Not all hikes are created equal. Here is a short list of variations on the traditional backpacking hike.

For some, there is only one way.

Backpack: to lug a pack (usually 15-40 pounds; my pack is between 20-25 depending on food, John’s is 25-30) on your back up and down the trail with food, gear, and supplies so you can tent or stay in a trail shelter. Maybe you make the occasional excursion into a trail town for a shower, food, and a hostel or hotel.

We backpack most of the time. John’s last post shows backpacking in blue and special days in red. Through the first 500 miles, we backpacked 419 miles and filled 81 miles with other “hiking” variations.

For the non-purist, the AT offers a lot of other options. I’m only going to detail the two we’ve used.

Slackpack: to have your pack transported down trail and walk blissfully light and free. Imagine yourself 20-30 pounds lighter. The slackpack is especially useful when injured, recovering from illness, catching up with trail friends, and on rainy days.

Our first foray into slacking was when John was injured out of Nantahala. Then for no good reason but to kick up some higher mileage days out of Hot Springs. (We did our first 20+ day slackpacking.) And then out of Damascus to avoid too many rainy days in a row.

Slackpacking requires some money and coordination, so we try to use it only occasionally. When the mouse at Carter Shelter chewed a hole into our original dry bag, we replaced it with a Sea to Summit daypack that multitasks as one of our food bags. When we slack, we take turns with the pack.

Aquablaze: to use a water source to progress on the trail.

Outside of Hampton, TN, we rented kayaks and paddled across Lake Watauga. Instead of walking around the lake, we paddled 8 miles across the lake bypassing 20 miles on the trail. It gave our legs and feet a much-needed break and tested the strength (weakness?) of our atrophying arms. We swam and floated along in between paddles; it felt like a true summer day on the lake.

This option isn’t available often. There is another spot in the Shenandoah National Park where you can follow the current of the Shenandoah River. It’s a longer stretch (50 miles) and takes 2-3 days. Undecided yet if we will do it!

We are not too proud to say we slackpack or aquablaze. One goal on our trip is to enjoy our days and moments as much as possible. Some days leaving our packs behind has allowed us to achieve just that.