View Full Version : Strange hiker seen
The Cleaner
05-04-2011, 22:30
Trek @ Little Laurel shelter on 4-30.Even several thru hikers didn't know what was his problem.He had nothing good to say and what he did say was all negative or all about him.Did he lose his mind or meds somewhere on his 9 thru hikes...:eek:
WingedMonkey
05-04-2011, 22:32
Is he the one that doesn't even leave the shelter without his pack?
The Cleaner
05-04-2011, 22:37
Is he the one that doesn't even leave the shelter without his pack?
Don't know about that but he passed our campsite @ 5:15 next AM
stranger
05-04-2011, 22:53
Trek is an a$$hole by most people's accounts who've met him that I've talked to...
Hearsay perhaps but I've never heard a good thing about him. He's hiking a little late this year, what happened to his Jan 1st starts? He also thru-hikes the Long Trail every time as well, more power to him just don't want to talk to him.
The Cleaner
05-04-2011, 23:23
Trek is an a$$hole by most people's accounts who've met him that I've talked to...
Hearsay perhaps but I've never heard a good thing about him. He's hiking a little late this year, what happened to his Jan 1st starts? He also thru-hikes the Long Trail every time as well, more power to him just don't want to talk to him.
Must have got tired of packing' his snowshoes....
Trailweaver
05-05-2011, 01:08
Ooooh - never heard anyone trashed that badly before - hope I don't have to hike anywhere around him. He must be really bad to have made it to the forum.
His trail name makes it difficult to read Trail Journals that reference him, but the anecdotes are fun to read if you can find them. I would like to run into him some day, and would consider it an honour and a privilege.
Here is one such reference to him:
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?ID=59933
From the little I've gathered about Trek he is on his 7th, 8th, or 9th thru-hike and usually starts at Springer Jan.1 but started April this year. He sounds like he may appear a little grumpy to some younger hikers, but many anecdotes show that he is a serious hiker, and looks out for new hikers, especially older folks. He may have chosen his trail name so that his name is harder to search for by nosey people like me. lol. More power to him.
WildTomato
05-05-2011, 05:17
I think I have ran into Trek, back in 08'. He is a little odd to say the least.
I really was freaked out because he kept asking over and over what we had in our packs. When we kept saying 'stuff for hiking' he kept asking for us to go over each item, and our refusal to tell him upset him. He said ' You must have something valuable in there, I will make note of that in next register ' and then did not talk to us the rest of the time in the shelter.
Freaked us out big time as first time AT hikers.
Migrating Bird
05-05-2011, 05:55
I (SOBO) met Trek (NOBO) last year south of Monson, Me. In that brief encounter, he seemed fine. He asked about a SOBO hiker he had heard about who was having a tough time and wanted to know where he was so he could help him "get it together". In that brief encounter I told him that Dawn at Shaw's told me to keep an eye out for him and was looking forward to his visit. He told me that he suffered from the deep snow at the start and had to get his snowshoes sent to him. He was very complimentary of "Eric" who I met around Pleasent Pond. I saw nothing odd or strange in the encounter.
We zeroed at Damascus with him last year, and he can come across as gruff at first. He's just a feisty New Englander who doesn't pull any punches. After a while he softens up and we had some good discussions. Plus, the guy can hike.
I have had the pleasure of meeting up and hiking with Trek on several occasions, from my view he is a total professional and very nice. I learned quite a bit from him. Maybe he was having a bad day. Would be very surprised to hear of this continuing. Always two sides to every story, just saying.
The Old Chief
05-05-2011, 21:24
Last time I saw Trek was last year North of Bailey Gap Shelter. We had a great time catching up with each other for about 30 minutes. Trek has always been a lot more civil than other thruhikers in my opinion. If I could keep up it would be a pleasure to hike with him.
Blue Jay
05-06-2011, 08:05
Trek @ Little Laurel shelter on 4-30.Even several thru hikers didn't know what was his problem.He had nothing good to say and what he did say was all negative or all about him.Did he lose his mind or meds somewhere on his 9 thru hikes...:eek:
Trek is one of the finest people I have ever met on the trail or off. Your opinion speaks volumes about you.
I agree Blue Jay (Hi, hope all is well with you), Trek is a great guy and an accomplished AT hiker, and I believe served us in the Army honorably for a very long time.
Until proven otherwise he has all of my respect, and that is not that easy to gain.
Wolf - 23000
05-07-2011, 20:46
I think I have ran into Trek, back in 08'. He is a little odd to say the least.
I really was freaked out because he kept asking over and over what we had in our packs. When we kept saying 'stuff for hiking' he kept asking for us to go over each item, and our refusal to tell him upset him. He said ' You must have something valuable in there, I will make note of that in next register ' and then did not talk to us the rest of the time in the shelter.
Freaked us out big time as first time AT hikers.
Yea I've run into a couple of "thru-hikers" that are like that. Hikers that want to know everything that you carry, some that even would go as far to ask to drop everything right there on the trail to see what gear I was carrying. Really kind of weird considering these were hikers who were claim to have hiked several hundred/thousands of miles.
Wolf
I am with you Del Q- I met Trek in Damascus last year and he seemed like a good guy. We were headed up to a cold and snowy cross of Mt. Rogers and he offered some good suggestions. I enjoyed meeting him.