Thruhiking

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Thruhiking or Thruhike (also Thruhiking or Thruhike ; German  traversal ) means a long jump or Fernwanderweg contiguously from the beginning to the end to wander . Likewise, a hiker who is on a Thruhike or who has successfully completed it is referred to as a Thruhiker .

Details

In the United States , the term is most commonly associated with the Appalachian Trail (AT), the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), and the Continental Divide Trail (CDT). But it can also refer to other hiking trails, e.g. B. the Te Araroa Trail in New Zealand , the Camino Francés in Spain , the Via Francigena in France and Italy , the Lycian Way in Turkey , the National Trail in Israel, the Great Divide Trail (GDT) in Canada or the International Mountain Trail of the Friendship Eisenach – Budapest (EB), which leads through Germany , the Czech Republic , Poland , Slovakia and Hungary .

According to the organization responsible for the AT, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy , a thru-hike requires a degree within twelve months, which is also generally accepted.

The term is used to distinguish it from section hiking , in which a hiking trail is hiked in sections without continuity or not within a hiking season.

history

The origins of long-distance hiking go back to the time when walking as a form of locomotion merged with hiking for one's own pleasure and as a means of getting to know distant places.

Julius von Plänckner can be regarded as one of the first German Thruhikers , who hiked from Blankenstein to Hörschel over the entire Rennsteig in 1829 .

After George W. Outerbridge was the first to walk the recently completed AT in 1939 without it being a Thruhike, Earl Shaffer did the latter for the first time in 1948.

Emma "Grandma" Gatewood , who hiked the AT for the first time in 1955 at the age of 67 , also became famous . She finished the hike with equipment that was considered inadequate even for the time, e.g. B. with sneakers instead of hiking boots and with a blanket instead of a sleeping bag. She later did a second Thruhike and is now considered a pioneer of ultralight hiking .

present

A hiker who just the Appalachian Trail has finished

A Thruhike is a long and difficult journey. B. an average of five months and covers 3500 kilometers. PCT or CDT also take 4 to 6 months and require extensive planning to prepare equipment and organize supplies. The most popular method is to take supplies after every three to five days in a village or town near the hiking trail. Thruhikers can also organize deliveries for the trip in advance, brought by friends or by mail to selected stations along the way, which offers a greater degree of flexibility. Most hikers forego a Thruhike, mostly for reasons of time, and instead hike step by step over many years.

With the advent of backpacking , thruhiking has become a small industry in the United States. Thousands of hikers hike the AT and other long-distance trails each year, with estimates suggesting that less than 20 percent travel all the way. There are approximately 150 thruhikes on the Long Trail in Vermont and about 180 thruhikes on the Pacific Crest Trail each year . Some dedicated Thruhikers complete a path more than once. There are reports of around 30 hikers who have hiked the AT at least three times. Lee Barry was the oldest to thruhike the AT for the second time in 2004 at the age of 81. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy has reported completion rates of around 25 percent in recent years, and below 20 percent after several years. The organization justifies this with the slightly lower number of hikers, better equipment and improved information through the Internet.

By 2020, fourteen Thruhikers were known for the International Mountain Hiking Trail of Friendship Eisenach – Budapest . As the fastest so far, Friedrich "Fritz" Peterka needed 45 days for the 2700 kilometers.

The current route record for the 154 km West Highland Way has been held by Rob Sinclair since 2017 with a running time of 13:41:08 hours.

further reading

  • Dan Bruce: The Thru-Hiker's Handbook Hot Springs, North Carolina: Center for Appalachian Trail Studies, 2000.
  • Russell Norton: Long Trail End-to-Ender's Guide. Waterbury Center, Vermont: Green Mountain Club, 1997 (English).
  • Earl V. Shaffer: Walking With Spring. Harper's Ferry, West Virginia: the Appalachian Trail Conference, 1983.
  • Karen and Daniel Smith Berger: Where the Waters Divide: A Walk along America's Continental Divide. New York: Random House, 1993.
  • Bill Bryson: A Walk in the Woods . Broadway Books, 1998 (English).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Earl V. Shaffer: Walking With Spring . Appalachian Trail Conference, Harpers Ferry, W. Va. 2004, ISBN 0-917953-84-3 (English).
  2. ^ Elisa Freeling: When Grandma Gatewood hiked the Appalachian Trail . In: Sierra . November 2002 (English).
  3. ↑ Appalachian Trail Conservancy: About the Trail - 2,000-Milers in Recent Years. Retrieved June 20, 2008 .
  4. ^ Bert Winkler: International Mountain Hiking Path of Friendship Eisenach-Budapest, list of EB hikers. Retrieved February 17, 2020 .