Backpaker's article on hiker "Saved"

[Spork]

Shouldn't this be over in one of the "rationalizing stealth camping in the GSMNP" threads?!!! ~wink~

RainMan

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OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOh are you gonna get some nasty PM's for this!!

[Lone Wolf]

shoot folks all around Robinsonvile and western north carolina was helping rudolf

cuz abortion is murder

[Rain Man]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOh are you gonna get some nasty PM's for this!!

Who? MOI????? LOL

RainMan

.

[Dances with Mice]

shoot folks all around Robinsonvile and western north carolina was helping rudolf

They helped him so much he was stealing old dry corn out of silos and was caught with his hair full of dumpster doo from digging through trash bins. If I ever need help I know where not to go.

[rafe]

They helped him so much he was stealing old dry corn out of silos and was caught with his hair full of dumpster doo from digging through trash bins. If I ever need help I know where not to go.

He was in the woods for two three years or more, no?

[ASUGrad]

Doubt it. There are lots of summer homes in that area. I imagine he was moving around quite a bit.

[Dances with Mice]

If he was getting help you'd think somebody could have kicked him down a pot roast or a couple of hams now and again to keep him out of the dumpsters. If lots of people were feeding him then Rudolph's capture was really an insult to their cooking!

In his own words: After so many years ducking and hiding and eating crappy foods you tend to let your guard down, and this is what led to my capture in Murphy in 2003.

So either he wasn't getting much help or those folks were feeding a sneaky serial bomber crappy food. Take your pick. Hey, if I was feeding a fugitive serial bomber I'd lay out a good spread, y'know?

[timhines]

Funny how this turned to a Rudolph thread. I've seen a few refeerences to people saying he hid on the trail. Impossible. I live in that area and I had ATF and FBI agents visiting our property on more than one occasion. They paroled the AT a lot during this great "hide & seek" run.

[Brrrb Oregon]

...what should i watch out for as a novice hiker?

Apparently, this is a good news/bad news thing:
The bad news: there is no "fool-proof method" for determining who is worthy of your trust. And as (I think) Sherlock Holmes put it: those who suspect everything waste their suspicions on many innocent things. Even in the United States, 96 out of 100 people have a conscience, as a psychologist would define it, have some baseline of decency and responsibility that is in line with what you'd think is normal. Not perfect, not saintly, but not remorselessly manipulative, either. Those other 4% are not always easy to identify....some of them are artists at what they do, very well-camoflaged predators and parasites.

I am Catholic, I love essentially every priest I have ever known well, but you all know that this class of people have included some well-loved parish priests. Do not beat yourself up if you fail to identify these people. The "successful" ones have a very polished act.

The good news is that once you believe the concept that there is such a thing as a truly shameless person--and I don't mean that in the funny way that we sometimes do, but the guilt-free of the stand-up-the-hair-on-the-back-of-your-neck kind--you can be on the look-out for the red flags concerning who not to trust. (Although the fact that we do joke about being shameless is one reason that sociopaths sometimes operate so freely in our society.)

The best, although not fool-proof, tip-off to the social predator, says Martha Stout, the author of that book, is the pity play: "The most reliable sign, the most universal behavior of unscrupulous people is not directed, as one might imagine, at our fearfulness. It is, perversely, an appeal to our sympathy." As Dr. Stout puts, "More than admiration--more even than fear--pity from good people is carte blanche."

She goes on later in the chapter, "When deciding whom to trust, bear in mind that the combination of consistently bad or egregiously inadequate behavior with frequent plays for your pity is as close to a warning mark on a conscienceless person's forehead as you will ever be given." She counsels that you not make a close friend of such a person, nor place them in a position of trust.

She also includes 13 Rules for Dealing with Sociopaths in Everyday Life, which I abbreviate here:
(And I really do recommend you get her book and read her explanations):

1. Accept that some people have no conscience.
2. In a contest between your instincts and what is implied by the role a person has taken on, go with your instincts. (that is, do not automatically trust someone in a position of trust: pastor, teacher, leader, etc.)
3. Practice the Rule of Threes: A person who has lied, broken a promise to you, or neglected a serious responsibility toward you three times should not be assumed to be anything other than inherently deceitful when deceit suits his or her needs. Do not give time, money, secrets, or affections to a "three-timer."
4. Question authority when your instinct or anxiety tells you to, especially when no one else is, and encourage others when they do so. Legitimate authority has answers to legitimate questions.
5. Always suspect flattery! If you are drawn to someone, ask yourself: do they flatter me? Are they massaging my ego, my vanity? If so, keep the radar up.
6. If necessary, redefine your concept of respect.....someone who deserves your fear rarely deserves your respect. The strong, the kind, the morally courageous is not likely to also be someone who profits from frightening you.
7. Do not join into games of intrigue....do not try to outsmart, compete with, psychoanalyze, or banter with a sociopath. You will be distracted from protecting yourself.
8. Quietly avoid social contact or communication with a suspected sociopath....and I want to expand on this: You are never going to be a great friend to someone who makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Do not feel bad, do not apologize, do not defend your decision to anyone else. "I'd rather not" is reason enough. You deserve to be able to trust yourself....and, by the way, so does everyone else. Respect the right of everyone else to socialize as they choose, without taking offense. Sociopaths do not run their con on everyone. They choose people. Do not help them to corner their chosen quarry because they've never chosen to con you.
9. Question your tendency to pity too easily.
10. Do not try to redeem the unredeemable.....see "The Rule of Threes".
11. NEVER agree to help another person conceal his or her true character. "Please don't tell!" is the trademark pleas of thieves, child abusers, and sociopaths. Other red flags: "You owe me" and "You are just like me". You do not and you are not. Do not be taken in.
12. Defend your psyche....do allow contact with a sociopath to convince you that humanity is a failure.
13. Living well is the best revenge. Do not carry victimization by a sociopath with you. Do not beat yourself up over their choice to victimize you--and these are not insane people with no choice, but rather unfeeling people who choose their own desires over all else.

[Brrrb Oregon]

12. Defend your psyche....do allow contact with a sociopath to convince you that humanity is a failure.

I hope the typo is obvious:

12. Defend your psyche....do not allow contact with a sociopath to convince you that humanity is a failure.

Oh yeah, they want you to believe "all guys are like that" or "love does that to women." No, all guys are not "like that" and love does no such thing to anybody. There are good people out there, and you deserve to choose one of them over someone who doesn't respect you.....yes, that's right. You deserve a partner who does not try to use their title or experience or ability to hurt you to impress you or cow you into compliance, who doesn't use flattery to blind-side you, who respect your wishes, even if you don't want to socialize with them, who lives a life of integrity, and who don't try to act as if "bad" guys or "b**ches" are some kind of prize. If someone tries to tell you otherwise, run fast the other way. Life's too short.

[SteveJ]

Funny how this turned to a Rudolph thread. I've seen a few refeerences to people saying he hid on the trail. Impossible. I live in that area and I had ATF and FBI agents visiting our property on more than one occasion. They paroled the AT a lot during this great "hide & seek" run.

yep - guy that lives in my neighborhood is w/ the FBI. Just prior to this, he had a supervisory desk job. After the bombing, he spent weeks away in the NC woods searching for Rudolph...to say that he was anxious to catch him so his life could return to normal would be an understatement!