Originally Posted by
Starchild
I met one at the church run hostel at DWG. He signed in as IIRC Satan and his dog as Lucifer though that may have been reversed. He was hiking the trail only because the police hassle him less on it rather then walking the roads and he was on his way from PA to the Rainbow gathering in CT. This appeared to be his 2nd night at this hostel, and with the breakfast included and 'free' donation based stay I can see why he chose a 2nd night. When I left this hostel I though this was the last I would see of him.
I had 2 occasions to talk with him the first at the hostel which he did something that stuck me as odd, he asked if he could sit down on the couch I was sitting on, even though there was clearly a empty seat. I could not deny him a seat, but truth be told I really didn't want him to sit next to me. In afterthought perhaps this is some sort of prison etiquette for such a situation, I don't know but it does sound plausible. The second time was on the trail, he and Lucifer was in a small clearing near the trail in NJ eating lunch, which gave me more insight into his journey, and answered the question how he got ahead of me this far down the trail. I let him know that in NY the trail would turn away from where he wanted to go and he may want to get off the trail and seek a more direct route.
He had very little gear and hiked in a ski bib in the summer, this he also used to sleep in as he had no sleeping gear. Often ate dry uncooked rice and threw it up sometime later down the trail. He did also have a can of dog food which was given to him for his dog. The Pastor of the hostel drove him 20 miles AT NoBo and dropped him off at a trail head, this was to ensure he didn't come back (which is how he did get ahead of me).
Other thru hikers were very uncomfortable around him, some, particularly female, hikers paired up for a time, including one that asked me to hike with her, well not directly but expressed concern so we hiked together that day. Another thru hiker got to a shelter alone, and set up for the night, Satan then came in after dark and talked with this hiker in the shelter, preventing him from sleeping and making him uncomfortable till very late. The thru hiker decided it was better and safer to move on, so packed his stuff up in the dark and hiked further down trail and found a spot in the woods to make camp and go back to sleep.
I found him a interesting part of the hike and never really felt threatened by him, My take, a lost soul in many respects, just wandering around that happened to stumble into the wonderfully blessed world of the AT. Not that he was accepted, but he did see it and get to experience a small piece of it, and I do wonder if it made a positive mark on him.