rant by "Balls"

[MuddyWaters]

Following is taken from the AT journal of "Balls and Sunshine", Mon. April 23rd. I have been following and enjoying their journal, since I enjoyed reading about their PCT hike on BPL.


"Ok, I have held my tongue long enough. I can't do it anymore. Some of my more astute readers knew I was holding back and have been sending me private emails begging me for more bluntness about the people out here. Well, it's your lucky day! I know many who read this are from around here or have a deep love and commitment to this trail. If that is you, obviously you are not one of the people or types of people I'm about to blast. You have respect for the trail and those who travel it. I thank all the kind and giving trail angels who help us along the way. We have been blessed by so many. We have met some great, wonderful, and friendly hikers as well. Not all hikers here are like the ones I'm about to describe, but far too many are. We have however, been meeting more and more quality thru-hikers the further north we travel. I thank all the ATC members and volunteers who keep this trail, the shelters and privies top notch! I commend and respect you and don't wish to offend any of you. With-out your money, time, labor, and other sacrifices, this trail would be destroyed in a few short years by all these unbelievably selfish, immature, thieving, lying, vandalizing, click forming, non-courteous pieces of garbage that we see all too often. Seriously, who steals gloves from an 11 year old girl during a snow storm? That is deplorable! Shame on them!
We are tired of walking by 6 to 8 steaming piles of human waste each day just 2 feet off the trail with used toilet paper strewn about. Really?? They walk by 2 to 3 privies each day. There is no excuse! At least bury it. Often we see this near a privy! The awesome volunteer ridge runners have to carry little shovels to clean up after these disgusting animals or the trail would be an open sewer.
You can barley see the wood of the shelter walls because they are so heavily vandalized by people writing intelligent thoughts such as "SoBo's suck #%+" or "NoBo's are gay" or "don't forget to flush the privy". What is wrong with them. Who packs their backpack for a 6 month hike and says "oh crap, I almost forgot the sharpie"!! Even the Boy Scouts (every shelter) scrawl their troop #'s all over the walls proclaiming theirs to be the best. What happened to "a scout is courteous, kind, clean and reverent"?
The shelters are filled up with discarded gear, clothing, empty fuel canisters, trash, bibles and religious books that some trail angels hand out. They don't have the courage to say "no thank you, I don't wish to carry a 2 pound book that I'm not interested in reading" so they accept them on false pretense and scatter them all over for others to haul out.
I saw a hiker in the store in Hot Springs wearing all her rain gear. It had rained a few hours earlier, but was now sunny. I cheerfully say "must be laundry day"? She glares at me and snidely blurts out "NO"! I say, "Oh sorry, I thought you were a hiker". She growls "I AM a hiker"! Back peddling I apologetically say, "usually hikers wear their rain gear while doing laundry since everything else is dirty". She then informs me, "they ALSO wear it on rainy days"! After our conversation, I walked by the laundromat where I cheerfully greeted a dozen hikers dressed in only their rain gear. This is not an isolated indecent we are met with this type of animosity daily when trying to be friendly. They just don't want to talk to you if your not in their click or age group. Out of PCT habit, I'll just smile or wave when I recognize someone as a hiker while entering a restaurant or store. Often this good will gesture is met with glares or mumbling under the breath.
Many raise ruckus late at night among their clicks keeping everyone else awake in camp sites, shelters, and hostels.
BTW, I'm specifically referring to the so called "AT thru-hikers" in this rant. There are many great thru-hikers here too that are serious about the trail and we have enjoyed their company. Unfortunately, at our pace, we don't see them for more than a day or two. The day hikers and section hikers have been first class and very kind and friendly. I have enjoyed meeting each one of them. It is a much needed reprieve from the "every hiker for him/herself" mentality we are subjected to daily.

[ChinMusic]

I read it. He's def complaining a lot this year. Not saying that stuff didn't happen. IMO, he should leave the writing to Sunshine.

[Badger]

Here's a link to the journal for those that want to read more: http://trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=364996

[WIAPilot]

Aww that's so lame that this is happening.... I, for one, really appreciate that he wrote it. Because now I am prepared for it. I think it would have hit me kind of hard to see all this after idealizing the trail for so long.

