Maybe I'm having brain fog but I thought the AT was for hiking, not for setting up a homeless camp.
Short but very true, I've met 2 homeless people this year on the trail and both were very decent but about 2 years ago We met a real freak whom changed our plans to stay where we had intended.Originally Posted by Falzy
Benton Mackaye, the guy behind the whole idea of the AT most likely thought differently...
source
What I want to know is: What is up with all of this hate? Many thru-hikers are technically homeless, and they have some of the same issues that your "standard" homeless person has.
No, they are not, and no, they don't.
Squatting ain't hiking.
I don't see how anyone in their right mind can advocate having homeless people live in hiking shelters.
I think hikers should not head into the city and squat there, eating every day from soup kitchens funded to feed the homeless, and I think homeless folks should not squat in AT shelters.
But that is just me.
It isn't hate, and you know very well what it is: How many homeless folks have you invited to live with you in your home for months at a time?
Frosty
i agree, but soup kitchens don't belong in this discussion... that implies hikers going to feeds are acting homeless
so segregation in America survives? even though they are equals (save a couple $1000), Thru-hikers are now segregated from bums? (oh, my apologies, hoboes)
Happy Trails and all that...
-Hikes with No-Sweat
Important Notice:
Due to recent budget cuts, the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
Sincerely,
The Government
Really?
I became homeless myself in early 2008 when I liquidated the majority of my belongings and moved the rest into storage in preparation for my thru-hike. The next six months of my life revolved around drifting from one spot to another. I hobo camped in city parks, dark ally-ways, and next to railroad tracks. I gladly accepted food handouts. I hitch hiked. By pretty much any definition, I was homeless; and I was not alone.
And you know what? I met some very strange people who were also out hiking. Mental problems are not limited to the homeless that you seem to so dislike.
If it's not hate, what is it, ignorance?
I have allowed friends to stay on my couch for more than a month while they worked out their financial issues. I wouldn't invite someone I didn't know to stay in my house. I guess that makes me an ass.
Just because you can afford to pay you rent/mortgage does make you a better person. Get off your high horse.
Montana, my post was not meant to make you feel like you had to defend homelessness. Personally, I agree with much of what you said. In particulary I agree, there is a stigma of prejedice, and even hatred, resulting from ignorance and non-acceptance towards those who are deemed homeless. I too, after having gone on long hikes throughout the U.S,. and at one time drifting around for 6 months, was often pegged as being homeless. I felt that prejedice, stigma, hatred, and even pity from others that I think homeless people get.
During my travels I have met and spoken with literally 100's of homeless folks(BTW, I dislike the word homeless. I think it should be redefined as being houseless). Of the 100's of homeless folks I've spent time with I would say within their population there existed a higher avg rate of of mental disease and addiction(drugs, alcohol) than the national averages. I think statistics bear this out. But, being homeless IS NOT inclusive to having mental disease or being an addict! There are many homeless who are not mentally disabled or drug addicts! Just as there are many mentally handicapped or drug addicted persons who are not homeless! I will say, WHEREVER I witnessed homeless living/squatting they tended to treat those areas as garbage dumps!
I have heard MANY stories and ocurrences about how folks became homeless and why they were still homeless; I often asked them about these things. Some seemed to just be down on their luck or had experienced a sudden catstrophic event. Surprisingly, I found some of them had chosen to live that way, even if they were not addicts or mentally disabled. Some were fugitives, running from things like child support. Many, simply had never gotten themselves together and couldn't find a viable way out of their lifestyle. Also, and this will offend some, but many were simply lazy, seeking a life of handouts or dumpster diving to subsist.
Thanks for sharing Benton MacKayes' quote. While I agree there is a correlation between homelessness and being mantally disabled, as I said above, they are not inclusive. Nor do I think Benton MacKaye was directly referring to folks who are homeless when he referred to wilderness and the outdoors being a medicine to those who are mentally disabled. He was referring to those in sanitoriums, those with mental diseases, NOT necessarily those who are homeless.
AT shelters and the AT WAS NOT meant for homeless folks to set up homeless camps!
Dogwood, thank you for your comments. I was just bothered by the blatant prejudice towards "homeless" that I was seeing in this thread, and felt that I had to remind people that the average American is only a paycheck or two away from being in the same boat.
In the 60s and 70s, many of the sanatoriums across the nation closed due to changing ideas on what mental disease was, and how to treat it. This effectively put thousands of people onto the streets, people that didn't necessarily have the capability to reintegrate with society. This is most likely where the homeless/mental disease link comes from, whether it is real, or not. When Benton Mackaye wrote An Appalachian Trail - A Project in Regional Planning, America was experiencing a rather prosperous time, and homelessness rates were rather low. I hate to put words into a dead man's mouth, but I'm fairly certain that he was talking about the same people that we are talking about today.
I not saying that I want to see people squatting in the shelters along the AT. Actually, I would rather see all of the shelters removed, solving multiple problems at once. I just want everyone to stop and think about their prejudices for a second. Homelessness is a result of many factors, and one should not automatically assume that a homeless person is any less of a person.
This is got to be the same guy that I run into at Cove Mountain Shelter last September, he did not have anything to eat but he had some sweet smokes. He had been there a few days when I got there. I moved on.
Rigormortis
its amusing to see the number of folks here, that feel being on the AT, or any other trail they use, is like a walk at Disney Land.
Even though the AT is not really isolated, and certainly not a walk in the wilderness, but it is enough removed from 'civilization' that one needs to be prepared to fend for themselves.
Avoidance of any person or thing that makes you uncomfortable works, but beyond that, a prudent person is prepared to insure they are able to enjoy their hike unmolested.
The fellow sounds like he could of been living with a mental illness ~ which can freak ordinary folks out. Am a beginning hiker myself, but have worked in that field (mental health) for most of my life and would suggest, as others have, trusting your gut instincts and put some space between yourself and the person. Most mentally ill folks are harmless, but there are the few who struggle with paranoia and the like, and might be threatening.
the native americans have a saying.on the trail of life we will be remembered by the tracks that we leave.i cant help but notice that several people have posted a list of possible reasons that these people are homeless,is it a coincidence that all reasons seem to be something that we dont see in ourselves.is it because that we dont want to admit that our potential to become the same is very great under perhaps the same situations.noone here has mentioned that perhaps these people are in the condition they are in because they have been devastated by what they have seen in the defence of the freedom that we all enjoy.alot of times there is great honor in what they are we just cant see it.i understand the feeling of fear at something that we see as not normal listen to your gut for sure and keep yourself safe at all cost.i am not surprised that a homeless person would say they were a thru hiker,because if you are thought of as being homeless you get your ass set on fire. if a tru hiker can be set on fire because some douch thinks hes homeless think about what the life of homeless might be like.
Extremely well put Hairbear. Its generalization that causes some to see others as subhuman. Then some other idiot acts on those beliefs.
i like the important notice............so segregation in America survives? even though they are equals (save a couple $1000), Thru-hikers are now segregated from bums? (oh, my apologies, hoboes
Happy Trails and all that...
-Hikes with No-Sweat
WoW you all got philosophical over night - not a lot to do huh - go hiking!
Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.
Woo
The tribe has smokin' - oops - spoken.
"Hiking is as close to God as you can get without going to Church." - BobbyJo Sargent aka milkman Sometimes it's nice to take a long walk in THE FOG.
so sayeth the Tribe! Is there a Sawyer in line filter with that?
Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.
Woo
What no one has mentioned is that everyone here says that the best way to protect yourself on the trail is to trust your instincts. Especially women who may not be able to defend themselves as much as guys can. (Not always the case, but sometimes it is.) in these hard times, there are a lot of homeless. I have nothing but compassion for them, but if I sense something is off - I'm not staying there. The homeless themselves will tell you that many of the people need medication or have some serious problems. And I'm not being biased. Anyone who I feel weird vibes, even if they own 5 homes, I'm going to avoid. Most of the guys on the trail look homeless by the end anyway - but anyone that I feel has serious problems, I'm going to avoid. It doesn't mean that I don't care. It means that I'm not a Social Worker and being alone with some guy on the trail with problems may bring harm to me. Just because someone LOOKS homeless isn't the deal. All the guys kind of look this way by Maine anyway- but if someone acts weird - I don't care if it is PC or not - I'm there to hike not solve the problems of the world.
I also think everyone would kind of be singing a different tune if suddenly it wasn't one or two homeless - but the shelters were filled with homeless. I think some of you would be yelling the loudest.
It got clogged up with some kind of BS! Apparently it can only filter so much.
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