Slackpacking

[greenpete]

Halfway done with my first thru-hike. Since Springer I've learned about slackpacking, which I previously didn't know about. I'm amazed at how many thru-hikers resort to this method of distance hiking, once the grind sets in. From what I see, full packers like me - those who try to carry their homes on their backs the whole way - are the minority. The thinking seems to be "Everyone else is slackpacking, why shouldn't I?"

Isn't slackpacking another way of "cutting corners"? I'm guessing many slackers might regret taking this "easy" option after reaching Katahdin.

Thoughts, anyone?...slackers and non-slackers?

[CalebJ]

Why does it bother you how they hike?

[greenpete]

Good question. I guess it would bother me if they claim to be a thru-hiker without the caveat to others that they slacked. Similar would be a home-runner slugger who covertly used steroids to boost his stats. It diminishes the achievements of full-packers.

[gpburdelljr]

Hike your own hike.

[greenpete]

Actually, you and a vehicle hike and drive your own hike.

[HooKooDooKu]

It's basically the difference between a "supported" hike an an "unsupported" hike.
Though you could argue that anyone who so much as does a resupply is sort of a type of support.
So it's really just a spectrum of support people are receiving.

[wornoutboots]

Walking past every Blaze is a Thru-hike. How you do it doesn't matter, those who think otherwise allow their judgmental ego's get in the way.

[CalebJ]

We call it hiking if we walk a section of trail, no matter what we choose to carry that day.

It's still thru hiking.

[Tipi Walter]

Halfway done with my first thru-hike. Since Springer I've learned about slackpacking, which I previously didn't know about. I'm amazed at how many thru-hikers resort to this method of distance hiking, once the grind sets in. From what I see, full packers like me - those who try to carry their homes on their backs the whole way - are the minority. The thinking seems to be "Everyone else is slackpacking, why shouldn't I?"

Isn't slackpacking another way of "cutting corners"? I'm guessing many slackers might regret taking this "easy" option after reaching Katahdin.

Thoughts, anyone?...slackers and non-slackers?

To me personally the WHOLE POINT of backpacking is to get in the woods and stay in the woods as long as possible---without the desire to see cars or roads or traffic or folding money etc. The reason I go backpacking is to drop out of "Syphilization" (Abbey's word) and reconnect to my Cro Magnon past Ergo no slackpacking for me, ever.

Good question. I guess it would bother me if they claim to be a thru-hiker without the caveat to others that they slacked. Similar would be a home-runner slugger who covertly used steroids to boost his stats. It diminishes the achievements of full-packers.

Agree with the steroid analogy. To me slackpacking is simply Dayhiking. In my understanding a slackpacker has no intention of spending the night in the woods. See---

https://www.liveabout.com/what-is-slackpacking-1766138

[Gambit McCrae]

it doesnt matter. Enjoy your hike however you wish

[Crossup]

I'm 100% with Tipi. I dont mind people doing what ever kind of hike they want and saying they did the AT . But once it comes out they slack packed or spent a big percentage of nights off trail then in my mind they took short cuts and choose to avoid the full experience.

We each have our own goals and needs so however you experience the trail is great as long as it makes you happy.
For me 10 day no resupply sections check all the boxes. I'm still hoping to be able to put together longer outings with PO drops but for now my wife gets unhappy with more than 10 days.

[HooKooDooKu]

I'm 100% with Tipi. I dont mind people doing what ever kind of hike they want and saying they did the AT . But once it comes out they slack packed or spent a big percentage of nights off trail then in my mind they took short cuts and choose to avoid the full experience.

"Avoided the full experience" - I'll agree with that
"took short cuts" - I'll disagree with that

The main reason I'm going to disagree is because I see a similarity to someone who "did the AT" and a "900 Miler".
{FYI: A "900 Miler" is someone who has hiked all the trails on the $1 back country map in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.}

Both tasks are very admirable hiking goals.
Both have similar "orders of magnitude" as the typical 900 Miler has most likely hiked 1,200 to 1,500 miles to complete the achievement.
The obvious difference is that the AT is a "linear" trail where as the 900 Miler hikes a network of trails.

While many of the trails in GSMNP are day-hikes, there are other segments of the network that are remote enough that the typical 900 Miler has spent part of their time back packing and sleeping in the woods.
But there are 900 Milers who don't want that experience and instead accomplish the goal limiting themselves to day hikes. Doing so requires several very long day-hikes, likely requiring more resources that will allow you to do a point-to-point hike rather than the cheaper loop hike. But at the end of the day, it doesn't mater how you did the miles, you're a 900 Miler if you did it camping or if you did it all as day-hikes.

I see "completing" the AT the same way. So long as you put in all the trail miles, it doesn't mater if you did it as a series of supported day hikes or carried a back pack the whole way.
The only difference is just the level of support you recieved.
Sure, someone who slack-pack the whole way (or these FKT trail runners) have much more support than the "typical" AT Hiker.
But I believe the only distinction the ATC makes is between a "Thru" hiker and a "Section" hiker, with a "Thru" hiker simply defined by the fact they completed all the parts of the trail within a continuous 12 month period. No distinction is made based on how much support you get (either as a Thru or Section hiker).

[Tipi Walter]

I see "completing" the AT the same way. So long as you put in all the trail miles, it doesn't mater if you did it as a series of supported day hikes or carried a back pack the whole way.
The only difference is just the level of support you recieved.
.

