pilgrimage
[pil-gruh-mij]
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See more synonyms on Thesaurus.comnoun
The Lakota still make their pilgrimage to Bear Butte for hanbleceya of course (and to other places like the Black Hills---or to their many summer Sun Dance grounds)---and so I suppose the Penobscots would be no different. Here in TN the Cherokee had (and have) their sacred places like the Kituhwa Mound which now abuts a major highway---and their Chota capital is now under TVA's Tellico Lake.Originally Posted by D2maine
My point was to Starchild's mention of turning the AT into a El Camino style pilgrimage. I honestly can't think of a major foot trail in America that is used as a pilgrimage trek as in Just Bill's definition---
- a journey, especially a long one, made to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion:a pilgrimage to Lourdes.
- Islam.
- the Pilgrimage to Mecca etc.
Last edited by Tipi Walter; 08-03-2018 at 14:01.
Sounds like a plan.This was discussed some time ago in another thread. I will repost my thoughts again here...
I have actually given some thought to this. I have been fantasizing about going after this record someday myself. I have been keeping these thoughts on the down low, but since the subject has been broached, we might has well use this thread to define a 'LKT' record attempt.
John Upton, I respectfully disagree with you on the 'calendar year' thing. The closest we have to an authority is the Appalachian Trail Conference. This is what they have to saw on the subject...
"How does the ATC define thru-hiking? We define a thru-hike as a hike of the entire A.T. in 12 months or less. "
In my mind that means it can be a year starting on any date (does not have to start on January 1st). Many SOBO's finish their thru-hikes after January 1st. I am sure they feel they actually completed a thru-hike, and this seems to fit with the ATC definition.
So as suggested, I think you want to start in any 12 month period that includes a Leap Year' (February 29th). That would seem to put the upper limit on the record at 366 days exactly. If the hiker is lucky, they might pick a leap year that also has a 'Leap Second.' These are usually announced about 6 months in advance. That would put the maximum bound of the record at 366 days and one second. There was a year (1972) that had two leap seconds, but I doubt that this will ever happen again.
The link posted above by Kaptain Kritz is the longest time I have actually seen posted (although there may be others). This appears to be a record that is ready to be broken.
Of course documentation of 'LKT's is important. I suggest that you would at least want the start and end times at each terminus witnessed and timed with an accurate source tied to official NIST time.
I think there needs to be some discussion about what constitutes a fair LKT attempt. It seems to me that taking a 6 month layover along the way would not be in the spirit of a true thru-hike. I would love to hear the thoughts of others on this.
Also, I suppose this could be split up into NOBO/SOBO and supported/unsupported categories.
OK, lets call this my official announcement. I intend to go for the Longest Known Time in the year 2044 (a leap year). I have not picked an exact starting date yet. Why 2044? Well, I might as well let the cat completely out of the bag. I intend to go for two records at once. In 2044 I will be 84 years old. I also hope to top the great Lee 'The Easy One' Barry, the oldest known thru-hiker.
Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it
Assuming I'm around, I'd happily join you for a zero or two at the bar at the NOC to hoist a few.
Technically if we sit on the steps of the Big Wesser bar we are still on the trail. Maybe they'll let us string a few hammocks up on the lower patio.
One could argue Tipi... that definition #3 applies if one approaches the journey with some reverence for the earth one is walking.
And of course... fer a fella who lived in a round place who frequently walks in long circles bearing a ridiculous burden in yer sacred place... that a destination is not required to walk in pilgrimage.
Specially if one considers that the medicine wheel shows that all paths lead to the center.
Walking to a specific holy site... yar not likely a good fit.
Though Big K does become a destination pursued with a zealot's fervor for many a hiker.
Though considering the trail itself a sacred site of sorts and immersing oneself deeply inside that place for an exaggeratedly extended period of time... seems exactly the point underlying this thread.
I agree that individuals can be on a foot trek for their own personal spiritual reasons, hence the Pilgrimage. (Let's not even talk about a motorized Pilgrimage!! Like tracing the Trail of Tears in a car or the Route of Lewis and Clark . . . in a car).
When Sadlowskiadam started this thread he made no mention of the trail as a sacred site or deep immersion or used the word "pilgrimage"---although he did mention the slowest known time and hiking for an extended period of time.
I added my 7 miles per day numbers and extending the AT experience to about a 365 day trek---in all four seasons. This would be relevant to the subject of a very long thruhike (of any trail).
Beyond all this, does anyone know of a foot trail in America that is considered a Pilgrimage in either the Catholic sense or in a religious sense or in a Native American sense as in visiting a holy mountain after a long trek on foot?? I'd be interested to know.
Are you suggesting that this thread has drifted
https://epicpew.com/100-catholic-pil...united-states/
First one that popped... but not really quite the history here in the USA for such things found in other cultures like the camino.
There are no ancient sites from old books or centuries of routes to enshrine in the same manner as western cultures.
The mormons may have some sites, and I suppose the mormon trail counts for something... but not quite whatever we're discussing.
Not that I'm a student of native pilgrimages but I don't recall reading much about any real universal places to visit beyond perhaps Pipestone- https://www.nps.gov/pipe/index.htm
Though that seems more a practical journey to a quarry rather than a western version.
I doubt the Penobscot had any knowledge or desire to journey to Paha Sapa anymore than an Apache may feel spiritually vacant until Katahdin was climbed.
Really there is no such thing as Native American religion... there are some loose nations, tribes, and individual beliefs... but no bible, mecca, or place the great spirit passed out his pamphlets or flyers. Each tribe is unique in their belief system.
If anything... our uniquely American substitute would be our national parks and preserved lands.
