View Full Version : Men, has this ever happened to you?
SGT Rock
10-13-2005, 02:01
Something on another thread got me to thinking about something that has happened to me before: Getting tagged as someone to be suspicious of.
I was hiking SOBO on the AT in GA and was looking at a good spot near a creek to set up my hammock. As I sat beside the stream I saw a group of hikers, a guy and two women coming NOBO on the AT in my direction. The guy I had seen at Amicolola about a week earlier when I was parking my car there at my end point and I knew he had been hiking alone and was also sort of a novice because he had a ranger there helping him by going though his pack while his parents watched. When he left, his pack still looked pretty darn big.
So I sat there, tired after a long day of hiking, and like I said I was contemplating making camp instead of moving on. I had been just sitting on the trail being quiet drinking water and they were making noise walking up the trail and probably didn't see me right away. When they did notice me they stopped and the three went into a huddle and had a hushed conversations with occasional glances in my direction. Finally the guy walked up to where I was sitting while the women stayed about 100' back and watched. He asked me where I was going and what I was doing while I sat there sort of finding the scene funny - I guess in my smiling, dirty, scruffy way I looked like a wild man or something to them. Finally I guess I put him at ease and he looks back to the women and waves them up and they come up to where we are and finish the conversation. I noticed their packs were fairly large and not balanced well.
The entire time they stood behind him, the body language wasn't too hard for me to read, they were still not totally at-ease yet. Figuring I was making them uneasy I got some more water, rucked-up and continued down the trail instead of freaking them out too bad. I got a good chuckle out of the fact that anyone would think I was that sinister looking. It was worth not staying there because I had some more good times on the trail that day that I would have missed if I had decided to stay there and just mess with them a little more.
A couple of days later I stopped at Neals Gap and found out that the two women were on their first AT hike and had probably sent about 40 pounds between them home after a shake down there, which was interesting considering how big their packs were when I saw them. I guessed that it was three novices that had hooked up and hiking together on the trail and were forming a group of convenience. Probably heard a lot of hillbilly horror stories and wanted to make sure I wasn't going to rape anyone.
Any other guys ever had someone act like you were "Scary"?
Just Jeff
10-13-2005, 02:37
Happens to me all the time here in California. I say "hello" to someone just like everyone does down South, and they look at me like I'm trying to steal their pets. Doesn't happen so often on the trail, though...just around town.
Different way of life out here. :)
Youngblood
10-13-2005, 07:52
Sarge, you've been married so long that you forgot something. The first and most important thing about that situation is the young man was probably having a great time... he started out alone and hooked up with two women who were looking up to him as their protector. He was likely playing it for all it was worth.
If they hadn't hooked up with him they would have likely handled it differently. Being at the south end of the AT I get chances to see woman hiking solo or with another female on their first few days in the woods. Some of them are cautious as hell and almost try to hide on the trail while others have it figured out already and don't particularly show any signs of being worried.
Youngblood
Frolicking Dinosaurs
10-13-2005, 08:10
We girls don't get this too often, but I did recently. I have to hike with two metal canes, but I carry them about 1" off the ground and just walk when the terrain is level and without obstales along a trail. I was walking alone on an easy, touristy section of trail in the Smokies recently and passed a young couple. I rounded a corner and got a large rock in my shoe so stopped to get it out. I could hear them talking - they were planning to leave quickly because they thought my canes were weapons and they realized I had stopped just around the corner. I couldn't stifle the laughter.
I've learned to look at behavior and body language to determine who is creep and who is not creep on the trail.
peter_pan
10-13-2005, 08:14
Something on another thread got me to thinking about something that has happened to me before: Getting tagged as someone to be suspicious of.
.....
Any other guys ever had someone act like you were "Scary"?
SGT Rock,
20 Oct 1966...bus load of new recruits, myself included, stops at a compound of white wooden buildings on Ft Bragg, NC, where the surrounding dirt is raked and the pathways are outlined in rocks...a rather serious looking guy, we later learn is a sergeant, is standing there... No one gets off the bus...
He yells, "all right you men"... we flew off the bus....
