What are “Trail Lingo”?
Trail Lingo’s are words or phrases used on the trail that common folk would never understand. One of our goals here at TL will be to educate you about these words and phrases and bring them to more commonly used vocabularies for those of us who love being on the trail!
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- Welcome To Trail Lingo!
- On The Trail: YouTube and Thru-Hikers
- What Is Leave No Trace?
Welcome To TrailLingo.com!
We really enjoy being outside, and we think you do too. Sometimes however, we can’t be outside; in fact we have to do the exact opposite of that and be inside. Perhaps due to weather, jobs, family, injuries or just straight ole issues with UV rays; it doesn’t matter. It’s not as fun as being out in mother nature.
Our goal at Trail Lingo is simple. Bring that outdoors directly to you. Either in the form of our newsletter (sign up here), or through our blog providing the same information but in a slightly different and more visual style. We are going to aim to provide you with a lot of the latest outdoors-related content. What kind of content?
Let’s answer that.
Newsletters
At least once or twice a week we are going to fill your inbox with information on hiking and camping (and other related outdoor activities) updates, news, press releases, reviews, technology and humor!
We Want to be your one stop shop for that information.
We want to be helpful to give you a reprieve from the slow and monotonous day of being indoor staring at a screen or just out a window. A quick 10-15 minute read with links to great articles from our writers and other sites as well! Doesn’t matter to us if we write it or not, we want you to know about the best of the best!
On The Trail: YouTube Content Reviews
Each week we will have a featured section about those hikers and campers that have been taking advantage of growing their communities on YouTube. AT and PCT Thru-Hikers, Section Hikers, Day Hikers, Vloggers, Bush Campers, Winter Campers/Hikers, Outdoor Builders, Long Distance Hikers and more. We’ll venture into RV trekkers, Overlanding, Bus Lifers and just all around great content featuring the great outdoors!
There’s a lot of people living fantastic lives and sharing their experiences on YouTube and we want to share those with you as we discover them. We also plan to reach out for interviews with these creators and see what it takes to build these channels and how they’re able to make these lifestyles possible.
Trail Magic
Trail Magic will be short and sweet, it may or may not be included in every issue as we release them. It really depends on what kind of new content we discover and if we feel it’s quality is good enough or it’s relevant enough to be shared with our community. These will be one or two line summaries with short links to an article with more information, generally to a different blog or website.
We want to build a strong network/community of blogs and websites to share with you their best work. Our goal, much like that of most outdoors communities, is to improve and grow together to have the best experience possible. If you have any links or information you want to share, please email us at [trailling@gmail.com]!
Are you ready?
We’re going to have a lot more sections in each newsletter including feature articles and reviews, etc. We are going to work hard to keep our quality high and information on point. We are a small team starting out and like everyone else, we’re human. We will make mistakes and there are plenty of kinks to work out as we grow. Most importantly, it would help us if you sign up for the newsletter or share it with a friend. We plan to have giveaways and contests in the future for our members and the more of us there are, the better those will be.
Thank you so much for joining us and please let us know where you’re from and where your favorite hikes/camps are! We’d love to hear from you. Have a great day!
– Trail Lingo Staff (You’re Gonna Hike It Here!)
YouTube and Thru-Hikers
There’s been a recent trend the last few years as mobile technology has improved and recording abilities have become common on every device you carry for hikers to start to vlog (video blog) their thru-hikers on YouTube. They release single day updates or chapters, etc. on their way through these incredible trails.
We’d like to help document these content creators and share our favorites to follow. We hope to be able to set up interviews with many of them moving forward and ask them some questions about what went into their hikes, what they’re using and how they’re feeling throughout their journeys. We hope you enjoy and will follow them as well!
Helly Hays Hikes just updated her 86th day on the AT (Appalachian Trail) as she has reached the PA Rocks and Knifes Edge portion.
Darwin OnTheTrail is prepping for a CDT (Continental Divide Trail) Thru-Hike and is detailing how that is going and posting regular updates.
Shaker Hikes recently completed his AT thru-hike and has been continuing to post updates and videos to his subscribers. Check those out and support some great content!
KK On Trail is on Day 146 of his AT thru-hike and just did 26.5 miles on his latest update where he reached the base of Mt. Moosilauke and the starting point of the Whites!
Taylor the Nahamsha Hiker recently finished her AT thru-hike but has continued to post updates, including this 52 mile Solo Monadnock Sunapee Greenway trail thru-hike in New Hampshire!
