[at-l] Trail Etiquette

[nealb@midlandstech.com (William Neal)]

-----Original Message-----
From: Papa Bear [mailto:papa_bear_nyc@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 30, 2002 11:31 AM
>>>
I would point out that myself and many others use Shelters primarily for
rain shelters.  I carry a tent and prefer it (softer, warmer, no bug
problem) EXCEPT when it's raining.  Yes of course imy tent is waterproof,
but I just prefer cooking, packing, unpacking, etc. under a roof.  When
using a tent after a rainy night, everything in the pack seems to go in wet.

THE TURTLE:
I stayed in shelters at times, but sometimes I'd tent.  It depended on how
clear the weather was when I hit the area. And the "crowd".  One place the
crowd was so "jolly", it wasn't a crowd.  At another it was too noisy.  And
at one shelter I got rained into the shelter even though I did not want to
shelter at that shelter.  But, on a clear day, it started pouring down and
kept pouring down.  No chance, that I'd take, to pitch a tent.  At another I
stayed in the shelter because it looked cloudy, but there was a fairly good
view of the sky from the shelter: My tent wasn't too easy to quickly throw
the fly over if it started to rain.  Besides the way I slept on the trail,
I'd probably have drown from my open mouth.  

>>>
Of course my luck is such that on every rainy night I'm at a campsite with
no shelter anyway.

THE TURTLE:
I once prayed that I'd make it to a shelter before it started raining.  Then
a nice little shower popped up.  I hurriedly pitched my tent in a nice
rainstorm.  Then I covered my pack and leaned it against a tree -- no time
to hang my food.  And then it really started coming down & I spent 2 nights
and days in my tent.

>>>
The other thing, somewhat related, is that I have tried to schedule my
section hikes so as to avoid the mass of thru-hikers.  It's not that I'm
anti-social, it's just easier without the crowds, and I like the solitude as
well.

THE TURTLE:
I turtle along, and so I usually have solitude.  And I end up a lot of times
between shelters when it comes to sheltering or tenting time.  And ST.
Bernard must have been looking out for me because I went during a peak time,
but it was not crowded at all.  Except when I came into towns and such
areas.  Unfortunately a lot of people have had the opposite luck.

So, I tend to be very open about sharing shelters and about tenting when
someone else needs the shelter.  Doesn't mean I just move because someone
tries shoving in.  I stayed in one shelter without mentioning whether I was
a thru or section hiker just because some obnoxious male progeny of a female
canine tried shoving in because they had "the right".  I also refused to
move when a lady did not want to be left alone with the two "hikers" that
showed up.

William, The Turtle
	-- If you don't respect others, why should they respect you?
		-- If others don't respect you, why lower yourself to their
level?

PS	Now why do I feel this is going to come back and haunt me someday?