i am pissed!

[cupcake]

i sent this email to a fellow hiker-friend this morning ....

**************

yes. the story about the hiker pisses me off. it pisses me off on so many levels.

she chose to spend her new years day doing something she loved ... hiking with her dog. so many people kick off the new year with a nice walk somewhere pretty, or a hike on blood mtn.

she did not choose to die that day.

though morbid, i wonder at what moment she thought, "****, he's going to kill me." ? "****, this is IT." all those fleeting thoughts of life, plans, what tomorrow could bring, appts. the following week, friends, family, her dog, etc .....

i wonder a lot about those fleeting thoughts. the point of no return. it's just awful.

i hate it too ... being at the right place, at the wrong time. but, it can happen anywhere. it just takes being in the right place at the wrong time. that moment when you're near someone that thinks "hey, i'm going to do it". someone that means you harm. and it has nothing to do with who or what you are ... you're just a body that they think/know they can overcome, fulfilling that need to hurt or kill. i HATE it!

i hate how it unnerves my sense of security, whether on the AT or hiking in umstead alone, or out at the lake that has a paved greenway around it. i don't want to feel like a target.

and you can't judge a book by its cover. she was last seen talking with this sketchy ****er. that put him under suspicion. but sketchy looking people are a dime a dozen on the trail. you remember 'doc (holiday?)' ... not your typical hiker. but his intentions and heart seemed in the right place. but we didn't really "know" him. we didn't really "know" anyone. you just let yourself trust. what do you do? trust or live in fear? you don't always get a 'bad vibe' from bad people. some people continue to snow others, one after another .....

***************

i figure there's lots of random threads on whiteblaze regarding this event. i can't seem to use the right "search" to find a proper place for my post. so ... here it is.

i have not been 'on THE trail' in awhile. i miss the trail. and i am beyond saddened by this murder. call it what it is. not an "event".

there are women's forums here. and i realize that bad things can happen to people, not matter their age or gender, though ... there's a part of me that feels that women are still "more" at risk.

we don't want to not do the things we love because of fear. living in fear is not living .....

d

[shelterbuilder]

It has been said before, that courage is not the absence of fear, but rather facing your fear and doing the right thing anyway. Or something like that....

We would not be human if we were not saddened by something as senseless as this murder. But likewise, our humanity would be diminished if we allowed fear to take root in our hearts and minds and stop us from doing the things that we love...the same thing that Merideth must also have loved. For any of us to stop going to the mountains because of fear would be the poorest kind of memorial for any of us to make. Just take caution with you when you go, and stay alert for that little twinge in your gut....

[gldwings1]

i sent this email to a fellow hiker-friend this morning ....

**************

yes. the story about the hiker pisses me off. it pisses me off on so many levels.

she chose to spend her new years day doing something she loved ... hiking with her dog. so many people kick off the new year with a nice walk somewhere pretty, or a hike on blood mtn.

she did not choose to die that day.

though morbid, i wonder at what moment she thought, "****, he's going to kill me." ? "****, this is IT." all those fleeting thoughts of life, plans, what tomorrow could bring, appts. the following week, friends, family, her dog, etc .....

i wonder a lot about those fleeting thoughts. the point of no return. it's just awful.

i hate it too ... being at the right place, at the wrong time. but, it can happen anywhere. it just takes being in the right place at the wrong time. that moment when you're near someone that thinks "hey, i'm going to do it". someone that means you harm. and it has nothing to do with who or what you are ... you're just a body that they think/know they can overcome, fulfilling that need to hurt or kill. i HATE it!

i hate how it unnerves my sense of security, whether on the AT or hiking in umstead alone, or out at the lake that has a paved greenway around it. i don't want to feel like a target.

and you can't judge a book by its cover. she was last seen talking with this sketchy ****er. that put him under suspicion. but sketchy looking people are a dime a dozen on the trail. you remember 'doc (holiday?)' ... not your typical hiker. but his intentions and heart seemed in the right place. but we didn't really "know" him. we didn't really "know" anyone. you just let yourself trust. what do you do? trust or live in fear? you don't always get a 'bad vibe' from bad people. some people continue to snow others, one after another .....

***************

i figure there's lots of random threads on whiteblaze regarding this event. i can't seem to use the right "search" to find a proper place for my post. so ... here it is.

i have not been 'on THE trail' in awhile. i miss the trail. and i am beyond saddened by this murder. call it what it is. not an "event".

there are women's forums here. and i realize that bad things can happen to people, not matter their age or gender, though ... there's a part of me that feels that women are still "more" at risk.

we don't want to not do the things we love because of fear. living in fear is not living .....

d
Well said Cupcake. See you out there!

Chuck

[kayak karl]

i sent this email to a fellow hiker-friend this morning ....