The USFS should contact the Boy Scouts of America's national office and submit a list of the troops on the shelter walls. The troops' next outing should entail cleaning up graffiti on several AT shelters...

[KVKV]

Agree that Sunshine is much more pleasant and interesting to read. His general rants don't bother me even though he comes across as a real complainer compared to other hikers, but I really don't like the defamation of the female hiker he runs into a few times. Would not be too hard to work out who she is and he really rips into her. Personally I can't see that she did much wrong apart from not wanting to talk to him.

[Jeff]

From my experience in Vermont most thru hikers are respectful and courteous. I guess the "problem" hikers have decided that long distance hiking is way too difficult.

[bigcranky]

I read it. He's def complaining a lot this year. Not saying that stuff didn't happen. IMO, he should leave the writing to Sunshine.


+1 on this. Noticed it from the beginning. Very different "voice" than other things he's written. Have been thinking that if they avoided shelters that would solve 99% of the problem.

[sweeper]

I'm glad, after reading this that I hiked the trail in 73&74 occasionally you saw outsiders, usually on weekends of coarse you were apt to get hassled by the cops when you went into town because there were so few doing this sort of thing. Yes there were a few places with toilet paper blowing around, usually because the privey had collapsed during the winter. I still get into some of the lean 2s usually in the winter to read the journals and camp always recall what a life chanhging event the hike was in my life. I like to think that the idiots who crap on the trail are too scared to go a few hundred feet into the woods and do the task justice. Hopefully these types won't go into the wilderness again.

[mmorgan]

The Trail is a microcosm of society. It is not immune to people issues but having a related percentage of issues related to the number of people using the trail. There are idiots in the world and there are idiots on the trail. I perfer to section hike when there are fewer users. This lessen the percenatge of idiots i may run into. It is a footpath for those who seek fellowship with the wilderness, but you will not be alone at certain times of the year. It is a shame the way people act, on and off the trail. Be an example to them on how it should be done. Be respectful and considerate to others, use proper trail etiquette and show (not tell) others how to behave.

[WIAPilot]

Sometimes, you just got to tell it like it is. Also regarding some of the shelters, he's in the GSMNP where all AT hikers must stay in the shelters until they are full. THEN they are "allowed" to camp in the vicinity of the shelter. I may just slack pack the Smokies.

[yellowsirocco]

From my experience in Vermont most thru hikers are respectful and courteous. I guess the "problem" hikers have decided that long distance hiking is way too difficult.

Yep, up north most of the a-holes have dropped out. I think every time a new service (or trail feed) is introduced in the first several hundred miles of the trail it kind of keeps the undesirables on trail and makes things worse (I can't fault these services for making a buck though). I think I have figured that these days people don't even have to hitch-hike south of Damascus.

[Exile]

Aww that's so lame that this is happening.... I, for one, really appreciate that he wrote it. Because now I am prepared for it. I think it would have hit me kind of hard to see all this after idealizing the trail for so long.

The USFS should contact the Boy Scouts of America's national office and submit a list of the troops on the shelter walls. The troops' next outing should entail cleaning up graffiti on several AT shelters...

+1 on the idea of letting the BSA National office know about the graffiti. Scouts should already know better than that.

[Bati]

He's got some good points. Hikers, or at least Northbounders who are just starting out, are now in competition with each other for limited resources (shelters, hostel space, rides, free food). When I started Northbound almost 20 years ago, we were all in a symbiotic relationship- space was made at the shelters as long as it was possible; there was no need for everyone to be able to sleep on their back if it was sleeting on top of the snow. If someone left the shelter first in the morning, they weren't trying to hog the space at the next shelter; they were simply breaking trail for everyone that followed. Conversations were valued since you had something in common with the other hikers and everyone had a story to tell. The only issue was the the hikers that yellow-blazed and put themselves and you in a potentially hazardous situation (if you can't hike to Fontana, you might not be ready for the park), and those with an attitude that they deserved better hiking conditions or a rescue. Most of those had dropped out early on. There were no "hiker feeds" and most rides into town involved the luck of hitching, which feels safer in pairs than alone.

