Glossary of Hiking Terms and Backpacking Lingo
Use the bookmarks below to navigate through this glossary of common backpacking and hiking terminology. Curious about a term you don’t see? Please reach out and let me know!
A | B | C | D | F | G | H | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | V | W | Y
A – hiking terms that begin with A
Access trail: A minor trail, usually fairly short, that connects a trailhead to a major trail.
Articulated knees: Hiking pants that are cut/designed in such a way as to allow free range of motion throughout the knees, no matter what sort of crazy positions you find yourself getting into.
AT: The Appalachian Trail, a 2,180-mile that winds from Georgia to Maine. see also: Triple Crown
Attic: see gear attic
B – hiking terms that begin with B
Backcountry: Wilderness area away from towns or cities, with no permanent roads and few, if any, maintained buildings.
Backpacking: Going on an overnight or multi-night hiking trip whilst carrying all your belongings in a backpack. see also: car camping
Bear-bag: The act of hanging a bag of food from a tree, pole or cable, in such a way that a bear cannot reach it.
Bear barrel: see bearproof canister
Bear box: An alternative term for a bearproof locker
Bear can: see bearproof canister
Bear mace: An alternative term for bear spray.
Bear spray: A giant, super-powered can of pepper spray that’s used as a non-lethal deterrent for bears. You do not spray the bear spray on the ground or on yourself to keep bears away; you spray it in a cloud at the bear, hoping to get it in the bear’s mucous membranes. Think Mace.
Bearproof canister: A large, sturdy canister made of hard plastic, specifically designed to be too large and smooth for a bear to carry off, and impossible to open without opposable thumbs. In some cases you need a special tool to open these canisters.
Bearproof locker: A sturdy metal locker seen at some backcountry and car-accessible campgrounds, designed to protect your food from bears. To open a bearproof locker, you insert your finger or hand into a slot and operate a simple mechanism inside — something bears don’t have the dexterity to do.
Beaver fever: Another name for giardiasis, an intestinal infection caused by a microscopic parasite called giardia. Although giardiasis is often associated with slow-moving or stagnant water sources (thus the reference to beaver ponds) it can be present in even the most pristine-appearing water. see also: giardia, giardiasis
Bivouac/Bivy/Bivvy: Spending a night out with limited gear and no tent. This term often, but not always, refers to an unplanned night out.
Blaze/Blazing: Blazes are placards, incised marks or even flags that are placed to mark a trail. In addition to its more commonly used, figurative meaning (leading/pioneering a way), “blazing a trail” can also mean the literal act of placing blazes.
Blowdown: A tree that has fallen across the trail.
Breathability: How well a textile allows sweat, condensation, and any other moisture from your body to escape. If you wear clothing made of waterproof but non-breathable fabric, the rain might not get through to you — but you could still end up soaked in your own sweat.
Bushwhacking: Crawling, wading, or otherwise struggling through dense, tall, off-trail vegetation.
C – hiking terms that begin with C
Cairn: A man-made pile of stones, often used to mark significant turn-offs or to signal waypoints along an otherwise hard-to-see trail.
Car camping: Pitching a tent and sleeping in a campground that can be accessed by car. see also: backpacking
Cat hole: A small hole dug to dispose of human waste.
CDT: The Continental Divide Trail, a 3,100-mile trail that follows the Rocky Mountains from Mexico to Canada.
Crotch gusset: This is an extra panel or fabric allowance in the crotch of a pair of pants. The gusset allows free range of motion, allowing you to get into — and out of — crazy hiking/scrambling positions without splitting your pants.
Cryptosporidium: Also called “Crypto.” This is tiny, one-celled parasite that may be present in outdoor water sources and causes a range of unpleasant symptoms including fever, watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, and vomiting. Read more about cryptosporidium from the Mayo Clinic
Heads up! Crypto and other parasites can be present even if the water source appears pristine. see also: giardia
D – hiking terms that begin with D
Day hike: A hike that starts and finishes on the same day. A day hike can be 2 miles long or 20; the important thing is that you’re not planning to stay overnight.
Deadfall: A cluster of dead and fallen trees. A deadfall is a horrible obstacle to climb over/under/around.
Double-wall tent: A tent with two separate fabric layers to it: an inner layer called the tent body, and an outer layer called the rainfly.
DWR: Durable Water-Repellent. A coating that is applied to textiles as a means of waterproofing.
F – hiking terms that begin with F
Freestanding tent: A tent that will stand upright on its own once all the poles are inserted, without being staked out. With that said, you should still be prepared to stake out a freestanding tent to keep it from blowing away or flapping in the wind.
Frontcountry: The wild, natural area perched within sight, and easy access off, permanent roads or maintained buildings. see also: backcountry, slackcountry
G – hiking terms that begin with G
Gear attic: Also called an attic, this is a thin sheet of nylon or mesh that attaches inside your tent, near the top, creating a high “shelf” for storing extra gear. A gear attic can be useful for drying wet pieces of clothing, as long as your tent is well-ventilated and the clothing isn’t wet enough to drip on you.
