Basic site usage

If you want to search for a specific trail name, first name, or last name in the entire archive, simply enter the name in the search field and hit Enter, or press the search button (with the magnifying glass icon).

You can also search for a combination of trail names, first names, or last names by entering a combination in the search field.

The date-selection drop-down button allows you to refine the search by date(s). You may select either a single year, a date range, or a single day. You can also add a year or a year range to the search bar by entering something like "1992" or "1992-1993" along with the name(s) you are searching for.

Non-intuitive items

The search field is not case sensitive. This means if you enter “super AT thru hiker”, all character-case configurations of this trail name in the database will match. For example, the following would match your query:

Super AT Thru Hiker
super at thru hiker
SUPER AT THRU HIKER

(And so on.)

You do not have to enter anything in the search field - you can do a search that is only made up of a date selection.

Advanced features

If you only have a partial name or are unsure of a spelling, you can use an asterisk (*) as a placeholder.

Using the asterisk (*) character as a wildcard

The * character can be placed at the end of a word prefix to match anything that comes after.

Examples:

The only thing you can remember is that the hiker's trail name was Might or Mighty “something”. It might have been Might Hiker, Mighty Man, Mighty Tired Walking. You just don't remember.

If you enter might* in the search field, all hikers in the database that have a name beginning with “might” will match your query.

Using the plus (+) character to indicate that a name or word is required

The + character placed at the beginning of a word means that the search will only match hikers who's names contain that word. Otherwise it might match hikers based on other words in your search.

Examples:

You know that the word "feet" was in the hiker's trail name, but you're not sure if it was "Super Feet" or "Tired Feet".

If you enter super tired +feet in the search field, all hikers in the database that have "feet" somewhere in their name will match, and hikers with "super" or tired" will appear higher in the list.

Using the minus (-) character to indicate that a name or word should be excluded

The - character placed at the beginning of a word means that the search will only match hikers who's names do not contain that word. For example, if you are searching for someone named "John" or "Jon", you could enter jo* -josh -joe to search for names that start with "jo" but are not "josh" or "joe".

Final thoughts

Using asterisk, plus, or minus, can be tricky and can result in some unexpected matches. If you don't find what you want the first time, just alter your query and try again!