Recon this still happens to some. :D
Pan
Alligator
10-13-2005, 08:25
Not on the trail, but on the road. One evening I picked my car (PU) after getting new tires. I pulled onto the highway and was heading towards my exit when a car cut into my lane without signaling. My horn was broke so I flashed my high beams (I think this is what happened). Didn't think anything of it, I barely remember doing it, never noticed the make of car nor the driver. I then took my exit, the next right, about a mile down the road. I took the first jug handle (right) at the first light and pulled into the first building after the light, my bank. I needed to withdraw money. Before I used the ATM, I pulled out the bill for my tires, I was interested in giving it a look over. I then took money out of the bank and went about my business. The next day I got a call from the police, at my work. They wanted to know why I had been following this woman last night. After talking with police for about 20 minutes or so, I was able to piece together what happened. I ended up putting a button on my horn:o .
I understand the woman's concern. I would suggest that if you suspect you are being followed, to throw a few left turns in:D .
Whistler
10-13-2005, 08:30
I have never had anyone be suspicious of me, that I know of. I still have youth working for me. But I have had some experiences like Just Jeff mentioned. Greeting people or friendly nods, sometimes even holding doors will make people keep their heads down, eyes away, and walk a little quicker. I think it's kind of odd. Friendly Southern habits often don't fly in the city. Makes you feel like a freak.
-Mark
I got a good chuckle out of the fact that anyone would think I was that sinister looking.
Well, actually you are kind of sinister looking! :D
My husband gets this a lot - he's 6" 200lbs - with a shaved head and a scowl most of the time. Add in his boots, blue jeans, and flannel shirt and a huge dog that most people mistake for a mastiff or pitbull and people give him a WIDE berth and generally worried looks. lol......
[QUOTE=CynJ]My I have a beard and when I shaved my head, I got a lot of distance from people (6'5", 250#). My favorite was once I started to walk into the bank, changed my mind at the vestibule and turned away. After two steps I changed my mind and spun around, took a step toward the bank and found a Brink's type guy with his hand on his gun, half drawn. Yikes! Pieced it together that my maneuvering put the two of us together in the small vestibule at the same time. To a guy trained to be aware of odd behavior, my turning twice must have seemed designed to get close to him in close quarters.
When I had a bike, once I was riding with a few guys, and we stopped at a restaurant. After we sat down and ordered, we saw about three cop cars pull into the parking lt. The manager came over and said, "I hope you fellows don't mind, but when you rode in I called the police." The cops came in actually made us all show license and registration. Not suer if they were more annoyed at us or the manager, but one of my buddy's inspection sticker on his bike was old and he got a ticket.
My folks picked me up in GA after my thru, for a long drive back to thier home in New York.
I cleaned up at first opportunity, but was in no great hurry for a shave and haircut. They brought clean clothes, but these probably didn't fit me very well anymore.
When we stopped at a Stucky's type place along the highway, the waitress was very concerned as she approached to take our order. I still remember how she asked my folks "Is he with you", even though we were all sitting in the same booth.
No big deal, but rather good for a laugh.
Well, actually you are kind of sinister looking! :D
i second that! hehehehehehe :D
see PHOTO for proof! (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=3432&c=500&userid=656)
sliderule
10-13-2005, 09:40
Happens to me all the time here in California. I say "hello" to someone just like everyone does down South, and they look at me like I'm trying to steal their pets.
Different way of life out here. :)Yes, I had the same experience when I moved from Georgia to California in the early 1980's. Rudeness was considered normal and courtesy was perceived as threatening. I especially noticed the difference when driving. Be courteous to another driver and they look at you like you are from Mars!
Southern hospitality just doesn't cut it in the Golden Bear State. Just try to seem important, avoid eye contact, eliminate unnecessary conversation and speak only when spoken to. And always appear to be in a hurry. Before you know it, you will fit in perfectly.
tlbj6142
10-13-2005, 09:43
Well, actually you are kind of sinister looking! :DUnless Rock has turned into a crusty lookin' fellow recently, most of the online pics make it look like a baby-faced boy. Not sure how anyone could be afraid of him. In fact, with those "military issued" glasses, he almost looks nerdy.
Hammock Hanger
10-13-2005, 09:44
see PHOTO for proof! (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=3432&c=500&userid=656)
WOW, :eek: what a puss.... Having a bad day???
I don't think I've ever been mistaken for someone mean and nasty and potentially dangerous by other outdoor types while I'm in the outofdoors. However, in town I got this alot this summer on the CDT. I'm not sure why this summer and not previous ones, but I had people actually cross the street to avoid coming near me. I know I smelled bad, but unless their olfactoral powers were bloodhoundlike, I doubt it was that. I got a lot of negative reactions from people based on how I looked and that bothered me some.
Tha Wookie
10-13-2005, 09:53
Happens to me all the time here in California. I say "hello" to someone just like everyone does down South, and they look at me like I'm trying to steal their pets. Doesn't happen so often on the trail, though...just around town.
Different way of life out here. :)
I know it! When we hiked the coast last year I often had the feeling that we were taken for homeless wanderers (well.... not too far from the truth I guess:rolleyes: ). But I mean that we were confused with the "backpacking" yellowblazers that often show in the coastal towns, expecting the town to take care of them. Although, in Cali, it seems to me that people are not as anxious about it as they can be down south. They are used to it, and in my experience, hardly care -but they ( I mean some people, certainly not all) still create a blockage to communication. I am so used to smiling at everyone here in GA, when I was in San Fran it was like pulling teeth to get a response.
Alligator
10-13-2005, 10:00
I am so used to smiling at everyone here in GA, when I was in San Fran it was like pulling teeth to get a response.Even on Haight St?
Lone Wolf
10-13-2005, 10:00
Some years back me and Pirate were eating in Daniels Steakhouse in Hiawassee when I noticed a few of the waitresses in a huddle checkin us out with worried looks. After a while I went up to them and asked what was up. At the time Eric Rudolf was still on the loose and they were trying to figure out which one of us was him so they could turn me/him in for the million $ reward.
Cookerhiker
10-13-2005, 10:03
I don't perceive of myself as appearing threatening (I wear glasses and I'm an accountant!). However once I appeared at 6 PM on a weeknight (not in prime season when many hikers are out there) at a shelter occupied by a solo woman hiker. Not surprisingly, she was startled. I'm not normally a fast thinker but this time I sized up the situation immediately and sought to assure her that I was not a threat mostly by talking "normally" and doing the things all hikers do when they reach camp for the evening. We ended up getting along really well.
I have gotten a few looks when out cutting blow down but I just figured it was the naked 5 foot crosscut saw in my hand that they were concerned about. I especially remember a few looks from some thrus at Pine Field Hut in Shen. a few years ago when I stopped by to see if anyone wanted some fire wood cut - not sure but it might have been the same evening I met Happy Feet and Hat Man at that hut.
soulrebel
10-13-2005, 10:18
I only wonder about people that don't say, "Hi" back or wave or nod or some form of acknowledgement. That goes for men and women, so if I say Hi please make an effort to at least grumble...otherwise I'll be thinking-"If you're not happy, then you must be blue."
Maybe it's all in y'alls attitude, friendliness and hospitality aren't attributes reserved for the south.
Long haired freaks, just keeping sharpening your 6 inch blade in front of newby hikers!
dixicritter
10-13-2005, 10:53
WOW, :eek: what a puss.... Having a bad day???
Seeeeee.... Seeeee He's a big meany! ;)
I'm betting he was trying to keep his eyes open for the picture again. LOL.
Mohawks will give strange reactions. My friend and I went into town and he tried to cash a travelers check at Rite Aid. He signed the check in front of the female cashier and she was about to give him the money until the manager came over and wouldn't take the check. Fortunately, the bank next door allowed him to cash an already signed check.
Women do seem to have an advantage. It is funny, the Army taught me more ways to kill than I can count but no one ever sees me as anything but a harmless meek mild-mannered librarian. Though there WAS my female hiking companion who always carried a Ghurka knife.
But I AM trying to work on looking more sinister, really. I graduated from hiking to a square-rigged ship. Everyone on the crew is required to have a generous sheath knife and marlinspike at all times.
Mother Nature
10-13-2005, 12:36
Smokestack and I maintain a section of trail near Bly Gap. A couple of years ago another maintainer joined us to remove a large tree. That area is wilderness so we had an assortment of bow saws and other sharp tools. Smokestack and the other fellow were dressed in camo. As it happens two of us were on one side of the trail and the other standing near the tree when a solo day hiker approached us. The hiker was a middle aged fellow who looked a little out of his element. About 20 feet from us he stopped, started trembling, and cried out.."Please don't hurt me". Although we told him why we were there, he wouldn't pass us until we dropped our tools.
Mother Nature
Tha Wookie
10-13-2005, 12:46
Even on Haight St?
Haight actually is not what is all cracked up to be (then again, sometimes it is). I understand that the people who live there have no obligation to be hippies to live up to the stereotype, but it seems to me that there is a counter-hippie movement there, in a way. I get the feeling when I walk there (and I do every time I visit the city, continuing into the wonderful GG Park) that some people are making an effort NOT to be a hippie (or at least classified as one).
Take the colors of clothing, for instance. I really stood out with a bright green jacket. Nearly everyone had black or brown clothing. I observed people for hours, and noticed this on multiple trips. While many people don't readily smile, they surprise me sometimes, with real, authentic expressions of happiness.
I think the people there aren't less happy, just more indifferent
I terrify people all the time. I'm unusually tall for a woman and every time I walk into a women's restroom, the other women's eyes widen. If I'm skiing, other women will tap me on the back and tell me the men's room is over there. It has happened enough that I have come to enjoy watching them stammer and ask for forgiveness when I turn around and they realize that they're the one who has made the mistake.
Hikers seems to deal with differences much better than the average man/woman on the street.
Alligator
10-13-2005, 16:14
Haight actually is not what is all cracked up to be (then again, sometimes it is). I understand that the people who live there have no obligation to be hippies to live up to the stereotype, but it seems to me that there is a counter-hippie movement there, in a way. I get the feeling when I walk there (and I do every time I visit the city, continuing into the wonderful GG Park) that some people are making an effort NOT to be a hippie (or at least classified as one).
Take the colors of clothing, for instance. I really stood out with a bright green jacket. Nearly everyone had black or brown clothing. I observed people for hours, and noticed this on multiple trips. While many people don't readily smile, they surprise me sometimes, with real, authentic expressions of happiness.
I think the people there aren't less happy, just more indifferentI was there about ten years ago. Got a tat from one of the shops there. It was sort of a mixed bag then, some hippy elements and grunge mixed all together.
I wore a kilt, bright green shirt (or tight pink in town), had a mohawk, a beard, and I have a septum and two transversal piercings. I'm also a generally friendly guy. I always got one of two reactions from other non-long-distance hikers. About 25% of people thought I was some insane hippy/primitive type and kept their distance, the rest of the people seemed to see me accurately as a nice guy with a healthy, humorous disrespect for the status quo.
Oddly enough, only THREE people asked me about my septum ring for the ENTIRE thru hike, off the trail I get that many in a week.
RockyTrail
10-13-2005, 17:06
Not on the trail, but on the road. ...A similar thing happened to a couple of my co-workers once, Frank and Jeff. Not hikers, but hey it was near the AT!
They were riding their motorbikes in the NC mountains when they came upon a slow-moving pickup. They followed it for a while, then eventually the truck pulled over to let them pass.
Twenty minutes later they got pulled over by the county sheriff. "Heard you boys ran a pregnant lady off the road back there" the sheriff said. Just then, a car pulled up with the pregnant female pickup driver and her irate father. "That's them Daddy, they're the ones that ran me off the road!" she said. Frank lowered his head and said "I just KNOW we're going to jail!"
They got a severe tongue-lashing from the sheriff and the father and but were finally released. As the sheriff got in his car to leave the father yelled over at him "Are you and the missus still coming over for dinner next week?" and ol' Frank about had a coronary!:)
johnny quest
10-13-2005, 17:20
right after i got out of the marines i started college here in texas. and i went to work part time for campus police writing parking tickets to make a couple bucks. it was winter and i grew me a beard for the first time in my life. one day i hear a call over the walkie talkie "be on the lookout for a suspicious character around parking lot blue-10"
well, im near there so i go into action. give me a description, i tell the dispatcher, and i will catch the deviant.
