What is "Redlining"?

[WalksWithBlackflies]

I've hiked many a mile, but haven't come across this term

 

[sapblatt]

You get a hiking map, say of the WMNF and you "redline" with a marker all of the trails that you have hiked. Many try to do all of the trails in the WMNF, or a specific area of the forest. I am sure this is done all over.

 

[WalksWithBlackflies]

Ahhhh... OK. I use a highlighter.

 

[KMartman]

Ahhhh... OK. I use a highlighter.

Ha mee toooo......that way I can still "use" that map.

M

 

[spencer]

A few years ago when this question came up "redlining" was confused for a real estate term that somehow refers to getting screwed. I don't remember what it was actually, but it was amusing in the hiking context.

I thought I red somewhere the term (the hiking context) had its roots in highway maps that had major interstates shown in red.

on a almost related note, read Blue Highways by William Least-Heat Moon (that might even have been where I read what I just said). It's a very good read.

spencer

 

[dave.m]

I've heard the term used as a referance to the famous Red Line Traverse done by Alan Bard on skis in the High Sierras. The idea of the trip was to stay has high as possible while running the crest of the range. So, in that context, red lining would be a high long traverse, especially on skis. But, I've only heard it used this way by skiers.

Of course, the other usage is in referance to running a car engine at or near the point where its RPM get too high - a point on the tachonometer by a red line. In this usage, it usually means hiking, running or cycling at the limit of one's aerobic threshold. "I redlined it up the ridge" would mean I hustled as fast as possible without exploding.

 

[Pucknuts61]

I've been under the impression that red-lining is completing a trail from one end to the other in one trip.
Is this incorrect?

 

[sapblatt]

Redlining

I've been under the impression that red-lining is completing a trail from one end to the other in one trip.
Is this incorrect?

I think that is one way of doing it but I have often heard of people that are "redlining" going many miles just to get one small section of trail they had missed in the past. The section of the Franconia Ridge Trail between Little Haystack and Liberty comes to mind for this.

 

[Brownie]

Too funny, lots of great replies, how about this one:
I am an Architectural Draftsman and we "redline" hardcopy drawings for changes with red markers. Often these documents are needed to keep record of client driven changes and approval process.

But serously, the "redline" reference to maps is probably an related term to modify/change map differences of trails for next revison by mapmakers.
You need to hike the trail to know the change required.
Therefore you "redline" the change.

Now hikers simply check of the sections of trails covered with redlines or hilighters as being traveled.

Brownie

 

[arghman]

Not sure where I first heard redlining, it was pretty recent (actually I think it came up in a conversation I had w/ Double Bow).

I'm picturing some of those Indiana Jones movies where they show the airplane and a map in the background with the red line (was it red??) forming on the map to show the airplane flying from New York to London to Cairo or wherever the heck they were going.

 

[alpinista]

I've hiked many a mile, but haven't come across this term

I'm so glad you asked this question. It had me scratching my head for a very long time, until it finally dawned on me only a few months ago.

Spencer: in the real estate context, I believe it means somehow denying access to neighborhoods based on racial profiling/racism. I might be off on that.

 

[Grumpy]

Long before I ever heard the term used (or read of it, on Mohamed Ellozy’s peakbagging web site) I was redlining. That is, I used a red felt tip pen to trace (on maps) the trails and routes I’d hiked. The red color shows up nicely.

My motive (then, as now) was just to keep a record of where I’d been, and nothing more. No great drive to do all the trails in a given area, but I must confess that my redlining has provided some inspiration and incentive to try new routes, even in old haunts.

My redlined maps tell (me) interesting stories, and like my journals can be great fun to pore over at idle moments.

G.

 

[bubba]

and yet another

I'm lucky to have a good friend who is a pilot and hot-air baloon enthusiast. They, too, redline on maps the trips they take. All of the trips are in mostly straight lines -- point A to point B (the way the wind was blowing).

[for the record, as a sport, balooning is a bit boring once you are aloft. Plenty of work when you're setting up and packing away. A healthy investment, and a team endeavor. Like many in our hiking world... I love winter balooning! Views from high, but not the top!)

 

[Warren]

I always took it for peakbagging trails in a region or area. You know, systematically walking every part of every trail in the High peaks (or wherever).

If redlining is just noting where you've been, I've done that.

 

[Jay H]

My understanding is similar to sapblatt, et al, that "redlining" is hiking every single inch of a trail as listed on a trailmap in a certain region.

Kind of like "peakbagging" but we're talking hiking on every established trail (and perhaps unmarked trails, but not bushwacks of course) in a certain geographical region. So instead of the summits, we're talking hiking each trail.

Jay

 

[Sugarloafer]

Spencer: in the real estate context, I believe it means somehow denying access to neighborhoods based on racial profiling/racism. I might be off on that.

Yeah...you got it. Specifically, its a technique where access has been denied by banks not making mortgage loans in certain areas. BTW, its now illegal for banks to do this.

 

[spencer]

Spencer: in the real estate context, I believe it means somehow denying access to neighborhoods based on racial profiling/racism. I might be off on that.

Oh, well that's clearly not amusing. Thanks for setting me straight. I thought I remembered it had something to do with a financial scheme.

thanks,
spencer

 

[Gris]

Actually, in the hiking context, "red-lining" refers to an insidious addiction that is a form of "list-aholism" closely related to "peak-bag-amania." If you find yourself falling prey to it, don't worry, you have found your way to the right place. There are support group meetings organized through ths site known as "Gatherings."

ps - There is no known cure. Just ask SK...

 

[SherpaKroto]

My motivation for red-lining is that I rarely find a trail that I don't like. So, for me, it's just another excuse to go someplace new. I like to explore new places, and this is just a way to keep track of where I've never been. This does not mean that I don't revisit places I love (I'm climbing Mt Adams for the 3rd time this year on 9/11, and will head back to BSP fo the 4th time this year over Labor Day weekend). Red-lining provides me with 2 things: 1) I know where I've been, 2) I know where I still want to go Some people collect stamps, I like to collect new sights, whether they be up high, low, or in between.

 

[Gris]

Oh yeah, and the first sign of an advanced case of "red-lining" is feeling a need to explain your behavior...