View Full Version : Meeting people on the trail
grrickar
12-25-2004, 16:04
When meeting people on the trail, do you guys typically introduce yourselves and ask them who they are?
On my last hike (which was my first hike in quite some time), I talked to several people, but did not take their pictures or ask their trailnames. I wish that I would have, because some of them very well could have been WB members. We spent one evening on Max Patch with 'Uncle Wayne' (WB member) and because we did not approach them we didn't know it until after the hike.
Most people were friendly and chatted with us, but I have since wondered if they would have been okay with us taking their picture or not. I guess it doesn't hurt to ask.
I met one lady who told me her name was Cantalope, and a guy named Mountain Mike (I think that was what he said). We met about 60 people all total, and sadly those two were the only ones I talked to that I asked their names.
Brushy Sage
12-25-2004, 16:50
People who are hiking alone or in pairs are usually friendly when you introduce yourself by your trail name. This isn't always the case, though. Sometimes I have met people who just barely slowed down to say hello and then were on their way again at full speed. When I meet a group, I will often ask one of the lead persons what group this is, and then it's a quick hello or nod to the members of the group as I go by. One year when I was hiking locally in Maryland, I took a small notebook with me on the AT and kept a record of all the thru hikers I met (you can pretty well tell by equipment, clothes and physical condition who the thru hikers are, and I also asked!). It was an interesting record by the end of the season.
When meeting people on the trail, do you guys typically introduce yourselves and ask them who they are? .
It all depends. If someone looks like they have been out for a while, I most certainly stop and chat. But, day hikers tend to go right by, so I usually don't say much other than a quick greeting.
Folks hiking solo, or couples are much more apt to stop and chat than people hiking with a group.
Also, it depends on the density. I probably talked with everyone on the summit of all the Presidentials, except Washington. Too many people up there other than hikers to talk with them all.
Depends. This last summer in VA, when the trail was relatively crowded, I tended just to say hello and keep moving when I saw others that seemed to be out for more than a day or two (thru or otherwise). In the mid-Atlantic, and, more especially, lower New England, I was more friendly as the hikers were fewer. Tourists rarely got more than a hello from me, for whatever reason you might like to think up. Mostly, I just didn't want to answer the standard, and grossly unimportant, questions. Although, once I told them I was just out on a section hike, and not a thruhiker, they would usually lose interest in me and seek out more entertaining people. At a shelter, when I would stay in them (about half the time), this isn't the case and I would usually be as chatty as the other people in the shelter, as with (as in SNP) tourists out for a look to see how hikers on the AT were living.
grrickar
12-25-2004, 20:04
[QUOTE=chrisAlthough, once I told them I was just out on a section hike, and not a thruhiker, they would usually lose interest in me and seek out more entertaining people.[/QUOTE]
We experienced this too. When people asked if we were thru hikers (they should have known by the way we looked that we were not) and we replied no, they was usually a collective 'awwww' of disappointment from the group asking. Some would follow up to ask where we came from and where we were going. Even though we were bagging about 15 miles a day (which to me seemed like a lot seeing how my last backpacking trip was in my Boy Scout days) they seemed unimpressed.
I was happy to run into a group of older people going for a nature walk (in the rain no less) who cheered me and my partner for hiking about 73 miles in 5 days.
I should have told them we were thru-hikers - thru hiking the GSMNP that is ;)
minnesotasmith
12-26-2004, 00:32
Most people seemed happy to stop and chat. Female dayhikers under 40 (especially if attractive) with no male along seemed the least inclined to talk, along people of all backgrounds who were physically struggling during their hike to the point of gasping for air. Groups of over 3 people are less likely to want to stop and chat that I've seen. Older people seemed a bit more social, although I have seen plenty of the nicest younger (18- 30) hikers you could hope to meet on any trail anywhere.
Too, the worse the conditions (rainy/wet, near sunset, cold, windy), the less people mostly seem inclined to chat, as opposed to simply courteously briefly responding to one-sentence (or shorter) greetings.
I chat but do not ask their names, it could be dangerous especially with 3 or more around, they might say Hatfield or McCoy.
When meeting people on the trail, do you guys typically introduce yourselves and ask them who they are? ............................................etc.,e tc.,etc.,......................................... .. We met about 60 people all total, and sadly those two were the only ones I talked to that I asked their names.
Yo GRRICKER!
if you see me (see photo gallery: http://www.whiteblaze.net/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/656)
out on the trail...no matter where it is....stop by & chat!
I think thats the most enjoyable part of hikin' for me...meeting the "people of the trail". I take loads of photos too...i love it all! :D
Its great to find out who's on the trail and their story. That's what makes the AT so great.
still have not met my hiking princess:sun neo
I usually introduce myself. something along the lines of: "Hi, I'm Doctari (hand shake?) Who are you? But then most people who know me say that I am shy, , , , then break down in fits of laughter. No, I am not even remotly shy :D
This has led to meeting many people that I "Know", even met someone who lived in the same, very very tiny rural Ohio town as my mom with that intro in 92.
So step on up, intro yourself, and meet some freinds you havn't met yet!
Doctari.
Pooja Blue
12-26-2004, 16:39
I smiled, said hi, and introduced myself, especially on the second half of my flipflop when there were so few people hiking. Most of the people I passed were carrying big guns and bullets, so I thought it prudent to be friendly. ;)