I stayed at the Fontana Hilton a few years back, hungry for conversation after a long solitary stretch on the BMT, and the change was amazing to me. There were no group conversations, no sharing of meals or condiments, no sense of a shared community. It was very much "each small group on their own".
My guess is that the easier the trail becomes the more these problems will arise. When you need other hikers to survive or tell you where the spring is located or where to find the post office, you will appreciate them more. And the more hiker feeds, town maps, and hostels, the less hikers have to depend on their own wilderness skills and each other, and the more they continue to depend on the non-hiker community. A lot of the improvements to the trail, such as larger shelters that give the appearance of being more than an emergency shelter, shuttle services that make towns easier to reach, and the multitude of hostels have a mixed impact on the backpacking experience.

[GP1971]

My family is just getting started on knowing the AT. We've done a couple day hikes and for first time this year will do a 3 day hike. That being said it sounds like this is what is happening to society in general. Kids have been told for 2 generations that they are more special than everyone else and nothing they do is wrong. I have 3 kids under 7 and am not raising them that way. I actually see that there is some push back from my generation of parents from that point if view. I am also a Cubmaster. What is an accepted way to clean the graffiti from shelter walls? If I see any i will do it and send pics to BSA. There are enough issues with BSA straying from what it was.

[Johnny Thunder]

i experienced something similar to this when i went back down south the year following my through. just wanted to walk around a few weeks and share in the enthusiasm of the current year hikers. some folks were misplaced. i can remember one screed written on the floor of overmountain by a vietnam-era veteran regarding all non-vets and non-active service members as somehow subhuman. or, the kid with obvious anger management issues pal'ed up with the clear delusional schizophrenic who was one bad trip away from going into the other tree realm to learn how to fight with swords so he can beat an elf and then hunt down breeders (regular old you and me). "did i tell you about the time i was in san fransisco and i was a 30 foot tall blue dragon?"

all of these asshats greet you...ANYTIME YOU LEAVE YOUR HOME! they exist everywhere. it's just that in the woods you live in the world of unlocked doors. get over it.

for the most part the people i've found walking in the north and south have been considerate and kind. sure, northbounders down south have a deserved reputation for being inconsiderate of the trail and those around them. that's because they're still learning how to walk. raise your hand if you were brought into this world knowing everything you know at this very moment. or, haven't on your worst days, dropped all the niceties that normally foster society and just said how you felt deep down. prove to me that you've never taken an innocuous comment the wrong way.

really, i think that balls' issue is the same one i had when i went south. you go down there with this idea of what a "hiker" is. to me a hiker is my friend blaze who got lymes so bad he went all pallsy and had to sit out 6 weeks in rutland. dude still finished. and he buried his crap like a good little hiker all the way to katahdin. a professional. but, i'm sure that at one point or another blaze did something for which he might be lambasted on the internet or scorned on the trail tube. you can't expect everyone to start out on their first through hikes as professional, tanned, hard, and complete hikers. that's not how it works.

[Slo-go'en]

I am also a Cubmaster. What is an accepted way to clean the graffiti from shelter walls?

It's hopeless. Graffiti begets graffiti. A clean slate is begging for someone to write on it. Then the first one to carve or write something on the walls or floor encourages others to do the same. Kids with a new knife are the usual suspects, but thier not exclusive.

I once found a wood chisle on the side of the road while walking into town and carried it for awhile. If I had some time to spare, I'd use it to remove the more recent carvings in the shelters, but it was a hopeless task.

[ChinMusic]

+1 on this. Noticed it from the beginning. Very different "voice" than other things he's written. Have been thinking that if they avoided shelters that would solve 99% of the problem.

I agree. His journal is a study for avoiding shelters. He doesn't need them, or hostels for that matter, but for some reason hasn't figured that out.

[jakedatc]

I don't think anything he's said has been too out of line. I think they are getting a big culture shock of a way more urban trail than the PCT. With shelters and trail towns much closer to the trail and closer together there is far more access by section/day hikers and less commitment from aspiring thru-hikers. I think once the group spreads out and thins out they will be much happier.