Heads up: Not all tents have the required attachment points for installing a great attic. If the tent manufacturer doesn’t sell an attic as an add-on, your tent probably can’t be used with an attic.
Giardia: A microscopic parasite, present in some outdoor water sources, that causes an intestinal infection called giardiasis. Symptoms may include watery and foul-smelling diarrhea, fatigue, stomach cramps and bloating, weight loss, and the notorious “sulfur farts.” Read more about giardia from the Mayo Clinic
Please be aware that although giardiasis is associated with poor sanitary conditions and stagnant, standing water, it can be present even if a water supply appears pristine. see also: beaver fever
Giardiasis: The infection caused by giardia; but most people simply say “giardia” in reference to both the parasite and the infection.
GORP: Good Old Raisins and Peanuts. A general term used for trail mix or any other of hiking-friendly snack food of mixed ingredients that you’d eat by the handful.
Gusseted crotch: see crotch gusset
H – hiking terms that begin with H
Hardshell: Weatherproof outerwear that offers protection from the elements, but not insulation. You typically need to pair a hardshell jacket or pants with other insulating material.
Heel-stepping: see plunge-stepping
Hiking poles: see trekking poles
Hill-walking: Another term for hiking.
L – hiking terms that begin with L
Loop hike: A hike that starts and ends in the same place, but doesn’t involve retreading the same ground on the way back. If a GPS track of your hike looks like a circle, lollipop, or any other loopy-looking object, and you only hiked one way going around the loopy part, you’ve done a loop hike. see also: out-and-back hike, thru hike
LNT: Leave No Trace, a set of general ethics that help reduce human impact on the wilderness, leaving it in the same shape you found it so that others can enjoy it, too. Read more about Leave No Trace from the Center for Outdoor Ethics
M – hiking terms that begin with M
Mountain walking: Another word for hiking.
N – hiking terms that begin with N
Non-freestanding tent: Non-freestanding tents must be tensioned with one or more guy lines in order to stay upright, even after you’ve inserted all the poles.
O – hiking terms that begin with O
Out-and-back hike: Hiking outbound on a trail, then turning around and retracing your steps as you return to the trailhead. see also: loop hike, thru hike
Outer tent: The outer, waterproof portion of a double-wall tent. see also: double-wall tent, rainfly
P – hiking terms that begin with P
PCT: The Pacific Crest Trail, a 2,650-mile trail that passes through California, Oregon, and Washington on its way from Mexico to Canada.
Peakbagging: A compulsive habit of gearing your hikes to reach as many new (literal) summits/peaks as possible. see also: tick list
Pit zips: Ventilation zippers hidden in the armpit area of a jacket, usually a hard-shell jacket. You unzip them to keep from getting sweaty as you’re moving, then zip them back up to stay warm when you’re not moving (or to keep dry when there is precipitation).
Plunge-stepping: An efficient means of hiking straight down a slope, taking normal-sized or slightly longer-than-usual steps and digging your heels in with each footfall. This provides excellent purchase in reasonably soft snow. But if the snow is too hard for your heels to bite into with each step, plunge-stepping can be a great way to find yourself falling out of control.
Postholing: Sinking into the snow past your knees with every step, so that your leg resembles the fencepost in a posthole of its own making. This is a slow, arduous means of travel and can sometimes be avoided by traveling in the early mornings, when snow is more likely to support your weight.
R – hiking terms that begin with R
Rainsheet: see rainfly
Rainfly or rain fly: The waterproof fabric layer that covers the outside of a double-wall tent. Tarps and a few high-performance, minimalist tent designs (called single-wall tents) will have only one layer, which acts as both the tent body and the rainfly.
S – hiking terms that begin with S
Scat: A genteel word for poop, usually animal poop.
Scramble: Traveling on a surface that isn’t steep enough to require a rope, but is steep or uneven enough that you must use both hands and feet to make progress. Often used in reference to boulder fields or other rocky terrain.
Scree: Giant gravel; loose, weathered pieces of rock that shift and roll unpredictably beneath you. Pieces of scree are generally around fist-size, although they can be larger and smaller. see also: talus
Seam taping: Special reinforcing at the seams of gear, especially tents, that makes the seams fully waterproof. Without seam taping, seams are very likely to leak. Beware: Some tents are seam-taped in the factory; some are not.
Section hiking: If you like to split your long-distance trails into shorter sections and then finish the trail one section at a time, you’re a section hiker. Think of this like a hiking installment plan. This term is often applied to long-distance trails such as the Pacific Crest Trail or the Appalachian Trail.
Sidehilling: Staying at roughly the same elevation as you traverse from one side of a slope to another, rather than going uphill or downhill.
Silnylon: Silicone-impregnated nylon, creating a lightweight and waterproof fabric. However, silnylon products tend to leak at the seams if not seam-taped, and depending on the strength of the silnylon used they can be quite delicate.
