A purist is someone who labels themselves that-why not take a hatchet with you, the way Ed Schaffer did when he first hiked the AT? As someone wrote earlier, I agree with them:"Don't let others force you to follow their meaningless rules.
Is walking past every single blaze really important to you, or is it the whole journey? Come on. Is it about them or about you? It's about YOU and that's what matters."