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Percival
12-26-2003, 11:58
I think this needs to be discussed, we need to pull together and end alcohol use on the trail once and for all. Denatured alcohol for stove use excepted, of course. I think the government should make it a felony to posses or consume ethyl alcohol on federal land and make it a non-probational offense with a mandatory jail sentence of not less than 6 months for those whom chose to break this law. There are way to many drunks on the trail and these people are nothing more than common day winos and don't belong on the trail. I have on many occasions seen people drinking and getting rowdy on the trail and other hikers just look the other way. This is wrong, action needs to be taken. I feel that if you do see boozers on the trail you should not confront them because they could be dangerous, but instead follow them to the nearest road crossing and then notify the local law enforcement. Once hikers see that drinking alcohol isn't tolerated on the trail and that they in fact will be arrested, then and only then we have a chance at stopping or controlling this problem. But as it is now they think it is no big deal. The ATC might also want to consider a task force to do just what was mentioned. I myself will be turning in anyone I see breaking the new prohibition or trashing shelters with their puke and drunken rages, and I suggest others do the same.

Blue Jay
12-26-2003, 12:08
Although I never drink on the trail, I respectfully disagree. Prohibition clearly does not work with alcohol or drugs. I am aware that this is just a humorous response to the Pot Thread

Skeemer
12-26-2003, 12:58
I can't imagine following a drunken hiker to the next road crossing...it's hard enough to walk drunk down the street let alone on a rocky path with a 30# pack...my guess is that's not gonna happen. Sure, there's some drinking in shelters and especially in towns.

I also do not drink on the Trail and also respectfully disagree. Maybe I was lucky but I never ran into a drunk on the Trail or even in a shelter. A few hikers carried some small amount of booze but handled it well and were not at all rude.

I don't know, I just don't see it as that big an issue and I don't want to project my values onto others. HYOH

Former Easy
12-26-2003, 13:36
ROFLMAO .......... Good job Percival :D

bearbag hanger
12-26-2003, 14:00
I think it's alreay been tried back in the 1920s and 1930s. It didn't work then and it won't work now.

Jaybird
12-26-2003, 15:36
Yo Percival:

From the ATC page:

"national scenic trails" within the national park and forest systems...."

If the A.T. is part of the National Parks sytem....then, it is ALREADY ILLEGAL to have alcoholic beverages inside the A.T. boundaries..as it would be considered part of a National Park.

Lone Wolf
12-26-2003, 15:45
Alcohol IS allowed in National Parks. Shenandoah Nat. Park comes to mind. I always get wine at the camp stores to put in my Nalgene to take to camp.

illininagel
12-26-2003, 15:52
Alcohol IS allowed in National Parks. Shenandoah Nat. Park comes to mind. I always get wine at the camp stores to put in my Nalgene to take to camp.

Yeah. I seem to recall alcohol being served in the lodge restaurants throughout the National Park...

Also, no one ever told us it was illegal in the Shenandoah campgrounds. We had a cooler filled with beer and ice. Nowhere on the grounds did it indicate that this was a problem.

Flash Hand
12-26-2003, 17:14
I used to work for Wolf Trap Farm National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, VA. They allow thousands of people drink beers during the performance days and nights. Even, when there are dark days, (no scheduled show on that day), employee celebrate together annually during BBQ day and drink beers, even on duty and the managers do drink, keg were provided, and its ON NATIONAL PARK property.

I went to Zion National Park, I drink beers, and no body say its not allowed.


And, yeah, it wont work. Just ignore chemically imbalanced hiker. It will do the trick. =)

Flash Hand :jump

Bonehead
12-26-2003, 18:14
Gonna have to run the shiners off if you wanna turn them mountains dry.

Tater
12-27-2003, 17:45
Nobody gives a damn what mind alterning substance you're using on the trail, as long as you don't bother your neighbor. With alcohol, don't get rowdy and don't trash the place up, and who cares. Same with pot, caffeine, acid, whatever.

Sand Crab
12-27-2003, 18:40
It sure is getting tiresome having to sort through all the frivolous posts lately. I don't have (or won't make) the time to play "Let's start a nonsense thread to pull someone's chain" every day. Admin, can we start a new forum category for these type posts so they will be easier to ignore? Maybe something along the line of "Non hiking related nonsense".

