[pct-l] hiker safety
d hans
dhonah775 at yahoo.com
Sat Nov 22 10:45:33 CST 2008
Wow --
I'm surprised and curiously relieved to see the long dialogue about hiker safety. I'm an SWF, thru-hiking for the first time, and honestly, this issue is precisely the reason i've put it off for so many years. After several trail partners bailed on me in respective years, I gave up and got a dog. (This is my year!!) But frankly, watching this dialogue unfold suddenly makes my irrational fear very reasonable indeed...
I'm curious to hear from any other SWFs who hiked the trail solo, or if anyone could refer me to some specific trail journals from years past. (also, on a side note, others who have thru-hiked with dogs).
Look, I know hikers take care of one another... I'm no more afraid of hikers, strangers though they may be in the beginning, than I am of my own family. But true enough, it's passing through towns, crossing roads, and hitchhiking (gawd, ESPecially hitchhiking) that frankly scare me to death. Kinda hard to conceal your identity as a "homeless" solo thru-hiker out there. No place to sleep but out on the trail and nobody expecting you tonight...
Not sure if men can really grasp that fear. Maybe they can just start to grasp it if they've got wives, sisters, or daughters. But I'll tell you what, I'd MUCH rather get struck by lightning or eaten alive by a bear than stalked by a creep. I know the women feel me on that.
And I don't think I'm paranoid either. It's a rare occurence indeed, but I sure don't want to be the one in ten years-- neither do I want any of my fellow hikers to be the one either. My point is only that it's a real danger...and downplaying it or calling it paranoia does not make it any less real...
In any case, thanks for the discussion. It's a tremendous relief to see that other thru-hikers and angels recognize this "factor" of thru-hiking alone. I think it's a big deal that people are openly discussing it and working on ways to minimize the risks to one another. Good on ya.
I stay anonymous for this post, okay? -SWF (and her big scary 120-lb, barking, drooling, ferocious mutt, Fang)
________________________________
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To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Sent: Saturday, November 22, 2008 12:06:31 AM
Subject: Pct-l Digest, Vol 11, Issue 33
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Today's Topics:
1. Re: March 2009 starts (ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com)
2. Southern California in December (Amanda L Silvestri)
3. Re: For newcomers... (Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com)
4. Re: March 2009 starts (Robert W. Freed)
5. Re: New Equipment (Robert W. Freed)
6. Re: cooking pot (Rod Belshee)
7. Re: Hiker Privacy and Safety (Michael Chamoun)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:00:20 -0800
From: <ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com>
Subject: Re: [pct-l] March 2009 starts
To: "Robert W. Freed" <robert at engravingpros.com>,
<mr_razorblade2003 at yahoo.co.uk>, <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Message-ID: <82165122632F4DACA1A14D2F1950A1C3 at PacificCrestPC>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=original
Please do not be afraid of a March start. I started the PCT and CDT on 3/14
and 3/1 respectively, but, then, I like the snow and was ready for the cold
and wet. My reasoning -
I'd rather deal with the snow early on than be stopped by it within days of
the border in October. If you are prepared for the conditions and have a
schedule that can handle the time requirements, it was one beautiful way to
go!
Mtnned
----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert W. Freed" <robert at engravingpros.com>
To: <mr_razorblade2003 at yahoo.co.uk>; <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Friday, November 21, 2008 1:14 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] March 2009
Early March is pushing the start time hard. You will be fine through section
A. In fact it is a great time of year to hike section A. Plenty of good
water, nice and cool in the desert. But that nice and cool turns to brutal
cold real fast in the next section. Snow covered trails and dangerous ice in
section B.
>Hi, was just wondering whether anyone else out there was thinking of
>starting at Campo round early March '09??
_______________________________________________
Pct-l mailing list
Pct-l at backcountry.net
http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:35:24 -0800 (PST)
From: Amanda L Silvestri <aslive at sbcglobal.net>
Subject: [pct-l] Southern California in December
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Message-ID: <261190.19756.qm at web82208.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Amanda
?
During December?in?Southern California in the mountains can get very cold and there can be snow.? Lower altitudes can be okay as long as you can camp warm at night.?
?
