In defense of men

[Lilred]

I'm sorry, but I have just got to comment on the threads that have been closed. I've hiked just over 500 miles of the AT and I would like to tell of a couple of instances that I have experienced.

First, at Justus Creek. I met a guy who went out of his way to help me set up my tent, hang my food bag, and generally watched out for me and another gal the rest of the section I was hiking. What a gentleman! We still remain in contact.

Secondly, while hiking in the Smokies, another female hiker and I had to tent outside a shelter while 14 guys were safely locked away inside, behind the chain link fence. Two guys gave up their spots in the shelter and slept outside, cowboy style, with us in case some unfriendly wildlife showed up. Again, pure gentlemen.

I have had nothing but great experiences from the men I have met on the trail and am always impressed with how solo women hikers are looked out for. THAT is the norm on the AT, as far as I have experienced. Just wanted to put that on record. Thanks Guys!!

Would love to hear from other women who have had similar, gentlemanly, experiences.

[Skidsteer]

Great idea for a positive thread Lilredmg.

[Programbo]

I'm sorry, but I have just got to comment on the threads that have been closed.

Speaking of that why exactly were some of those threads closed?..I had been following one and then noticed it just vanished...I didn`t see anything wrong with the replies for the first 2-3 pages..Is it required to delete an entire thread if someone makes an objectionable reply?

[gumball]

I don't know about the threads being closed, but I hike with gentlemenly gentlemen all the time. Are there people who creep me out? Sure...but not all of them are men, and there are certainly fewer on the trail than in everyday life.

This was not a personal experience, but my husband and two of our hiking friends who are male, went to VA last year. I know they met a young woman who they hiked with for quite awhile and with whom they corresponded for some time after that--I don't know whether or not she needed anyone to "watch over her", but I think our husbands dad-ed her right up the trail. There are lots of good men out there.

[dixicritter]

Speaking of that why exactly were some of those threads closed?..I had been following one and then noticed it just vanished...I didn`t see anything wrong with the replies for the first 2-3 pages..Is it required to delete an entire thread if someone makes an objectionable reply?

No threads have vanished. There were two threads both are still in this forum both are closed to new posts as was decided by all admin based on troll activity. If you have something to add to this thread topic then please do so, otherwise please drop it. Thank you.

[Gray Blazer]

Thanks, MG. I don't do things for women because of what I might get out of it, I do it because it's the right thing to do. I can understand if some women are creeped out by men. If a woman on the trail seems creeped out, I don't take it personally. Most of the women I've met on the AT could probably beat my butt! (Amigi, I know what your'e thinking. Don't even say it!)

[Programbo]

No threads have vanished. There were two threads both are still in this forum both are closed to new posts as was decided by all admin based on troll activity. If you have something to add to this thread topic then please do so, otherwise please drop it. Thank you.

I beg your pardon?..I was replying to what the original poster said in this thread..She stated she wanted to add something to closed threads and I simply asked if it was necessary to close or remove the entire thread instead of simply deleting the offending "troll" posts you mention as I was curious how this particular board worked as opposed to other boards I`ve used or run..If the before mentioned threads haven`t "vanished" then why do they no longer show up either in the forum or in the list of posts I`ve made?...I don`t mean to cause trouble but these questions naturally came up from the original posters wording.

[Skidsteer]

.If the before mentioned threads haven`t "vanished" then why do they no longer show up either in the forum or in the list of posts I`ve made.[/color]

Vanished thread.
Another vanished thread.

[dixicritter]

Thank you Skidster.

As to the topic of this thread...

Most of the male hikers I've met have been nothing but gentlemen to me.

[blackbishop351]

Most of the male hikers I've met have been nothing but gentlemen to me.

On the other hand, some of the "offensive" ones may have just been scared s#$%less of your husband, Dixie!

[Programbo]

Thank you Skidster....As to the topic of this thread...Most of the male hikers I've met have been nothing but gentlemen to me.

I shall say thank you also even though neither of the links you provided led to the specific threads I was speaking of

But to get back on topic..I haven`t done any long distance hiking in a looooong time...Back in the day (What does that mean anyway?...LOL) female hikers were few and far between but we always went out of our way to be polite and gentlemanly I guess mainly because you could just appreciate how out of place or uncomfortable a lone female hiker must feel being out there so you wanted to try and help her feel as at ease as you could

[Jack Tarlin]

I'm glad Bishop went and said it cuz I was thinking exactly the same thing!!

[Amigi'sLastStand]

I'm glad Bishop went and said it cuz I was thinking exactly the same thing!!

