Re: [at-l] What about that Warren Doyle story?

I met AB at Trail Days, and then in PA this year (I was SoBo from NY/CT to
Pearisburg). I also met Warren in Swatara Gap and we talked. I've met him 4
times now. After my hike was finished I had a chance to visit with AB at
The Cabin in Andover and he told me the same story about being abandoned on
K. At Katahdin they entered BSP just after midnight and hiked to Katahdin
Stream in the dark, then went right on up to the peak. AB said that they
had to sneak into Baxter because Warren won't apply for the required group
entry permit. Anyway, at Thoreau Springs Warren made the comment you heard
about, then descended quickly (I think he must have summitted already). He
had a ride out of the park already arranged. The group had to get back to
their van, at Abol Bridge, and then arrange to return the van to the rental
firm, then get home, all on their own.

This year Warren had some curious "group" thing going on, a sort of pledge
between members of the group to stay together, support each other, etc. AB
says that was pretty good up to the point where Warren started to break his
own rules. Of course there was always an appropriate excuse for Warren's
straying, but no excuse was good enough for the others, including AB. This
bothered AB quite a lot until he got to the point that he realized it was
ruining his trip. At that point he decided to focus on himself and not let
Warren's antics bother him.

The other thing from this year: after PA I was kind of following in Doyle's
footsteps for a week or two, and no one was happy with their experience of
the slackpack tour. At Port Clinton the other thruhikers were upset at the
way Doyle took over the shelter space, thinking he was bossy and arrogant.
At Delaware Water Gap he's managed to alienate Pastor Nichols. Other places
don't like the fact that he's running a business on the trail.

btw, in the White's there's now a requirement that anyone leading a group
have a guide permit. I have one in order to bring AMC groups into the
Whites as a volunteer leader. A profit making enterprise has to pay a
percentage $$ for each group that uses the Whites. This is probably why
Warren wants to keep a low profile as he goes through WMNF. (I think other
National Forests may have this requirement...).

RockDancer
>Ramkitten here again (I know, I post too much):
>
>I met the "Doylies" (as some of us referred to them...but didn't mean it to
>be derogatory) a couple times along the way this year. Really friendly group
>of people, including Anonymous Badger who thru-hiked on his own and with a
>pack in '99, I believe. First time was in the Shenandoah to about the Bear's
>Den area just south of Harper's Ferry. Then we spent some time with them at
>The Cabin in Andover after they'd summitted Katahdin. ANYWAY, I don't know
>about the specific incident/s RockDancer mentioned, but I do know they camped
>"illegally" quite often. They didn't stay at shelters. (Warren wouldn't let
>them, basically.)  Warren didn't "believe" in hostels, either.  They'd meet
>up at their van at the end of each long day (they were given only three or
>four zero days over the entire length of the trail) and go somewhere to camp.
> Warren himself is not supposed to be in Baxter State Park (although he goes
>anyway) for some kind of refusal to follow regulations, but I can't comment
>on specifics. I'm sure a number of people on this list know way more than I
>do. All I know is...at the risk of bad-mouthing...but, from first-hand
>experience talking to those who were part of Warren's "Expedition 2000", that
>he did a good job of alienating the group from him and went so far as to
>abandon them on Katahdin after walking up to the group at the summit and
>saying, "You may have been the fastest group I've had, but you're also the
>stupidest. You haven't learned anything."  Nice.
>
>Ram
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Arthur D. Gaudet         	"Is walking down called hiking, too?"

(RockDancer)  	                 -heard at the top of Mt Washington, NH


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