Thru-hiking, or through-hiking, is the act of

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

an established

long-distance trail A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, equestrianism or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exc ...

end-to-end continuously. The term is most frequently used regarding trails in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, such as the

Pacific Crest Trail The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...

(PCT), the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...

(AT), and the

Continental Divide Trail The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (in short Continental Divide Trail, CDT) is a United States National Scenic Trail with a length measured by the Continental Divide Trail Coalition of between the U.S. border with Chihuahua (state), Chi ...

(CDT). Globally, some examples of thru-hikes include Te Araroa in New Zealand, the

Camino de Santiago The Camino de Santiago (, ; ), or the Way of St. James in English, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tra ...

in Spain and France, the

Via Francigena The Via Francigena (), also known as Francisca or Romea, is an ancient road and Christian pilgrimage, pilgrimage route running from the City status in the United Kingdom#Cathedral towns, cathedral city of Canterbury in England, through France and ...

in France and Italy, the Grand Italian Trail in Italy, the Great Divide Trail (GDT) in Canada, and the Great Himalaya Trail in Nepal, all of which are over 1,000 km (620 mi) in length. The length for a trail to be considered a thru-hike is undefined. Trails most associated with thru-hiking often take several weeks or months to complete, but any completed end-to-end trail in a single hiking season is technically a thru-hike. Section hiking is hiking a long-distance trail one section at a time. Generally, a trail completed as a collection of section hikes is not considered a thru-hike, as the trail was not completed continuously. However, hiking trail sections out of order, e.g., starting at the halfway point of the AT and hiking to the northern terminus, then flying back to the middle and hiking the southern half, still counts as a thru-hike, as long as the trail is completed in one trip.

History

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, hiking as a means of exploring the world started becoming popular in the U.S. This led to the creation of dedicated long-distance hiking trails, including the 439 km (273 miles)

Long Trail The Long Trail is a hiking trail located in Vermont, running the length of the state. It is the oldest long-distance trail in the United States, constructed between 1910 and 1930 by the Green Mountain Club. The club remains the primary organiza ...

in Vermont and the 340 km (211 miles)

John Muir Trail The John Muir Trail (JMT) is a long-distance trail in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, passing through Yosemite National Park, Yosemite, Kings Canyon National Park, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park, Se ...

in California. The first trail to be associated with thru-hiking was the 3,531 km (2,194 miles)

(AT), which was first proposed in 1921 by Benton MacKaye and completed in 1937 after more than a decade of work. The first person to hike the full trail was Myron Avery, a trail promoter who hiked the trail by sections between 1927 and 1936 while

trail blazing Trail blazing or way marking is the practice of marking paths in outdoor recreational areas with signs or markings that follow each other at certain, though not necessarily exactly defined, distances and mark the direction of the trail. A blaz ...

. In 1948,

Earl Shaffer Earl V. Shaffer (November 8, 1918 – May 5, 2002), was an American outdoorsman and author known from 1948 as The Crazy One (and eventually as The Original Crazy One) for attempting what became the first publicized claimed hiking trip in a single ...

completed the first south-to-north thru-hike of the AT, followed by Chester Dziengielewski in 1951, who became the first to hike the trail from north-to-south. A number of thru-hikers have achieved a measure of celebrity status in backpacking culture. Perhaps the most famous was Emma "Grandma" Gatewood, who first thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1955 at the age of 67. She completed the hike with what was considered extremely inadequate gear, even at the time, including

sneakers Sneakers (American English, US) or trainers (British English, UK), also known by a #Names, wide variety of other names, are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but are also widely used for everyday casual ...

rather than

boot A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

s and a

blanket A blanket is a swath of soft textile, cloth large enough either to cover or to enfold most of the user's body and thick enough to keep the body warm by trapping radiant body heat that otherwise would be lost through Thermal conduction, condu ...

rather than a

sleeping bag A sleeping bag is an insulated covering for a person, essentially a lightweight quilt that can be closed with a zipper or similar means to form a tube, which functions as lightweight, portable bedding in situations where a person is sleeping o ...

, and is recognized today as a pioneer of

ultralight backpacking Ultralight backpacking (sometimes written as UL backpacking) is a style of lightweight backpacking (wilderness), backpacking that emphasizes carrying the lightest and least amount of gear. While no technical standards exist, some hikers consider " ...

. In 2012, Cheryl Strayed published her memoir Wild documenting her self-discovery on the PCT, which was made into a

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

in 2014 starring

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Reese Witherspoon, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Aw ...

, leading to a spike in interest in the PCT and thru-hiking.

Today

Thru-hiking a trail is a long and difficult journey. A thru-hike of the PCT, AT, or CDT takes five months on average, and can involve months or years of planning. Thru-hikers often organize "supply boxes" containing food and other necessities prior to their hike, and have friends or family mail the packages to predetermined stops close to the trail, to be picked up by the hiker. Other ways some get food along the trail is stopping and picking up food for their next section of trail at the grocery store in the town they are in. With the rise of

backpacking Backpacking may refer to: * Backpacking (travel), low-cost, independent, international travel * Backpacking (hiking), trekking and camping overnight in the wilderness * Ultralight backpacking, a style of wilderness backpacking with an emphasis on ...

in the

, thru-hiking has become a minor niche in the industry. Thousands of hikers attempt to thru-hike the AT and other National Scenic Trails every year, although by some estimates fewer than 20% complete the trail. The most common reasons for a hike to be abandoned include injuries, finances, time constraints, and a lack of motivation. Some dedicated thru-hikers complete a trail more than once; about 30 have reported hiking the AT at least three times. Lee Barry became the oldest to thru-hike the AT when he completed a thru-hike (his second) in 2004 at age 81. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy has reported completion rates around 25% in recent years, after several years under 20%. They attribute this to slightly lower numbers of hikers, better gear, and, thanks to the internet, information about gear, causing fewer hikers to start with packs and drop out a few miles in. Those long-distance hikers who have completed all three of the nation's longest National Scenic Trails (The Appalachian Trail, The Pacific Crest Trail and The Continental Divide Trail) are known as Triple Crowners. Base pack weight in this group of hikers is in the range of .

References

External links

Appalachian Trail Conservancy – 2000 Milers

Thru-hiking community

Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association

Database of thru-hiking trails

End to End on the Long Trail

Pacific Crest Trail Association

Trekopedia – Community site of long-distance trails

American Discovery Trail Society

HikaNation
{{Portal bar, Environment Hiking

History

Today

See also

Further reading

References

External links