Date: 2009-10-08
To: Thru-Hiker Attitudes
Miles today: 0.0

Some people have asked me whether or not I have had any problems with other hikers out there. There were a couple "problem children" out there, but I was focused on my hike, found plenty of room out there, and just avoided the problem children. And the "problem children" were just a couple. I really enjoyed meeting all the other hikers out there ... some very cool people!One thing that did irritate me was that some thru-hikers exhibited signs of entitlement .... that being a thru-hiker was worth something. Some might complain if the owner of an establishment would ask them to sit in a certain spot, or leave their packs outside .... hey hiker, you and your gear stink!! Or they would get angry when no one would pick them up hitchhiking. Hey, we live in an age that teaches us not to pick up hitchhikers .... and have you looked in a mirror lately, or looked at how dirty you are? They don't know how "nice" you are! And don't even get me started on the ones who would put 500 miles on a pair of shoes, send it back, and get replacements for free, then brag about their "accomplishment" .... or complain when the manufacturer refused to replace the wore out gear.So this was my pet peeve I had about some hikers out there.OK, and then some hikers had a problem with the White Mountains .... because the White Mountains didn't cater to the A.T. Thru-Hiker .... it focused on the weekend hiker .... which is by far the higher percentage of hikers in the Whites.Wow, what brought about this entry. A reader asked me the following question (below). I thanked him for the opportunity to get this off my chest publicly! So, if you do go hiking, be thankful for anybody who does help you, and be the hiker professional who can get around on the A.T. while the Trail Clubs make sure the weekend hiker (the non-pro) can get where he's going with less trail-following-prowess than you possess.HEY MARK,JUST WONDERING?DID YOUR EVER HAVE ANY PROBLEM FOLLOWING THE TRAIL ESPECIALLY THROUGH NEW HAMPSHIRE OR MAINE.Hi,Whew boy, you touched on a soft spot here. I did not see any problems with following the trail in NH or ME .... not any more than in any other state. I'm glad you brought this up because I meant to address it publicly sometime in my journal, but never got around to it.I have read about issues with trail markings in New Hampshire especially. And then I witnessed them.The problem is that some thru-hikers think the world and the A.T. revolve around them .... truth is the thru-hiker is the overwhelming minority of hiker using the trail throughout the year. Heck, less than a couple thousand thru-hikers start each year, and only a quarter of them end up finishing. Compare that to the many thousands of section or day-hikers using the trail all season long.(NOTE: After posting this response, I did some research and found this quote from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy: "It's estimated that 3 to 4 million visitors hike a portion of the Appalachian Trail each year." OK. So as numbers go, the thru-hiker population on the Trail is negligible (like 4 one hundredths of 1 percent))!!OK. Back to New Hampshire. A few hundred thru-hikers will come thru the White Mountains each year. Many thousands of weekend/day/section hikers come through the White Mountains. Rightfully so, the trails are named locally basically describing short sections of trail that will be meaningful to some hiker coming out for a day or weekend. That hiker will hike something called the "Garfield Ridge Trail" because that is where he is headed for his day hike. The short trail names are very descriptive for the bunch of short trails heading off in all sorts of directions all over the White Mountains. Calling a trail the Appalachian Trail is of no use to those hikers, the majority of hikers in the White Mountains.I found it very easy to follow the A.T.. I did pay a little more attention and remembered the "local trail name" I needed to follow at any given time.I look at it this way. The AMC has the signs right. The thru-hiker has been hiking for 4 months on the A.T. and is a "professional" and should be able to follow the A.T. by now. The family, out for their only hike of the summer, are the ones who need an informative trail name and directions.I actually think its childish for thru-hikers to complain that "A.T." isn't stamped on every sign. whah - whah!! Sorry you asked, huh? Thanks for the ooportunity to get that off my chest.Short version (I know, too late): The A.T. is marked DIFFERENTLY (local trail names, orange paint on cairns instead of white (better contrast for visibility in snow conditions)) but the A.T. is still easy to follow if you pay a little attention and act like a professional hiker!! Wow, that felt good!