How underminding the word "Just" can be....

[Gambit McCrae]

Most of the thrus I have run into on the trail over the last 13 years say that they have more respect for section hikers than for thrus. The section hikers I meet have more respect for the thrus. Ironic.

"He always wants what he can not have!" lol

[Heliotrope]

Though I am just a section hiker so far I identify as a thru hiker.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[rocketsocks]

Though I am just a section hiker so far I identify as a thru hiker.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

theres a special rest area for you

[Heliotrope]

theres a special rest area for you

LMAO! Too funny


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Alligator]

The "we(?)" was wondering who are the we to whom you were referring... all hikers, section hikers, thru-hikers. When I reread over your initial post where you said "it should also be understood that there is a very good chance a section hiker is transitioning, hiking is the first thing we do in the absence of responsibility" it now becomes clear that your were referring to section hikers. That was my error for reading too quickly. But, do you not recognize how saying "hiking is the first thing we do in the absence of responsibility" can easily be misinterpreted as hikers lack responsibility - they are irresponsible - leading to such cultural stigmas as hikers are hippies, druggies, drop outs/escapists from that which is expected by society, having questionable anti-social American Dream goals, out having one big party, bums without gainful employment, dark characters, "just" recreating for pure recreational entertainment, entitled behaving, non benevolent, not submitting to authority, not concerned about furthering paid careers or education or, in a sense, market networking, building resumes, gaining meaningful social and biz and LIFE skills, during and after one hikes?

I don't recognize that it should be misinterpreted from my statement. "hiking is the first thing we do in the absence of responsibility" implies that if we are hiking we are being responsible.

I'm not 100% sure but in your lengthy list, in times that I have said that I was section hiker, I think only the just recreating for pure recreational entertainment may have come up.

I've had all the rest of that said about me personally though not in the context of being a hiker, but that's what friends are for right?

People do think we (hikers) are crazy with all the bugs, snowstorms, torrential downpours, snakes, wolves, bears, and violent criminals behind every tree in the woods. I sometimes try to gently dissuade them but the looks of disbelief I get are often too difficult to overcome so I just smile and look off into the distance. I just go to my hiking zone.

[Dogwood]

Gator, if we were face to face able to include physiology in our communication we would easily be clearer in our intentions. Too much typing and too much is easily lost and misunderstood here.

[Gambit McCrae]

Gator, if we were face to face able to include physiology in our communication we would easily be clearer in our intentions. Too much typing and too much is easily lost and misunderstood here.

Agreed,
Like how in person Lone Wolf is ACTUALLY a pretty nice guy LOL

[Dogwood]

Agreed,
Like how in person Lone Wolf is ACTUALLY a pretty nice guy LOL

........

Speaks what he believes. Not a car salesman. I like pushing him though to get a reaction.

[Lyle]

And thru hikers need to realize that those who are "just" section hikers often have much more hiking experience than they do.

Excellent point and sooo true. Unfortunately, very seldom does anyone (hiker or service providers) recognize this fact. Many section hikers also have incredibly more "long distance" hiking experience than "thru hikers". Alas, I just smile and go about my hike. Mildly annoying, but not worth debating.

[Another Kevin]

Thru-hiker, section hiker, weekend hiker and over night hiker have one thing in common. They are all hikers. Doesn't matter how long or how far. If you section hike the entire trail, you still get a patch. I've done the PCT twice and the CDT once. I have sectioned hike much of the AT and have set my mind to a thru hike in the future. So because I haven't done a thru hike on the AT, should I be looked down on? I thought I have pretty good credentials. Another Kevin states in all his advice about being "Just a section hiker" but I would trust any advice he has to offer. There are several others whose advice I would trust as well.

You give me too much credit. I'm a clueless weekender.

I learnt a long time ago that words such as 'just' (when not referring to justice), 'only' (when not meaning 'solitary'), 'merely', are dangerous words. It's a good habit of thought that if you intend to use one of those words, you review your sentence without it, to see if it carries the same meaning. You'll often discover that the sentence means something else - and something considerably more interesting - without the word.

"Why don't you just frobnicate the veeblefetzer?" -- dismisses any other action. "Why don't you frobnicate the veeblefetzer?" -- invites an actual discussion of how to solve the problem.

"He's just a programmer," so couldn't possibly have my rarefied understanding of the job at hand. "He's a programmer," and so can bring computer skills to the table.

"It's just walking." That it is. I suppose. Sometimes it's walking thigh-deep in beaver swamp, or walking up a treacherous, slick rock slide, or postholing in three-foot drifts [1] or putting on a too-heavy pack and walking fifteen miles, knowing that you'll be doing the same thing the next day, or walking those same miles on a torn-up foot or a sprained knee because that's the only way you'll get back to a town and be able to get it fixed up. Well, that's certainly walking. Is it "just" walking? Depends on what you're comparing it with, I guess.

I remember a quote from Judith Martin: "I used to be just-a-secretary, but I got a promotion and now I'm a full secretary."

Me, I'm a short-distance hiker. (No 'just' about it.) I never have time to do more. Life gets in the way. The longest trail I've attempted was the 138-mile Northville-Placid, which is pretty easy; the greatest challenge is how wet it is, and how remote. I sometimes say I thru-hiked it. That's not quite the truth. I started out planning to finish it in 12 days plus two zeroes. I wound up finishing it in 12 days - plus about two hundred zeroes. Illness, winter, and injury delayed me. That's fine. I hiked the whole thing. I got the patch. I had fun - way more important than hiking the whole thing or getting the patch. I got some good pictures and some interesting stories out of it. I managed to give back to the community with a reasonably accurate GPS track and mileage table.