" green military coat, beard, sneaking around between the cars" she replies. well it was obviously me so i reported myself captured and asked who reported me so i could write her a ticket.
Never happened to me that I know of, but I can understand people reacting this way. I don't think about it much anymore, but the woods can be scary- nice secluded place to get assaulted, robbed, etc. The victim might have to hike for hours to get help, and that gives the criminal a head start advantage.
I have a habit of sneaking up on shelters and listening and looking before I walk in and make myself at home. I've left shelters abruptly just because I found the company boring. I would have no problem leaving if I thought the people were dangerous.
SGT Rock
10-13-2005, 17:52
I only wonder about people that don't say, "Hi" back or wave or nod or some form of acknowledgement. That goes for men and women, so if I say Hi please make an effort to at least grumble...otherwise I'll be thinking-"If you're not happy, then you must be blue."
Speaking of that. We had a very non-scientific method of sometimes finding armed people in Iraq. If you saw a guy eying you, you wave at him and they will usually wave back. The ones that didn't wave we would suspect them of hiding something like a weapon, and we were often right. I still find myself doing this and when someone doesn't wave back I am immediately a little suspicious.
SGT Rock
10-13-2005, 18:25
I have a habit of sneaking up on shelters and listening and looking before I walk in and make myself at home. I've left shelters abruptly just because I found the company boring. I would have no problem leaving if I thought the people were dangerous.
I routinely do the same thing because you never know who or what will be there. Of course sneaking up on a shelter could also be construed as a sign of villainy.
I routinely do the same thing because you never know who or what will be there. Of course sneaking up on a shelter could also be construed as a sign of villainy.
I do the opposite, talking whistling, asking if anyone's home.
Just sees like good manners.
SGT Rock
10-13-2005, 19:09
I do the opposite, talking whistling asking if anyone's home.
Just sees like good manners.
Yes, one could argue that too.
I just find myself harking back to the general rules of security in that it is better to know they are there and them not know you are there. Having things the other way around is a very bad idea. If I walk up quiet and see or hear someone and then make an evaluation, then I can anounce myself after I have checked out the situation. The also applies to any camp I go to and a lot of other places.
Another benifit is I see more wildlife.:eek:
Chantilly Lace
10-13-2005, 19:57
I'm a gal, not a guy and I had an experience where a hiker was quite frightened by me. I do trail maintenance on the LT/AT a couple of times a year. A few years ago I set off to paint blazes carrying my day pack and a small box that contained my paint, etc. I should have known better than to head off on a six mile round trip of working without my rain gear. My companion, tired of the slow chore, hiked off into the distance but I didn't mind for it gave me an opportunity to be alone with my thoughts and my painting. Then the rain started. I had a small ground cloth in my pack and wrapped that around me. I must have looked quite a sight, totally drenched with a tarp around my pack and me looking like a hunchback with a strange looking box hanging from my cold hands. A woman end-to-ender suddenly came upon me and shreiked, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I was quite amused that she was frightened of me but responded gently. I'm sure she was relieved when she arrived at the shelter and found that the rest of the crew was there and that I was who I said I was.
My poor blazes ended up as puddles at the base of all the trees.
sliderule
10-13-2005, 21:51
I do the opposite, talking whistling, asking if anyone's home.
Just sees like good manners.
It seems that is always the policy for those who arrive at the shelter in the middle of the night. They yell and scream, all excited about having found the shelter in the dark. Then they check things out with their flashlights. And the someone yells "Hey Bill, there's people sleeping in here."
Not any more!!!
It seems that is always the policy for those who arrive at the shelter in the middle of the night. They yell and scream, all excited about having found the shelter in the dark. Then they check things out with their flashlights. And the someone yells "Hey Bill, there's people sleeping in here."
Not any more!!!
One of the inherent problems about staying in a public shelter. Not that it can be enforced but, when's quiet time? I'd say 10pm-6am.
Dances with Mice
10-13-2005, 22:29
... the Army taught me more ways to kill than I can count ... You were a cook?
