Attitudes you came across that you didnt like from other hikers

[A-Train]

Yea Smooth, I enjoyed meeting you and Waldo near Zealand Falls hut (i think) and most of the SOBO's were friendly. I don't think you can categorize any one group. Every group will have a few bad apples and many good ones. In fact, what you say about NOBO's was somewhat true for SOBO's too. The first couple I met rubbed me the wrong way, as they had little regard or interest in what I said and could care less about any information or advice, though that could be the product of having many NOBO's in front of them try to interject their thoughts on them continually.
I always thought it was funny that the closer I got to Katahdin, the more questions the SOBO's asked, the more inexperienced and the shorter the beards

[Smooth03]

I hope I left a favorable impression when I met you and Waldo (click here) in Crawford Notch at the parking lot just before the railroad tracks. I gave you trail magic even though you were going the wrong way(SOBO).

You left the best impression!

I remember meeting you very well. You were our first trail magic and we really had no idea what to expect when you beckoned us over to your car. Ha!
A photo of you, the calendar, and myself with your photo in it, is in my photo album. Funny though, I specifically remember regretting drinking that second can of soda as I was quite dehydrated by the time I got to the shelter.

A-Train, I remember meeting you just south of the hut. You were going down and we were coming up. I never knew the first few SOBOs(I believe I was the 16th to finish but only physically met 12 total during my trip) but a few folks have mentioned to me they were a bit abrasive. I enjoyed interacting with the NOBOS quite a bit. For me it was interesting just because a SOBO and NOBO hike are so drastically different in terms of the social atmosphere. So it was interesting to hear so many stories. I'm sure NOBOs felt the same way talking to SOBOs.

You were still mainly at the front of the pack (not saying you were one who rubbed me the wrong way). By the time I met you we were probably passing 3-4 a day, but that’s nothing compared to the 20+ we were passing in MA and CONN(my record was 50+ yes 50! just outside of Kent. I'm sure that day I gave SOBOs a bad reputation for not being willing to talk to NOBOs). So those SOBOs probably should have chatted it up a bit more. Maybe they had the runs.....you never know.

[NotYet]

We started later than most of the sobo "pack"; so we were running into large numbers of nobos very early on in our hike! Most were encouraging, friendly and interesting to visit with.

We'd get to say, "Hey" to somewhere between 15 and 50 nobos a day while reading in the register that the nearest sobo was often a good 3 to 7 days in front of us. For awhile there, at least one nobo a day would exclaim with a slightly exasperated voice, "ANOTHER SOBO?!?!"

We hadn't lost a lot of weight yet; so maybe the two of us seemed like a big crowd (or maybe we were just scary looking).

[owl]

as a solo section hiker I have very few problems wit other hikers, I never sign log books so no one knows where I am or when I'm there, but stoker 35 is correct it's not nice to pick on NFG's they are in a learning process.
As for dogs if they become annoying just let the owner know that the dog would cook up really well and my guess is the owner and the dog will head off for the next shelter. and as fo shelters anyhow when you have a good hammock you don't need a shelter. but also Please and thankyou are good words to use if only once in a while, but don't assume that it is always expected.

[Rain Man]

You left the best impression!.

Okay, Smooth03, here's an impression test for you! You remember meeting two NOBO section hikers at Muskrat Creek Shelter, just before (for you) the Georgia state line? You were having peanut butter on a tortilla for a lunch stop, and chasing Waldo for several days.

RainMan

.

["ME & U"]

Here's an attitude that hasn't been mentioned...Your "Out of line Mooch-bag"

While humping tons of water thru no water land, this dude comes up from behind hiking at about 90 miles an hour with a 10 lb pack and asks, "Got any water?"
"ahhh, yeah" in reply. (I'll give you the shirt off my back is my way)
Anyway, dude then asks for a smoke... My reply is what you got for trade!!!???
Deal made after downing 3, 20 oz h2o's... (very unfair deal)
Later on down the trail, at a post run, dude's hovering around the supplys like a vulture. Waiting for leftovers!
Further on down the trail, dude's stokin up a java... "ME" asks, "Spare a teaspoon?" "Sorry man, this gallon bag has to last the rest of my trip..."
Avoidance was the rule of thumb from that point!
By the way, dude EMPTIED the hikers box from the hostel we were at and I still wonder if he rifled through our gear that night.
If you'r reading this, you know who you are you SOB, and I hope I offended you! Teaspoon of coffee... gheeese!

Hear, Hear to the people who get ticked at the people who's mommies never taught them to clean their rooms!!!

And last but not the least for sure, who is it that keeps leaving their excrement on the side of the damn trail??? Pee spot next to the tree with a wad of tp, at least pack it out! Take a nice break, have some h2o and a snack, then carry yourself somewhere off the beaten path to do your business. It ain't that hard!
I'm finished!

[Smooth03]

Okay, Smooth03, here's an impression test for you! You remember meeting two NOBO section hikers at Muskrat Creek Shelter, just before (for you) the Georgia state line? You were having peanut butter on a tortilla for a lunch stop, and chasing Waldo for several days.