Now, I'm not up even to that; in fact, I haven't been around here a lot lately simply because it reminds me of what I'm missing out on. I lost about a year and a half of hiking from some medical problems, and I'm really frustrated with how slowly I'm having to work back into it. I did a day trip last weekend and was sucking wind over a lot of a 1900-foot elevation gain on a jeep road, for Finagle's sake! (I used to pride myself that even if I was very, very slow, I'm stubborn enough to go anywhere.) But there's no 'just' about it, except that it's 'just' how it is. I don't meet all that many folks my age out there, and the young 'uns have taken to telling me that they think it's great that I'm still hiking at my age.

So, I'll defend that 'clueless weekender' moniker, because I am and will always remain clueless about long-distance hiking, which seems to be the focus of this site. However, I might have learnt a thing or two about hiking in fifty-odd years of occasional weekend trips. But I'll let others decide that. I take my own advice with a grain of salt.

I always come out of a trip, or indeed almost anything, feeling as if I've taken more than I've given, which isn't quite fair. I'm an unjust clueless weekender aspiring to be a just clueless weekender - but never just a clueless weekender.

[1] Obligatory LNT: Please don't posthole. It's inconsiderate to hikers behind you. When I'm out on snowshoes, I hate tripping over other people's postholes.

[Riocielo]

This thread reminds me of something that happened on our last section hike in May. We were on our way from Woody Gap to Neels Gap and were approaching Dockery Lake Trail. At the same time a group of Day Hikers (yet ANOTHER hiker term!) were approaching the AT. It was then I tripped on a root and went stumbling down the trail. The gentleman in the other group asked me, "Are you a thru-hiker?"
I responded that I was not and he chuckled and said, "I didn't think so. You don't look like it!"

I am still not quite sure what he meant by that!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[MuddyWaters]

Im frequently mistaken for a thru hiker when out on AT fall walks. Thin, beard, small pack, dirty.

What irks me is when people ask....for sole reason of offering their "trail magic", only to thru hikers.

[pablo081002]

Dunno, never really thought of it that way. I don't have the time to thru hike. I have always JUST hiked my own hike on many different trails.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

[Lone Wolf]

Im frequently mistaken for a thru hiker when out on AT fall walks. Thin, beard, small pack, dirty.

What irks me is when people ask....for sole reason of offering their "trail magic", only to thru hikers.

i like to set up a feed station and ask as the hikers walk by, if they're through hiking. if they say yes, i say i'm just feeding section hikers

[Fredt4]

It's a shame that hikers get categorized as "just a section hiker" or any other manner that reduces their status. As a 2011 AT thru hiker I never thought them as less worthy just because they weren't going for the thru hiker experience. Maybe they weren't physically capable or mentally situated to thru hike, it just wasn't my situation to judge their lesser status. Trail Magic belongs to no one and no one should expect to receive it. If someone is offering Trail Magic and your just a section hiker don't be offended if the person offering excludes you. It's merely their attempt to exclude those not worthy of the Trail Magic. If you feel the sting of a thru hikers wrath because you've taken some Trail Magic intended for them it's because they're a thru hiker and you're not. There nothing to to get upset about, it's just life. As a thru hiker I found life was easier as I didn't have to worry about food's excessive calories, just had to avoid the "lite" and "sugar free" versions as they didn't have enough calories to keep me from losing too much weight. I get it that you don't feel worthy about Trail Magic and are just want some extra food to help your excessive diet, but it's probably for the best that you avoid Trail Magic. So, don't feel bad that you're just a section hiker, it's part for the course, and give the thru hikers the respect and status the deserve. Plus, it's a tradition to share with them the excessive weight of food you have as you'll never eat the food that rightfully belongs to thru hiker. Accept that you can share your food with the thru hikers and that they accept your gift of food, just don't get worked up.

[Lone Wolf]

thru-hikers deserve NO respect or status. they're just walkin'

[George]

Snot: Are you thru-hiking?
Me: No, I plan to hike for awhile still.
Snot: I mean are you going to hike the whole trail.
Me: Yar, I plan on thru-hiking the PCT.
Snot: But this is the Appalachian Trail
Me: Are you quite sure?
.

I am going to pirate some of this line of BS

[Malto]

This thread reminds me of something that happened on our last section hike in May. We were on our way from Woody Gap to Neels Gap and were approaching Dockery Lake Trail. At the same time a group of Day Hikers (yet ANOTHER hiker term!) were approaching the AT. It was then I tripped on a root and went stumbling down the trail. The gentleman in the other group asked me, "Are you a thru-hiker?"
I responded that I was not and he chuckled and said, "I didn't think so. You don't look like it!"

I am still not quite sure what he meant by that!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

That especially ironic given Woody gap is about 25 miles from the start. I suspect that most Just Section Hikers have more miles and more diverse miles than than the average "thru" wannabe at Woody Gap.

[George]

. The gentleman in the other group asked me, "Are you a thru-hiker?"
I responded that I was not and he chuckled and said, "I didn't think so. You don't look like it!"

I am still not quite sure what he meant by that!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I do not ask, but I do speculate based on observations - of course as others said woody gap is early

so on what observations would I base my speculation?
gear is the easiest:
after the smokies too much gear (before neals too much is probably attempting )
worn gear in line with spot on trail

unkept grooming
fragrance
type of group
type of food

[Heliotrope]

i like to set up a feed station and ask as the hikers walk by, if they're through hiking. if they say yes, i say i'm just feeding section hikers

Do it! I'll be hiking sobo through the 100 MW in late August if you need section hikers to feed


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk