Some hikers.....

[Lion King]

What the hell is wrong with some people?

If you hiked from GA to NH then your concern and kinship with others should be there, and this to me showed some horrifically self serving ‘who cares’ attitude toward a person who could have been lost, injured, dead, anything and not one of these people…two of which started the slack pack with her, never mentioned to anyone that she was missing.

And to be honest, Ive seen the WORST bunch of hikers EVER this year…

(Sure, they’re some good ones too, but jesus…)

Packrat and I got packed and headed out from different directions at 1 a.m.
I didn’t get back till 3 the next afternoon as I hiked the Benton, Long Pond, Mud pond and other trails that lead away from the summit and back searching.

She decided to stay on the mountain with no bag, no light, nothing and she was fine in the morning, but it bothers me that the hikers were watching TV or in their tents and not a single person made an effort to find this women, with the exception of one person mentioning it to Gary early in the afternoon, (And even then, no on mentioned she hadn’t made it back) but after that…nothing.

Makes me sick to my stomach that people don’t care.

She did make it down fine, but she could have been in trouble and if I hadn’t told one guy he might be disturbing people with the TV loud at midnight, he responded…”Nobodies in the hostel, the woman upstairs never came back…” as if he were talking about a lost puppy…

That is the kind of attitudes that people, in previous years, has long since lost…something is wrong with people, and they ALL USE THEIR damn cell phones on the trail now too…but that’s a different thread

[Mags]

I've seen this attitude not just in thru-hikers, but outdoors people in general.

On a hike a few years back, some people were late getting down the mountain. Part of the group basically said "We are hungry and it is almost happy hour" and they took off. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!!!!

A few of us stuck around (and hiked up the trail) to see what happened. Felt like the right thing to do. (They were OK..if tired).

Many people into the outdoors seem to come from affluent backgrounds and have a huge sense of entitlement.

Spills over into other things in life, too.

Sad to say.

Off my soap box now.

RE: Cell Phones

Indeed. A different thread...but more of societal shift. Cell phones aren't for emergencies, but a way for people to be connected 24/7. But yeah, that's a different thread.

[rambunny]

Wow. I have been struggling with "am i just old school" or are things & hikers really differant?I feel that the AT itself and the ability and freedom to hike it is an unbelieveable privalage,a gift, and should be treated as such. When a hiker doesn't know who Del Doc, Benton McKye,Dorthy Laker,Earl Shaffer or what is the CCC,but knows where the next party is (cell phone) and the GPS coordinates-there is something wrong here. Please don't bring Babylon to Heaven. Thank you i will now step down from my soap box.

[Graywolf]

Watching TV in a tent?? I thought we went hiking to get away from all that.

But really!! I too have seen it. With internet, email, smart phones, cell phones, etc, people in general have become very distant from others around them. Unless they are doing something "techie" they seem the world around them is not apart of them..

One reason I have limited myself to "tech" and when I am out, I leave it at home. We should always be alert of not only of ourselves but others around us when we are out there.. Thats my opinion..

[Old Hiker]

Lion King,

A quick question and a comment (or two):

Question: Did no one call 911 and report this?

Comment: I'm of the opinion that I can't do much in the way of searching, as I haven't been trained. If all the hikers went off to look for someone who may or may not be missing, with no coordination, etc., I think more of them would have been lost, with that many MORE problems. Better in my opinion to dail 911 and explain the situation.

Still - not to excuse the uncaring attitudes, maybe everyone was thinking that someone else was going to do something about it.

Not trying to pick a fight - just trying to comment.

[Pedaling Fool]

From my perspective this has a lot to do with invasive technologies -- I don't say that as someone who is anti-technology, on the contrary I'm pro-technology.

However, we have to admit that it changes us and those changes will be seen on the trail, even if the technology is left at home. In many respects technology does breed a certain narcissism and it definitely causes us to lose our understanding in the virtue of patience.

[JAK]

I wonder if does have alot to do with technology, and the way that modern information technology is distracting us, and even rewiring us. I am note sure that the problem is limited to younger generations. I find myself overly distracted on many occassions, even when something somewhat urgent comes up in the 'real world'. The problem too is that the lines between 'real world' and 'virtual world' or whatever you wish to call it are getting rather fuzzy, or perhaps have always been fuzzy.

What should demand our attention - this very instant?

It's a very complex question. Technology makes it even more complex.

[max patch]

Based on the information given the first level of criticism can only be directed toward the hiker that obviously went off unprepared.

[Pedaling Fool]

Yes it's not just the younger generation. I feel pressured from technology all the time, some obvious other not so. One obvious distraction is my email account and keeping it cleaned and organized. And it is a little bit of an issue/concern when I go on a trip and the thought of how my email box looks when I get back home. But (knock on wood) I will never take something on a trip in order to manage my emails, but many don't see that as an option.