Tater
12-28-2003, 02:08
It sure is getting tiresome having to sort through all the frivolous posts lately. I don't have (or won't make) the time to play "Let's start a nonsense thread to pull someone's chain" every day. Admin, can we start a new forum category for these type posts so they will be easier to ignore? Maybe something along the line of "Non hiking related nonsense".

Have a drink and loosen up. Won't be so crabby with a couple belts under yer belt. ;)

Sand Crab
12-28-2003, 10:52
Have a drink and loosen up. Won't be so crabby with a couple belts under yer belt. ;)
Otay Tatr. I gib it a tri. Ooks funnnier now. Sure sloows dwn my typing tho.

highway
12-28-2003, 11:44
Percival, this must be a joke.

If not, what you propose was tried with the 18th Amendment. That only gave rise to organized crime supplying it. The 21st Amendment overturned the 18th but the organized crime didn't go away-they gave us the drug problem, instead.

So, I'm against anyone proposing that the federal government give us any more felonys. I don't think we can take anymore mistakes like prohibition from a few well-wishers upon the majority. Besides, what harm comes from a few little sips of hooch? :clap :clap

Valmet
01-02-2004, 18:07
Sorry, I vote no. I enjoy a drink of Jack and water at the end of a day of hiking. No I don't enjoy drunks on the trail but over 30 years of hiking I have seen few with the exception at some of the shelters that are very close to roads.

screwysquirrel
01-04-2004, 01:47
Might as will ban smoking cigarettes while we're on the subject.

Former Easy
01-04-2004, 02:43
Might as will ban smoking cigarettes while we're on the subject.

Sorry to say if they ban CIGARETTE smoking .......... that will definatly be the most used illegal drug on the trail. Still to this day if I get a snicker from anyone outside, I tell them to go to hell. Yes I do respect indoor area's and peoples homes. I also know my father and mother are still kicking and all my grandparents died after 80+ years of being sponsored by phil morris ............ maybe the non-filters had something to do with it.

Percival
01-11-2004, 12:00
Really people, wouldn't it be better if ALL the counties along the AT were dry. That patchwork thing just encourages alcoholism and shelter abuse.

eldwayno
01-11-2004, 13:48
Percival seems to sound a little bit like Wingfoot to me.... hmmmmmm

HippieLongstockings
01-11-2004, 14:19
I haven't seen any real problems with alcohol use on the trail. I Do see a lot of people who throw trash around the shelters, don't dig catholes when they go to the bathroom and have no respect for themselves or anyone else who walks the trail. Maybe we should just ban all of that too! I drink beer. I love to drink beer once in a while. And I like to hike 25 miles a day everyday. So why should I be told I couldn't have a beer at the end of my day in a shelter just because other people don't like it. I agree that the weekenders that hike in a half a mile to drink in a shelter should be reported. But I also have come into shelters with a few people and a dog and been told that the shelter was their's for the night and I was not welcomed to stay. So what's worse? Don't let a few hikers ruin your time on the trail. We all do things that other people don't like, I guess we'll just have to learn to live with it.

HippieLongstockings
01-11-2004, 14:21
Sorry forgot to say.... There are no Federal laws regarding drinking in public. It's normally a state or city law. And there also is no Federal nudity laws. Just in case you wanted to know!

squirrel bait
01-11-2004, 15:39
Yea, ban it all, smoking, drinking, barn dancing (ya all know where that leads), and when were done, we are gonna come after you heheheheheh.

smokymtnsteve
01-11-2004, 15:54
the NPS does have some regs on alcohol

JackW
01-11-2004, 16:25
There are people who are opposed to others drinking alcohol because they themselves do not. There are people who couldn't care less what the rules are even if they are understood by most of society. The society on the AT (for the most part) believes in the HYOH philosophy and the Live and Let Live way of life. Someone who has a drink of alcohol with their meal or a couple of beers after a hard day of hiking is not the problem. It is the townies who know that a shelter and a fire ring are just a few feet off the road and they have a place to PARTY where no police or people of authority interfere. They don't care if they puke all over the shelter, and "hey, the shelter is made of wood and we need firewood so lets take a plank or two" so the Trail gets diminished. To distinguish between the various parties (people of the first part Vs people of the second part, etc.) is difficult and could be dangerous if attempts were made to interfere seeing that most people have the "let them alone" attitude. Perhaps the best idea is to tear down the shelters, plant brambles where they were, and discourage easy access to the AT.

