To me, the only one who needs to white blaze a trail is someone trying to set a speed record.

For myself, I would have to come pretty close to whiteblazing. For instance, this year, many missed parts of the Appalacian Trail. It was closed due to hurricanes. I personally would not call myself a thru-hiker in this case, but I have no problem with those who do.

I'm more interested in hearing about a person's experience than knowing if they touched every white blaze. I think the last is pretty close to impossible anyway. Most everyone is probably a little pregnant this way.