[kanga]

it is sad that so many of you are missing the point. lion king i agree completely. while i think what she did was supremely irresponsible, the fact that not one person other than yourself was concerned is very typical of younger people nowadays. it is called being a self-centered **** ass. it comes from their raising, or more specifically, their lack thereof.

[malowitz]

I'm going to chime in differently. By the time a hiker has reached NH, the "lost" hiker should be able to survive the night. There are so many people on the trail, that if you were injured, I can't imagine it being more than 12 hours before someone came by who could help/notify others if possible. If someone went off trail for a while and was injured, you're not going to find them in any timely manner anyway.

When I hiked my full day - I wouldn't be that much of a hiker to go back out to chase anyone down. When I had a big day over the Baldplates, and realized I'd left my wallet, cellphone, and guidebook at a shelter, I only had the mojo to attempt to go back 1 mile. Ended up having to do it the next morning. I don't think the other slack packers would have been of much use. I also don't night hike.

Lion King -I met you a couple of times this year, hope I can stay on the "good" hiker list even though I disagree w/you on this one.

This also has nothing to do with technology. I'll comment on how tech enhanced my hike in some other thread.

- Shorts GA-ME 2010

[TD55]

People don't want to admit that the trail is filling up with jackass's.

[jersey joe]

the fact that not one person other than yourself was concerned is very typical of younger people nowadays. it is called being a self-centered **** ass. it comes from their raising, or more specifically, their lack thereof.

I don't buy that younger people nowadays are any different than younger people in any generation. There are plenty of self centered young people now, but there have always been. I guess as we get older, it just is more apparent to us.

I don't know what the deal is with this woman, maybe I missed a different thread. Did she say she was coming back to the hostel? Lion King certainly did do a noble thing by going to look for her after he determined she might be in trouble.

As for technology, I am probably in the minority, but I think it is fantastic that certain technologies exist and can be taken into the back country. If I could have posted my journal nightly for family and friends, sort of how galilee man did, I would have done so 8 years ago on my thru hike. I guess it is just a matter of respecting others and not letting your technology interrupt terribly with other people who are enjoying the outdoors.

[max patch]

This issue has nothing to do with "technology".

[JAK]

I wonder also though kanga if it is somewhat of a coping mechanism or something. I am not excusing the behaviour, but what would we be like if we grew up with all the technology around us today? I am not sure that they are making unethical or immoral decisions from the signals they are receiving. I think the problem is that they are not getting the signals from the real world, the way we are. I am not even sure I am getting signals from the real world the way I should be, the way I used to.

What signals are we getting? Even before cell phones and iphones and the internet, was our generation already too distracted compared to previous generations? What detrimental impact has television had on us? What about cars, and shopping malls? Gowing up in schools vs growing up on farms?

What is a crisis? Do we respond differently depending on where the information is coming from? Never mind that a hiker is missing, I am tweeting $2 to haitian quake victims. Gotta go. Hurricane coming. I saw it on CNN.

I am at a university, so I don't know how the working world has changed in the past 10 years, but is it just me, or are alot of people making themselves less accessible these days?

[jeepcachr]

How long should someone be missing before you report them lost? If your not sure when they left, where they were going or when they were supposed to be back what are you going to tell 911?

Who's worse the people that didn't notice or care that she didn't get back or her for staying out?

[Smile]

Many here will disagree, but if you hike "with" a buddy - ( or someone heading your direction who will be aware of your absence - whether a broken ankle or you don't show up all night) - even if it's just the person you are hiking with that day, can make a difference. Doesn't have to be the whole hike, but hiking can be like swimming, a solo sport for the individual, but much safer with someone knowing your general whereabouts. ( signing registers falls into this train of thought as well I suppose if someone goes missing).

Sorry this happened to your friend Lion King, glad it turned out OK and not into a SAR.

[sbhikes]

I'm not sure I understand what happened. Was Lion King searching all the side trails for this lady all night while her friends were watching TV in a hostel? Is that what happened?

Why did she not come down a few minutes or an hour after her friends? Why did she stay up there without gear? Were they really a group that was hiking together?

[Pedaling Fool]

As for technology, I am probably in the minority...

It appears you're in the majority

[jersey joe]

Many here will disagree, but if you hike "with" a buddy - ( or someone heading your direction who will be aware of your absence - whether a broken ankle or you don't show up all night) - even if it's just the person you are hiking with that day, can make a difference. Doesn't have to be the whole hike, but hiking can be like swimming, a solo sport for the individual, but much safer with someone knowing your general whereabouts.

I completely agree with this and the swimming analogy is right on. I have said it before, hiking solo can be very dangerous. It is more dangerous than hiking without a map by far. The buddy system improves your odds of surviving a bad situation immensely.