As for those who are Thru-Hikers who drink up a storm they will live to regret it the next day as they heft their packs and have miles to go before they sleep again. Better if they used a bit of moderation. Of course, don't tell me what is moderate cause I know my limit and it may be different from yours.

As far as AT Hikers drinking and having a socially accepted respite -- What's the harm?

Percival
01-27-2004, 22:36
As far as AT Hikers drinking and having a socially accepted respite -- What's the harm?
Ask your doctor what's the harm. The liver was not intended to process ethenyl alcohol. Would you encourage your children to drink that stuff?

I say put referrendums on the ballots in the "wet" counties along the trail to go dry. The Southern Baptists have the right idea.

Lone Wolf
01-27-2004, 22:52
Hey Percy, you a doper? :D

Percival
01-27-2004, 23:53
Hey Percy, you a doper? :D
That's just like you winos to try to change the subject when the going gets tough. Why? Because alcoholics have a problem with denial. But you can't deny this:

105,000 hikers and other Americans die annually from alcohol-related causes which could include everything from falls to drunk driving accidents to cirrhosis of the liver. For comparison sake, there are 365,000 tobacco-related deaths in the U.S. each year. Now tell me, is that the type of behaviour you want to see on the trail?:datz

Tanglefoot
01-28-2004, 00:23
I can't believe I just read that you want a felony conviction for drunkeness. Although I do believe that alcohol is a problem no matter where one goes to suggest a felony for drunkeness is ridiculous.

geoffrey morris
02-03-2004, 02:03
Percival,Yes it's true that alcohol,drugs and crime cause many problems and in a perfect world we could fix all these problems.I ask you then,do you really think that with all the trouble facing our nation these days,that our government really gives a damn about drinking and smoking on the AT?We can't get them to care about the air or water that we need,let alone some puke in a shelter.I agree that no person should have to deal with puke in a shelter or feeling threatened by someone who's drunk.How many times have you felt threatened by someone that was drinking?What about you Easy, by someone smoking pot?NO,I wouldn't want my kid doing it.When he becomes an adult,then it will be his choice.It's so easy for you all to throw our childen into the dicussion.Pretty low in my book because you all already know that no one wants thier children involved in drugs and alcohol.You and others like Former Easy are just another type of extremists.I'm glad that you all care so much,however you need to dose of reality.If nature extremists had thier way there would be no AT at all.One day due to the amount of hikers there might be so much damage to the trail lands that it will no longer exsist.You want to complain that others look the other way,when instead they should be offended,who the hell are you GOD?Maybe the real world is just too much for people like you.Maybe you should get a gun a stay locked up in your home.Maybe people like you and Easy should stop complaining and realize the world is and always will be filled with dislikes and there's not much that your going to do to change the way it is,other than to tell the rest of us how we should feel about it.If alcohol and marijuana are such a problem on the trail,why are you there?You must be scared to death.Why don't you dig up some facts about the alcohol and drug related incidences that are occurring along the trail.The real truth would be interesting,I wonder if it is as bad as you seem to think.Maybe tolerance is what's needed instead of more prisons. We've lost the war on drugs or do you still think we'll win?
G. Morris Tolerance, another way of saying mind your own affairs

Happy
02-03-2004, 02:17
Too hell with this thread, let's go to how to chill your beer in WHEN IT'S HOT!!! :clap :banana :sun

Rain Man
02-03-2004, 12:39
...You and others ... are just another type of extremists. ... You want to complain that others ... should be offended,who the hell are you GOD? Maybe the real world is just too much for people like you. Maybe you should get a gun a stay locked up in your home. Maybe people like you and Easy should stop complaining and realize ... there's not much that your going to do to change the way it is, other than to tell the rest of us how we should feel about it. ...You must be scared to death. ...