[MuddyWaters]

If I observed someone crap on the trail , Id probably put it in a ziplock, catch up them, and put it in their pack the next night. Sans ziplock.

[aaronthebugbuffet]

I don't think anything he's said has been too out of line. I think they are getting a big culture shock of a way more urban trail than the PCT. With shelters and trail towns much closer to the trail and closer together there is far more access by section/day hikers and less commitment from aspiring thru-hikers. I think once the group spreads out and thins out they will be much happier.
I agree.

Wow they sure are eating a lot.

[Live_for_hiking]

I think it takes time and maturity for people to understand they have the ability to positively improve their environment and perspectives. I'm confident in myself to say that in my 20's I did not understand that perspective. How you choose to perceive the world around you and how you choose to react can make the difference between a bad or good day. Being tired, dirty, sore, and hungry can make that leap more difficult.

Either way, that post makes me want to get ahead of the bubble next year. Maybe start at the beginning of February.

[ChinMusic]

Either way, that post makes me want to get ahead of the bubble next year. Maybe start at the beginning of February.

I'm thinking the end of Feb next year but I really don't think the bubble would bother me. The drama seems so easy to avoid.

[aaronthebugbuffet]

I'm thinking the end of Feb next year but I really don't think the bubble would bother me. The drama seems so easy to avoid.
Start in May.
But yeah it's easy to avoid the drama. It seemed to me the bubble popped after the first month anyway. Things thin out nicely after Damascus.

[LDog]

Am I the only one uncomfortable with cross-posting someone else's writing? Was it done with Ball's permission?

[aaronthebugbuffet]

Am I the only one uncomfortable with cross-posting someone else's writing? Was it done with Ball's permission?

It's on an open site. I don't see what the big deal would be.

[yellowsirocco]

Am I the only one uncomfortable with cross-posting someone else's writing? Was it done with Ball's permission?
When you post on a public website there is no expectation of privacy.

[ChinMusic]

Start in May.

I fear that I am too slow and I HATE the heat.


But yeah it's easy to avoid the drama. It seemed to me the bubble popped after the first month anyway. Things thin out nicely after Damascus.I actually look forward to witnessing The Bubble. I just think I know how to avoid it when I want quiet.

[imscotty]

Balls rant seems very appropriate to me. Really, if nothing is ever said how will these inconsiderate neanderthals ever learn? Teaching by example clearly is not working in some cases. We all need to speak up on misbehaving hikers. If someone lifted my 11 year olds gloves in a freezing snow, I would be ranting too.

On a side note, in his journal Balls mentioned he saw mountain lion tracks in the snow somewhere near Roan Mountain. I presume he knows what he is talking about coming from the west. They are out there.

[rickb]

Am I the only one uncomfortable with cross-posting someone else's writing?

We think alike in this case.

Context and perspective is lost.

That a father and young daughter can have such an experience is remakable. That's the real story here -- and magic of the Trail.

[SCRUB HIKER]

all of these asshats greet you...ANYTIME YOU LEAVE YOUR HOME! they exist everywhere. it's just that in the woods you live in the world of unlocked doors. get over it.

for the most part the people i've found walking in the north and south have been considerate and kind. sure, northbounders down south have a deserved reputation for being inconsiderate of the trail and those around them. that's because they're still learning how to walk. raise your hand if you were brought into this world knowing everything you know at this very moment. or, haven't on your worst days, dropped all the niceties that normally foster society and just said how you felt deep down. prove to me that you've never taken an innocuous comment the wrong way.

really, i think that balls' issue is the same one i had when i went south. you go down there with this idea of what a "hiker" is. to me a hiker is my friend blaze who got lymes so bad he went all pallsy and had to sit out 6 weeks in rutland. dude still finished. and he buried his crap like a good little hiker all the way to katahdin. a professional. but, i'm sure that at one point or another blaze did something for which he might be lambasted on the internet or scorned on the trail tube. you can't expect everyone to start out on their first through hikes as professional, tanned, hard, and complete hikers. that's not how it works.