?Section A?is good although Mt. Lagona and even the San Felipe Hills can be quite windy.? In Section B from HWY?74 north into the San Jacinto Mt's you will be climbing into possible snow. San Gorgonio Pass at the start of Section C will be cold but doable until you get beyond the half way point up into the San Gorgonios where you can possibly run into?snow again or at least cold weather.? This will be the story until you get to another short?corridor at the start of Section D, the Cajon Pass.? Here you rise?again as you head to and past Writewood which is a good?place to stop as you are entering the San Gabriel MT'S and will not descend again for another hundred miles when you reach HWY 14? and approach Agua Dlce in Section E.? The next 60 miles will be up and down and up and down until you reach the Mojave and Section F and 46 miles of desert, cold and windy.? ?
?
December is a wonderful time to day hike, but is you are going to backpack be prepared for cold nights.
?
Amanda (Shepherd)
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:43:16 -0800
From: Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com
<diane at santabarbarahikes.com>
Subject: Re: [pct-l] For newcomers...
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Message-ID:
<CD62B227-97C6-4D61-A1C1-FD998013941F at santabarbarahikes.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed
Jeff,
I'd meet you soul-to-soul any day. I'd probably run away from you in
the morning, like I did from everybody I met, but I'd miss you
terribly once I did. You're cool.
Dang I want to go hiking! Why does it have to forecast rain next
week?! :cry:
~Piper.
On Nov 21, 2008, at 6:51 PM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
>
> One of the great attributes of this listserv is that everyone is on
> the
> virtual trail, on our best behavior when we meet someone, and as the
> relationship develops and deepens, we show our warts.
>
>
> I remember meeting Gizmo, Donkey and Godman on the second day of their
> section hike (stevens pass to Whitney) and crossing paths for 500
> miles
> or so til I left the trail. My friend Deniece and I passed their
> tents
> a couple mornings in a row, chortling about sleeping in. We actually
> met them face-to-face hiking up past Spectacle Lake. It was a 17 mile
> day for us, and we were absolutely wasted. Gizmo got the falls
> section
> and stood on the bridge and howled. Deniece and I, she at 39, me
> at 54,
> laughed in appreciative, tired humor - the enthusiasms of youth. The
> three had just graduated from college and were "doing their tour." We
> veered off to the lake while they took our recommendation and spent
> the
> night on the ridge above.
>
>
> I drank many beers with them at the brewpub in Cascade Locks.
> Gizmo was
> a philosophy major, musician and angst driven. Donkey was an engineer
> and big thinker, from working class roots, and as down to earth as any
> 22 year old man can be. Godman was a wanna-be-lawyer on his way to
> Boalt or some such prestigious law school.
>
>
> I'm in contact with all three, albeit once a year emails. Donkey
> stopped by a year ago on his way to Oregon to start a new job that
> would
> send him to India to work with different villages, teaching them
> how to
> build environmentally friendly stoves. We smoked some very, very
> strong
> pot - I'm an intermittant smoker now - we have a random drug testing
> policy at work - and I wasn't used to be really, really high with
> other
> people in the room. We ended up playing scrabble for hours after
> reminsicing about our 05 trip.
>
>
> The point I'm making is that intense relationships develop rapidly on
> the trail. When Jane and I were hiking from Lassen to Whitney in 1991
> we met the northbound pack, and spent time in Sierra City with a
> couple
> guys with whom we bonded intensely. And we weren't even hiking with
> them. When the busyness of day to day civilized life is sloughing off
> like old skin, I found I revel in being with someone who can manage my
> intensity. For the most part, that's other thru- and section hikers.
> The people who leave drinks and offer rides - trail angels - were
> really
> nice, but to me, they always seemed a little outside. I appreciated
> their efforts and concern, but the bonding wasn't there. Appreciation
> is huge...
>
>
> Hiking as a couple insulates. The long conversations within lack of
> surfacing civilized bus-y-ness simply don't happen. I'd be interested
> to hear if this is so for others who have hiked as couples. When I've
> hiked as a single person, I can meet someone really quickly, and
> really
> deeply, and the bond generated could be lifelong - if my bus-y-ness
> when
> I re-enter the regular would let me take time to visit, or even
> call. I
> remember meeting a thruhiker in 1994 next to Dorothy Lake who'd
> started
> a month after the pack, and was about to catch them. The hour we
> spend
> together was magical. We exchanged info, but neither of us did
> anything
> after our trips. That's probably normal. Is it???
>
>
> I also have found that the younger you are, the more likely you are to
> be uncomfortable being alone. Have others seen this too???
>
>
> Let me say I'd much rather hike with a lover than alone. The
> memories I
> have of the 30 days I spent on the trail with Jane in 1991 are some of
> the most powerful in my life. Some of them do involve sex - I will
> just
> say that making love in a sun-filled meadow at mid-day 100' off the
> trail on a blue foam pad is simply wonderful. No weirdness here.
