontrail.com\/?page_id=194"},"modified":"2024-01-01T21:40:38","modified_gmt":"2024-01-01T21:40:38","slug":"thru-hiker-glossary","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nickelsontrail.com\/index.php\/thru-hiker-glossary\/","title":{"rendered":"Thru-Hiker Glossary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are many terms specific to hiking the Appalachian Trail. Here’s a few that will likely show up in my Strava posts<\/mark><\/strong><\/a>. Click a term to learn more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Most Frequent Terms<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

AT<\/strong><\/mark><\/a> <\/mark><\/strong>– Abbreviation for Appalachian Trail<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOBO<\/strong> – Abbreviation for Northbound. Thru-hiking the AT from Georgia to Maine. Learn about other methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NERO\/ZERO<\/strong> – A ZERO, or zero day, is a day off from hiking, where no miles are accumulated. A NERO is nearly a ZERO, hikers may walk a few miles into town from camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Trail<\/strong> – When “Trail” is capitalized in the middle of a sentence, shorthand for Appalachian Trail. I.e., “I’m thru-hiking the Trail.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trail Angel<\/strong> – Someone who helps hikers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trail Magic<\/strong> – Given by Trail Angels, could be anything from goodies at a road crossing to a free ride into town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trail Name<\/strong> – A name that a hiker goes by on Trail. Trail names are optional, can be given by other hikers, or selected by the individual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Additional Terms<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ATC<\/strong> – Appalachian Trail Conservancy. The nonprofit that oversees the protection and management of the Appalachian Trail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blaze<\/mark><\/a><\/strong> – A 2″ x 6″ white rectangle that reassures hikers they are traversing the Appalachian Trail. Most often, blazes are a single rectangle located head height on trees. Blazes may also appear in groups of 2, and on pavement, rocks, or metal guardrails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bald<\/strong> – A barren area on a mountain top<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Base Weight<\/strong> – Everything a hiker carries that doesn’t change throughout the days. Calculated by the following equation: (Total Pack Weight) – (Consumables [Food, water, etc.]) = (Base Weight)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bear Bag<\/strong> – The bag where food, toiletries, and other “smellables” are stored. At camp, it is safely hung from a tree so bears and mini bears cannot retrieve it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bubble<\/strong> – The dense cluster of NOBOs that start the Trail in March and April. With a late February start, I will be at the very front of of just before the Bubble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Camel Up<\/strong> – Water sources are at low elevations, mountains are at high elevations. Hikers “camel up” when you drink as much water as possible at the water source to carry less up the mountain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cat Hole<\/strong> – A hole dug at least 6″ deep, and at least 200′ from a water source. Used for burring waste. Sometimes the gnomes will place a sign next to it that says Poop Goes Here with an arrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cowboy Camping<\/strong> – Camping with no shelter, under the stars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faux Peak<\/strong> – Apparently it’s actually called a False Summit, but I’ve always used Faux Peak. Approaching the top of a mountain, only to realize it’s a plateau and there’s still more to climb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GAME<\/strong> – Georgia (GA) to Maine (ME)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gap\/Notch<\/strong> – A low spot on a ridge between mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hiker Box<\/strong> – A box, typically at hostels, where hikers leave freebies for other hikers. Usually extra food or gear no longer wanted. Think extra oatmeal packets, fuel canisters with only a little bit left, or 49 Band-Aids because the box had 50 and you only needed 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hiker Trash<\/strong> – Tongue-in-cheek term for thru-hikers, because they stink. Thru-hikers often embrace the term ‘Hiker Trash’ as a badge of honor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HYOH<\/strong> – Abbreviation for Hike Your Own Hike. Used as a reminder that no matter how you hike, it’s correct. There’s no wrong way to enjoy a thru-hike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hostel<\/strong> – A type of lodging in towns that caters towards the thru-hiking lifestyle. Usually consists of a bunk room. Comes with a ride into town to resupply on food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katahdin<\/strong> – Mount Katahdin is located in Baxter State Park, Maine. The northern terminus for the Appalachian Trail lies on Baxter Peak, the tallest peak on Mount Katahdin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Postholing<\/strong> – Hiking through deep snow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PUD<\/strong> – A Pointless Up and Down. Refers to the rolling hill nature of the Trail, where you may hike up 500ft only to hike down 500ft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scramble<\/strong> – Hiking where you need to use your hands. Either the trail is rocky or steep, or rocky and steep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shelter<\/strong> – A wooden structure on Trail, roughly every 10-20 miles, where hikers can sleep. Usually they are Adirondack Style, meaning 3 walls. First come, first served. Also called a Lean-To<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slack Packing<\/strong> – Only carrying gear for a day-hike, no overnight equipment. A shuttle is involved with this method of hiking. Starting the morning at a hostel, you will get shuttled away from the hostel and hike back for the evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stealth Camping<\/strong> – Camping in an unestablished or unadvised\/illegal spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Webwalking<\/strong> – When you’re the first person on a stretch of trail for the day, you’ll break all the spider webs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are many terms specific to hiking the Appalachian Trail. Here’s a few that will likely show up in my Strava posts. Click a term to learn more. Most Frequent Terms AT – Abbreviation for Appalachian Trail NOBO – Abbreviation for Northbound. Thru-hiking the AT from Georgia to Maine. Learn […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickelsontrail.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/194"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickelsontrail.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickelsontrail.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickelsontrail.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickelsontrail.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/nickelsontrail.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":326,"href":"https:\/\/nickelsontrail.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/194\/revisions\/326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickelsontrail.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}