Shutterbug
10-13-2005, 22:42
Last year, when I was on the Wonderland Trail, I didn't get into the camp at Klapatche Park until after dark. There had been bears in area, so the rangers had posted warning signs at the camp that campers should watch out.
When I arrived, there was already a tent in the first tent site. The campers had already entered the tent and zipped up the door, so I did my best not to make any noise. But, try as I did, I still made enough noise for the two women in the tent to hear me. They immediately assumed that I was a bear. I heard their paniced discussion, so I called out, "Don't be afraid, I am a man!!" They were so glad that I wasn't a bear that they never seemed to worry about what kind of man I was. It wasn't until the next morning that I told them that as I approached the camp, 4 bears were about 100 yards from the camp. :jump
bearbag hanger
10-13-2005, 23:54
Last year, during my thru hike, I decided it would be nice to get a blackberry milk shake at Elkwallow Gap. When I got there, a bear was hanging around and a sheriff (I think) arrived to check the bear out. After making sure the bear wasn't going to hurt anyone, he went in with me to order some food and drink. While waiting for our food he asks me "have you seen any strange looking people on the trail lately?"
I was tempted to answer - 'everytime I look in the mirror', but decided, since he had a gun, night stick, etc. that it probably wouldn't be safe to do so.
Gray Blazer
10-14-2005, 09:36
If you don't want to weird the ladies out grow some dreads. My son told me "chicks dig guys with dreads" . My hair is short and I'm old and the girls do act suspicious of me. However, I have noticed the guys with dreads who don't use deoderant are not perceived as a threat on the AT. So Sarge, now you know what to do.
SGT Rock
10-14-2005, 09:38
Well I can lay off the deoderant, but the dreads are a bridge too far for me.
Rain Man
10-14-2005, 10:32
All the girls seem to think dreadlocks are way cool.
If Hair Club For Men does 'em, sign me up! I need some cool badly!
Rain:sunMan
.
Rockjock
10-14-2005, 10:42
Guys,
Although I am a women I get the strange looks (both from men and women) when I am hiking with my dog. Although she is ALWAYS leashed she is a Chow mix and no matter how many times I tell them she's just a "love bug" they almost always either give me a strange look and then give me a wide berth or just make some dumb@ss coment.:confused: It sucks to be judged on appearences, some of the best men I have met on the trail would, by societies standards, be "a little out of kilter"
Rock
Footslogger
10-14-2005, 10:46
Well I can lay off the deoderant, but the dreads are a bridge too far for me.===============================
That'd be a reach for me too Rock ...being follicularly challenged as I am and all.
'Slogger
sliderule
10-14-2005, 11:05
After giving it some thought, I have concluded that the best way for scary guys like me to avoid frightening female hikers is to hike with females.
So I am looking for three female backpackers. I want one of them to be fast, one to be slow and one to be strong. The fast one will go out on point to warn any opposite direction hikers. The slow woman will serve as rear guard to warn faster-moving same direction hikers. And the strong woman will stay with me ....and carry my pack.
Oh, yes, it would be good if the fast lady is also a good cook, so that she can have dinner ready when I arrive in camp.
HA! Then y'all wake up. :D
Just Jeff
10-14-2005, 15:35
And what? She already has the hot chocolate waiting? Great idea! :P
General Fireball
10-14-2005, 17:37
My fiance and I were hiking a stretch here in New Jersey some years back, and pulled in rather late to the Pochuck Shelter. We were hoping to have the place to ourselves, but instead found the shelter occupied by a guy. He immediately raised red flags: wrong clothing (jeans, leather work boots, sweaters), wrong food (canned beans, ravioli, etc.), obviously out for a long time (quite grungy), and too boot, the guy was a dead ringer for the actor Willem Dafaoe in one of his creepier roles.
My inclination was to move on, but it was late, there were no decent campsites for at least a mile or two, and I figured since I am a big, burly guy, we were relatively safe. So we settled in for a night with our spooky companion.