> Just a
> really, really fond and vibrant memory... The conversations that
> go on
> 24/7 with a lover do nothing but add to the intensity of being on the
> trail and losing bus-y-ness. My next trip - hopefully in 2010 -
> will be
> with a someone who can become a lover, at least an intense friend.
>
>
> A little less, I'd rather hike with a friend than alone. I've been
> hiking with Deniece for five years or so, a week each summer, and her
> husband "loans" her to me. I joke, but it's almost true. His idea
> of a
> vacation is a B&B in London and a play every night. She's a
> friend, and
> because she's younger, can outwalk me when I come from work to the
> trail.
>
>
> When I start a section hike, I'm usually out of shape. My folks put a
> pack on my back when I was eight years old, and my body remembers what
> hiking is. If I am able to hike for four or five weeks, I move beyond
> the "potential injury due to pot belly" stage into feeling vibrant and
> powerful. I read a book a couple years ago named, "Why Michael can't
> Hit." It was written by a sports physiologist and he argued that
> bodily
> memory is pretty much cemented by the age of 15. The earlier you
> start
> a sport, or anything for that matter, the greater the possibility is
> that you'll be good at it. When I hit the trail, I'm home... As long
> as I don't sprain an ankle, I'll drop a pound a day until
> homeostasis...
>
>
> I find it amazing how quickly the bus-y-ness drops away now. A week
> alone and I'm walking down the trail ready to meet someone
> soul-to-soul. The sloughing is quicker as I grow older and spend more
> time on the trail. To be sure many times the early 20s hikers and I
> meet, but it's awkward. A couple summers ago on a section hike I met
> two men and a woman at Richardson Lake in the central Sierra. I'd
> camped at one end of the dirt 4 wheel drive tracks, and they came in
> late and camped at the other end. There were lots of mosquitos, which
> don't bother me much. That was the topic of our conversation as I
> headed out at 6AM. They were waking up and coping while I was on the
> trail and reveling. I wanted to bond, but it wasn't there...
>
>
> In 1994 I was camped at Lemiti Creek in central Oregon, in my tent an
> hour before sunset, reading, dozing, ready to sleep. Five guys
> came in,
> set up camp 20' from me, built a fire, and proceeded to smoke pot and
> get wild. 20' away...
>
>
> Finally, I got up and pretended I was a loony, excoriating them for
> being noisy in the gentle quietness of Oregon's forest, but finally
> accepting a couple hits from mediocre pot. I still got up the next
> morning and left before they were stirring...
>
>
> I'd rather hike with a friend than alone. But you know, I'm
> planning to
> hike for a month this summer from Castella to Bend or Mt. Hood -
> depending on mileage - alone. I get really quirky when I hike
> alone. I
> become hyper-aware and time slows to a crawl. I like it when I'm
> out of
> shape. I walk and lie down, nap, read and then sleep, and that's it.
> When I get in shape, and have done my 20 miles by 3PM, I'm antsy. I
> don't have experience pushing the mileage beyond the low 20s - I guess
> it's my frontier. I don't read when I'm in shape. I need something
> else. Hmmm...
>
>
> I think that's why I've accepted I like hiking with a friend. It's
> like
> developing an idea with a someone and writing a manuscript
> together. I
> have my life and they theirs, but we have a common project - hiking -
> and that's enough...
>
>
> Jeffrey Olson
> Martin, SD
> "Jeff, just Jeff," said to the cadence of "Bond, James Bond."
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:13:45 -0800 (PST)
From: "Robert W. Freed" <robert at engravingpros.com>
Subject: Re: [pct-l] March 2009 starts
To: ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com, pct-l at backcountry.net
Message-ID: <326068.72759.qm at web404.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
I started on 3/1 in 2005. At least I think it was '05. What a mistake, endless post holing and no trails. Of course that was the year the south got all the rain from Washington. I ended up flipping to Canada and going SoBo.?I have started each year April/May since then. Perhaps that was just a bad year?
--- On Fri, 11/21/08, ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com <ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com> wrote:
From: ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com <ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com>
Subject: Re: [pct-l] March 2009 starts
To: "Robert W. Freed" <robert at engravingpros.com>, mr_razorblade2003 at yahoo.co.uk, pct-l at backcountry.net
Date: Friday, November 21, 2008, 7:00 PM
Please do not be afraid of a March start. I started the PCT and CDT on 3/14
and 3/1 respectively, but, then, I like the snow and was ready for the cold
and wet. My reasoning -
I'd rather deal with the snow early on than be stopped by it within days of
the border in October. If you are prepared for the conditions and have a
schedule that can handle the time requirements, it was one beautiful way to
go!
