Hartford Advocate (CT) article on a thru-hike By Emily Weil

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Originally Posted by Jack Tarlin

Actually, most of this thread has been pretty interesting.

I'm for keeping it open awhile.

I'd like to hear the perspectives and thoughts of more women hikers.

Who knows, we might even hear from the author of the original article.

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There was some interesting posts from some of the women. I like getting a different point of view.

I just seeing it moving more towards attacks. Then again I keep choosing to view it.

it would be neat if the real authoress were flushed from the brush. Although her perspective is somewhat torqued, she is far cleverer than the pretender...

Here's what I think: If men in a strip club full of undulating naked women can be taught to keep their hands off the talent, hikers on the AT can learn to behave themselves.

Well, it was an interesting discussion, even if it did get out of hand. I apologize for my role in that.

That being said, I agree with Jack. I would like to hear from some more of the women on the board.

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Originally Posted by hikerblogger

Here's what I think: If men in a strip club full of undulating naked women can be taught to keep their hands off the talent, hikers on the AT can learn to behave themselves.

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I am confident that hikers have more tact than strip club patrons.:D

Just for future reference. I would not spend a lot of time arguing with Sunshine Butterfly on this. It is very likely we are dealing with a person that was already put on notice under another name. Strange how someone from Nashville has a Maryland IP address that is the same as another person on this board from Maryland.

Ed B: I think if those young, single, skirt-chasin' guys on the trail knew that a 220-pound bouncer would throw their hide out on the pavement if they got out of line, they might develop better manners.

something else I think: anybody who has any energy left for nookie after 25-mile days on the trail with a pack isn't walking fast enough.

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Originally Posted by sunshine butterfly

that's total BS and you know it

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So you put out a lot? Betcha do.:)

Speaking as a woman who hiked 500+ miles of the AT this summer in the middle of a bunch of thru hikers I have this to say about that article:

First, if I had behaved that way on the trail I sure as ***** would not write an article detailing it. During my weeks on the trail this summer I met and traveled with a variety of men. I never heard or saw any behavior directed towards me or any other woman which I would consider sexual harrassment. Nor did I hear or read about any such incidences. Unless of course you consider Minnie Smith's well known discourses on his requirements for the perfect mate to be such.

It is my opinion that a large part of how you are treated in the world relates to how you behave and treat others. That said, sexual harrassment does happen and is not OK. However, women do have choices as to how to respond to it. Pennsylvania Rose listed several good ways awhile back. I believe that women should have no qualms about hiking alone on the AT. Treat others as you expect to be treated and behave in ways that command the respect and consideration you deserve. That last statement applies to everyone on the trail, not just the women.

Okay, I have to say something here too....
I am a woman who has hiked the trail twice. Never did I see or hear of any such harassment out there that the article describes. Like many others here have said, your are perceived by the way you act on the trail. Were there females who had a 'bad' reputation the years i hiked? of course, but it was due to their own personal actions that brought it on, and i never saw or heard of them complaining of "stalkers" and the such.

The trail is a microcosm of the real world....a lot of the same things apply. If a woman was to sleep around in the real world, she would have the same reputation.

I never once felt threatened, harassed or anything of the sort both times I was out there. That article is one person's perception of the trail, and perceptions of things can be way off the mark in this world.

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Originally Posted by wakapak

Okay, I have to say something here too....
I am a woman who has hiked the trail twice. Never did I see or hear of any such harassment out there that the article describes.

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Any "harrassment" she described seemed to me to be thinly veiled attempts to explain away the reputation she earned with her hiking group. As far as I can tell she hooked up with several different hikers from within the same general "pod" of thrus. She then dumped them and disabused them of their feelings.

Get this, it's not a difficult concept: Men, too, are sensitive creatures. They have feelings. They're not all drooling, knuckle dragging, mindless semen delivery systems.

Besides, let's look at this group she was with...one of her paramours was in the corner of a shelter snorting Oxycontin? *** is that about? She said it in a matter of fact way that leads me to believe that not only does she not disapprove of it but probably partakes herself.

So, let's see, what we have here is a drug addled **** who probably now regrets her libertine behavior and the damage it's caused in her life who is now blaming others for the bad outcomes she is truly responsible for.

There. I said it.

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Originally Posted by Jack Tarlin

I think the author of this article has greatly exaggerated reality.

I'm not gonna say her story is complete bull****. After all, virtually every woman on the Trail, regardless of appearance, has received attention from other hikers, most of whom, of course, are single males.

But there's something wrong about her story.

I've spent a great deal of time on the Trail in the past 12 years. I've met with, talked with, and hiked with hundreds of women hikers. I've read the journals and diaries of dozens more.

And I've never heard a story as dramatic as this one. Ever.