Our unique contribution to the pilgrimages of the world would be creating routes through these lands not for trade, passage or at the bequest of a religion; but simply for their own pleasure.
Those are the closest things this amalgamation of beliefs or non belief the USA has produced to sacred sites I can think of.
If there is a fella who owns the place... I've always thought that he's more likely to be found in the place he made rather than at some building we built or a random dot on the planet we deemed important.
Given Scotty's observation of a 12 month but not necessarily calendar year option...
I'd think a nice blend of both your sentiments (the four seasons comment) would be to do a yo yo based upon the midpoint of the trail... let's just say Harpers in winter sometime starting SOBO...
Shoot for spring on Springer, then back to Harpers for summer, Katahdin by Fall and back to Harpers to close it out. That's about as close as I can think of to seeing most of the trail in different seasons in a single year.
Youtuber aiming for it this year
IntrepiDan
He camped up on Springer and signed in at Midnight...or realy 12:01 new years day. Said his goal is to be the first one on the trail and the last one off, right as they close Katahdin. I haven't noticed if he's posted lately though...
Basically it seems like the guy is going home for work and coming out now and then picking up where he left off for a continuous hike.
Funny guy...good for a few laughs
Sounds like a great way to do the trail.
Who cares what the ATC says....
He yellow blazed some of it and it wasn't do to trail closures or the like.
But like I said, in my book he is still a through hiker.... But I don't care if it takes you a year and a half do walk it or if you skip 60 miles.....
People worried about nonsense guidelines of the requirements to be "called" a thru hiker.
while i agree with you fully, the strange and interesting fact of the matter is tons of people care what someone else says about what they did. i'll never really comprehend why, and i occasionally might fall victim to it in small ways.
if you want to hike the whole trail by starting in GA in august and hiking north until you stop for the winter and then resume in the spring timed to hit katahdin on say june 1st, for instance, then do what you want. that people would even consider "but someone might not think i was a thru hiker!' into their reasoning is strange to me.
same thing frequently happens with some minor yellow blazing somewhere along the way. is missing 2 miles of non descript trail that passes nothing interesting because you got your road crossings confused somewhere there is a lot of them close together of any importance? god i would hope not, but to some it is. for whatever reason.
i was actually pondering this the other day. someone (i dont know if its ATC or MATC or one collects and shares with the other or what) collects data on things like how many NOBO thrus cross the kennebec. so, if someone missed 3 miles in NY somewhere should they still tell the ferryman theyre a thru hiker, or should they say section hiker? someone apparently seems to think the answer to the question is important or else they wouldnt ask it, so who knows. maybe someone who lies and says "thru hiker" even though they yellow blazed once is throwing off some sort of super important statistical analysis.
but i kind of doubt it. people in general do a lot of nonsensical and pointless things.
Slowest thru hikers I ever met were a couple just north of US 42 in Virginia. They had been on the trail for 6 months and had walked 687 miles. They were my age, and claimed they were not hiking the AT, they were camping it. He had a 85 lbs pack and she had a 65 lbs pack. Key fact that I always got a chuckle out of. They were from FL, and they started with a cat. Cat got lost in Georgia and so they camped at Tray mountain for a week hoping the cat would return. A vet in town called them and said they had the cat. Couple drives cat back to Florida, and then drove back to the AT to continue. Just south of the Smokies they find a stray dog, they adopt it and the dog had followed them all the rest of the way. Unsure what they did with dog thru the smokies. Their longest day on the trtail was 8 miles they said. They met me and asked how many miles a day I was doing, I said I like 20 a day. They asked if they could hike with me the next day down into 4 pines hostel, a 21 mile day, I said "That is up to you not me lol" They did in fact walk the 21 with me that day and said it was one of the best days on the trail. They ended up calling it quits a few days later after MacAfee knob, they had had enough and were out of time
Trail Miles: 4,980.5
AT Map 1: Complete 2013-2021
Sheltowee Trace: Complete 2020-2023
Pinhoti Trail: Complete 2023-2024
Foothills Trail: 47.9
AT Map 2: 279.4
BMT: 52.7
CDT: 85.4
Who cares what anyone else says about the definition of a thru hike, unless you're going for a recognized goal like a FKT? Well, if we're going to define a SKT, I would suppose the ATC rules is the place to provide said definition...
Kinda cool concept, and fits in with our plans for 2020; my wife really wants to hike the AT, and I'll repeat for her benefit, and we're looking at 2020 to do this.
Well, 2020 happens to be a leap year, I would suppose this is a requirement for an ATC-defined SKT thru hike.... start at 12:01am on Jan 1st, finish at midnight on December 31st, doesn't matter (by ATC "rules") where you start/end, as long as you hike the entire trail in one calendar year. Kind of intriguing, again, for our own purposes, we both absolutely hate hiking in humid conditions, we might just do this for fun, why not. Somewhere in a southern-ish lowlands along the trail, do a winter week on both ends of the year. Then fill in the rest of the trail in March/April (in the south) and September/October (in the north). Voila, the slowest possible time for a ATC defined AT thru hike!
Fun stuff.
I will take full credit for this thread and starting you into the great unknown starting January 1, 2020. Hope you can wait that long.
I will give you full credit! Cool idea, thanks. And BTW, I grew up in Cincy.
I guess 2 1/2 years aint gonna cut it then I suppose.
Following along on this one . Great to read the responses. I know the AT is famous for slow moving folks often spending to much time in town.
I'm not done yet.
I'm not sure of the year but it was after my 2002 hike. There was an older couple that was thru hiking and just went from shelter to shelter each day. I remember them finishing in something like 13 1/2 months. They stayed in every shelter on the trail.
Jim had himself a big ol' zombie thread party last night. insomnia. makes you do crazy things.
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