RainMan

.

Sure do. A lawyer from Nashville by the name of Rainman. See him on here quite a bit. Can't honestly recall the other gentlemans name though. I do remember that the trail near there was a highway of hog hunters.


Ha! Just now read that you included their names. Its a small community. I ran in to a couple of people twice. Ran into the Lemon Shelter(just north of Monson) care taker in Tenn/NC. His accent made him stick out like crazy!

[Doc]

I'm offended! I am indeed the caretaker of Leeman Brook LT, but an accent?My impression when down south is that many seem to have trouble talking correctly and most have an accent. I have also noticed few Maine plates and that most cars seem to have out of state (non-Maine) plates. I am heading to Central Virginia in a couple of days and then to Trail Days. While there I will be giving speech lessons in how to talk like a Mainer.

Doc

[Nean]

The first words I learned from a Maina were supa shelta!

[MOWGLI]

The first words I learned from a Maina were supa shelta!

Wicked awesome!

[Krewzer]

uh...........I would like to apologize to all those SOBO's I met in NY for trying to tell them about the rocks in Pennslyvannia. I didn't know what lay just ahead of me, or I would have kept my mouth shut.

About shelter etiquette. Someone's going to snore, somebody's going to need to pee, somebody might come in late, and somebody most likely get you up early. It's like shootin' craps out behind the barn; you pays your money, you take your chances.

Personally, I sleep better in my tent, but some of my fondest memories and funny stories are about the crazy things that happened in shelters.

[neo]

hike your on hike,i am tired of other hiker saying what every body else should carry and should not carry,hikers that get pissed off because you dont want thier nasty,smelly wet dog on your sleeping bag,and hikers that act like fools that have resulted in hostel closiers,hikers that think that trail magic is owed t them neo

[TOW]

one name, CHIP LEONARD.........wanderer

Please share a few with us, so we know what to avoid and how not to have them.
Examples like certain hikers attitudes towards hikers asking for room at a shelter when its full.
Thanks

[B Thrash]

What ever happen to the church hostel in Hot Springs, N.C..? It has been several years since I stayed there, someone said it was closed.

[Ridge]

Shelters seem to be my husbands biggest concern when it comes to hostility on the trail. He will no longer stay in one because of all the bad stuff that happened during his 95 hike. You get all kinds of hikers in them and all sorts of stuff happens. He says it wouldn't hurt his feelings if all where torn down, stacked up and used for fire wood. He claims the bad outweighs the good in the case of shelters. He may be correct. hikerwife

[tlbj6142]

Rarely stay in shelters, but usually near-by. I find the "story teller" type person the most annoying (though the pot smokers are probably worst, man that stuff stinks). I guess the story teller typically falls into that "won't ever shut-up category", and we all know they can be annoying.

[superman]

Speaking of story telling...I was hiking the stretch north of Bromley in the pouring rain all day. Around dusk I passed a sign for a shelter and then I met two young guys hiking south. They were like two whooped puppies. They had been turned away from the last shelter buy a thru hiker who went off at them. They thought there had been room but they didn't know how to deal with the irate hiker. I told them that the shelter rule is to not turn anyone away when the weather is bad. They had no tent with them and the light was fading. I told them to go to the shelter I just passed and if anyone gives them any trouble tell them the rule I'd just told them and that I said it was ok for them to stay there. Their spirits were buoyed and they had a plan to work with. I latter talked to one of the thru hikers in the shelter the two went to and they had no problem fitting in and the other hikers were amused that I'd said it was ok. I continued a short way and crossed a stream and a road where there was an empty house trailer, garage and shed. I stayed in the garage and it was great. Those two guys had walked right passed the best place to stay. Latter in the hike I spoke with a couple of the thru hikers in the shelter where the two guys had been turned away. It was one thru hiker who turned the guys away but the other hikers didn't have the nerve to stand up to him. He was known for his severe mood swings.

[bfitz]

The thing I find most annoying is when people get annoyed with things. Hikers in a shelter who demand that other hikers be quiet rather than put in earplugs, and complain about various behaviors of other hikers. Like the self-righteous teetotaler who can't stand it when other hikers sip from their flasks, or laugh and joke around irreverently (we are an irreverent bunch!) Those who wish complete silence after 9 pm or can't stand the quirks of other hikers who get up early or snore, or talk incessantly about almost anything, or smoke a little weed or whatever should avoid the "group" type camping situations, carry tents (I hate the guy who says he HAS to sleep in the shelter because he doesn't have a tent and everyone else should understand and share the consequences of his unpreparedness) and avoid the people they dislike. There's all types out here. We should of course show respect to eachother, and try to appropriately encourage others to show respect to eachother, but this trail is about individuality, personal freedom and all that other stuff. If everyone in the shelter is having a good time and carrying on and one surly person can stand the sound of a good time then hike on man, 100 yards will give you complete silence and privacy. Whats the problem?