Okay in this post I want to try provide a glossary of terms I may use later in my posts.
Most of the information in there is from other sites including
http://scottbryce.com/pct/glossary.html and
http://www.zaneritt.com/glossary/
Through Hiker - To me any hiker that is attempting to complete a complete trail or a significant portion of it.
Bear Can - A bear proof canister for holding food, required for certain areas, think giant child proof container.
Bounce box - a resupply box that you mail ahead to yourself for example to mail equipment that you don't currently need but will need at a later point, or for items that may be hard to get, I intend to use this for a number of items.
Cowboy camping- Basically camping outside without using a tent, I may cowboy camp a few times but currently plan on using the tent since I will be carrying it anyway.
Food Drop - A method of resupplying food by mailing it ahead to yourself using the US postal service, some people use this method for the majority of there supplies but it is less practical for me as it usually relies on families to periodically send the packages and make any changes that you need. I will likely use it for one or two areas where resupplying is less convenient but will do the packages myself from earlier points on the trail.
The Herd (The Pack)- The main pack of hikers usually centered around the kick off weekend, this tends to be large in the early months but thins out as the trail continues. This occurs due to the limited weather window for completing a thru hike, I hope to be at the start of the pack at the start but due to low planned mileage at the start I'm sure I will end up in the middle of it.
Kick Off - An annual weekend event organized by former through hikers on the last weekend of April (27th - 29th April this year) at lake Morena which is about 20 miles from the start of the trail. I plan on attending mainly to meet the other participants but also as a good opportunity to replace any equipment I may not be happy with as a lot of different equipment is displayed there which I may not have an opportunity to get in Ireland.
To give it is official title Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off Party, ADZPCKKO or just ADZ
Hiker midnight - Usually sometime around 9pm or the time when most through hikers are usually asleep.
Zero (Zero Day) - A day where you cover Zero trail miles, usually in a town where you are resupplying or simply resting.
Nearo - A near zero or a day where you only cover a small amount of mileage, often just before coming to a town or just leaving.
Register - Logbooks that are maintained at different points along the trail which hikers sign to state where they have been and when, can also be used in emergencies for search and rescue purposes. some are maintained along the trail itself, others are hosted by businesses or trail angles along the way.
Trail Angel (Angel) - Anybody who goes out of their way to help a hiker, this could be as simple as providing a lift or spare food to somewhere to sleep for a night, right up to epic help like hosting and feeding hundreds of through hikers every year as some angels do.
Trail Magic - any nice and often unexpected event that befalls a hiker, this may be as simple as spare food being given to a through hiker by a weekend camper, up to coolers of food and drinks maintained along the trail, usually providing trail magic is enough to be classified as a trial angel.
Trail name - A nickname that is used by a hiker while on the trial or in discussions with other hikers, usually used to stop confusion because how many Johns will be on a trail at the one time or a description.
This is normally derived from some aspect of the hiker be it unusual funny or significant or some memorable event .Traditionally a hiker name can only be given by other hikers so currently I don't have one, it may also change due to significant events but usually sticks after a while. Some people will try to pick their own name but may be renamed.
Yogi (Yogiing) - The art of convincing somebody to give you something for free, usually referring to a non hiker or a day tripper, it may be as simple as asking some leading questions such as how far is the town from here, do you know if there is a bus or such and letting the person decide if maybe they want to offer you help.
Also the trail name of a well know through hiker that publishes a handbook of useful trail information
Water cache - Caches of water maintained by trail angels especially helpful in sections that are normally waterless especially int he desert, very useful but can not always be counted on so should not be relied on to complete a section, this can be as simple as a few liters of water to caches such as this picture.
These are maintained by trail angels at their own expense and from reading other blogs they are often a very welcome sight in the desert.
Skipping - refers to skipping sections of the trail for different reasons, usually to skip particularly difficult sections, maybe due to snow, fires etc, People will often come back and hike skipped sections or maybe tackle the section from the other direction.
Calorie loading - exactly as it sounds, loading up on calories especially during a town stop
Slack pack - Doing a section with little or no equipment, usually only food or water, usually where your equipment has been brought on ahead by car or some other means.
Camel up - drinking large volumes of water to save you carrying as much.
Flip Flop - Usually refers to skipping a section and then walking the missed section in the wrong direction, e.g. walking from the Mexican border to the Sierras then skipping up to the Canadian border and walking south bound to complete the missing sections.
Yo Yo - Something done by crazy people, which involves completing the whole trail first in one direction and then back again in the same year
Sun Cups - Refers to the uneven surface that is left when snow melts resembling a giant egg carton, these may be up to a couple of feet high
Post hole(ing) - Refers to breaking through a covering of snow, often into a cavity below, these may for around buried boulders or where water is flowing under the snow.
Hiker Trash - A general description of through hikers, may be due to the fact that through hikers are often confused for a homeless person especially away from common trail towns which may be less used to through hikers.
Base Weight - The weight of your pack and equipment excluding food and water and some other consumables.
Glissade - Sliding down a snow covered slope, more fun than walking, may require an ice ax to control your speed.
Heel stepping - A method of hiking down a snow covered slope that involves digging in your heels.
HYOH - Hike your own hike, basically hike your own way, just cos somebody else says you have to cover 30 miles a day but you only do 15 HYOH!
NOBO - Northbound starting at Mexican border and hiking north to Canadian border
SOBO - Southbound Starting at Canadian end and hiking south to Mexican border
