Now, I may just be a stickler, but I think "thru-hike" is really stupid. I hate it when English is bastardized, like "Toys are Us" (should be toys are we!) or "drive-thru," etc.
It makes us look illiterate and bum*****. I've been filling out applications for grants/fellowships through my school lately, and when I am asked for information about what I did last summer, I always end up writing "through-hiked" because "thru-hiked" looks so infantile.
So lets all agree to change?