[at-l] at a loss but answering

[kahley7@ptd.net (kahley)]

At 08:47 PM 7/28/01 -0700, EJ Baker wrote:

First, can I say thanks for posting this......


>an answer to Weary's answer, though this is a topic I get a bit hesitant 
>about on the AT-L, I've seen this thread devolve quickly into defensive 
>posting before.  However, speaking as a woman who travels and hikes alone, 
>I make a choice to take the risks I do, knowing the risks.  Yes, the AT is 
>safer than many places but there is inherent risk.  Last year I had 
>conversations with quite a few younger women who did feel threatened at 
>one point or another by men hiking on the trail, even by THRUHIKERS.  As 
>one 20 something female said, "they all seem desperate"-

Let's hope_"they all"_ is overkill....it makes it sound like every male 
hiker is
out there looking for fodder for the Penthouse forum.  "I never thought it 
would happen
to me but ..." <g>  BUT.... this isn't the first time I've read or heard 
such comments.  I'm
on the women's list and this came up, again, a couple weeks ago.  I tried 
to get someone
to post about this here with no luck.  I tried to get the women to work up 
some guidelines
for men on the Trail but no luck there either.

Of the stories that came out on the woman's list, one stuck in my mind.  A 
group of hikers
lingering at the shelter.  Someone wanted a picture of himself and his 
buds.  At the last minute,
he reaches out, puts his arm around a young female hiker, who was talking 
to her friends, and
pulls her into the picture.  The "puller" and the "pullee"  weren't 
friends, just happened to be hiking
the same pace and shared a shelter or two.  In fact the woman considered 
his constant quips
and attention a bother.

It wasn't like he asked everyone present to assemble for the pic.....he 
just grabbed her and pulled
her to his side.  So he ends up with a picture of himself with his arm 
around a pretty young
woman in a tank top and shorts?  Maybe I'm alllll wrong here, but this 
smacks of a trophy
shot in my book.  Am I over reacting?

 > Men who treat women as prey .....

reminds me of an occasion in '99 (i think).  I was listening as a group of 
three young
hikers talked about a women who was ahead of them on the Trail.  She was 
the "best
looking_thing_out here this season".  The argued about who would catch her 
first.  They
joked about the two hikers in there group who were still recovering from a 
night at the Doyle
and how "hey.....ya snooze, ya loose".  The joked that if they didn't catch 
her soon, they'd
have to yellow blaze to "get some of that".  Those of you who know me, know 
how well
I reacted to that situation.

 > to give the male hikers on the trail credit, most of them felt extremely 
uncomfortable
 > with these guys as well, and embarrassed by them--and made this clear to 
me and
 > other female hikers. However, they didn't make it clear to the guys 
because that would
 > be interfering with their hikes.

S'cuse me if I say this is a load of crap....  Somebody .....I dare any man 
on this list
to try and make this case to me.....  I can't believe that HYOH has 
anything to do with this.
This is where you guys can help.  When you see some guy acting like an ass, 
tell him!
If there is such a thing as the Trail Community, then uphold the community 
standards.
Step up and tell people who are slinking off to try and watch a woman wash 
up or
finagling to "cop a feel" in the shelter.  Or are just unceasing in the 
double entendres.
If you would take the effort to explain LNT qhy qouldn't you take the same 
time to let
an ass know you are not impressed... and he outta knock it off.

I gotta add something for the women.  Let's get real ladies.  Unlined nylon
shorts and sports bras on a sweaty day?  OK so maybe it's not fair, but 
...really.....
This may get me kicked off the woman's list but i'm a big proponent of 
practicality.
If a man wears a ton of expensive jewelry in the wrong part of town, he is 
uping his
chances of inviting unwanted attention.  It's not fair but it's true.
Same goes for women on the Trail.  Fine and dandy if you want to stand up for
your right to dress as you wish to...but.......  If a woman were to daily 
hike nude,
even many women would agree that she was foolish and maybe even asking for 
it.
Can you then see that clingy nylon and mesh is also asking for it to a 
degree? It
may not be fair but it is...none the less, making yourself a magnet for
the jerks of the world.

Do you want to be the best looking thing out there this season?  Are you 
looking
to be penthouse fantasy fodder?

Please, please..no offense to anyone, but sharing a room with a man that 
you don't know
really well may be economically but would you do the same thing in any 
other situation?
We tend to view hikers as special and the Trail as this idealized 
atmosphere and it is,
to a great degree.  But just because a person puts a pack on their back
does not make them a saint.  All the rules of common sense and all 
consideration
of biology should not be cast aside unless we are willing to take the 
consequences
for the choices we make.

And let's get real....not all women are _UN_interested in hooking up.  Some 
hikers
of both sexes, do "get lucky".  The odds may be slim that the woman who has
agreed to share a room with you has something unsaid on her mind, just as odds
are I won't win the lottery.... still, I buy a ticket.   If you rode the 
train everyday
with a guy, talked casually and decided he seemed like a descent guy, would
you agree to share a motel room with him?  So maybe that same casual
degree of acquaintance should not be sufficient to decide to share with another
hiker.  BTW.I heard a very similar story about two guys sharing a room as
well....

Man I am way out on a limb here.....making enemies of both sexes in one post.
But we just can't skip over the real deal when it comes to safety
on the Trail.  People do get their gear stolen.  And women do get harassed.
The Trail isn't Disneyland.....hell Disneyland isn't disneyland anymore....
Societies problems are showing up on the Trail...are we surprised?  What can
we do about it?  Maybe women have to be aware of what image their apparel
and attitude and actions are creating and men need to double think their own
actions and tolerance of other's actions.  Anyone who gets mad at me for 
saying
this...well...so be it.



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