Glossary

My posts probably include some terms specific to long-distance hiking. A few are defined below. If you’re wondering about any others, leave a comment below and I’ll add it to the list.

I’ll be updating this post as I use more terms on the blog. Newer terms will be at the top.

JMT: John Muir Trail. A 220-or-so mile trail from Yosemite to Mt. Whitney. Most of it is on the PCT. I hiked it southbound in 2013. It took 13 days, and was my only long-distance backpacking trip before the PCT.

Postholing: When you step on weak snow, and your leg sinks deeply into the snow, usually a bit more than knee-deep. It can be hard to tell which areas of a snowfield are weak, so people often walk on strong snow carelessly and then suddenly hit a weak spot and posthole. This can be good for comic effect, in a slapstick way.

PCT: Pacific Crest Trail. A trail that more or less follows the crests of various mountain ranges from the US border with Mexico to the border with Canada. It is about 2650 miles long, and goes through California, Oregon, and Washington.

Thru-hiker: Somebody trying to hike a long-distance trail like the PCT from beginning to end.

Base Pack Weight: The weight of your backpack and it’s contents, excluding food, water, and fuel. Keeping this weight low is crucial to having a safe, fast, comfortable hike. 18 pounds is a typical starting weight for a first-time thru-hiker. 12 pounds is a good weight for a more experienced hiker.

Skin-Out Weight: Base Pack Weight plus everything you’re wearing.

Trail Town: A town near the trail at which thru-hikers are likely to resupply. On the PCT, it is typical to visit dozens of trail towns – you don’t carry all your food the whole way!

Hiker Box: In pursuit of low pack weight, thru-hikers often realize they don’t need a piece of equipment that’s in their pack. So, rather than throw it out, they put it in a hiker box, where another hiker can take it. Typically, local businesses in trail towns put out hiker boxes.

Zero: Staying in one place for a whole day, covering zero miles.

Nearo: Covering very few miles on a day – nearly a zero.

Creosote: A desert shrub that’s mostly twigs. I might be using it incorrectly sometimes to refer to similar-looking desert shrubs.

Fire Closure: Often, parts of the trail are closed due to damages from a fire. It is necessary to find an alternate route around them. There are at least 3 closures this year, and yes, this means I can’t hike the whole PCT.

Alternate: A route that branches from the PCT,  and then rejoins it later. They are used for purposes like avoiding a closure, or seeing a landmark.

Road Walking: Hiking alongside traffic, on a paved road. This is avoided whenever possible, because it is uncomfortable and dangerous. It is sometimes necessary when following an alternate or getting to a trail town.

Hiker-friendly: Some businesses in trail towns like hikers, and others don’t. A hiker-friendly business might do things like have a hiker box, do hiker laundry, fill up water bottles in the kitchen, or simply offer a discount.

Trail name: Thru-hikers are often known only by nicknames they acquired while hiking. This makes it easier to remember the names of the many strangers you meet on a thru-hike. It’s common to be named after a mistake you’ve made, e.g. if you pack way too many things, you might be called “Kitchen Sink”, for bringing everything but that.

Bushwhacking: Walking through an area that is not a trail. May or may not require pushing bushes out of the way.

Hiker hunger: The phenomenon that makes thru-hikers insatiably hungry. It also causes them to eat otherwise-unappealing food, like an entire Little Cesar’s cheese pizza, ravenously.

Section hiker: Somebody who’s hiking a portion of the PCT, but not the whole thing. This makes it possible to hike some of the PCT without quitting your job.

Cowboy camping: Sleeping without a tent. You put your sleeping bag and sleeping pad directly on your ground sheet, with the tent nowhere to be found.

CS###: A campsite at northbound mile ### on the PCT. Many campsites don’t have names, so they are identified by their mile number.