**************

yes. the story about the hiker pisses me off. it pisses me off on so many levels.

she chose to spend her new years day doing something she loved ... hiking with her dog. so many people kick off the new year with a nice walk somewhere pretty, or a hike on blood mtn.

she did not choose to die that day.

though morbid, i wonder at what moment she thought, "****, he's going to kill me." ? "****, this is IT." all those fleeting thoughts of life, plans, what tomorrow could bring, appts. the following week, friends, family, her dog, etc .....

i wonder a lot about those fleeting thoughts. the point of no return. it's just awful.

i hate it too ... being at the right place, at the wrong time. but, it can happen anywhere. it just takes being in the right place at the wrong time. that moment when you're near someone that thinks "hey, i'm going to do it". someone that means you harm. and it has nothing to do with who or what you are ... you're just a body that they think/know they can overcome, fulfilling that need to hurt or kill. i HATE it!

i hate how it unnerves my sense of security, whether on the AT or hiking in umstead alone, or out at the lake that has a paved greenway around it. i don't want to feel like a target.

and you can't judge a book by its cover. she was last seen talking with this sketchy ****er. that put him under suspicion. but sketchy looking people are a dime a dozen on the trail. you remember 'doc (holiday?)' ... not your typical hiker. but his intentions and heart seemed in the right place. but we didn't really "know" him. we didn't really "know" anyone. you just let yourself trust. what do you do? trust or live in fear? you don't always get a 'bad vibe' from bad people. some people continue to snow others, one after another .....

***************

i figure there's lots of random threads on whiteblaze regarding this event. i can't seem to use the right "search" to find a proper place for my post. so ... here it is.

i have not been 'on THE trail' in awhile. i miss the trail. and i am beyond saddened by this murder. call it what it is. not an "event".

there are women's forums here. and i realize that bad things can happen to people, not matter their age or gender, though ... there's a part of me that feels that women are still "more" at risk.

we don't want to not do the things we love because of fear. living in fear is not living .....

d
she was the same age as my daughter. i can't imagine her parents pain. i don't think i thought about any thing else for the last days. pray, pray, cry and pray agian. all young people are in my prayers out there,
may god be with you,
karl

[gold bond]

I to feel,felt the same way.....and felt almost guilty for those feelings. I felt that way and knew what I needed to be doing was feeling bad for the family at the time but in the back of my mind.....well lets just say I was mad!
I as well go to the trail to get away....from what I wonder sometimes but never the less to get away and I feel like I was selfish to even think about anything other than her family at that time.

I will continue to pray for her, her family and her friends that knew her well and will miss her. On the other hand I wonder why they sterilize the needle when they are about to do a lethal injection!

[kyhipo]

I agree! its a tragic loss and reminds us that evil is abound everywhere!the way she died was just ungodly.ky

[JAK]

I have seen the statistics about men being more likely to be killed than women, but I don't think that is very useful. I'm not saying the men had it coming or were asking for it. I'm just thinking that those statisitics include all situations and lifestyle choices and can't really be applied to life on the trail or walking home alone at night. I think that although the risks are very small compared to everyday life, I think women are more at risk on the trail then men, and their situation is considerably different than mine, so whatever choices they make I try not to judge them. I do sympathize however when the wrong people suffer the backlash, which often happens, but women have to be free to make such mistakes, since they are just as capable of making the right choices as I am, and for more likely to make the best choices for their personal situation.

[JAK]

I guess I am saying that men could try to appear more like gentlemen, rather than just behave as gentlemen. It might make it easier to identify risks.

But what does a gentleman look like?

[warraghiyagey]

But what does a gentleman look like?
I believe he looks like a gentle man.:sun

[DawnTreader]

looks like me!!

[warraghiyagey]

looks like me!!
Every day, all day my friend. We still on for June 1??:sun :sun :sun :sun

[Green Bean]

Very sad! things like this really make me put my guard up when im out on the trail and even walking on the darn street : ( ~GB

[partinj]

I got a ideal why don't we cover this guy with honey and tie him to
a tree in bear county that that

[ScubaDooba]

I'm just irked at the fact that I have to "defend" hiking to folks to like to sit home and watch tabloid TV.

Questions I've had to answer from co-workers the past few days:
- "Why would ANYONE want to hike somewhere so isolated? It is SOOOO unsafe." (Like they'd know!)
- "Why would a woman hike by herself?"
- "I just don't get it, why would anyone like to go hiking in the winter? Doesn't it make more sense to hike when it's warm outside where there's bunches of people?" (Apparently they've never met a no-see-um)
- "You mean people just go hike up a mountain? Why would they even do that?"

My thoughts are, If you have to ask, you wouldn't understand...
[rant off] :)

[JAK]

I would suggest that defending hiking should be the least of your concerns. I empathize with you though, because I put up with the same crap and I'm a fella. Usually I get a bit of a rush out of it. Sometimes it pushes a button. I would like to be more stoic. I've always admired stoicism but I've never really been that good at it or worked at it. Sometimes it comes naturally, but not when the chips are down. Not how stoicism works for women. Since most are naturally more collaborative and consultive it would seem to me that stoicism would still be possible, but more difficult. As with hiking, perhaps that would make it more rewarding in the end.