I say you're making a pretty good case ... against mean drunks.

Heck, I think marijuana should be on the same plane as alcohol. (They're all drugs and I don't use drugs.) But you are making me remember why mean drunks are so generally pitied and disliked while they feel so glorious and justified in their drunkeness.

Rain Man

.

Thomas Hughes
03-04-2004, 02:55
I have issues with people that are need to go into my life and MAKE ME DO WHAT THEY WANT. You and your kind scare me. Please don't inflict me with your "WHOLY IDEAS". About sucking down some ethinal, hell ya. As for being around a bunch of drucken people, I might get offend if they didn't have a nought to go around. I also found that beer and "GRAMPA'S COLD MEDICINE" can get you layed. NO ONE IS UGLY AFTER 2 IN THE MORING! :bse

jec6613
03-04-2004, 03:04
I think they should just outlaw public drunkenness on the trails, not alcohol use. That way, at least some people are discouraged and others we have the ability to call the cops on. That wouldn't be too hard, would it?

Personally, I carry a cigar on every multi-day hike I take, and keep it on my person the entire time to remind me of what I'm doing. Then, of course, when reach the end as I'm walking away I light it up. It's a very good feeling.

azchipka
03-04-2004, 15:53
The ATC might also want to consider a task force to do just what was mentioned. I myself will be turning in anyone I see breaking the new prohibition or trashing shelters with their puke and drunken rages, and I suggest others do the same.

Oh that would be sweet, so explain this to me how you going to report them?

Get them to tell you who they are?
Hi i just wanted to tell you a thru hiker named "drinks with the bears" was drunk at the shelter........whats he look like? well he was like 5'8" or so, he kinda smelled from not showering, and ummm oh ya i looked like he hadnt shaved in awhile......what else? well he had a really big back pack, he had a brown tent, oh yep and he had two hiking poles......well i dont know if he was traveling with anyone else there was like 15 people in the shelter.......do i know his name? ya i already told you his name was "Drinks With The Bears"......what do you mean there is no one by that name in your computer, there has to be thats what everyone was calling him.

Take them in yourself?
Hi i found this guy drinking on the trail, well i know he is sober now we where 13 miles from here and he wasnt walking to fast. I was trying to get a ride but no was picking me up cause i had this guy all tied up, I tried to drag him but he kept hitting his head on stuff while i was dragging him down here........What do you mean thats kidnapping, and assualt and im going to go to jail? But he was drinking, what about him......so what if hes sober now!

azchipka
03-04-2004, 16:05
That's just like you winos to try to change the subject when the going gets tough. Why? Because alcoholics have a problem with denial. But you can't deny this:

105,000 hikers and other Americans die annually from alcohol-related causes which could include everything from falls to drunk driving accidents to cirrhosis of the liver. For comparison sake, there are 365,000 tobacco-related deaths in the U.S. each year. Now tell me, is that the type of behaviour you want to see on the trail?:datz

Percival,

I got a few other stats for you that you can tell people as well.

250,000 people people die every year in car accidents around the world that have nothing to do whith alcohol.

Last year 37 hikers got lost in the grand tetons

100,000 people die in plane crashs

Every 2.1 seconds another child is born somewhere in the world

last year over 200,000 people died of hunger

1/20 of the US population can not read above a 5th grade level

87 people where hurt in animal related incidents in the back country areas of the united states

13 people where hurt hiking the AT last year

1,385 people have tested positive for HIV since the beginning of this year

oh ya and as of the start of this thread 1 more thread about outlawing something that more then half the people on the trail do was posted to white blaze. perhaps you remember the thread about cracking down on pot smoking on the trail that included a poll....what was the result like 13% of the people on the trail on the trail minded pot but only if it was done at the shelter and a amazing amount of 4% had a problem with people smoking pot on the trail. Which left 83% being ok with pot being smoked or smoked pot them selves.

Drinking is a american past time just like baseball....hey that might be why you can buy a beer at the game.

Chappy
03-04-2004, 16:20
Hey, you guys go easy on ol' Percy...he was just joking. ;)

Chickenfeet
03-04-2004, 17:40
You FUNNY.

and now, my addition to this thread...

