Yes, thru-hiking is a genre of backpacking. So is there a difference? Well, yes, there are some obvious differences — the time you're on the trail, how much stuff you can take. But we take issue with a fellow podcaster who compared thru-hiking to a marathon and backpacking — in this case, of the 1-, 2-, 3-night variety — to a "fun run." Those aren't exactly fightin' words, but they do require a response, a clarification of sorts, which we give in brief in today's podcast.
Also, in our news segment we mention the closure of the Bald River Falls Trail in the Tellico River District of Tennessee's Cherokee National Forest for repairs. For more on the closure go here, for more on the trail itself, go here.
If you're interested in any of the GetHiking! and GetBackpacking! trips we mention, you can learn more about them by visiting GetGoingNC.com and clicking on Explore with Us!