Ditto. As I read this, I'm thinking, "Ok, bet DC never had a bad experience."

I think frieden has had some good experiences. She was treated like gold by Grayblaze and me. Then again she can probably beat GB up, so....

[dixicritter]

LOL... Y'all make him sound all scary and stuff. He's gonna love that.

[Ewker]

anyone want to mess with Sgt Rock

[SGT Rock]

I ain't that rough looking am I?

As to men. There are some damn idiots out there that make us all look like dirtbags. I've been around enough of them to know. But on the other hand a real gentlemen sticks up for a ladies honor, and once I posed as a woman's husband so a guy would quit hitting on her (not on the trail). It was pretty darn funny to see the look on the guys face when she said "That is so rude to ask me for my phone number in front of my husband like that!" I didn't realize she was using me for that for about 1/2 a second then I played along with her.

It has been my experience that the majority of backpackers (including the men) are the sort of people that stick up for each other and watch out for each other. A hiker is usually the kind of person that would help you make a meal if you were hypothermia or would give you some food or water to make it to the next point if you were running low. They are normally the kind of person that would stop what they are doing and go the shortest route to help if they found you in trouble. And they are the kind of person that also respects your space and privacy because they are also living without any.

Now the sort of person that would pretend to be a woman on this board when they are really a man just to manipulate you all is the sort of person that I was talking about that makes us all look bad. That sort of person finds pleasure in creating strife - he did so in his original ID and then when he saw an opportunity to do it (his other ID was in "time out") he went for it and created a huge fight. He/she probably sat back, patted himself on the back for how clever he was, and got the rest of you to worry more about fighting than agreeing. That is the sort of person that has issues on the trail and then blames others around him instead of seeing that it is him the creates the problems himself - and if you knew who he was, you would know exactly what I am talking about. And other hikers did take HIM to task when he said that stuff here on the board.

Those threads skidster put links up for were the other threads I was thinking you were referring to programbo. We ended up closing those two because the "truth" about the situation is probably never going to really be out, but others want to hope it would. And at the same time the thread was turning into a **** magnet that I saw start leaking out to other threads by some posters. I wanted to head it off before it got too hot. I am all for the rational discussion of the issue, but saying things like "keep your legs closed and this won't happen" don't really help a lot, and a couple of trolls egging things on damn sure only made it worse. We are currently discussing a new rule about how to deal with folks that create user IDs just to manipulate people.

Programbo, if you are talking about some other threads I am totally unaware of them. What were they?

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

I moderate on some BBs that have nothing to do with hiking. As SgtRock says, once a snowball starts rolling downhill, it is just going to get bigger and collect more scat. It is better to close it - especially if trolls are fanning the flames. If it isn't closed, then the moderators end up having to monitor it closely and I'm pretty sure SgtRock, ATTrol, DixieCritter, and the rest have far better things to do.

About the topic of this thread - It has been many years since I have had problems on the trail. The people - both genders - have mostly gone out of there way to be helpful and kept an eye on us as we hiked since I resumed hiking after the accident. Before that, they were willing to share their knowledge and tips (and we were willing to leave copious amounts of my special gorp at shelters )

I hiked alone or with children for years and rarely had any problems. What problems I did have I was able to handle.

I put a serious hurting on the only fellow that ever attempted a physical assault. He did not look like he belonged in the woods - he was carrying a pack that wouldn't have been able to hold the items needed for a day hike, he was wearing steel-toed boots and cotton everything. Polyester knits and nylon were around even way back then. I notified the authorities of what had happened and the likely presence of an injured man on the trail. It turned out I had injured his foot, knee and groin - he had jumped bond in another state and had five prior convictions for rape.

[Gray Blazer]

I put a serious hurting on the only fellow that ever attempted a physical assault. He did not look like he belonged in the woods - he was carrying a pack that wouldn't have been able to hold the items needed for a day hike, he was wearing steel-toed boots and cotton everything. Polyester knits and nylon were around even way back then. I notified the authorities of what had happened and the likely presence of an injured man on the trail. It turned out I had injured his foot, knee and groin - he had jumped bond in another state and had five prior convictions for rape.

You Go, Girl!!

[Two Speed]

. . . I put a serious hurting on the only fellow that ever attempted a physical assault. . .

I'm gonna second GB on this one. You go, girl!

[mrc237]

I have a Mother, Wife, 2 Daughters, 3 Grandaughters in my life. I try to remember all of them when I'm around female hikers.