Our drive to get frashizzled is completely natural and we share it with lots of other animals.
Elephants get drunk on fermented fruit, pigs love beer (my dad did a very scientific study of this phenomenon), birds really like the "special" berries, monkeys looove the magic mushrooms. And

Dr. Ronald Siegel says that not only is drug use natural, but that the drive to get, ahem, become intoxicated is as powerful as sex drive, hunger, and thirst.


I was trying to get a ride but no was picking me up cause i had this guy all tied up, I tried to drag him but he kept hitting his head on stuff while i was dragging him down here........What do you mean thats kidnapping, and assualt and im going to go to jail? But he was drinking, what about him......so what if hes sober now![/I]
:jump :jump :jump

jec6613
03-04-2004, 17:53
The only people that can make a difference on the consumption of alcohol is fellow hikers, we have to police ourselves. If, for instance, we all agree that noisy drunks are bad, then we should police up the public drunks and keep them from having too much. That's the only way this will work is self-policing not enforced by any regulations, just make it an unwritten rule on the trail.

And you know what? It wouldn't be a bad idea to keep the over indulgers from having too much so that we call can enjoy doing whatever we want on the trail within reason (this includes stuff like pot, shrooms or whatever your particular cup of tea is - that's your own business). Make the AT accepting and tolerant yet keep it all within reason. It would certainly improve the enviroment a bit, and just throw up some signs at common trail entrances letting people know about "AT Etiquette". It wouldn't cost much to set up and zero to enforce, but we'd all need to be on the bandwagon.

We'll just keep the pot part under wraps because if people know that nobody cares how much pot is smoked on the trail the shelters will all turn into a network of bake houses, lol.

Kozmic Zian
03-04-2004, 20:30
Yea.....Booze. 'The Thing Is Andy'......If hikers would just keep it to themselves it all would workout OK. I mean, if hikers would get high away from the damn shelters and huts, in their own lil' campsites, then who would know the difference. Seems like everybody wants to show their asses and get stoned up around the huts. Then some party poop or Johnny Be Good wants to turn 'um in. However, I do agree with the original poster, that the abuse up around the Shelters should be, somehow, frowned upon. Who wants to hear all that ****. If you must get f***** up, do it away from the shelters. Keep it to yourselves, 'cause nobody else gives a s***! Thank You, KZ@
------------------------------------------------------------------------------'It is NOT neccessary to blow out the other persons light in order to let you own shine'.

Chappy
03-05-2004, 01:14
I think this needs to be discussed, we need to band together and end the use of profanity from Whiteblaze.net forever. I think the administrator should make it a felony to use or even think about using profanity on this site and make it a non-probational offense with a mandatory banishment of 6 months for those who break our new law. There are way too many users of profanity and they are no better than common day X-rated comedians and they don't belong on this site. I have on many occasions seen people use profanity on this site and other users just look the other way. This is wrong, action needs to be taken. I feel that if you do see users of profanity on this site, do not confront them since they might be dangerous. Get all your facts together and send a message to the administrator. Once site users see that profanity will not be tolerated and that they will, in fact, be turned in, then and only then will we have a chance at stopping or controlling the problem. But as it is now they think it is no big deal. The administrator might also want to consider a task force to do what was jsut mentioned. I, myself, will be turning in anyone I see breaking the new prohibition or trashing this site with their vile and filthy rages, and I suggest others do the same. ;)

azchipka
03-05-2004, 04:09
Im not sure banshment will be enough perhaps they should go to jail with the pot smokeres, drinkers, and sexomacholics.

ga>me>ak
03-05-2004, 11:59
Chaps...are you for real or just yanking the chain :-?

Kozmic Zian
03-05-2004, 17:41
Chaps...are you for real or just yanking the chain :-?

Yea........They be joikin' da chains, baby! he...he...:jump

Chappy
03-05-2004, 17:58
Chaps...are you for real or just yanking the chain :-?

Chain yanking...this thread belongs in the "Hiking Humor" section! :D

okpik
03-05-2004, 18:01
If they end Alcohol use, what will I burn in the Turbo V8 Stove from SGT Rock I just built? Is this a conspiricy from Colemans?