[pct-l] thrus behaving badly

[jeff.singewald at comcast.net]

Thank you Doctor Amanda,

Talk about flinging judgements carelessly.  You mentioned that this hiker in question was angry and depressed before she left.  How the heck are you in a position to provide this type of analysis.  Gail has been a very active member of the PCT-L prior to her departure. Her comments were not always received well by the entirity of folks on this list and some may have interpreted her responses as angry.  

Keep in mind, there were were a large number of folks that didn't agree with her choice to bring her pooch on the trail and were very critical of this.  Rather than supporting her decision to HYOH, people slammed her even though it was very obvious she plan to be very protective of the pooch.  There were no indications though that she was depressed from what I recall in her posts or in the number of emails that were shared.

No, I do not agree fully with her decision to ditch her extra food along the trail, but, I would suggest that unless you can honestly say that you have never left a trail angels house without leaving a tip, or left a water cache without leaving trash, tossed a cigarette butt (or a roach for some of you), thru-hiked without carrying a bear canister when the rules require it or stealth camped within 100' of the trail or 200' of water, please don't preach your high and mighty principles and criticize her actions.

I find it rather funny that Gail (Wheew) was at Hikertown 5 days ago, yet Bob did not post to the PCT-L until today.  Hmm, I wonder if his post was in response to the TJ entry that was posted to Gail's journal today.

For me, I found Hikertown to be a reasonable stop-over in 2006 and I enjoyed meeting Bob.  But, I do know that there were published reports about strange things happening at this stop-over in years prior. 

I would agree with Randy's earlier post that while it must have been disappointing, there were a number of different ways to handle this.  It seems that everyone that has responded on the list thus far is quite certain that they would have handled this much much differently.  I would suggest that all you that have been critical of Gail just remember this so that if and when you are put into a similar situation on your next thru-hike, you will act in a way that you feel Gail should have.

And Dr. Amanda, you ask why she was out there all alone in the first place.  Please keep in mind that there are folks that do choose to hike this trail solo.  Don't over analyze why someone makes this decision.  Frankly, if you haven't done it you should as you will have far more control of your hike than you would in a social pack.

And by the way, I would be willing to bet the first person that responds to me a six pack of Fat Tire Ale that this chick is one of the 2008 thru-hikers that actually does make it all the wayto Canada.  Feel free to respond if you are interested off-list.

Elevator
-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: Amanda L Silvestri <aslive at sbcglobal.net> 

> Much has been said here about bad behavior. Much of it needed to be put out 
> there as a reminder to us all. I would like to suggest however that some of the 
> judgments loosened here have been flung around as carelessly as say bagel 
> Frisbees. 
> 
> Out of all the condemnation, I have only read one person mention that the 
> hiker in question was angry and depressed before she even began her hike. I 
> don't wish to make an excuse for her behavior or her thought process, they were 
> not up to the standards I have seen espoused here. At the same time, I have not 
> read of anyone asking why she was in so much pain. The throwing of her food is 
> a classic "acting out" behavior. What was she really trying to shed herself of? 
> I don't believe is was simply the weight of the food. 
> 
> In her log, she explained that she was sooo looking forward to what she 
> believed, she had been assured, was going to be a wonderful respite. She was 
> totally exhausted when she arrived and truly felt betrayed by what transpired. 
> No doubt the owner has every right to lock his doors at any time, but what did 
> that feel like? I suspect that it was just one more loss, one more rejection, 
> one more disappointment in a long series. 
> 
> Self-centered? Sure. Narcissistic? Yes. But I wonder why she was out there 
> all alone in the first place. What was she trying to escape, or find? Do we 
> know her story? Being far from perfect myself, there is a quote from Longfellow 
> that I like very much, "If we could read the secret heart of our enemy, we would 
> find in each man's life sorrow and pain enough to disarm all hostility". 
> 
> Peace and understanding to you all. 
> 
> Amanda 
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