(And incidentally, even in the worst weather I've ever encountered in the first 1500 miles of the Trail (that'd be Shenandoah Nat'l Park in late June of 95and the first two weeks of June in central Virginia in 2003, I've never encountered dangerous rib-deep fords. There are more than a few things about this story that simply don't ring true).

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Drama sells a story.........whether it is fact or fiction, and in order to tell a story that will sell one has got to add just a wee bit of fiction to keep the readers attention.......This young lady did just that, but I would tend to think once she got to adding a little fiction, she just couldn't stop...

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Originally Posted by generoll

it's a feature article, it's one persons experience.

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... that most everyone has judged as "wrong". The story has no rightness or wrongness unless you put it there. Why are many of you having trouble accepting this? Ask yourselves. Hmm?

There have been calls for this feature to be more balanced with statistics that prove Deja's experience is just a blip on the radar and not something anyone would expect on the trail. Have you identified yourself with the Appalachian Trail a wee bit too much? A black-eye for it is a kick in the crotch for you? Is this what's going on here? Many of you are really upset she wrote this ("the article should not have been published"). She's not talking about you but you react like she is. (and also playing victim to it)

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Originally Posted by hiker blogger

Take this clue from someone who edits newspaper copy for a living: everything in the article in question is most likely 100 percent true -- from the perspective of the writer.
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Any story that causes this much furor must be doing something right, but what that something is depends on the perspective of the reader. Some defend the trail, some defend the storyteller, some sit on the sidelines and chuckle at how little guys & gals of our species have learned after living together for 100,000 years.

Having said all this: it's still a story, that is, a narrative imposed on a collection of events. A story, not THE story.

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Nuff said?

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Originally Posted by topcat

I think the best people to comment on the validity of the article are people from 04 who knew her and hiked with her.

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Yeah, I hiked with Deja in the beginning of my hike. She was a strong hiker and pulled ahead quickly. We kept in touch via email mostly. Other hikers know her better, but I haven't recognized a name in this thread so far that's had any time hiking with her.

So to clear up a few questions:
Sly, all the trail names were changed except hers. I know who's she's talking about though.

In 04 there was one southern/mid-atlantic stream crossing that was way-over the banks when I got there and read at the next shelter it was extremely high a day or two before. So, a short hiker could have experienced waist-high water. And, she was in front of me at that point.

How valid was what she wrote? That's what everyone wants to know. Because... so much depends on my answer.... right? I will either validate Deja and invalidate most of you or vice versa.

I will say this: Yes, she was stalked, persued, pink-blazed on the trail. We create our own experiences in life. This was hers and y'all want to take it away from her and say it isn't true, isn't accurate, or "right" enough. Also I see many wanting it to mean something, when it is just a person's trail experience. Emotionally charged? Yes, look at all the movement it made on these and other forums. In that alone it was worth her writing it.

In closing:

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Originally Posted by hikerblogger

The big however: her detractors do not know her in person and have not walked a single step in her shoes, so while they may attack her credibility to their hearts content, their own credibility must be considered in the context of their distance from the events at hand.

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Of course, I love to troll for controversy.

Thanks for coming in with some firsthand knowledge, Dharma.

a question, Dharma. if she pulled ahead of you and your only communication was via email, how do you KNOW that she was 'stalked'? as I mentioned earlier, I was at the Carter Gap shelter the night that her hiking partner at the time states that they stopped there. the only thing i recall about that night was a full shelter and some late arrivals that may have slept under the shelter and wind and sleet that must have been well into the 50 mph range in gusts.

nothing untoward happened or was mentioned at that time, so either everyone was on exceptionally good behavior that night or perhaps we have a case of perception outrunning reality.

I think everyone here ought to write a letter of their opinion to the Editor of the Hartford Advocate, [email protected]

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Originally Posted by ed bell

I've thrown my two cents in about this article and I'm sticking with my opinion. That being said, I do not agree with exposing the identity of the author. Finding out is one thing, posting it is another. I think it's bad form.

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I disagree, if she is going to post this story as fact, then she needs to put herself up on the block and defend it!

Just a couple more things to think about:

1) Please try to accept the possibility that everything she wrote is true, IN HER MIND. She's writing about things that happened two summers ago, and any lawyer will tell you that even eyewitness accounts are unreliable. She wrote this article for pay and hopes to write other articles for pay. If you write articles full of factual errors the publication will not hire you again.

2) Attacking the character of the messenger does not make the message go away. It just makes you feel better.

3) People find what they are looking for.

Wow.. the title on the homepage of the Advocate's website is so slanted: "SEX AND STALKING ALONG THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL"

http://www.ctnow.com/custom/nmm/hartfordadvocate/

...should be more like "Dirty **** Sleeps Her Way To Katahdin"

The one good thing is that you know she tried to sell this article to Backpacker and the other, more respectable pubs she's previously written for - and it's good to see they didn't buy this piece of trash.

She's obviously trying pretty hard to get a Hunter Thomson-style reputation but it clearly backfired.