Feeling lost with all the hiking jargon? No worries, this guide will help you find your feet! Without further ado, here are the top 50 pieces of hiking slang that every hiker should know:
Alpine start: The practice of waking up hours before dawn in order to summit a mountain before sunrise.
Baseweight: The weight of one’s gear before the addition of “consumables” like food and water. Your clothing, tent, stove, and even your pack itself contribute to your baseweight.
Beta: Information from someone who has already completed the trail you're planning on embarking on.
Blaze: Trail markers - usually painted or nailed to a tree.
Bonk: To suddenly lose all energy, strength and motivation to complete a hike - often the result of a caffeine/sugar-high come-down.
Bushbashing/Bushwacking: Making your way through an overgrown trail.
Cache: A supply of food, water, or other supplies hidden on the trail for later retrieval.
Cairn: An obviously person-made marker used to mark the trail - typically a pile of stacked rocks.
Camel up: Chugging water before leaving a water source.
Cold soak: For backpackers who prefer not to carry a stove, cold soaking is simply adding cold water to dehydrated meals and waiting a few hours for the water to absorb.
Ditty bag: A stuff sack/dry bag to hold the miscellaneous gear that you don’t want to get lost in the depths of your backpack.
Fastpacking: A hybrid of backpacking and trail running. Fastpackers aim to cover as much distance as possible, as quickly as possible.
FKT: "Fastest Known Time” - the speed record for someone completing a section of trail.
Flip-Flop: When a hiker doesn't hike straight from one end of the trail to the other, but instead jumps around and links up different sections. There could be various reasons for flip-flopping, such as taking advantage of better weather conditions or avoiding crowded areas.
Ford: Crossing a stream/river on foot.
Gear head: A person who's obsessed with having the latest and greatest hiking/camping equipment.
GORP: “Good Ole Raisins & Peanuts”. A mix of nuts, dried fruit, and chocolate all mixed together. Also known as "Trail Mix" or "Scroggin".
Ground control: A loved one who handles the “real world” concerns for the hiker on the trail.
Hanger or hangry: Hunger-induced anger. Avoid at all costs.
Hot spot: A red, raw patch of flesh that will lead to a blister if not dealt with.
LNT: “Leave No Trace” - a philosophy that everyone should follow when outdoors. Leave only footprints, take only photos.
Mountain money: Toilet paper.
NoBo/SoBo: Short for northbound/southbound, indicating which direction a hiker is travelling on trails that can be walked in either direction.
Peakbagging: The pursuit of hiking to the top of as many summits as possible. One who does this is a peakbagger. "Hutbagging" is also common in places where trails have huts to visit.
Postholing: Stepping knee/waist deep in fresh snow - fun at first, but gets exhausting quickly.
PUDs: "Pointless ups and downs" - hills and rolling terrain that don’t seem to get you anywhere.
Purist: A hiker who insists on walking every single step of a trail and will not take any side trails, detours, or jumps ahead. They also typically discount other “thru-hikers” who might have skipped even the shortest section of the trail.
Sand bagger: A trail that appears easy or very enjoyable but is actually very difficult or brutal. Or someone who implies a trail is easier than it actually is.
SAR: "Search and Rescue" - hopefully you won't need to know that one.
Scrambling: Using your hands and feet to climb steep/rocky/loose sections of trail.
Scree: Small, loose stones covering a slope, often found in the alpine below summits. "Talus" is similar, but the rocks are generally larger.
Scroggin: A mix of nuts, dried fruit, and chocolate all mixed together. Also known as "Trail Mix" or "GORP".
Slackpacking: Lazy hiking - getting your gear transported for you.
Summit fever: An obsession with standing on top of mountains.
Sweep: The person at the back of the group who makes sure everyone makes it safely to their destination.
Switchbacks: Whether you love them or hate them, these winding trails help hikers gradually climb steep slopes instead of going straight up, and it helps keep the trail intact by preventing erosion.
Thru-Hike: Reserved for trails that take weeks/months to complete in one go - they're often the entire length of a country/state/island.
Trail Angel: A non-hiker who provides benevolent assistance to hikers, often in the form of "trail magic" (food, shelter, or a ride).
Trailhead: The access point for a given trail, usually where one parks to start or finish their hike.
Tramily: Trail family - made from people you meet when hiking. It's amazing how quickly strangers can become your best friends.
Tramping: New Zealand slang for hiking/backpacking.
Treeline: The elevation point where trees just can't grow. It separates the forest from the alpine and can vary depending on where you are in the world.
Topo: Topographical map.
Type 2 Fun: When you're doing something tough but the satisfaction you feel when you're done makes it all worth it. Or when it sucks at the time but will make a good story afterwards.
Weekend warrior: Those who are trapped in the Mon-Fri, 9-5 office lifestyle but like to venture out on their days off.
Wetted out: When all your waterproof gear is soaked through.
Wop wops: The middle of nowhere.
Widowmaker: Trees that have the potential to fall or lose branches - do not rest under them!
Yo-yo: When a hiker completes a trail, then turns around and walks it again in the opposite direction back to their starting point.
Zero Day: A rest day during a multi-day hike. "Zero" refers to the distance travelled.