With shelters and trail towns much closer to the trail and closer together there is far more access by section/day hikers and less commitment from aspiring thru-hikers. I think once the group spreads out and thins out they will be much happier.

+1 on both of these. Some of his complaints are understandable, others are unrecognizable to me. 6 to 8 trailside poop-piles a day? I saw 6 to 8 the entire way from Georgia to Maine, and I was in the middle of the thru-hiker crowd almost the whole time. That sounds like an outrageous exaggeration to me.

Balls doesn't have to wait until the middle of Virginia for the people he doesn't like to be gone from his sight; he can start right now. The woods are large. Just like him, I met lots of people who repulsed me with their attitude towards the trail and towards other people--it's a completely normal thing to have happen--but I had no trouble avoiding them. I formed a group of friends whose trail priorities and objectives were close to mine, and we generally went about our business without trouble. Maybe this is where the complaints about cliqueish behavior come from--the Trail now attracts such a huge and diverse crowd of people that for most, it's in their best interest to form a clique to keep from being bothered by all the wackos. I think that's natural. It's unrealistic to expect a Trail-wide spirit of community when 1500 NOBO thru-hike attempts take off within two months of each other.

I never once felt any of the exclusiveness that he does in towns, when he walks into a restaurant and receives glares and dark mutterings. Has he paused to consider that his attitude may have offended other people at some point, or that maybe he's grown a reputation as a grouch? From what I've seen, nice people get treated nicely on the Trail, by even the cliqueiest groups of 20-somethings. If I started feeling a lot of friction from other hikers, I'd take a look at myself first.

I think his complaints have grains of truth in them, but overall that post is a hugely unfair portrayal of the Trail. I caution anyone against letting this one guy's ranty opinions affect their start time in the future.

[LDog]

When you post on a public website there is no expectation of privacy.

I see it as less a privacy issue than one of intellectual property - Tho he chose to post at another site where he might have different expectations of the size, scope and demographics of the readership, not to mention just how open that site is vis-a-vis this one.

No, I believe that when I write something original, it belongs to me, and I would be upset if someone lifted my work and posted it someplace else - Regardless of how open the original site is, or what the respective site's TOAs say, or how cavalier folks are getting about intellectual property in this digital world.

[/ rant]

[jakedatc]

I see it as less a privacy issue than one of intellectual property - Tho he chose to post at another site where he might have different expectations of the size, scope and demographics of the readership, not to mention just how open that site is vis-a-vis this one.

No, I believe that when I write something original, it belongs to me, and I would be upset if someone lifted my work and posted it someplace else - Regardless of how open the original site is, or what the respective site's TOAs say, or how cavalier folks are getting about intellectual property in this digital world.

[/ rant]

It was quoted and given credit. no one is claiming it as anything but what he said. He cross posted much of his PCT journal as articles on Backpackinglight. he is well aware that his stuff is being viewed much more than the usual journal. he also has a ton of sponsors and people helping along the way. i mean who else has folks driving their stuff so they can slack pack a few weeks in?

[RodentWhisperer]

Dare I say it: there are thousands of people out on the trail, the vast majority of which religiously follow the principles of trail care, etiquette, and courtesy; but as they say, one bad apple spoils the whole bunch. One graffiti "artist," one obnoxious a**hole, one slacker who doesn't understand the concept of a cathole, and we all look bad.

[WIAPilot]

Bravo to what Balls has to say. If you read his WHOLE journal, thus far, he writes about a lot of positive experiences and trail magic and wonderful hikers that he encounters. I plan to read his journal each and every day. Hell, I've even donated to help them raise money for the water system in Africa that they are supporting. That's how much I appreciate that he is not mincing words and is telling things the way they are. Because now many of us are going to start a little earlier; do things a little differently. I don't want it sugarcoated. I want to know the truth.

[aaronthebugbuffet]

I fear that I am too slow and I HATE the heat.

I actually look forward to witnessing The Bubble. I just think I know how to avoid it when I want quiet.

Oh definitely. The bubble is something that should not be missed.

