NoBo (northbound hiker)
Overview
NoBo, short for northbound, describes a hiker traveling from a southern starting point toward a northern terminus on a linear long-distance trail.
Key points
- Refers to direction of travel rather than speed or style.
- Common on north–south oriented trails with distinct termini.
- Has implications for timing, weather patterns, and typical hiker cohorts.
- Contrasted with SoBo (southbound) or other directional variations.
- Community usage and culture around the term vary by trail.
Details
On many long-distance trails, traffic patterns emerge around typical starting points and directions. NoBo refers specifically to hikers moving north from a generally recognized southern terminus toward a northern endpoint. The term is used in conversations, trail registers, and trip reports to quickly convey direction and approximate timing.
Choosing a northbound direction can influence the sequence of seasons encountered, how snowlines or heat waves are experienced, and which towns or landmarks appear early or late in the journey. On some routes, northbound travel aligns with prevailing social patterns, resulting in larger groups of hikers starting around similar dates.
The term does not prescribe any particular pace, gear style, or grouping. It simply identifies direction, which in turn can help others understand the general arc of a hiker’s trip. In many trail communities, directional labels like NoBo and SoBo are part of everyday shorthand when discussing experiences and planning.
Related topics
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Illustrative hiking footage
The following external videos offer general visual context for typical hiking environments. They are not official route recommendations, safety instructions, or planning tools.