Mtnned
----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert W. Freed" <robert at engravingpros.com>
To: <mr_razorblade2003 at yahoo.co.uk>; <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Friday, November 21, 2008 1:14 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] March 2009
Early March is pushing the start time hard. You will be fine through section
A. In fact it is a great time of year to hike section A. Plenty of good
water, nice and cool in the desert. But that nice and cool turns to brutal
cold real fast in the next section. Snow covered trails and dangerous ice in
section B.
>Hi, was just wondering whether anyone else out there was thinking of
>starting at Campo round early March '09??
_______________________________________________
Pct-l mailing list
Pct-l at backcountry.net
http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:22:53 -0800 (PST)
From: "Robert W. Freed" <robert at engravingpros.com>
Subject: Re: [pct-l] New Equipment
To: meta474 at gmail.com, pct-l at backcountry.net
Message-ID: <93158.78007.qm at web404.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Thanks, it seems a little flimsy. Perhaps I'll just stick with the Lexan spoon I've been using for the last decade.? ? :)
?
Robert
?
> Don't be so quick to buy up those light my fire sporks. I used them?
> this year and I would NOT recommend them. I snapped all three I bought?
> by idyllwild in instant potatoes. Plus, the length is a bit off for my?
> tastes.
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:12:07 -0800
From: "Rod Belshee" <rbelshee at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [pct-l] cooking pot
To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Message-ID: <BAY117-DS69FA3FFBD78013A8E1717CD0E0 at phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Great summary, Steel-eye.
I have carry the Wal*Mart grease pot, and it works fine, but not great (for the reasons Steel-eye listed). If I were starting over I'd try something different, though it is not so bad that it is worth replacing.
Steady
From: Steel-Eye
Sent: Friday, November 21, 2008 8:18 AM
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [pct-l] cooking pot
Good morning, Amanda,
I have one of the old Wal-Mart grease pots that I use as an alternate or
back-up but I think Scott's reference is good: While grease pots have been
carried on many, many portal-to-portal PCT, AT, and CDT hikes, overall the
AntiGravity Gear pot is a great value and a better place to start.
As Scott mentioned the grease pot was intended to be used merely as a place
to poor the extra grease accumulated from cooking your bacon, chorizo, or
the like so it has features different from regular cooking containers. One
grease pot feature I've never liked is the rolled-to-the-inside top lip of
the pot. The advertising for the A/G Gear pot even mentions this
difference. I had a few comments about the lip configuration at:
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=166296
Another subtle difference between the grease pot and most normal pots is the
fact that the grease pot lid fits outside of the pot rim while normal pot
lids fit inside the rim; and the grease pot lid is domed upward while most
other lids are rather flat-ish. When cooking, condensate that accumulates
on the underside of the grease pot lid will follow the lid to the rim where
most of it seems to run outside the pot rather than dropping back inside the
pot. That doesn't cause a huge problem, but I would sooner keep the water
and the mess inside the pot.
I am not fond of having to use a separate gripper handle for lifting so I
installed a wire bail across the top of the grease pot - just a personal
preference. The A/G Gear pot presents the same problem.
I don't know what alloy the A/G Gear pot is made from, but the grease pot is
a very soft - read weak - grade of aluminum. A drop of the pack, or a bump,
could easily collapse a thin-gauge grease pot. Again, that's not a
show-stopper but it is an aggravation. Some hikers seem to think it is
wilderness-chic to have an old, black, beat-up pot that looks as though it
was salvaged from a homeless camp under the Burnside Bridge, but I don't.
I find a small advantage with the grease pot's bottom configuration: It is
perfectly flat compared to other pots that have a raised portion occupying
most of their center. I think the non-flat bottom configuration allows the
pot to better handle direct application of heat, something that is not a
design consideration for the grease pot. The practical advantage of a flat
surface is that it allows me to use a credit card, or the like, to more
easily scrape the residual Alfredo sauce from the bottom. If you use only a
spoon it doesn't really matter. I don't know what the bottom of the A/G
Gear pot is like.
The titanium/aluminum alloy pots such as the ubiquitous - but expensive -
Evernew models are considerably stronger for their weight, and I prefer
them. Even with a titanium pot I do what I can to protect it from impact.
