Re: Re[5]: [at-l] AMC Hospitality

[Paul A Magnanti <pmags@juno.com>]

> students at ivy league or seven sisters schools, and most of the 

Based on the hike I took last year, that still seems to be true.

My closest connection to an Ivy leage school was when I drove by Brown
University here in Rhody... :)
 

> opposed to that of the class of the deferred hutperson/fratboy. ( 
> No,

I have to be honest here, I actually had good luck with a croo in  the
AMC huts.
Wotta concept. Two factors to keep in mind though: 
1) I was an early northbounder. The croos probably were not sick of the
thru-hikers yet! :)
2) I readily admit that my personality is very easy going, I can get
along with just about everyone, and due to $2000 worth of braces when I
was 13 and  my sunny dispostition, I have a smile that makes me  very
likeable. ;-)

   The croo of Greenleaf hut actually invited me to stay there. This one
is a mile off the trail, and I am guessing the thru-hikers were a bit of
a rarity. They were extremely nice, easy to talk to, and did not make me
feel "inferior" in any way.  They told me to make sure I stop by when my
thru-hike was over. (I frequnent the White mountains)
 When I stayed at Galehead hut, he croo gave me a lunch consisting of a
gallon  size ziplock full of leftover calzones from the previous nights
dinner!  I only had one less than desirable experience at a hut, and that
was because the croo did not seem as friendly as the other two.  No out
right rudeness, just did not get that "warm, fuzzy, feeling". :)

  Again, I was early..so that probably makes a big difference. 

> imagine that the hutpersons that I met in the 70's eventually sat 
> their > progeny down for the AMC talk: " now, you need to be prepared,
Mummy 


That brings up a point I have been wondering for a while.  Why does
backpacking seem to attract more of an  upper middle class type of
person?  The huts are indeed staffed with Ivy League types...but I also
noticed last year that many of my fellow thru-hikers were of  an  umc
background.  Not just people in my age bracket (mid 20's), but almost
everyone.  Whether section hiking, day hiking, weekending, whatever, they
seemed to have come from this type of background.   Talking to people at
hiker fests seem to bear this out, as well. 

    At first, I thought it was monetary reasons for a lack of a "blue
collar presence".  But, several of Dad's (a sheet metalist)  co-workers
hunt .  Guns, fees at the gun clubs, and those big trucks they drive
ain't cheap.  So who knows. 

 Of course this is all just anecdotal, and a feeling based on
conversations that one blue collar background hiker (namely me. :D) has
had with other people. No figures to back this up, no concrete evidence.
So I may just be  shooting blanks. But, again, it is the feeling I get.


Mags....only a few more days until "The Big Move"...so long
Atlantic...hello Rockies! :D

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