Sophia has updated her 21st AT Thru-Hike Vlog via The Trek and it covers Hanover, NH to Lincoln, NH. Take a look!
Eva just released Chapter 32 of her AT Thru-Hike via The Trek’s YouTube channel as well.
What is “Leave No Trace”?
The Leave No Trace Program (www.lnt.org) is self-described as an organization that accomplishes its mission by providing innovative education, skills and research to help people care for the outdoors. By working with the public and those managing public lands, the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics focuses on educating people—instead of costly restoration programs or access restrictions—as the most effective and least resource-intensive solution to land protection.
It’s unfortunate that an organization like this even has to exist, but it’s very common in many parts of the country where hiking is a main attraction that there are those who do not respect nature and work to keep it safe. Protecting the great outdoors should be a priority of anyone who seeks to enjoy it, no matter how much or little that is an option for you.
The Leave No Trace Program is an organization that has been around for over 30 years. Their mission is to spread awareness of the importance of outdoor ethics and the need to reduce our impact on the environment when we are in the outdoors. Hiking is an excellent way to get outside and enjoy the beauty of nature. However, we must be aware of our actions and be responsible for the impact we leave on the area we are hiking. The Leave No Trace Program has provided several principles and guidelines for us to follow when we go out hiking. By following these guidelines, we are able to help preserve the outdoors through our actions.
Remember to always follow these 7 principles, but make sure you are also taking the time to educate yourself on the Leave No Trace guidelines for the area you are hiking.
1. Plan ahead and prepare.
2. Travel and camp on durable surfaces.
3. Dispose of waste properly.
4. Leave what you find.
5. Minimize campfire impacts.
6. Respect wildlife.
7. Be considerate of visitors.
Some of these are fairly self explanatory but let’s dig into a couple of them to expound on what that actually looks like in practice.
3. Dispose of Waste Properly
One of the biggest impacts we can make on the environment is through disposing of our waste. This principle is about making sure that we are disposing of our waste properly, whether it is human waste or trash. For Human Waste it can be extremely harmful to the environment. For this reason it is important that we bury our waste properly. To properly bury human waste, you should dig a cathole that is at least 6 inches deep and at least 200 feet away from water sources. You can also use a lightweight backcountry toilet to properly dispose of your waste. These toilets are small, lightweight, and easy to use.
Trash can be harmful to the environment as well. It is important that we are responsible with our trash. If possible, we should pack out our trash. This can be done by carrying a trash bag with you on your hike, or packing out trash in bags. If you are not able to pack out your trash, you should bury it in a cathole that is at least 6 inches deep and at least 200 feet away from water sources. If you are not able to bury your trash, you should deposit it in a trash can where available. Do not be a jerk and just leave it for others or animals. It can be very dangerous and harmful.
4. Leave What You Find
This principle is the idea that we should not move, deface, or remove what we find in the outdoors. This could mean that we should not move logs, rocks, plants, flowers, environmental signage, or anything else that we find in the environment. This principle could also mean that we should not take items from the outdoors, whether they are rocks to stack or throw, flowers to pick, or anything else. Leave What You Find could also mean that we should not take items that are not ours, even if we know that they are not important to others. The Leave No Trace principle of Leave What You Find helps protect the environment by not causing harm, which could result in the area becoming over-run with visitors, which would cause further harm to the environment.
7. Be Considerate of Other Visitors
While we are out hiking, we may come across other visitors. We should always be respectful of these visitors and be considerate of their experience. When hiking in a group, it is a good idea to hike in a single file, especially when crossing a field or a meadow. This will help reduce the amount of impact we have on the environment with all the steps and gear being taken.
As time goes on, we will cover more of these principles in detail and show ways that you can practice these in your own communities. We’d love to highlight groups that are using LNT principles during their hiking trips, please reach out to us if you know of them!
Trail Magic: (quick hitting links to interesting articles)
Kelly Floro writes at The Trek about how new legislation could fast track the completion of the Continental Device Trail by 2028.
Here’s a great resource for those of you who enjoy a good coffee experience while on the trail.
The Backpacker details how the fires in California could end thru-hikes for Pacific Crest Trail due to closures.
Clever Hiker gives 10 tips on how to capture that perfect adventure pic (#IGWorthy for sure).
If you enjoy following online how other hikers are doing, check out Trail Journals.
Section Hiker is reviewing the best down hoodies and jackets to get you ready for those Spring/Autumn trips!
Thank you so much for reading our very first issue of Trail Lingo! We appreciate you taking the time and hope to see you again.
“You’re Gonna Hike It Here!” – Trail Lingo Staff
