Hiking Terminology 101

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

Anyone who has taken up a hobby on more than a semi-regular basis knows that with each hobby or endeavor, there are typically certain words that develop known only to the community devoted to that hobby. Hiking is no different, and if you want to become a truly avid hiker, you’re going to have to speak the language. Don’t worry; this isn’t like learning Spanish. It simply means picking up some basic hiking terms, some of which are listed here.

• Day Packs: Day packs are like smaller versions of backpacks that you’ll use for a common hiking jaunt, packing only what you need for a day’s worth. Backpacks are more suitable for more long-distance hikes and for the different activity of backpacking.
• “From the Skin Out” or FSO Weight: As the title suggests, “from the skin out” refers to everything you’re carrying with you that you weren’t born with. In other words, FSO weight includes everything you’re carrying, from your sunglasses and clothes to your backpack and hiking stick.
• Packweight: Different from “From the skin out” weight, the packweight refers to the actual backpack you’re carrying itself. Don’t include food and water in this weight: simply refer to the actual weight of your backpack.
• Pronation/supination: Both of these refer to the angle at which your foot hits the ground. Pronation refers to rotating your foot inward; supination refers to rotating your foot outward. These are also popular terms with runners, who need to make sure that their form is ideal for the pounding that their feet will take. As you can imagine, this is also important for hikers.
• Guiding stars: Guiding starts are ways that help you find your direction at night; they’re different in the northern and southern hemispheres. If you’re in the northern hemisphere, you’ll look for the North Star; if you’re in the southern hemisphere, try to find the Southern Cross.
• Cairn: A formation of rocks or simply a pile of rocks that helps indicate the direction of the trail. Needless to say, keeping on your trail is of vital importance to a hiker that doesn’t want to get lost.

These terms simply work as some “basic” hiking terminology: if you want to learn more, simply remain exposed to the hiking community and you’ll pick up more advanced terms. Don’t be embarrassed to ask another hiker what a term might refer to; after all, we all had to learn them at some point or another.