[at-l] attitudes (was yogi-ing)

In a message dated 12/9/00 11:54:22 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
orangebug74@yahoo.com writes:

<< I was a clueless section hiker, and (far worse) an a*****e. >>

I certainly can't comment on an encounter I didn't witness...so I won't. I 
do, however, have some thoughts to throw out there:

1. It seems to be socially unacceptable to feel openly good or proud of what 
we each are doing. We (meaning anyone doing anything) are "snobs" or arrogant 
if we do express such things. A positive attitude goes a long way to 
completing a thru-hike, and sometimes many thru-hikers openly express that 
positive attitude...perhaps even sometimes to convince themselves they can do 
it and keep going. God forbid anyone hear someone exclaim, "I'm hiking all 
the way to Maine!" (or vice versa).  It would be much more acceptable to 
others if we kept a very low profile and kept quiet about what we were 
doing...unless ASKED, of course. Geesh.

2. We can't all be part of every group. If one can't or doesn't want to 
thru-hike, then that's FINE..of course! That doesn't mean what he/she is 
doing is any less legit or great than someone who does want to hike all that 
way and can take the time to do so. But I would go so far as to say that SOME 
people section-hiking or out for a day or two who come across thru-hikers may 
feel they somehow aren't included...aren't part of the "club". That's 
natural. You could point to any group of people involved in the same 
undertaking, sport, hobby, whatever and see them as an entity. People bond 
with others doing the same stuff.  Thru-hiking has challenges unique to being 
on the trail day in and day out for so many miles over so much time through 
whatever the trail and the weather and circumstance throws at you. That, 
naturally, brings thru-hikers together. Perhaps, if one is not a thru-hiker 
and has a bit of insecurity (as we all do to some degree), they may have a 
need to be embraced by those who are thru-hiking, spoken to as if they're out 
doing the same thing. We're all out hiking and backpacking, right? Well...not 
exactly (IMO).
 
3. There are all kinds of people who thru-hike. That's one thing I found so 
neat about it. There are shy people, very outgoing people, blunt people, 
quiet people, abrasive people, upbeat people, serious people. (I know..you're 
probably thinking, "Duh!") Just because you come across someone who may not 
be to your personal liking doesn't mean they're thinking, "that's a clueless 
section hiker". Never heard such an attitude expressed by any thru-hikers 
I've known.  Honestly!  One really nice thing that I felt and witnessed among 
thru-hikers this year during my hike was that it DIDN'T really matter if you 
were shy, very outgoing, blunt, quiet, abrasive, a joker, serious or whatnot. 
Everyone was accepted, everyone co-mingled and personality "quirks", if you 
will, weren't really a big deal. Perhaps that's one really nice quality about 
the thru-hiker "community" while on the trail, at least, that, PERHAPS, isn't 
as prevalent among other groupings/types of hikers. Just a thought. Of 
course, some people didn't LIKE other people so much, but, hey, that's 
normal. Even still, people seemed to be able to rise above that and interact 
well. 

4. I witnessed MANY occasions where people out for a section, a few days, a 
weekend, etc were VERY much a part of the social interaction with 
thru-hikers, whether it was at a shelter/campsite or while stopped for a 
break. Those people out for extended sections (a couple weeks or so, 
maybe..or longer) were often well-known among thru-hikers in the area and, 
for the time they were out there, very much a part of the "community". 
Overall, I believe that's how it is. 

I know...I should probably just let this stuff go, but it's one topic that 
always gets me goin.

Ramkitten
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To:            Ramkitten@aol.com, at-l@backcountry.net