Well, we naturally got to talking, and when all was said and done I admit I felt pretty ashamed for judging the guy so harshly after a ten-second look. Turns out he was from the Midwest, recently unemployed; his grandfather had just died. This grandfather had often regaled him of a hike he had taken in the late 1940s on the AT. His grandfather had scraped together whatever equipment he could, and actually hopped freight cars to get east, picking up the Trail and doing about 500 miles before his wanderlust was satisfied and he headed back west (again as a hobo).
The guy had always wanted to hike the AT, and since he was now unemployed and kind of depressed, decided he would honor his grandfather's memory by re-enacting the same adventure: he actually hopped freight cars on the same lines, picked the Trail up in about the same location, and was plugging along as best he could, with whatever equipment he could scrape together. It was really quite touching.
The moral: keep your radar on at all times, yes. But keep your mind open, too, and don't judge immediately.
i generally don't like to shave, and have a job where that fortunately isn't a problem most days... my 'play clothes' are just jeans, t-shirts (the old, holey, worn-out-but-comfortable kind are my favorites), and old but very comfortable flannel shirts...same with my most comfortable shoes... very 'broken in'... so on the day i decided to go weigh all my stuff on a postal scale, i happened to have a pretty scruffy look... i packed it all up in my pack and a spare army duffel bag, hauled it down to the post office, and dumped it all out on the floor in front of the scale... being a saturday morning, a lot of people were in and out, checking their boxes... no one actually turned and walked out, but i got a number of strange looks, most of them nervous, especially from women who'd come in alone.
stargate
10-15-2005, 01:35
Had a similar experience in 2001 in Clear Lake, Iowa. My kids and I were on a long summer vacation. If you consider traveling around in a suburban with three kids and a dog for two months a vacation. We were on our last night camping and was packing up when a policeman drove up and wanted to see some ID. Then to top it off I had to prove that the kids were mine and that I hadent kidnapped them. He made us stay at the park office and wait while he checked everything out. By the time he got finished it was time to set up for another night. We were told to leave that they didnt want vagrants in their town. So just to piss off everyone we moved there and lived there for a year. But it is amazing what people think when they see hikers and traveler. Even though he claims to have nothing to do with what happened my Ex the kids father was the only one that knew where we were. I can't wait to see what he try's when we start the At next year.
I guess I have scared a few people over the years. Untill last year I always used work boots, jeans,flannel shirt as my standard backpacking gear. I don't talk much unless I get into the mood, it takes a few questions to get me going, that probably creeps out some.
Last year I made the plung into ultralight and got some new gear,it must make me look like a real hiker because none of the solo ladies I meet while going south seemed afraid,most stoped for a few seconds to talk. Maybe I'm too fat to be a threat.
Nightwalker
10-16-2005, 15:54
Any other guys ever had someone act like you were "Scary"?
No, I can't imagine anyone ever acting like I would be scary.
:D
DiamondDoug
10-18-2005, 14:20
Any other guys ever had someone act like you were "Scary"?Never. But then I showered and shaved every day of my thru hike.
Onward. Furthur!
-<>-Doug
GAME2k
flyfisher
10-18-2005, 14:37
Smokestack and I maintain a section of trail near Bly Gap. A couple of years ago another maintainer joined us to remove a large tree. That area is wilderness so we had an assortment of bow saws and other sharp tools. Smokestack and the other fellow were dressed in camo. As it happens two of us were on one side of the trail and the other standing near the tree when a solo day hiker approached us. The hiker was a middle aged fellow who looked a little out of his element. About 20 feet from us he stopped, started trembling, and cried out.."Please don't hurt me". Although we told him why we were there, he wouldn't pass us until we dropped our tools.
Mother Nature
A friend of mine and I were hiking through MD this September. As we were walking along, we could hear that a maintaining angel was running a string trimmer up ahead. He was facing us and slowly walking towards us working on his right side of a fairly narrow trail.
So we just stopped about 15 yards from him, hoping that we would eventually show up in his peripheral gaze. We finally did, when he got about 5 yards away. He just about dropped his trimmer as he got a fright at suddenly seeing us. I was not sure if his instincts took us for bad guys or a bear - but it took him a moment to gain his composure.
We thanked him for working on the trail, and moved on. I hope the rest of his day went well.
