the finer points of shelter etiquette

[4eyedbuzzard]

as i understand it shelters have 15 basic yet mostly unspoken rules...

15 rules? Hell, Moses only had to remember 10...

[CrumbSnatcher]

Sorry to hear about your loss.

Just saying most keep their thoughts about others' behaviors, and their dogs, to themselves. I don't think they should be considered backstabbers, but perhaps they just don't like to "make waves".

i understand tin man, thankyou for your kind words i just wish i wouldn't of posted at all. or that we could just drop the subject. my bad.

[River Runner]

CrumbSnatcher,

Sorry to hear about your loss of a faithful companion.

[Captain]

1 sorry for your loss crumbsnatcher

2 thanks to whoever edited and fixed the typo in the thread title

3 if i were moses i could make good money on parting the ATs "red sea" ( kennenbec)

[Lone Wolf]

as i understand it shelters have 15 basic yet mostly unspoken rules

1. no dogs inside the shelter
2. bring a tent in case shelter is full no matter how "alone" you think you will be
3. no cooking inside the shelter
4. if you plan to leave just before dawn,stay out of the shelter and tent off a bit so you dont wake people up when you go yourself
5. first come first serve..period
6. no fires unless in fire rings even then keep it small
7. if you do sleep inside do not clutter your gear to keep other people out
8. limit idle chit chat to those who actually want to idly chit chat back ( a guy stumbling in at8 o clock in the evening after a 35 mile day might not want to be deeply philosophical or gayly peppy)
9. if you bring an mp3 or cd player make sure the volume is low enough on the ear phones were everyone else cant tell exactly what band/song your listening to
10. if you want to leave food or something behind for other hikers to use also be prepared to abandon some form of hang sack and line and hang it before you go leaving a note in the shelter register that its there
11. litterers and people who like to sing to thier mp3s or chat on cell phones will be thrown into a fire, if no fire is present the collection of everyone elses stoves on full blast will do
12. if you leave mouse fodder you must also be comfertable with the snakes that hunt them crawling into your bag at night sharing it with you
13. common sense is to be used at all times no exceptions
14. ask people if its ok if you take pictures , do not assume jsut becuase they share your love of hiking they also share your love of having to take a picture every 5 minutes..at night..with flash ofcourse
15. dont snivel all night complaining about the trail, noone forced you to do this, failing gear , weather, jobs ,family , life is to be somewhat expected but theres enough peolpe who want to just bulldoze the trail completly for parking lots and other junk, you are not doing us any favors by bad mouthing it,even after a 80 mile day straight uphill in the rain and sleet

its probably unwise to say " unspoken" as a lot of people are VERY vocal about each of these but the OFFICIAL rules of the shelters are i believe limited to the usual " no fire except in established rings" " pack out everything you pack in " " make sure to use lime in the privy" and " bear bag all goodies as early in the evening as possible" these are simply the top 15 things i have come across that is guaranteed to piss off fellow hikers please post if you have another to add

shelters suck. only fools use them

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Since both He_dino and I are snorers we tent - and away from shelters. Does them mean we have good shelter etiquette even though we don't use them?

(Good to see LW has spoken - we knew it was coming )

[Tinker]

White footed mice breed in shelters. They are major carriers of the immature life stages of deer ticks (Ixodes Scapularis) which carry Lyme (not Lymes ) disease - another reason to avoid shelters.
As far as dogs go, this would also be my only major objection to them being in a shelter unless they are unruly or muddy or the shelter was packed. Best to bring a tarp for fido or have him sleep in your tent vestibule.

[Cookerhiker]

shelters suck. only fools use them

Now c'mon Wolf, stop beating around the bush. Tell us how you really feel?

[mrc237]

shelters suck. only fools use them

Rule # 16!!!!!!

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Rule # 16!!!!!!

Couldn't we just make it rule #1 and then we won't need the other 15

[mrc237]

Couldn't we just make it rule #1 and then we won't need the other 15

Let the packsniffers think there following along then slam 'em!!!

[Skyline]

I'd say don't leave food or other things behind at a shelter. Ultimately they will need to get packed out by someone.

As a shelter maintainer, I absolutely agree.

When you leave behind anything, intentionally or not, it seems to act as a permission slip for those who come behind you to leave all their unwanted stuff. Your small "gift" soon becomes a bigger, heavier, messier large pile of junk. Few if any hikers actually take this stuff. Sometimes the food even attracts unwanted critters big and small.

Eventually, we maintainers wind up having to pack it out. Not fun.

If you are carrying food or gear you don't want or can't use, please don't leave it at shelters. A much better idea would be to leave it in hiker boxes at hostels, motels, etc.

[rafe]

shelters suck. only fools use them

You're slacking, wolf. I expected that comment 44 posts ago.

[rafe]

Let the packsniffers think there following along then slam 'em!!!

Slam 'em? What's that supposed to mean? You don't stay at shelters -- so what's your concern with those who do?

[Tin Man]

You're slacking, wolf. I expected that comment 44 posts ago.

It's hiker season and Trail Days - he's been busy helping the fools.

[max patch]

Since both He_dino and I are snorers we tent - and away from shelters. Does them mean we have good shelter etiquette even though we don't use them?

yes....

[ki0eh]

My own rule on first arriving at a shelter if I'm going to stay there (not common): Take a top bunk!

Last shelter we were going to stay at was (a) full and (b) in addition, contained two intact male dogs that were starving and trying to get "friendly" with each other, that did not belong to any of the shelter occupants but to a couple of locals we had seen on the other side of the mountain - 8 mi away - looking for them.

At that point I invoked rule #18, which was "upon encountering conditions (a) and (b) above, move on three miles to the Doyle."

Unfortunately for us the h*** dogs then invoked the same rule, which actually turned out well for them because they had a tag with a phone number and one of us had a cell phone with battery life remaining, and turned out well for us as we were rid of the dogs even before town.

[Heater]

Gearhead and gram weenie chit chat gets old after a while too.

His dumb jokes crack me up sometimes.

[SunnyWalker]

If you sleep on a top bunk, do the mice still run over you and all like that???

[Captain]

hopefully