[at-l] Trail Etiquette

[freighttrain7@home.com (Abe)]

I agree this bunch was very inconsiderate to others and should have pitched
away from the shelters at the very least.

But... both nobo's and sobo's do this, as well as weekend warriors,  and
section hikers...(did i leave anyone out?)  Adding to the problem... more
and more shelters are being built closer to roads...= more trash, more
partyers, more loud drunks etc.
You ever notice in the 100 mile wilderness in Maine... the closer you get to
the center the less trash and carvings at the shelters?? Ive found that
weekenders like to stay up the latest.... most others are too tired!   its a
given that at any shelter people may show up late.. hey it is a public
shelter with no open or closed hours..... and no matter how quiet people try
to be, every sound any movemont causes is amplified in a quiet shelter at
night.    ive seen people hit the hay at 5pm with the sun shinning till 8 or
9  and have seen them get mad at any sound they hear...and seen those same
people wake at 4am, waking everyone because they want to hit the trail befor
first light, once two or more are up in the AM  everyone is up.
 I've seen people pound on the floor of shelters in the middle of the
night... waking everyone in there up...because one person was snoring and
they were bothered by it!!!  if you are bothered by sounds or other people
dont expect to sleep in a shelter and not be disturbed...

  not carrying any kind of shelter?  its your own darn fault then... no-one
should expect to be catered to because they dont want to carry the weight of
a shelter... this goes for full shelters in the rain too IMO   ...... there
is only room for one more to a point... eventually it will fill ... then
what?...  everyone only has room to then sit up for the night ?    because
the last in didnt want to carry the weight of a shelter?

for these reasons and a few more ... I avoid staying in shelters at all
cost....    besides they are dirty , mouse & dropping infested , dank,
dingy, smelly, insect infested dumps...    ok there are a few nice new ones
along the trail.. but they are few and far between :)

if any of these things bother you,,,, you should not stay at a shelter...
for your own piece of mind as well as for others...   just pitch your tent
or tarp  either in the area or at a site up or down the trail .... its more
comfortable and provides some privacy BTW... the ground is softer than the
wooden floor.
YMMV
FreightTrain

----- Original Message -----
From: "Martin Fors" <revmrf@kingcon.com>
To: <at-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, January 21, 2002 3:50 PM
Subject: [at-l] Trail Etiquette


> Hi,
>
> I thought I'd add a thread about trail experiences regarding good and bad
> etiquette.   A not so nice experience for me had to do with some sobo's
> last year.  These particular sobo's liked to hike into the night and show
> up at the shelter long after everyone was in their bags.  They rummaged
> around, talked loudly, cooked their food and, at about 11 or later,
> reluctantly decided it was time to turn in [after they were spoken to.]  I
> was up at about 5:30 the next morning and I heard from some others  [who
> were also sob's] that this group of three habitually did this and had made
> themselves unpopular.  He said that they usually got up b/w 8 and 9 and
> really could care less what others thought or expected.
>
> I should've written down their trail names but didn't.
>
> "...the music of the songs I love is found in the open air."
> From a Danish children's song.
>
> Martin R. Fors [marty aka rusty]
>
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