[at-l] ATN article, 1936 Scout Hike

[rbenhameda@comcast.net (Rami)]

[r] Actually, this is a recount of something he did in his 30's.


    [r&r] ***  I understood that Rami. What I was suggesting is the =
young physical=20
body of this person could have had its first realization of its =
potential=20
during the 1936 hike. After all, as an adult he was capable of a 72 mile =

hike. This marathon proves to me that he was physically capable of the =
1936=20
pace...


[r]    agreed


  [r]
  > I don't think that this statement makes him either credible or =
confused, but=20
  > it does tell me that he wasn't "out of touch" with the A.T. =
community.  I=20
  > wonder how many shelters he stayed at as a scout leader?  Do you =
suppose=20
  > they had Shelter logs or signs with rules etc. like they do today?


      [r&r]*** Very much yes. Logs and registers were a european =
tradition carried=20
  over here by immigrants who missed their homeland hiking haunts and =
settled=20
  for the appalachians in order to get their hiking fix. I agree that =
Max=20
  Gordon's name should be in more than one old and tattered register =
dusting in=20
  someone's attic. Though, more likely, the older boy leader would have =
signed=20
  in.  Problem is we have a generation lapse where the original holders =
are all=20
  probably dead and those boxes thrown out (how many Rodale AT volumes =
ended up=20
  that way). The Whites keep their old registers. That would be a good =
place to=20
  start. We know 3 names to look for.=20
      As for being "out of touch", no one can say. You see Max seems to =
be boy=20
  scout based, and therefore maybe never bothered to connect with the =
AT.
   A Bronx city boy whose main focus is scouting could possibly have =
insulated=20
  himself from the AT. I find this highly doubtful since his hikes would =

  inevitably bring him into the AT sphere and he had done the AT and =
would=20
  therefore be interested, but it is possible.

[r]    While I agree that this is a possibility, I don't believe it to =
be a likelyhood either.  In fact, I believe that a casual (sometimes =
accidental) user of the A.T. might not know the history, tradition, and =
culture of the A.T., but anyone who sets out to hike (intentionally) =
over a period of more than a few miles would know about those things.  =
They would most likely come into contact with others and conversations =
would likely occur.  At the very least, when arriving at a shelter, such =
a person would, out of curiousity, read all postings on the walls of the =
shelter and would read a shelter log if one was available.  This alone =
would make them aware of the ATC and the trail community.  It does not =
imply that an awareness of the trail community would necesarily result =
in contact or a claim of thru hiking, but that awareness would be at =
odds with his (Gordon's) statements of 1994 where he implies no =
knowledge of ATC or of the significance of his claim.  A life long scout =
not being concerned with official recognition of their deeds seems =
questionable to me.
 =20

  [r&r] The claim has the appearance of=20
  either an old man having time dimmed recollections of a legitimate =
forgotten=20
  hike, or a confused old man saying things with little realization of =
their=20
  significance because it sounds good to him now. It would strike me as =
awesome=20
  if Max wasn't looking for publicity and was merely recounting in the =
same=20
  casual way he took it back then. If this were the case, the man should =
be=20
  considered and his hike further investigated for the humble account it =
could=20
  possibly be.

      If this claim is legitimate, we have squandered the chance to =
interview=20
  Max himself and maybe expose some leads...


[r]As for the motive behind the claim, I don't have an opinion at this =
point.  The rest, I agree with.  If, in fact, this claim is legitimate, =
than we have certainly missed the boat.  I doubt that to be the case and =
I believe that the historical record will always be tainted because of =
the lack of evidence in either direction.  Conclusive proof, either =
positive or negative, is the only way that this claim can ever rest.


-r


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