It's not the only difference. Slackpackers don't set up a tent, right? Or spend the night in the woods. Or sleep thru a blizzard in a tent or during a freakish -10F cold snap. Or go to sleep at a special CS and wake up the next morning at the same CS. These are huge differences.

[HooKooDooKu]

It's not the only difference. Slackpackers don't set up a tent, right? Or spend the night in the woods. Or sleep thru a blizzard in a tent or during a freakish -10F cold snap. Or go to sleep at a special CS and wake up the next morning at the same CS. These are huge differences.

Technically you are correct...

But I still see all that as falling into the rough collection of "support level"...
Especially since there are multiple levels to "slack packing".
After all, just because you "slack pack" doesn't mean you don't spend the night in the woods.
Google the work "slackpacking", you will get a description that includes "an assisted way of hiking where you have a host who carries the burden of your equipment, takes care of your possessions and set up you overnight camps for you". So a slack packer might be spending every night in the woods and getting to experience that blizzard or cold snap, etc.

Besides, your "experience" doesn't define if you get the title of "2,000-Miler". Only the fact that you've hiked the entire trail is all that matters to earn that title.
When I go to the ATC website to see their listing of "2,000-Miler's", the only detail listed is if the hiker was a NOBO Thru, a SOBO Thru, or Section Hiker. No special star is placed beside someone who slack-packed or who did the whole trail and never encountered a blizzard or a cold night in the woods, or didn't spend a single night in the woods.
All that is important is you hiked the whole trail.

That's why I compared it to the 900 Miler Club... it doesn't mater how you hike the trail, it only maters that you hiked the trail(s).

So staying with the AT... doesn't mater if you are a thru hiker (12 months) or a section hiker. Once you've completed the trail, you've generically earned the title "2,000 Miler".
Your "experience" doesn't
After all, your experience doesn't define if you have or have not completed the AT and

that camp can be in the woods where you would experience a blizzard, a cold snap, etc. But that "camp" might also be a hotel room your "host" has driven you to after a long day's hike.

So no mater how you "hike your own hike", you're going to have different experiences that are uniquely your own.
After all, some AT hikers might experience a bear encounter
After all, "slack packing" does not mean you do not spend the night in the woods. A slack packer can be someone who simply doesn't carry their own pack, and perhaps doesn't even setup their own campsite. But you can be a slack packer and

[HooKooDooKu]

Opps.... didn't finish my editing.
Please ignore everything after "That's why I compared it to the 900 Miler Club... it doesn't mater how you hike the trail, it only maters that you hiked the trail(s)."

[Deadeye]

It's not the only difference. Slackpackers don't set up a tent, right? Or spend the night in the woods. Or sleep thru a blizzard in a tent or during a freakish -10F cold snap. Or go to sleep at a special CS and wake up the next morning at the same CS. These are huge differences.

Slackpackers generally don't hike the whole time slackpacking - it's more of a chance opportunity along the trail. The people I know that have thru'd have slacked some, spent some nights in hostels or motels, but spent most of their nights in a tent on the trail. It's not an all-or-nothing choice.

[Slo-go'en]

If you got the money, why not? The down side is it gets really expensive.

I once did a 75 mile slack in southern Maine, I figured it cost me $250 to do those 75 miles, and I was splitting some of the costs with another person, and that was like 7 years ago. Was it worth it? Well, doing those miles slack packing was a whole lot easier then doing it with a full pack. Not being loaded down, I could enjoy the trail and the views more. We had a comfortable place to spend the night and a near-by country store with a grill that kept us well feed for 4 days. One could get used to that luxury!

But like I said, it gets expensive if done regularly. I can see doing a slack once in a while. Parts of NH and Maine are a lot easier as slack. Provided you have enough money left!

[peakbagger]

Folks start running out of time on occasion and want to take a break. Attitudes change from half way up to my territory in NH. I am a lowly section hiker and found that the piece of paper that I signed with the AT claiming my finish only required walking from Maine to Georgia. No questions about how I did it with a pack on my back or without. Unless someone starts at GA with all the gear, food and equipment to finish at Katahdin every hike is a compromise.

[Dan Roper]

Who cares what we think of another's hike or what they think of ours?

Starting in 2007, I've walked 700 miles of the AT, from Springer to Catawba, Virginia. I've carried a full pack except for two slacks (Uncle Johnny's to Indian Gap, and the Pond Mountain stretch, totaling about 17 miles). I accidentally missed one short section of trail, instead walking a gravel road north from I-40. This year I intentionally diverted from the trail to walk from Trent's Grocery to Dismal Creek Falls. I know what I've done and why. What anybody else might think of it doesn't matter, nor does what I might think about another's hike matter.

P.S. Good to see a post by wornoutboots (above). He's the only Whiteblazer I've ever met in person. Me and my two boys met him at Sassafras Shelter, north of Wesser, in October 2010. Wornoutboots was sectioning south from Fontana. A woman at the shelter was soloing north. They exchanged car keys, a testament to ingenuity and the trustworthiness of the trail community.

[LittleRock]

I don't slackpack but people who choose to don't bother me.

Once I saw a thru-hiker slackpack 10 miles in the wrong direction (as in, re-hiked 10 mles of trail they'd just hiked the day before) before realizing their mistake. That was pretty darn funny.