WhiteBlaze Pages 2024
A Complete Appalachian Trail Guidebook.
AVAILABLE NOW. $4 for interactive PDF(smartphone version)
Read more here WhiteBlaze Pages Store

Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 1 2 3
Results 41 to 47 of 47
  1. #41
    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
    Join Date
    01-29-2007
    Location
    High up in an old tree
    Posts
    14,444
    Journal Entries
    19
    Images
    17

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Alligator View Post
    First some preliminaries. I don't stay in shelters unless I'm the only one there, so I am always prepared with personal shelter. I either camp at a tent spot or continue on if no space is available. I prefer an out of the way place where I can stay up late without disturbing other hikers and do anything of the following : read, have a fire, drink whiskey or tequila, smoke cigarettes, kabitz, or play cards. I generally have a good idea what the local hiker traffic will be like, depending on the time of year. And, I am always ready for the curveball of some group being at the shelter. I carry enough water capacity to camel up and head out.

    But, I do get irritated by groups larger then 12. I'm willing to stretch the ten so that ten kids and two adults can travel together. Limiting group size is part of ethical use of the trail. I feel that exceeding the 10 (12) person limit is just as egregious as littering or carving up trees. I am especially perturbed when the group is made up of young people. Group leaders should be entirely aware of the ten person limit. To break the limit with young hikers perpetuates a problem and teaches bad habits.

    What to do about it? Well first, suck it up, save the negativity, and move on. You will not change anyone's behavior by coming across as an Ahole. Besides, even 15 girl scouts can kick the bejesus out of a lone hiker. The group is not going to move either and who wants to stay there anyway? I see two options. One, politely talk to the group leaders about LNT. If you are armed with some facts about group impacts, and are polite, "Hey maybe you were unware but large groups impact the area by ....blah blah blah." Or two, find out the name of the group. All groups have hierarchies. Write a couple of letters/make a couple of phone calls to the higher-ups. Explain about group size limits and hopefully change some behaviors.

    Or you could vandalize their bus at the trailhead . Just kidding .
    And you thought we don't agree on anything... You da Man!
    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    Woo

  2. #42
    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
    Join Date
    01-29-2007
    Location
    High up in an old tree
    Posts
    14,444
    Journal Entries
    19
    Images
    17

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Murphy View Post
    No, common sense would tell you that thru hikers do NOT have first dibs.
    Common sense would kick in and you would make room for Jennifer Davis...
    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    Woo

  3. #43
    Registered User
    Join Date
    08-11-2005
    Location
    Gainesville, Florida
    Age
    69
    Posts
    7,159
    Images
    1

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by hikerboy57 View Post
    In my tent i am ruler and king.all who enter must obey.
    I try not to sleep in sheltets.i prefer to choose my bedmates.
    Your trail name should be Yertle.

    "I'm ruler, I am, of all that I see,
    But, I don't see enough. That's the trouble with me."

    Yertle the Turtle from Dr. Seuss
    I'm not really a hiker, I just play one on White Blaze.

  4. #44
    Registered User
    Join Date
    08-11-2005
    Location
    Gainesville, Florida
    Age
    69
    Posts
    7,159
    Images
    1

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Wise Old Owl View Post
    Common sense would kick in and you would make room for Jennifer Davis...
    You make a good point, sir.
    I'm not really a hiker, I just play one on White Blaze.

  5. #45

    Join Date
    08-07-2003
    Location
    Nashville, Tennessee
    Age
    72
    Posts
    6,119
    Images
    620

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by xokie View Post
    I've run into Boy Scouts twice this year. Once at the Rock Spring Hut in SNP and once at the Hemlocks lean-to in MA. In both cases the boys camped in clusters leaving the shelters and most of the camping area open to other hikers.
    I've run into Boy Scouts just like that. Sadly, I've run into Boy Scouts just the opposite. I started a section hike with a young boy in my care, at Deep Gap in NC, expecting to stay at Standing Indian Shelter. We passed TWO (I think it was) signs at Deep Gap and on the trail saying "Limit Groups to 10." When we arrived at dusk with a drizzly rain just starting, we found the shelter AND all the camp spots surrounding it taken by a few dozen Boy Scouts who were not about to do the right thing and make room.

    Again, when I hiked the GSMNP with my young nephew, we arrived at a shelter with a capacity of 12. We had reservations for 4 and 4 spots are reserved for thru-hikers (the month we were there). There was a group of 16 Boy Scouts and leaders there, who CLAIMED (they lied) that they had reservations. That night, in a storm, there were 27 people in that shelter. I met a Ridge Runner the next day and asked him for clarification on the reservation system. He told me the Boy Scout leaders simply lied to me and that they are known to do it all the time in the Smokies.

    So, depending on the character of the Boy Scout leaders, you can run into great experiences or some that make you question the Boy Scout organization.

    Rain Man

    .
    [I]ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: ... Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit....[/I]. Numbers 35

    [url]www.MeetUp.com/NashvilleBackpacker[/url]

    .

  6. #46
    Registered User
    Join Date
    05-26-2010
    Location
    Northern Virginia
    Age
    61
    Posts
    1,410
    Images
    21

    Default

    [QUOTE=Rain Man;129723, ...who CLAIMED (they lied) that they had reservations. That night, in a storm, there were 27 people in that shelter. I met a Ridge Runner the next day and asked him for clarification on the reservation system. He told me the Boy Scout leaders simply lied to me and that they are known to do it all the time in the Smokies.

    So, depending on the character of the Boy Scout leaders, you can run into great experiences or some that make you question the Boy Scout organization.

    Rain Man

    .[/QUOTE]

    As a scout leader I can't disagree with your last statement, however you seem very quick to believe the ridgerunner over the scout leader.

    The scout leader that leads the trip is not always the one that handles the logistics. Scout leaders may not all be the best leaders or the best outdoor people, but I would trust the word of a scout leader over 99% of the people I meet on the trail including ridgerunners.


    Wasn't it aridgerunmer that






    Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

  7. #47

    Default

    I have never slept in a shelter. If I wanted to sleep in a shelter I'd I'd stay home or go to a Hotel. One of the main reasons I backpack is to get away from the hubbub of everyday life and seek a bit of solitude. I can't imagine cramming myself into a tiny little room with a bunch of people I probably don't even know, when I can string up my hammock in the woods. If I was a shelter rat...I would suck it up and abide by the first come first served rule.

    Cat in the Hat

Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 1 2 3
++ New Posts ++

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •