I've read some trail journals of AT through hikes (and others), and I've viewed a smattering of video journals as well. One common occurrence is that hikers don't stay exclusively on the trail. They'll walk or hitch to nearby towns for resupply. Often, they'll even stay in a hotel for the night to recuperate, do laundry, charge their phone, write blogs, etc.

So it occurred to me, if they can segment up their hike like this and still call it a through hike, what's to prevent them from staying a bit longer in town and still call it a through hike. What if they stayed a week? What if they got a temporary job and went back in a month? Next season? What if they stayed in several towns before getting back to the trail?

Here's what I'm really getting at: if someone were to hike the entire AT, or any other long trail, one section at a time, but did each section in order, say one weekend or week at a time, even if they spread it out over ten years or twenty, could they still call it a through hike?
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The journey is more important than the destination.