Hiking lexicon

NOBO. LNT. HYOH. Huh?

Whale campsite in LeConte Canyon. Definitely not LNT, but so worth it.

 The world of backpacking and long distance hiking has its own specialized terminology. Some of these are common to outdoor activities in general (Leave No Trace),  or the interwebs (YMMV). I picked up several on the JMT; the rest show up repeatedly in books and blog posts about the PCT and thru-hiking.

Here is a set of terms and what I understand them to mean, that I will now consider fair game to toss around indiscriminately in posts.

base weight: the weight of a pack, minus consumables (food, water, sometimes fuel & toiletries); in essence, the non-variable element of pack weight

camel up: to drink a bunch of water at a water source, so that you don’t have to carry as much on the way to the next source

cathole: a hole you dig to poop in (pronounced “cat hole”, not like “cathode” like I initially thought)

cowboy camp: to sleep out under the stars, without a shelter

HYOH: Hike Your Own Hike, ie. do what works for you and don’t stress about or judge others’ choices

LNT: Leave No Trace (and take nothing but pictures)

nero (day): a day when you hike a small number of miles (nearly + zero = my favorite hiking portmanteau)

NOBO: northbound (south to north); can refer to the direction, or a hiker going that direction

section hiker: someone who is hiking a section of a longer trail, possibly with the goal of eventually completing the whole hike

skin-out weight: base weight (see above) plus all clothing worn

SOBO: southbound (north to south); can refer to the direction, or a hiker going that direction

thru-hiker: someone who is attempting / has managed to complete a long hike from end to end

trail angel: a person who helps out hikers by handing out food or water on the trail, providing a place to stay or ship packages to, helping hikers get to and from trailheads, and much more

YMMV: Your Mileage May Vary, ie. you may not like the thing I just raved about, it all depends on your personal preferences or characteristics

zero (day): a day during which you hike zero miles; a complete rest day

Check out some experienced thru-hikers’ vocab lists here and here (and then stick around to check out their fantastic blogs).

Leave a comment if I have already used an unfamiliar term that I didn’t cover here.