Editing Appalachian Trail (section)

===Trail completion===
Trail hikers who attempt to complete the entire trail in a single season are called "[[thru-hiker]]s"; those who traverse the trail during a series of separate trips are known as "section-hikers". Rugged terrain, weather extremes, illness, injury, and the time and effort required make thru-hiking difficult to accomplish. As of 2017, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy estimated that 3,839 hikers set out from Springer Mountain, northbound, 497 from Mount Katahdin, southbound, and reported 1,186 completions of hiking the entire trail, which includes those by both section and through hikers.<ref name="2000milers"/>

Most thru-hikers walk northward from Georgia to Maine, and generally start out in early spring and follow the warm weather as it moves north.<ref name="OFAQ" /> These "north-bounders" are also called NOBO (NOrthBOund) or GAME (Georgia(GA)-to-Maine(ME)), while those heading in the opposite direction are termed "south-bounders" (also SOBO or MEGA).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=8115|title=Trail Terms and Slang|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100718070153/http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=8115|archive-date=July 18, 2010 |url-status=live|access-date=August 29, 2010}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=May 2019}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.n2backpacking.com/long_trails/appalachian_trail/at_terms.htm|title=APPALACHIAN TRAIL – TERMS, DEFINITIONS AND LINGO|access-date=August 29, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101128043205/http://n2backpacking.com/long_trails/appalachian_trail/at_terms.htm|archive-date=November 28, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

A thru-hike generally requires five to seven months, although some have done it in three months, and several trail runners have completed the trail in less time. [[Trail running|Trail runners]] typically tackle the AT with automobile support teams, without backpacks, and without camping in the woods.

Thru-hikers are classified into many informal groups. "Purists" are hikers who stick to the official AT trail, follow the white blazes, except for side trips to shelters and camp sites. "Blue Blazers" cut miles from the full route by taking side trails marked by blue blazes. The generally pejorative name "Yellow Blazers", a reference to yellow road stripes, is given to those who hitchhike to move either down or up the trail.

Part of hiker subculture includes making colorful entries in logbooks at trail shelters, signed using [[pseudonym]]s called "trail names".<ref name="Applebome" />

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy gives the name "2000 Miler" to anyone who completes the entire trail. The ATC's recognition policy for "2000 Milers" gives equal recognition to thru-hikers and section-hikers, operates on the honor system, and recognizes blue-blazed trails or officially required roadwalks as substitutes for the official, white-blazed route during an emergency such as a flood, forest fire, or impending storm on an exposed, high-elevation stretch.<ref>[http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.jkLXJ8MQKtH/b.848829/k.73F0/What_Happens_When_I_Finish.htm "What Happens When I Finish?"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060515231317/http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.jkLXJ8MQKtH/b.848829/k.73F0/What_Happens_When_I_Finish.htm |date=May 15, 2006 }} AppalachianTrail.org (accessed September 11, 2006)</ref> As of 2018, more than 19,000 people had reported completing the entire trail. The northbound completion rate of hiking the trail in twelve months or fewer varied from 19% to 27% from 2011 to 2018. The southbound completion rate varied between 27% and 30% during the same period.<ref name="2000milers"/>

The Appalachian Trail, the [[Continental Divide Trail]], and the [[Pacific Crest Trail]] form what is known as the [[Triple Crown of Hiking|Triple Crown]] of long-distance hiking in the United States.<ref name="internationalat.org" /><ref name="Adams" /> In 2001, [[Brian Robinson (hiker)|Brian Robinson]] became the first one to complete all three trails in a year.<ref name=ballard>Ballard, Chris (November 12, 2001), "Historic Feet".'' Sports Illustrated''. '''95''' (19):A27</ref> In 2018, Heather Anderson (trail name "Anish") became the first woman to complete the three Triple Crown trails in a calendar year.<ref name="Mitka">{{cite web |last1=Mitka |first1=Nate |title=Heather 'Anish' Anderson Finishes Triple Crown Hiking in Calendar Year |url=https://gearjunkie.com/heather-anish-anderson-triple-crown-speed-record |website=GearJunkie |access-date=May 13, 2019 |date=November 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205145842/https://gearjunkie.com/heather-anish-anderson-triple-crown-speed-record|archive-date=December 5, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>