One key is to keep the lid in place on the pot, thereby providing structural
rigidity to the open end. I keep all my pot lids in place with a
minimum-size SilNylon sack that has a snug drawstring closure. The sack
also reduces the possibility of getting pot-gunk on the sleeping bag that is
wadded around it inside the pack.
Over time, particularly on the internet, there has been discussion about the
potential undesirable effects of cooking in an aluminum container. Believe
what you will about the issue, but the inside of the A/G Gear pot is
non-stick coated, which should reduce or eliminate that consideration. You
may not be off-the-hook though, depending upon what you may have read about
the potential undesirable effects of cooking in a Teflon-coated container.
Sigh...
Steel-Eye
http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
----- Original Message -----
From: "Scott Bryce" <sbryce at scottbryce.com>
To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2008 8:41 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] cooking pot
> Amanda L Silvestri wrote:
>> There has been some past discussion here about cooking pots. As I
>> recall, there was mention of a very light pot that was very
>> inexpensive. I don't remember its name but think it was for sale at
>> Walgreen's or was it Walmart? Does anyone recall?
>
> Walmart used to carry a cheap aluminum pot called the Grease Pot. It was
> intended for collecting cooking grease. I don't think they carry it any
> more.
>
> Check out the pots sold by AntiGravity Gear.
>
> http://www.antigravitygear.com/proddetail.php?prod=MK3CNS&cat=63
> _______________________________________________
> Pct-l mailing list
> Pct-l at backcountry.net
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
------------------------------
Message: 7
Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:06:58 -0800
From: "Michael Chamoun" <nano.michael at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Hiker Privacy and Safety
To: "ed faubert" <edfaubert at yahoo.com>
Cc: "pct-l at backcountry.net" <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Message-ID:
<eb95aa9e0811212306y331f456tecf6d741e49f4252 at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
This is an interesting issue. Yes, the PCT does go into towns. People might
know where a certain hiker might be at a given point in time. Do sad things
happen? Yes. However, future thru-hikers should not be looking over their
shoulders when on the trail. It defeats the whole purpose, which is to have
a sense of liberty and get away from societal agendas. Those rare and
extreme instances when hikers have had unfortunate luck need not be the
standard reason for being "safe." I don't care for that term very much too,
because in reality there are many things beyond our control and no amount of
precautionary measures can completely make anyone safe. Safety is an
illusion. Yes, having anonymity might dampen these unwonted occurances, but
it's a sad day when a thru-hiker has to worry about safety from other
humans. This might be the careless youth speaking but the PCT is all about
taking a certain chance, meeting people from all over (yes the annoying ones
too), and just plain *living*. You will no more be stalked by a person than
struck by lightening or attacked by a wild animal so this "out to get ya"
fear needs to stop and it's time stand up for who you are: a tough, dirty
backpacker, who's on a journey of a lifetime.
On Fri, Nov 21, 2008 at 4:45 PM, ed faubert <edfaubert at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Meadow Ed here....
> Well i can agree with Donna for the most part we also have to be aware
> this knowledge of trail dangers may also cause some newbie to either not
> hike the trail or to be scrared stiff of encountering some creep. However,
> if this warning helps keep even one hiker alive then it has its merits. The
> hikers who come into Aqua Dulce this past decade have been lucky to a good
> degree. This is one of two road walks where the PCT is on a narrow two lane
> paved road and it does cross Sierra Highway before going back into the
> brush. It can be a long dark hike both coming into town as well as out in
> the wee hours. There is perhaps more possibilty of encountering people who
> are not even aware of who hikers even are out there. True you enter this
> section at Cajon Pass where theres lots more folks about but your not so
> alone there. Section C also has a couple of prisoner camps hikers pass
> close too. Even i hate to car camp at Messenger Flats on the 2 weekends
> that familys come up for a visit.
>
> Andreas comments about we are all family is true to a certain sense but
> sometimes it takes weeks for this all to happen to the group. Yes the PCT
> hikers have been pretty safe for the most part on the trail. Few incidents
> even seem to mar the safty of the trail heads. I think anyone who is
> thinking of doing the trail who has some concerns if they are doing it alone
> need to go to trail journals to see how other solo hikers delt with this
> apperication of fear issue Donna bring up. Could it happen, yes of course,
> Does it happen, i am not aware of any serious problems. Just like in the
> real world many murders seem to be crimes of passion or where the victem is
> know by the perp. so maby it is safer out there on trail.
>
> What ever it takes for you to feel safer out there then by all means do it.
