To all who are part of the long distance hiking community, the term “Hiker Trash” is affectionately used to describe a hiker or group of hikers who have sunk down to a lower standard of living. For example, if one comes upon a group of hikers sprawled out under the shade of a tree by a roadside store filling their bellies with whoopee pies and ice cream, taking advantage of a real toilet and seeking out potable water, you may turn and say to your friend, “Hey man, look at that Hiker Trash over there.” A hiker can gain the status of Hiker Trash by exemplifying several, if not most, of the things listed below that have been compiled by me and several of my fellow Hiker Trash friends from my 2013 thru-hike.

35 Warning Signs That You Might Be Hiker Trash…



1. You choose restaurants in town based off free WiFi and electrical outlets

2. You’ve ever had to lie down for a few hours after eating a meal in town

3. “You wear $20 socks but wash them in the Dunkin Donuts bathroom” – Jean Geanie

4. You share a hot tub with several other naked strangers because no one wants to sacrifice a dry change of clothes

5. Your shirt changes colors from all the dirt, sweat and grime

6. Your shirt disintegrates and falls off your back

7. “You’ve ever hiked with a shirt on but no pants or underwear because of chaffing” – Duffle Miner

8. You wear spare clothes left in a laundry mat with out even hesitating

9. “Even after you return to regular life you don’t shower unless you EARN it” – Clever Girl

10. You count summer down pours as a shower

11. You can smell clean clothes on day hikers well before you ever see them

12. “Your shoes are ‘holier’ than your religion” – River Gaurd

13. “Crocs are your ‘nice’ shoes” – Timber

14. You have a code name for Dollar General within your hiking group (“Check out this new Pringle flavor I got at the DG, man.”)

15. “You spend more time unpacking food outside the grocery store than you spend shopping” – Jean Genie

16. You and a hiking partner make a game of racing for all the fallen pop tart crumbles while eating breakfast in the shelter (first one to mistake dirt for pop tart obviously looses)

17. “You meet someone who admits to eating out of trashcans and doesn’t seem weird” – Spider Web

18. You eat enough Sour Patch Kids to talk about them within your hiking circle like they’re drugs (“You Patchin’, bro? Let me get some!”)

19. “A pint of Ben & Jerry’s is a normal serving of ice cream” – Spider Web

20. You break your titanium spoon on Nuetella in cold weather

21. “You try to fry a Honey Bun in butter” – Duffle Miner

22. “You know the calorie content of foods off the top of your head (ex. Poptarts, 400 cal per cellophane wrapper)” – The Roosta (He was right!)

23. “You know not only the calorie content, but how much each item weighs” – Spider Web

24. “You’ve been excited to sleep in a stranger’s garage” – Timber

25. “You sleep on the shoulder of the road ten feet from a hostel in order to prove a point” – Duffle Miner

26. You have ever put down consecutive big mile days to make it to a hiker party or a hiker feed

27. “You appear to be indistinguishable from a hobo to the untrained eye EXCEPT for Silnylon and maybe some Cuben Fiber” – Yard Sale

28. “You’ve been mistaken for a homeless person by an actual homeless person and you’re too embarrassed to tell them that you’re only on vacation” – Duffle Miner

29. “You’ve been given money because some thought you were homeless” – River Gaurd

30. You think you must be in a big, fancy city when there is a Wal-Mart to shop at

31. You fit in really nicely at Wal-Mart

32. “You don’t smoke cigarettes but still carry them for their ability to be traded for anything” – The Roosta

33. “You have ever yelled ridiculous obscenities at plant life, when by yourself, alone in the woods” – Heart Rock

34. “You completely forget what an ‘inside voice’ sounds like” – Clever Girl

35. “You can relate to everything else on the list” – Spider Web

Don’t be shy. Share your Hiker Trash warning signs in the comments below.