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Article 6

March 6, 2012

By Jim Dashiell, MD

Tribune Columnist 

  Today I'm going to expand your vocabulary a little in a 'hiker' sort of way. There are many sayings, abbrevations, slang terms, etc. that are commonly used on the AT. Some of them are:
  HYOH  –  This is the most important one and stands for  Hike Your Own Hike. This means that you should not be pressured to go faster than you want, or slower. You should rest when you need to, hike at your own speed, eat what you want when you want, etc. It's important to "do your own thing" if your goal is getting to Mt. Katahdin. Hike Your Own Hike could also mean Live Your Own Life.
  Cotton Kills  – Clothing made of cotton is almost never found on the trail because it is heavy, retains water, so hypothermia is a constant threat and is not as durable as most synthetics.
  Leave No Trace   – This speaks to the environmental issue of leaving no trash lying around, soap in the water, grease from cooking, improperly disposed human waste, etc. Damage to the land, even a little at a time, can become a permanent scar if repeated over and over. Most thru hikers are fanatical about the way they treat the land.
  NOBO – North Bound hiker.  95% of all thru hikers start in Ga.
  SOBO – South Bound hiker   The other 5%.
  AYCE – All You Can Eat.  When a hungry hiker comes into town the first  thing they look for is an AYCE buffet. The volumes of food some are able to eat are legendary!
  Springer Fever  – I have a mild case and am sure it will get worse. It means the anticipation a person has of his upcoming NOBO hike of the AT starting at Springer Mt., Georgia.
  Section Hiker –  Someone who does not hike the whole AT in one year but does different parts of it over time. There was a lady last year that completed the AT but took 19 years worth of vacation time to do it. She lived in San Diego so the commute was substantial.
  Flip Flop  –  Someone who is hiking the trail but leaves to go to the other end and resumes hiking back to where they got off. If you're running out of time this is an option as the northern end of the trail on Mt. Katahdin closes around Oct.15th.
  Thank you for reading my articles. I'm looking forward to sending them from the trail starting in about 4 weeks.
   NE on the AT is NEAT!!
   FUNNYBONE