[rocketsocks]

It's interesting to me how reality TV often parallels life in real world situations,or maybe that's the point,just how ridiculous some factions can be.Forming alliances to soon can get you sent to tribal council,where it will be decided if you get kicked off the Island,not to fret though,there is another Island in the game of life,it's called redemption Island,and thats the one where the real players can make a name for themselves....good or bad,right or wrong.Everyone deserves a shot at redemtion........I like his randy post very refreshing,life is not all oatmeal,rainbows and fun.It is my strong suspision "Sunshine and Balls"finish this game.....winners!

[Vorgrimme]

raise your hand if you were brought into this world knowing everything you know at this very moment.

*raises hands*

But I forgot it all.... :(

[Loneoak]

Bravo to what Balls has to say. If you read his WHOLE journal, thus far, he writes about a lot of positive experiences and trail magic and wonderful hikers that he encounters. I plan to read his journal each and every day. Hell, I've even donated to help them raise money for the water system in Africa that they are supporting. That's how much I appreciate that he is not mincing words and is telling things the way they are. Because now many of us are going to start a little earlier; do things a little differently. I don't want it sugarcoated. I want to know the truth.

Agree and if your keeping up with others journals, others are getting along fine with him and his daughter. He also goes on to say, that this girl seems to hike the same as them and he hopes to strike up a friendship. Hopefully he does and she has just had a bad few days and is a great person.

[T.S.Kobzol]

Is she homeschooled or did she finish her school early?

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

[kidchill]

I gotta chime in here. I haven't been on the AT yet (starting SOBO in July), so I really can't comment on the conditions he's speaking about...but, to say he's chronically complaining in his journal seems ridiculous to me. I read up to his current position, and I feel his complaints are warranted. With that being said, this just affirms, in my mind, that I'll be tenting for most of the trip! The girl not speaking to him is the only thing I could point a finger at 'cause no one knows what she was thinking/feeling at the time, and I felt he rectified his position on this in a later post. Can anyone here say that they wouldn't be pissed to see TP landmines strewn about the trail? I personally get raging when I see a fire ring with charred beer cans still in them...Just sayin...

[imscotty]

Journal says during their 2011 PCT hike, Sunshine missed some of the beginning of Middle School. (BTW: Wished I had missed all of mine). Later posts indicated she did well with her grades just the same.

[louisb]

I have been following along since day one and I have enjoyed the journal very much. It is almost funny the difference between Sunshine's and his posts. (but I enjoy reading both) I have even forwarded the journal to my 9 year old niece who read about Sunshine in American Girl magazine. I think it is great to be able to show her a roll model near her age that is out doing things like this.

I think it is interesting that in 3 pages of posts only one mention of the gloves being stolen. What kind of asshat does that to an 11 year old? I think his rant is right on. It is the problems that you get from an area being easily accessible by people who don't care about practicing LNT. It will only get worse as more and more people hike the trail as the AT is becoming a victim of its own success.

Thanks,

--louis

[Pedaling Fool]

Did my eyes deceive me:confused: I think I read some anti-trail feed posts:D

[jakedatc]

Is she homeschooled or did she finish her school early?

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

If i remember from the PCT journal she did do some homework stuff while on the trail and this year they will be stopping at some historical sites along the way.. DC, gettysburg, etc

her GPA was still 4.0 for her 6th grade so she is a smart kid that can clearly handle learning on her own a bit.

is it also her birthday this Wed. so happy early birthday to her.

[acme]

Because I am making plans for next year, I found this posting very upsetting, especially about the clicks, I thought I was finished with that in high school! I am over 60, and hope some folks will talk to me!

[LDog]

There's plenty of us out there ... We'll have our own click...

LDawg
http://bit.ly/LDawg

[ChinMusic]

There's plenty of us out there ... We'll have our own click...



But our clicking is our joints.....

[WingedMonkey]

Seems to be a lot of rants against his rants.

[Jeff]

Acme,

Somewhat blown out of proportion. You will have a great time next year. Enjoy!!!!

[forrest!]