Stoicism:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism

In the life of the individual man, virtue is the sole good; such things as health, happiness, possessions, are of no account. Since virtue resides in the will, everything really good or bad in a man's life depends only upon himself. He may become poor, but what of it? He can still be virtuous. A tyrant may put him in prison, but he can still persevere in living in harmony with Nature. He may be sentenced to death, but he can die nobly, like Socrates. Therefore every man has perfect freedom, provided he emancipates himself from mundane desires.

[Smile]

That was nice, thanks for posting it JAK! :)

[V8]

Thanks for starting this thread - I have been SO ANGRY, too - the main feeling for me all week, about this situation.

[JAK]

Perhaps the most beautiful woman of antiquity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypatia_of_Alexandria

"Yet even she fell a victim to the political jealousy which at that time prevailed. For as she had frequent interviews with Orestes, it was calumniously reported among the Christian populace, that it was she who prevented Orestes from being reconciled to the bishop. Some of them therefore, hurried away by a fierce and bigoted zeal, whose ringleader was a reader named Peter, waylaid her returning home, and dragging her from her carriage, they took her to the church called Caesareum, where they completely stripped her, and then murdered her by scraping her skin off with tiles and bits of shell. After tearing her body in pieces, they took her mangled limbs to a place called Cinaron, and there burnt them."
- Socrates Scholasticus (5th-century)

[ScubaDooba]

I will continue to pray for her, her family and her friends that knew her well and will miss her. On the other hand I wonder why they sterilize the needle when they are about to do a lethal injection!
Because as humans, we still strive to have decorum and professionalism even when everything in our power tells us just to say screw it! :D

Or they didn't want him to catch cooties. It's one of the two.

[ScubaDooba]

I would suggest that defending hiking should be the least of your concerns. I empathize with you though, because I put up with the same crap and I'm a fella. Usually I get a bit of a rush out of it. Sometimes it pushes a button. I would like to be more stoic. I've always admired stoicism but I've never really been that good at it or worked at it. Sometimes it comes naturally, but not when the chips are down. Not how stoicism works for women. Since most are naturally more collaborative and consultive it would seem to me that stoicism would still be possible, but more difficult. As with hiking, perhaps that would make it more rewarding in the end.

Stoicism:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism

In the life of the individual man, virtue is the sole good; such things as health, happiness, possessions, are of no account. Since virtue resides in the will, everything really good or bad in a man's life depends only upon himself. He may become poor, but what of it? He can still be virtuous. A tyrant may put him in prison, but he can still persevere in living in harmony with Nature. He may be sentenced to death, but he can die nobly, like Socrates. Therefore every man has perfect freedom, provided he emancipates himself from mundane desires.
I hear those questions all the time (each time I go out), however because of the tragedy this week it was like they were able to finally "throw it in my face", almost justifiying (to themselves) that hiking/backpacking is a pointless activity. I don't worry about it too much. It's just irritating.

However it is quite ironic that when I come back with beautiful pictures they always ask for more. And they usually have pictures of landscapes etc. on their calendars and cubicles. :rolleyes:

[rainmaker]

I got a ideal why don't we cover this guy with honey and tie him to
a tree in bear county that that

As a beekeeper it would break my heart to see good local honey used that way but if we must may I suggest that the a****** be staked out over a fire ant mound instead.

Seriously though, I have been trying to fathom the complete lunancy and senselessness of not only Ms. Emerson's murder but also the holiday murders of six people in either Oregon or Washington. There a family member and her boyfriend killed an extended family of six. Included in the carnage was a six year old and a three year old child as they tried to use a cell phone to call for help for their critically wounded mother. The boyfriend was quoted as saying little Nathan ( three) looked up at me and knew what was going to happen.

Makes you want to resign from the human specie.

[KirkMcquest]

No doubt there will be some changes in hikers demeanor this year. This tragedy can't help but send shock waves through the hiking community. It's a shame.

[cupcake]

i have felt unsafe on trails only twice ever ... once on the AT, once locally. locally ... because i was 3 miles from the trailhead and smelled a cigarette, with no one around (that i could see) (in the winter) (all brown). i walked faster ....
on the AT, i had a long (18 mile) day ... and got to a very depressing shelter. i so didn't want to spend the night alone, and was gleefully overjoyed when (eventually) two other hikers i knew showed up .... such relief!

i had spent most of the day alone. sometimes, i love that, other times, it scares me.

regardless, i won't stop hiking. i will listen, smell, look over my shoulder, look ahead. funny thing, i think most clearly when on (a) trail.

the best way to honor, remember, is to keep on walking.

[Jaybird62]

That is great cupcake. You should never let some idiot(s) change your way of thinking- it is good that you are cautious and observant, but none of us should have to live our lives in fear of some waste of life.