I will slack pack back from Thunder Ridge Overlook. BRP 74.9. I even have a grapefruit to peel for lunch. So let's see omer and chat with a bunch of folks going against the flow as I am. There's mother Moab a yellow blazer in an unbrella. That's Wallet behind her. Moab also has an old dog with here that has a service dog harness named Utah. The poor old thing is not a service dog. She's a yellow blazer highly despised. People have even started writing shelter journal entries and signing them “Utah”. Feed me or carry your own water etc.
Here is what I, Melanie, devoted trail widow learned when googling: "yellow blazing." (I thought maybe it meant dogs on the trail who pee everywhere.)
Blaze, White Blaze: A two by six inch square of white paint ocassionally and wholly accidentally left on a tree by the mythical maintainers. These are generally thought to indicate that: someone went this way before me and they apparently own paint.
Blue Blazer: A hiker who frequently substitutes blue blazed routes paralleling the official AT. These may be: shorter, flatter or more scenic than the official route. Many blue blazed trails are in fact vestiges of earlier AT routes and as such frequently head directly through popular resupply points avoided by the modern "scenic" AT.
Credited Miles: An as yet un-hiked portion of the official white blazed Appalachian Trail. Credited miles exclude side trails to shelters, water, services and views. Credited miles also exclude any portion of the Trail previously trod upon by the hiker (e.g. a northbounder's descent from Katahdin)
Flip-Flop Hiker: A hiker completing the Trail in a discontinuous hike within a single year. Flip-flop hikes may begin at either end of the Trail (i.e. Leg 1 North from Georgia, Leg 2 South from Maine) or may begin a convenient midpoint on the Trail (Harpers Ferry is popular) (i.e. Leg 1 Mid-point North to Maine, Leg 2 Mid-point South to Georgia).
GA-ME, GAME: Short hand for Georgia to Maine. A notation used in trail registers by Georgia to Maine thru-hikers.
Go-lighter, Ultra-lighter: A hiker who carries an extemely light pack (typically 15-25 lbs). Ultra-lighters use light-weight tarps in lieu of tents and favor sleep sacks (silk and fleece liners) over traditional bags. They are frequently cold and always hungry.
ME-GA, MEGA: Short hand for Maine to Georgia. A notation used in trail registers by Maine to Georgia thru-hikers.
Northbounder (NoBo):Short hand for a Georgia to Maine thru-hiker.
Pointless Ups and Downs (PUDs) Hills and full blown mountains senselessly included in the path of the Appalachian Trail. These features are frequently remote from the most natural trail route requiring exquisite and serpentine contortions in the path to deliver the hiker to the base of targeted monolith.
Purist: A hiker who insists on passing every white blaze (demarcating the official AT) between Maine and Georgia. See, also: Ultra-purist (var); Blue Blazer (ant)
Section Hiker: A hiker who seeks to complete the Trail in large sections over several years. Section hikers can take two, three or as many as twenty years (at 100 mi/year) to complete the Trail.
Southbounder (SoBo): Short hand for a Maine to Georgia thru-hiker.
Trail Names: The fanciful (some would say Super Friends-like) monikers adopted by or assigned to Appalachian Trail hikers. These names are used in trail and shelter registers and in actual conversation among hikers. An odd convention of the Trail to some, trail names are memorable and help hikers sort among the twenty Johns, thirty Davids and twelve Anns they are likely to meet in the course of months or weeks on the AT.
Thru-hiker: Generally used to mean a hiker who has walked the Trail from end-to-end in a single (normally continuous) hike. Often includes hikers completing the trail in a single dis-continuous hike within a single year, and may include hikers completing the Trail in large sections over two or three years.
Tour Hiker: A hiker who seeks to hike only the most desirable sections of the Trail. These hikers ofter start in Georgia and finish in Maine but, either because of time constraints or boredom, skip large sections of the Trail (Pennsylvania is a popular omission as are New Jersey, New York and Connecticut). See, also: Yellow Blazing, Yellow Blazer
Ultra-purist: A hiker who scrupulously insists on carrying her full pack not only past every white blaze on the Trail but over every inch of soil demarcated by those blazes. Unlike simple purists, ultra-purists consider dirt under a large fallen tree to be "part of the official AT" and will literally tag the space underneath from either side whenever forced to circumnavigate a blowdown.
Weekend Hiker, Weekender: A hiker who is out for 2-3 days and is more or less incidentally hiking on the AT. Frequently includes large camp and church groups. Often includes Boy Scout troops. Has been known in Pennsylvania to include penal boot camp outings.
Yellow Blazing, Yellow Blazer: Hitch-hiking or otherwise skipping over sections of the Trail. (Named for the yellow line down the center of the road) A yellow blazer is a hiker who skips large sections of the Trail because they are keeping a schedule or because the skipped section is difficult and/or tedious. See, also: Tour Hiker
Yogi, Yogi-ing: In its strictest meaning, the act (or art) of obtaining desired goods or services without directly asking the candidate provider. In general usage, the act of obtaining desired goods of services from a third-party by any means including non-fatal force.
Zero Day, Taking a Zero, Zeroing: A day in which a hiker walks no "credited" miles (generally spent in a town or hostel). Zero days may be for resupply, recuperation and/or recreation. Hikers taking too many zero days risk "losing their hike" and/or becoming yellow blazers.
