PETpeeves

[psuruns10]

Whats everyones petpeeves when they are out on the trail.

Personally

Gearhounds get under my skin. Wondering what kinda of gear i have how heavey it is. Telling me i should buy this or that.

For me hiking is about being on the trail wether its with my cheap tent and cheap EMS back pack. Good for you if you can afford the 1.5 pound sleeping back. But for me right now i am that poor college student enjoying the trails of the earth.

PSU'S BACK
JIBBERISH

[chris]

I must say that nothing really bothers me when I am outdoors. As close as it comes are wet dogs and loud kids. Just something relaxing about being out of doors. Everything is just pretty casual.

[Singletrack]

Its the Hikers that sleep until noon, and show up at the shelter around 9 or 10 pm. (after dark) and shine their lights everywhere trying to cook and setting up their sleeping bags. Constantly saying, Sorry Dude!

[SGT Rock]

Pet peeves, well I have a few, but things being relative, I try not to let them bother me.

1. Liter, especially around shelters, and especialy surfaced laid mines with the white engineer tape.

2. White lights, especially the super bright headlamps shinning right into my face.

3. Gearheads, especially the condecending ones that assume I need help making hot water since I'm not carrying a "real" stove. It isn't just the stove, but I have gotten this a few times. I'm also not interested in full stes of lexan dishes, ovens, field expresso machines, etc, etc etc.

4. Cell phones. I really hate it when people think it wil impress me to show me the satus bar on their cell phone while in the wilderness. They think I will be impressed by how smart they are because their phone gets reception.

5. GPS devices. I am also less than impressed by these devices.

I guess that 4 and 5 are should also be under Gearheads.

6. People that think there should be roads to anywhere they want to go. My in-laws think it is some sort of conspiracy because they can't take their motor home anywhere I can walk. Telling them about a great view from a mountain is asking for a lecture on how a public lands are being used improperly because a road for anyone that wants to go is not present. "It isn't fair!"

7. Dogs off leash on the trail, especially the ones that growel at me for no good reason.

8. Loud radios in the wilderness. Take it back to the highway please.

[attroll]

I would have to say "know it alls". Maybe that falls under gear heads. But I don't like staying at a shelter or campsite and listening to one person who thinks he knows everything.

[Peaks]

Pet Peeves, yes, I tend to agree with Rock. First, I try not to let the habits of others bother me. And I don't like to see liter anywhere, especially around shelters and in fire pits. Why are people so inconsiderate that they don't pack out what they packed in? No one likes to see "surface mines."

And certainly people who show up after dark disturb everyone else in the shelter. (I don't care how late they sleep in the morning. I'm up and gone.) Maybe this habit of mine is there pet peeve.

But, I think the one that bugs me the most is people who yellow blaze and contend that they are doing a thru-hike.

[EarlyRiser]

Mine is people who dont have respect for their surroundings, whether its the people or nature or whatever. i really cant stand seeing the Leave No Trace guidlines ignored. especialy if its blatently ignored.

but i have to agree with everyone else as well those can be very annoying.

[chris]

It seems like there are a lot of Petpeeves for people on this list. What happenned to going outdoors to relax? If there is a bunch of trash in a fire pit, so what? Haul out what you can, if you can. Foolish gear heads? Listen, smile, and do your own thing. Of course, if you want to be snotty, you can always ask them if their new GPS is going to haul them over the next mountain.

[Peaks]

Chris,

I think that most of us are very tolerant of others out on the trail. I suspect that we all subscribe to the hike your own hike concept. However, that's not to say that in our hearts we don't wish that others wouldn't leave trash in the fire pit, bring along their dog, etc.

[chris]

In general, almost all the long distance hikers I meet out of doors (even if they are just out for a day hike) are pretty tolerant. Quiet, friendly when spoken with, helpful, etc. But, tolerance in one sense is how we relate with, and behave around, others. It is an outward expression. This is not quite what I am refering to above.
For example, one can be very tolerant of an ill prepared hiker, but inside be boiling inside with anger at having to give up a warm jacket to save them from hypothermia. What I meant in my previous posts was being at being at peace both internally and externally. This is what I try to shoot for. I don't always succeed (in particular with wet dogs and loud kids), but the more time I spend out of doors, the more internal peace I feel, especially in the face of the colossal thoughtlessness that is sometimes encountered.

[Uncle Wayne]

Hard to put these in any order but here is my Top 10 list:

1. Dogs in the shelter.
2. Dogs on the trail.
3. Smokers in the shelter.
4. Litter bugs.
5. Horses on the trail.
6. Cell phones in the shelter.
7. Tents set up in the shelter.
8. Hikers who don't shower when they have the opportunity.
9. Shelter mate who puts cheese around your sleeping bag after you are asleep.
10. Hikers who don't tip after an AYCE meal.

[Kerosene]

Uncle Wayne - Tell us more about the shelter mate who puts cheese around your sleeping bag after you fall asleep! Enquiring minds want to know!

[MOWGLI]

My pet peeve? People who have pet peeves.

[Uncle Wayne]

Originally posted by Kerosene
Uncle Wayne - Tell us more about the shelter mate who puts cheese around your sleeping bag after you fall asleep! Enquiring minds want to know!

Hi Kerosene,

That's a tried and true method to keep the shelter mice away from your sleeping bag. At a shelter in NC, the first one going south from Fontana, (believe it is Cable Gap ?), the register had an entry warning that the shelter was overrun by mice. My son and I were tenting and the next morning one of us asked the guys who stayed in the shelter about the mice. Of the 5 only one was bothered by mice and he said they kept him awake all night. He complained they were all over him and he finally moved out of the shelter and slept on the ground. As it turned out, he was the one they had put the cheese around his sleeping bag! I don't know if he ever found out why the mice bothered him so much but I always think about it whenever someone mentions mice in the shelters. Not really a pet peeve, I just included it in my list.

[MedicineMan]

Not many, really only two on the AT....those that 'know it all' and give lectures in the shelters that you are forced to stay in in the Smokies...can you say stealth camping? OK I promise not too but you have to admit (especially if you have been in the Smokies in the last year or so) that the shelters there are horrid.

[chris]

The shelters in the Smokys are wonderful! I was alone in two of the four shelters I stayed at when I rumbled through on my way to Damascus last May. I would suspect that the shelters are rather bad during the main NOBO thru hiker time and during spring break. I'm was told by a park worker that during spring break a cluster of 25 people camping around a shelter is all too common. Might as well camp in a Walmart parking lot.

[mntman777]

I agree with Uncle Wayne on the pet peeves list. As for those who think they don't have pet peeves, what world do you live in?

[Mom Lamb]

Uncle Wayne wrote: 10. Hikers who don't tip after an AYCE meal.

Um, showing my ignorance here, What's an AYCE meal? And what kind of tip is a reasonable tip?

Thanks.

[Peaks]

On an extended hike, you develop an huge appetite, and tend to pig out at places that offer AYCE. I characterize it as eating like a teenager.

[The Weasel]

AYCE= "All you can eat." Shoneys, usually.

The Weasel