The shelters are a shared resource that are in short supply, so that fosters competition for the available spots, which brings out the worst in people. You have all these new hikers, and the shelters seem to be a safety net for them, an actual roof, protection from rain and snow. So they rush from shelter to shelter, arriving early to stake out their spot, arguing with the hikers who arrive later.

Much better to lose the psychological dependance on the shelter, as many others have advised. Be self reliant. Do not depend on using the shelter and you won't be disappointed.

[Lone Wolf]

The shelters are a shared resource that are in short supply, so that fosters competition for the available spots, which brings out the worst in people.
um, no. there are plenty of shelters but there are too damn many thru-hiker wannabes crowdin' the trail early on

[Tipi Walter]

SHELTERS
Shelters are great because they cluster the uninformed and debutante socialites, leaving my current AT campsite and a million more like it empty of the chortling crowds.

WHY I LOVE THE SHELTER SYSTEM
Because most backpackers out here rush from shelter to shelter and if it's 5pm in the afternoon and they have three more miles to the next shelter but are standing next to a fantastic campsite by water, incredibly like red carpet debutantes on Oscar night they will do everything in their power to push on and be with the crowds. So, the shelters gather the insects like a lightbulb and leave all the rest for me. It completely boggles the mind why anyone on a backpacking trip would want to camp with a bunch of strangers next to an overused and man-made rat box. Shelters keep these roving bands away from me as their talk degenerates into miles walked, food missed, friends known and where they all started.

It's so easy to avoid shelters as to be laughable, and I recommend all backpackers to not carry a tent or a hammock or a tarp and rely on shelters exclusively for their on trail housing. In this way they will depend on the toilet boxes and leave my sites alone. Backpackers do hike by my current camp but they can't bear to detour a bit and drop down to check it out.


HURRICANE MOUNTAIN SHELTER
I made it to the shelter but there's not much to say and if I wanted to stay in a shelter I would've stayed at home and slept in the carport. No thanks. There's an excellent tentsite right here by the creek but I guarantee it'll be swarmed over by ten boy scouts and little pinhead ultralighters with UL guitars. No thanks. I don't mind shooting the chitchat with fellow backpackers but I like my solitude and I like to sleep apart and away unless they be friends. Who wants to sleep cheek to jowl and hip to bung with strange men in a shelter?? The Friday crew will be pulling thru in the next eight hours but I'll be gone and camping upstream from the flow.

THE SECRET TO BACKPACKING THE AT
Here it is: Like everyone else, head to the shelter with some earnestness, but don't glom onto it and instead fill up your liters and go past it on the trail up to a half mile or beyond (lugging your water) until you find a good solitary campsite and set up camp and call it a day. Remember, you now have enough water---plenty---to get you well into tomorrow's hike. People rush to the shelters like hungry cockroaches and glom onto them as if their lives depended on it, when in fact there's a million level and unused campsites before and after each box carport.

My present camp is a perfect example as I'm one half mile south of the Hurricane Mt shelter on Hurricane Ridge which is full of oaks and their baby oaks, yet after 75 years of AT backpackers, this spot which is right off the trail hasn't been used as a campsite for probably the whole of those 75 years. Why? Because people do not like dry camps and like to be by water and hate humping eight pounds or whatever of water and seem to need to fixate on the jocular grab-ass atmosphere of their fellow carport junkies. If I get a strong dose of retardation and feel the crazy syphilic need to chitchat and grope with a group of Americans, well, I'll just car camp with a bunch of RV types.

CAMPING IN THE RV SENSE
The RV guys even call what they do "camping", as if spewing filth while manhandling a forty foot, 43,000 pound "holiday rambler" (which gets maybe ten miles to the gallon) has anything whatsoever to do with camping. It's just typical American couch potato excess and really isn't related at all to the AT shelter enthusiasts except for the fact that the shelter becomes the permanently parked "RV" and the adherents become themselves like car campers, a depressing thought. Newbies need to keep the umbilical cord still attached to keep the glory and safety of man-made edifice, and old trail dogs and AT legends need the shelters to Be There Now as a show-off mandate in a look-at-me galaxy of genuflecting newbs. Phew, another rant.

