Begging On The Trail

[Wolfpaw]

The proper yogi is to acquire bbq food instead of hiker food without asking for anything. The only thing cool to bum is a ride to town. It's a time honored tradition with a long and glorious history. Perfect example. 4th of July weekend we desperately tried to order pizza from a state park but no one was open. I was able to yogi food from a party to feed 7or 8 people. They had way too much and we're happy to listen to hikers stories etc. no one was broke and no one ever asked for anything. I simply used Jedi mind tricks. After a thousand miles variations on noodles are slim town food is the only thing that matters.

[Hoofit]

Well I guess that makes you a jegger....enjoy your pozza!

[mitch]

For me the real kick I get from backpacking is going my own way, with my shelter, stove, sleeping bag, food, everything I need in my pack to be independent. Standing on a corner with my hand out is the opposite of that.

[jbbweeks]

Just depends on whether you have the 'China's' to beg!


Tapatalk

[lemon b]

If one runs out of money it is time to go home. Your not prepared.

[TD55]

I did a three-month section once with my retriever. He begged the whole way. Never had to say a word or hold up his paw. He just showed up with sad eyes and people fed him. I don't think he ever felt any shame and he never shared his handouts with me. I must admit however a few times the charitable giving to my dog resulted in some charitable giving to me too.

[Bronk]

i've seen a bunch of hikers whose supply plan is to raid the hiker box at all the hostels, etc
Plunder the whole box.
Not as bad as begging, but not much better

You'd be amazed at how much of the stuff in hiker boxes ends up being thrown away...and its mostly stuff you wouldn't want to eat anyway. If someone can use it, good. At least its not going to waste. The hiker box is the equivalent of someone saying "if nobody wants this I'm going to throw it away." This counterbalances people whose resupply plan is to pick up their maildrop and decide they don't like what is in there and go to the grocery store.

[Uncle Joe]

I think it's prudent to be cautious when giving but ultimately giving is for the giver.

[pilgrimskywheel]

The AT has become a magnet for the free lunch crowd, in part due to the wide spread availability of free lunch. However, if panhandling hikers on trail surprises you check out the interwebs. Go Fund Me and similar sites are alive with touching hard luck tails, tragic back stories, and appeals to fund through hikes for dubious causes. Oddly, a pastime of rugged self-reliance has become one of almost complete social dependence. It's embarrassing to put a pack on and have folks in the towns - especially on the AT - think: "Oh! Somebody should help that poor struggling feller!" I got news for ya, that poor struggling hiker is on an 8 month long dream vacation in the most beautiful place on earth. If he or she is broke then they either came unprepared, or blew their money on Pabst Blue Ribbon talls. Either way, eliminating hike "failure" has fostered an atmosphere of codependence on the AT. I'm going to get a Go Fund Me site to finance an awareness raising snorkel trip to the Virgin Islands. People should know the truth about the dangers of rum infused fruit drinks with tiny umbrellas in them! That's where I come in.

[Offshore]

What's with all the preachy self-righteousness all over this thread? Being asked for a handout is not exactly like being robbed at gunpoint. It's simple. if you don't want to give, then don't. If the very existence of people asking for a hand out on the trail, or having a GoFundMe page, or even asking you personally for a hand out has that much of a deleterious effect on your sensibilities, you've got bigger issues than they do. Personally, I think people should fund their own vacations, so I don't give a cent or a lecture, or a second thought. Lighten up, people and be careful when shaking that trekking pole in indignation out on the trail.

[magic_game03]

If asking for food makes you beggar, does the same go for hitching?


P.S. Retired at 40, 6-figgure income, 7-figgure house, and yes I still hitch and yogi food.

[Lone Wolf]

i asked a lady in a winnebago at a lookout in the shenandoahs if i could buy a couple slices of bread. next thing ya know she fed the heck outa me. damn right i yogied

[magic_game03]

You forgot to mention that she was also yelling, "Shoo, go away vermin!"