Whistler
10-18-2005, 14:55
That's a funny little moment, Risk. Now that I think about it, I've definitely 'snuck up' on a few people. I tend to be a quieter and quicker hiker, I think. And I know I've crept up behind people, expecting them to have heard me coming already. Then they give a little start and whip around when I say hello, sometimes a little wary. I try to announce myself a bit better nowadays.
-Mark
I hike a lot on a couple local trails in a park open during daylight hours only, tuning up for my thru-hike in '06. 6'4", 240 pounds. I usually have on my full hiking 'stuff,' including the loaded backpack and a couple nalgen bottles of water, hiking hat, hiking poles, etc. I'm 62 years old, so I walk slowly. I live in a university town and a lot of people use the trails for jogging / running.
Many are young coeds, dressed in running gear. Very little running gear, in fact.
Many times they will round a curve and there I am, standing in the middle of the trail with all that gear and a couple sharp poles in my hands. My, "Hi, nice morning (or 'afternoon') are sometimes greeted with a panic look from them and a sudden increase in forward speed. Sometimes one or two will actually turn around and run back the way they came!
The older people I encounter usually say something along the lines of "the AT, huh?" or "the Florida trail, huh?"
K4KAM
Nightwalker
10-18-2005, 23:57
I was not sure if his instincts took us for bad guys or a bear - but it took him a moment to gain his composure.
We thanked him for working on the trail, and moved on. I hope the rest of his day went well.
Risk, you're not a scary guy. You're right pleasant looking, actually.
It was the startleaciousness of the situation, most likely.
:)
Coolabah
10-19-2005, 04:27
Yes, I had the same experience when I moved from Georgia to California in the early 1980's. Rudeness was considered normal and courtesy was perceived as threatening. I especially noticed the difference when driving. Be courteous to another driver and they look at you like you are from Mars!
Southern hospitality just doesn't cut it in the Golden Bear State. Just try to seem important, avoid eye contact, eliminate unnecessary conversation and speak only when spoken to. And always appear to be in a hurry. Before you know it, you will fit in perfectly.
You know, that is really kinda sad, isn't it ? But I guess it is some kind of (self) defensive mechanism, maybe if you don't do this you end up a "victim" ??
I am looking for three female backpackers. I want one of them to be fast, one to be slow and one to be strong. Oddly enough from DWG on, I hiked primarily in a group of five, myself and Cuppa Joe along with the Gypsy Sisters (Gypsy Lulu and Touk) and Tink. Touk was fast, Gypsy was slow (although she could kick it in when she chose to), and Tink carried half her freakin' body weight in her pack (although unfortunately she didn't carry my pack).
I never thought of it, but hiking with the ladies probably did reduce the number of "oh god who are these people" stares Cuppa Joe and I got.
"ME & U"
10-21-2005, 11:24
Had a lady we hitched a ride from in the pouring rain near Unionville ask me for my drivers license cuz she thought I might be a murderer... (crickets)...
Still can't figure out why she gave us a ride, except she might have been playing for the other team.
grumpymutt
10-28-2005, 07:13
Hey Sarge, My wife and two daughters brought this very thing to my attention. apparently 25 years of police work have left a definate scowl on my face. throw in 15 of the years on SWAT a life time of lifting weights a shaved head, earring and goatee. The people that know me don't think anything of it. But I guess I need to change something for the general public. I was telling someone one time that I really am just a big teddy bear and my 16 year old chimes in with "yeah a bear with attitude and skills" The funny thing is though, at this point in my life all I want is good times and great friends.
Kerosene
10-28-2005, 10:40
My employer put me through an intensive one-on-one executive coaching regimen last year. My coach videotaped hours of our conversations and my presentations, pointing out all of the subtle "secondary messages" I was conveying in my mannerisms (e.g., glancing away when someone asked me a question, overly intense focus, the embedded frown when discussing frustrating topics, crossing my arms, etc.). A relaxed smile and casual comment goes a long way to getting people comfortable with you, but it's very difficult to change a life-long habit.
I got a hitchhike ride from a teenage kid and his girlfriend and after I got in, the guy says "don't try anything, I have a pistol under the seat".