This post was written in Danish in January 2018 and later translated into English. The terms themselves were always English thru-hiking jargon; it was the explanations that were in Danish. The opening has been reworded because the original explained why the terms were being left untranslated, which no longer makes sense here.
Like any other hobby or sport, there are a fair few words used by people who hike a lot. So I have put together a small “dictionary”, or list if you prefer, of the typical words you might run into along the way.
There are many more words than these, but these are probably the ones you will hear or read about if you choose to follow my trip 🙂
And they will certainly be used on my YouTube channel 🙂
Base-weight: The weight of your backpack and whatever else is in it, excluding food and water.
Bear box: At most established campsites where there is bear activity, bear-proof lockable boxes are installed where you can keep your food and other things bears think smell lovely. The boxes are usually placed a good distance from the campsites (so you do not have bears wandering right up and down among people)
Bear can: A portable bear box (round, and made of very tough plastic) that you are required to carry when hiking in areas with bear activity (primarily the Sierra). These canisters are heavy and bulky, so they are a real nuisance for hikers. But probably a better alternative than a visit from a bear 😉
The canister has to be placed 30 m from your tent, since it is not 100% odour proof and you risk curious bears turning up.
Bonus miles/Bonus kilometer: The extra kilometres you are forced to walk to reach towns, climb Mount Whitney and so on, but which are NOT part of the PCT route. So they do not count towards the 4279 km.
Bounce box: A box hikers continuously post ahead to themselves on the way up the route (or down, depending on whether you are walking Mexico-Canada or Canada-Mexico)
Bubble: see “Herd”
Camel up: You drink as much water as you possibly can when you are at a water source. The theory is that you over-hydrate so you do not have to carry as much water. It is frowned upon to do this at water caches set up by trail angels, since people may come along later who need that water.
Cat hole/katte hul: One of the cornerstones of the Leave No Trace concept. It is the hole you dig when you need a poo 🙂 It should be about 20 cm deep, 60 m from campsites and watercourses or similar. And you take your toilet paper with you when you leave.
Cowboy camping: When you sleep outdoors with no roof over your head (no tent, tarp or anything else). If the weather, creepy-crawlies and insects allow, this is the fastest way to make camp. And you get to enjoy a fantastic night sky.
Day hiker: Someone who is just out hiking for a single day.
Dry camping: When you make camp without being near water. There is a big advantage to camping near water, since it saves you hauling extra water for cooking and so on.
Flip-flop: A tactic for completing parts of a trail within one season, by walking the sections that are feasible and then coming back to finish the rest. Typically used when there is heavy snow or similar. In the Sierra, for example. You skip the mountains, then return and complete them once the snow has gone.
Floaties: A term for things floating around in the water you are about to drink. Typically poo, or dead animals 🙂
Giardia: A little devil of a parasite, responsible among other things for giving you diarrhoea. Which is why it is important to “always” have clean hands, especially after you have been to the loo. It is also why it matters to filter your water from streams and so on, since this parasite has a remarkable ability to end up in the water 🙂
Glissade: French for slide. A controlled method of getting down snow-covered mountainsides faster
Herd: A large group of hikers travelling together. The group typically forms in southern California and thins out towards northern California.
A group like that can cause overcrowded campsites and so on, but can also be an advantage, since hiker boxes can be little treasure chests.
Hiker Box: Boxes you often find at resupply points, where hikers have dumped the gear they no longer need.
Hiker Hunger: When you hike many kilometres, day in and day out, up and down mountains, you burn a huge number of calories. Since you can only carry a limited amount of food, you are in a constant calorie deficit and constantly hungry. That constant, bottomless hunger that plagues every hiker is called hiker hunger.
Hiker Midnight: 21:00. Most serious and self-disciplined hikers are in bed by this time, so they can get 8 hours of sleep and be ready to set off again around sunrise.
Hiker Trash: A term for people who have lived outdoors, surrounded by their own smell, for months on end. Not to be confused with being homeless.
JMT: The John Muir Trail overlaps the PCT for almost 320 km in the Sierra section. JMT hikers typically walk southbound, whereas PCT hikers most often go northbound.
Mail Drop: One of the ways PCT hikers get food and gear supplies on the route. Packages are sent ahead to towns that are either too expensive to shop in, or where the selection of gear and food is poor or non-existent. The problem with this solution is that you have to plan your arrival at these places, since the post office may be closed. Which means you can be unlucky and have to wait all weekend, until Monday morning, before you can collect your package.
NoBo: Northbound hiker – someone walking the route from south to north.
Nero: Near zero is the term used for a day with very little hiking. For example, you land in a town after a couple of kilometres and spend the rest of the day washing clothes, buying resupply and so on.
Postholing: The term comes from the hole you dig to set a fence post. When you are hiking in snow and your leg breaks through, your leg looks rather like one of those fence posts. You hike very slowly, and it takes a lot of energy to be constantly careful.
Often it is impossible to know what is under the snow. One way to reduce the risk is to start early in the morning, before the sun has softened the snow. The holes can form for all sorts of reasons.
Puffy: A down jacket.
Resupply: When a hiker reaches a town to buy food.
Ride Bride: A female companion makes it far easier for a male hiker to get a lift (when heading into town to resupply and so on).
Section Hiker: A hiker who only walks part of the PCT, or of another trail.
SoBo: Southbound hiker – someone walking the route from north to south.
Sun Cups: An uneven surface in the snow that looks like giant egg cartons. As the snow melts it leaves water on the surface. That water warms in the sun and melts the snow beneath it faster than the rest, which forms these uneven surfaces.
Sun cups are very awkward to walk on, since your feet can slide down into the hollows, so you are constantly at risk of turning an ankle in one.
Thru-Hike: A continuous hike, typically longer than 1600 km.
Trail Angel: Someone who helps hikers along the route, whether with water, shelter, or a barbecue with hot dogs or similar. Typically these trail angels expect nothing in return; they do it purely to help.
Trail Legs: About a month into a hike your legs begin to adjust to the long days and get stronger still, which lets you walk even further.
Trail Magic: At random points along the route you come across boxes of fruit, sweets, fizzy drinks or beer, or people offering to drive you to the nearest town so you can resupply.
Trail Name: A nickname hikers use on their thru-hike. The name is given to you by other hikers, and is an easier way of identifying people than their own name. There are a couple of unwritten rules about it. It has to be given by other thru-hikers, so you cannot choose it yourself. It is typically a name that captures something about your personality, your appearance, or something silly you have done.
Vitamin I: Ibuprofen.
Zero: A zero is a day where you walk none of the route at all. Zero days are most often used to resupply in town, wash clothes, write the journal or just relax. A zero day can easily involve plenty of kilometres, but since you are not out on the trail they do not count.
Gear: the full setup I carried on the PCT is on the PCT 2018 gear list.