The worst may be those UL backpackers who actually need and depend on the shelters and zoom from one to the next and must find room since they love to hike light and don't have a tarp or a tent or a hammock. So, while exploring nature and wilderness, they are dependent on Man and his Buildings to get their outdoor experience.


SHELTER CULTURE
Shelter culture and etiquette is a tiresome burdensome subject and has no relationship or relevance to backpacking. Shelters serve no purpose except to give Uncle Fungus a thousand untouched places to camp as the roving bacteria love to bunch up at the site of the infection. Phew, another long screed. What got me going? Seeing a couple backpackers going by in a hurried rush to get to the shelter whilst all around them are a thousand campsites. So, shelters are like towns and the trail becomes the urban greenway. And don't tell me the trail itself is man-made and dependent on man---I've backpacked plenty of places where there were no trails except for animal paths. Read some of Rainforesttreks.com trip reports and find out the kind of backpacking he does with plenty of route finding and bushwacking (and no shelters!)

OKAY OKAY
This screed was written last year on a 19 day trip on the AT in Mt Rogers. Thing is, I just got back from a 20 day trip on the AT near Damascus and have a whole other rant ready but it ain't typed up yet. You'll just have to wait.

[WIAPilot]

The mice made up my mind for me! :eek: Great post, Tipi.

[wookinpanub]

I completed a solo southbound in 1990. I started May 3rd and had no hiking companion for longer than 1/2 day. I used to think that I missed out on the community and companionship. These past few years I have been introducing my daughters to backpacking and the AT, mostly in GA, TN, and NC. What I've seen from the thru-hikers we've encountered makes me think that if I got to do it again, I wouldn't change a thing. The crowds, elitism, and expectation of services is horrible. I also like the days before cell phones when you'd better have your poop-in-a-group or suffer the consequences. Nowadays, help is just a phone call away and that can lead to folks not being better prepared. At the FS 42 parking lot at Springer, I actually witnessed a shuttle driver having to tell a group of 4 wannabe thru-hikers that they needed to follow the white blazes as they headed north. Are you kidding me??!!

[Guybrush]

The amount of elitism I've seen on these forums is somehow absent from the trail. In Hot Springs now, and I haven't seen anything that "Balls" describes and everyone, with the obvious exception of a certain someone who was arrested recently, has been more than kind to me and everyone else I've seen.

[WingedMonkey]

Make sure you call 911 if someone is not nice to you.

[max patch]

The amount of elitism I've seen on these forums is somehow absent from the trail. In Hot Springs now, and I haven't seen anything that "Balls" describes and everyone, with the obvious exception of a certain someone who was arrested recently, has been more than kind to me and everyone else I've seen.

What you say is unfortunately true.

There were a-holes on the trail when I thru'd and there are a-holes on the trail now. However, this site would have you believe that all thru hikers are a-holes and thats not the case. Someone made the comment that todays hikers sit around in the shelter and don't talk to each other. I've never seen that I don't believe that post to be true.

The comments and opinions expressed on very much exaggerated as to the reality of trail life.

[Miner]

Having just read the rest of Ball's journal, all in one go. I would say that his rant was triggered by the theft of his daughter's gloves as the straw that broke the camel's back and he probably indulged a little in some mild exaggeration of the poop issue (though I've seen those white flags in other heavy use areas out west and get really annoyed by it) There isn't much ranting anywhere else in his journal compared to most journals.

[bfayer]

Seems to be a lot of rants against his rants.

I was thinking the same thing :)

He's just doing a little venting, better to do it online than at a shelter when I am trying to sleep. Beside that everything he said is true in one form or another. I have witnessed just about everything he was ranting about at one time or another (except the stealing from kids thing). Maybe the guy with the gloves has an extra set of keys they found in a hotel parking lot :)

I say rant on, get it off your chest and have a great hike. All is good.

[jakedatc]

Also, you can't judge what he says from 200 miles back on the trail. where they are has a different set of people. "it's raining in VA..." "well it's not in GA!" doesn't mean he is wrong.

Depending on their timing maybe i'll do MA with them if i can hack it lol 12 yr old just did 33mi.. gaddamn