> There is way too many things to deal with on the trail without being afraid
> of it...............
>
> Donna Saufley wrote:
> > I coudn't agree more about the hiker community, and how overwhelmingly
> safe
> > and trustworthy I've found hikers to be. It's nearly miraculous that so
> > many good people have gathered within this family of friends.
> > Unfortunately, the trail crosses roads and hikers go to town. Any area
> that
> > people can drive to will have an entirely different element, and while
> many
> > good people share kindnesses out there, we only have to read the paper or
> > watch Court TV to know that this is not always the case. The trust that
> is
> > shared within the hiker community just doesn't (or IMHO shouldn't)
> uniformly
> > apply to society, alas.
> > I know for a fact that some hikers suck things up that they may not like
> so
> > as not to offend their host. They've told me so and that they didn't want
> to
> > hurt my feelings or seem ungrateful. It would be difficult for some to
> say
> > no, don't do that. Then, too, some that could be in danger may be
> unaware.
> > Also, keep in mind that the real concern is not about a video posted or a
> > book or journal written long after the season ends, but those who are
> > innocently posting journals or emails detailing hiker whereabouts in real
> > time. In hiker world, that's tantamount to giving out somebody's address
> to
> > a completely unknown group of strangers and telling them when they'll be
> > there.
> > I've been asked more than a few times to keep someone's anonymity or
> > whereabouts quiet in my 12 years of hosting. That's what changed my
> outlook
> > on this. Most commonly, hikers are trying to dodge someone whose company
> > they are avoiding. It's hard to lose someone who is dogging you on the
> > trail. Other hikers who asked me not to post about them were quite
> adamant,
> > and had sound reasons for wanting their whereabouts posted on the
> internet.
> > One explained to me it was because she was on the AT when a young woman
> was
> > murdered because a stalker followed her online journal postings detailing
> > her whereabouts and plans. She literally implored me to not only respect
> her
> > wish for privacy, but to be conscious of this for others too. It's said
> if
> > we ignore history, we are doomed to repeat it.
> > The sad reality is that hikers are being stalked today on the PCT by some
> > nut that they met at a trail head. This guy is out looking for these
> > hikers. Let's just say, hypothetically, that this guy finds his way onto
> > this or another PCT forum. Or there's someone already lurking, scanning,
> > hunting on hiker forums. Let's be real -- the trail attracts its share
> of
> > 5150s.
> > I know, that once again, I am taking a controversial position, sounding
> > preachy, and well, yes I am preaching. I trying to share what I've
> > witnessed and I'm ringing a bell of warning. I am posting about it, as
> > unpleasant as it is to deal with, because I want to raise awareness and
> > consciousness. I will go against the tide once again because I'm on my
> own
> > little mission to help hikers and help keep them safe out there. I also
> > respect differences of opinion, and the thunderbolts of dissention.
> > That's why I'm Lightening Rod ;o)
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:
> pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
> > On Behalf Of Andrea Dinsmore
> > Sent: Friday, November 21, 2008 12:46 PM
> > To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> > Subject: Re: [pct-l] Hiker Privacy and Safety
> > Being a trail angel up at the tail north end of the PCT........I have
> never
> > had a hiker in 6 years convey to me or my husband that they require
> > anonymity. Everyone signs the register. Everyone poses for photos both
> > individual and group. They all know they will end up in our annual video.
> > Most hikers want their travels to be posted so family and others CAN
> track
> > the progress. They are very proud of their accomplishments. There's no
> more
> > privacy out on the trail than there is at a public football game.
> Everyone
> > has cameras and everyone talks to each other. If a hiker needs to be
> > invisible while they are hiking they need to not talk with anyone, hide
> > their face and don't sign any register with your real or trail name.
> > It's your responsibility to remain anonymous......not ours. The trail is
> > definitely a very public and highly advertised place. Hike the trail and
> > have a good time. You're safer out with all the hiker trash than you are
> in
> > your home town. Hiker trash with care for you if you are hurt or sick.
> Hiker
> > trash with protect you again anything. They become your family by the
> time
> > you finish the hike. Quit being paranoid and enjoy the hike. You are not
> > out there by yourself.
> > PCT MOM
> > _______________________________________________
> > Pct-l mailing list
> > Pct-l at backcountry.net
> > http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
> > _______________________________________________
> > Pct-l mailing list
> > Pct-l at backcountry.net
> > http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
>
>
>
>
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>
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End of Pct-l Digest, Vol 11, Issue 33
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