[Dogwood]

Easy enough without outright begging - seeking something for nothing expended by yourself - how about FIRST outright asking for a handout to a job?… offering value to someone in return for things like money or goods or shelter to continue hiking? I've seen others do it on LD hikes and I've personally done it several times myself. Painted a hostel, weeded a perennial garden, volunteered 2 wks at an outfitter but was later paid and was put up in a guest house the entire 2 wks), swept floors and took out trash at a Health Food Store, worked for a wk at a coffee shop, painted a garage, did paid trail maintenance, washed Police Patrol Cars(wasn't community service!, cops paid me, they were awesome even bought me lunch and gave me a ride back to the TH), worked at a hostel for a wk, refinished a cracked sidewalk, cleaned AMC Huts, washed dishes, chopped firewood, and best of all, spent 5 days on a farm milking goats in Seiad Valley Cali and mowing the fields in a big Deere tractor. C'mon, if Supertramp can find his way learning how to operate a combine from Vince Vaughn others can do it too without looking for downright handouts offering nothing in return. Don't be a bum!

[Dogwood]

If asking for food makes you beggar, does the same go for hitching?


P.S. Retired at 40, 6-figgure income, 7-figgure house, and yes I still hitch and yogi food.

Depends on the situation. LW gave a good example. He approached a person in S NP FIRST offering to pay. He was providing something of value he had in what could better be defined as an exchange not an outright handout. The person saw that willingness he had and it turned into a handout. That's not begging or yogiing in the sense of looking for something in exchange for nothing. Depending on circumstances when someone offers a ride displaying some conscientious of other's expenditure of resources I find it polite to offer some gas money. Most refuse the money but at least I offered and wasn't being a total douchbag mooch as some are. Again, much of this topic relates to one's behavior and character. How do you represent yourself and your community?

Now, I ask, after these experiences with hikers as depicted what impression of the hiking community was left in the minds of these people who lended assistance?

Part of the art of yogiing, selling, inspiring, affecting a change in behavior in others, etc is getting others to offer without outright asking for anything…while you're conscience, your heart isn't condemning you.

You might want to read I Hike by Lawton "Disco" Grinter about how his hiking partner and wife Felicia P.O.D., short for Princess of Darkness, got her trail name.

[pilgrimskywheel]

Fact is - people who don't come out to the trail, be it without a sleeping bag or cash, are unprepared. They have a negative impact on people who do come prepared. If hikers are by and large increasingly needy then they become a repellent population. This retards the ability of hikers who need real help in getting it. If every time you pick up a hitchhiker they try and get some cash off you with a bear-ate-my-food-bag sob story, are you going to keep picking up hikers and lending a hand? Nah. Learned helplessness is a real thing. If you can't afford to go on vacation then please, don't join me on mine. That's where the preachy self righteousness comes from. It comes from experience. You wouldn't go to Disney World or get on a cruise ship with empty pockets then expect strangers to carry you. Why presume you can climb into the mountains for free? There is always work to be done. You can hike - you can work. And if you know what you're doing - you can work all the way to Maine.

[Maydog]

Well if a guy with really nice gear is asking for money, it sounds like a good opportunity to buy or trade for his nice used gear really cheap!

[gracebowen]

Well I admit part of my resupply plan is to utilize hiker boxes but I wont plunder them or take food I deem too questionable.

[Slo-go'en]

Well I admit part of my resupply plan is to utilize hiker boxes but I wont plunder them or take food I deem too questionable.

That's not a very good resupply plan. Sure on rare occasions you can find something good, but in general, if the person putting something in the hiker box doesn't want it, you probably don't either. Although if you like oatmeal, you may never have to buy any. And just what is that mystery powder in the unlabeled baggie anyway?

[gracebowen]

Thats why it's only part of the plan. Chech the boxes before I buy anything. If its a mystery powder in an unlabeled bag or for any matter a baggie ill pass.

If its a granola bar in its original package yeah maybe. Someone bought bandaids and left half a box behind. Yes ill take a few.

Ill probably end up leaving a few things too. The dehydrated meals im planning on buying in bulk include some broccoli and cheddar flavored meals.

If I cant trade them or bring myself to eat them they will end up in a hiker box.

30 day bucket $90. A bit over 2000 calories a day equals about half the food ill need for a month.