Single-wall tent: A tent that has only one layer, which serves as both rainfly and tent body. Very cheap tents and very high-end, high-performance tents may be built this way. Single-wall tents tend to have more issues with condensation than double-wall tents, and moisture from the outside can seep inside if you touch the tent wall when it’s wet.
Slackcountry: A fairly amorphous term that refers to the confluence of the frontcountry’s ease of access with backcountry’s inherent perils.
Slackpacking: Taking a multi-day hiking trip without the bother of sleeping outside or carrying overnight gear. Slackpackers typically stay in hotels or hostels instead of sleeping on the ground. They might even drive home to sleep, then drive back the next day to continue hiking.
Social trail: An informal trail that has been trampled into existence by the passage of many feet, as opposed to a trail that was deliberately laid out and constructed by brute labor.
Softshell: A type of outer layer that offers a mix of insulation with water-resistant and wind-resistant capabilities. Essentially, you’re sacrificing some of the weatherproofing of a hardshell jacket or pants for more insulation and better breathability.
T – hiking terms that start with T
Talus: Extra-large giant gravel (bigger than scree). If it’s broken-up pieces of rock that are smaller than boulders but large enough that they don’t shift beneath you as easily as scree does, then you’re dealing with talus.
Tarps: Technically, yes, this could refer to the blue thing in your yard that flaps noisily in the wind. But when hikers and backpackers talk about tarps, they’re usually referring to lightweight, minimalist shelters made of one waterproof layer.
The tarp is not freestanding, so it must be tensioned from multiple points. Some tarp set-ups require one or more poles to support the middle of the tarp, creating enough space for you to sit/lie within the shelter.
Ten essentials: A list of essential items you need to respond to emergencies and, if necessary, spend an unexpected night out. This concept was put forward in the iconic Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills from Mountaineers Books, and you can read more about it from Mountaineers Books or read about my take on the ten essentials as an emergency kit.
Tent body: The inner layer of a double-wall tent. Tent bodies usually feature mesh windows that provide superior breathability and allow you to see out, while also keeping bugs out. Double-wall tents also come with a rainfly to help keep the weather out.
Tent vestibule: see vestibule
Thru hiking: A hike that starts and ends in different places. If you have to set up a car shuttle, catch a bus or hitchhike to get back to your starting point, you’re dealing with a thru hike. This term is usually applied to multi-day hikes, but can be used to describe day hikes as well. see also: loop hike, out-and-back hike
Tick list: A wish list of hikes you want to do; you tick off or cross off items from the list as you achieve them. May or may not be associated with peakbagging behavior.
Traversing: This term usually invokes the idea of lateral motion across a slope or other significant land feature, especially if you’re a climber. But it can also be used to describe traveling across the entirety of something, whether that something be a scree slope, a mountain pass, or an entire mountain range.
Treeline: The approximate elevation where trees give way to shrubs and minute alpine vegetation.
Trekking: Another word for hiking. Usually has connotations of long-distance travel.
Trekking poles: Lightweight walking sticks that some hikers use for balance, extra support when going uphill or downhill, or to add an element of upper-body workout to their trek. Most trekking poles have a pointy but somewhat blunted metal tip, and many but not all are collapsible, making it easier to carry them when not in use.
V – hiking terms that start with V
Vestibule: Think of this as a foyer or porch for your tent — a sheltered area just before the actual entrance. Depending on your tent construction the vestibule can look like a little tunnel, or it can be a wide spot in the tent where the rainfly extends beyond the tent body, creating a sheltered space that is under the rainfly but still outside the tent body.
On most tents the vestibule, if present, is an integral part of the tent. Some high-end mountaineering and trekking tents have separate vestibules that can be added on or removed.
W – hiking terms that start with W
Waterproof: Keeps the water out, right? Two of the most common types of waterproofing for hiking gear are a spray-on DWR coating or a waterproof/breathable membrane (an extra layer of fabric sandwiched in between other layers). Some fabrics may also be waxed as a means of waterproofing.
Waterproof/breathable: This term applies to a textile that keeps the water out and lets your sweat or the condensation from your breath escape.
Widowmaker: A dead tree limb that can fall unexpectedly, causing injury or death. Never pitch your tent beneath a possible widowmaker.
Windchill: How cold you actually feel when you’re outside in the wind. Moving air increases the rate of heat loss from your body, and the stronger the wind is the colder you’ll get.
Y – hiking terms that begin with Y
Yo-yo: When discussing long-distance trails, a “yo-yo” refers to thru-hiking the length of the trail in one direction, then turning around and thru-hiking it again in the other direction. On long-distance trails like the AT, CDT or PCT, this endeavor is reserved strictly for the hardest of the hardcore.
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Lisa Maloney
A long-time Alaskan, Lisa has written three award-winning guidebooks including "Day Hiking Southcentral Alaska" and "50 Hikes Around Anchorage." She also served as senior editor of Alaska magazine and has written hundreds of newspaper columns and magazine articles about her adventures around the state. Learn more about her at http://maloneywrites.com.
