[pct-l] stream crossing near miss

[Stephen]

Because it was rude and completely out of context.  I counted to ten and decided I was about to do the absolute right thing.  Talk on your cell phone all you want, but please do so ina way that does not encroach on others experience, and one of mine is to leave all that and electricity behind.  
But honestly if you had been there you might have agreed I did the right thing, and you were not there.  On the other hand, someone might come along when I hurt and help me out because they have a cell phone.  If I had one you'd be welcome to it, esspecially in an emergency.  But this lady was blabbin pretty loud like folks do on cell phones as if New York could here better, and in an absolutley peaceful and pristine setting withother folks around. Rude !  with a capital "R".  But relax, I probably would approach something like that very differently ten years later, a little wiser, and a lot nicer.  I'll have to see if I can find anything I wrote in my journal about that.  I know I wrote down something about running into the group later, and while I left this out, I actually apologized to that lady along the high travese trail just west of Keasarge Pass. The look on her face when she registered who I was was priceless.  
And like I said earlier, I ussualy like my trailside encounters with the various personalities I meet from these trips.  Often there will be one or two people struggling for whom a little encouragement and some small advise can be very helpful.  I always try and make time for anyone I meet.  A few seaasons ago, probably five years, I met a lady from the Bay area who had climbed Mt Julius Cesar and lost where she stashed her fanny pack. I met her after she'd gone looking for it and given up.  So I got her info and contiued onup to Italy Pass for my own climb of the peak.  I've been up Cesar three times now, and crossed Italy Pass at least eight times, and there is a natural way folks tend to start up from the pass.  I found her pack imediately without even trying.  I have not the slightest idea how she missed it, but she did.  When I hiked back out after touring acouple of the Bear Lakes and crossing White Bear pass and circling back around I picked up the pack and hauled it out with me, along with her hiking poles that were with it.  I called her frrom Mammoth and said I'd send it from the P.O. down the street right away priority and don't worry about the five bucks, and I could not believe what  a snob she turned out to be. Started insisting I send it UPS next day and wasn't even nice or grateful I packed her stuff out.  So there to me is someone who probably should not have been in the Mtns in the first place.  I sincerely considered tossing the crap in the trash, but I went and sent it and be done with it.  So I wont for a minute consider I am unreasonable.  That was the third time I packed stuff out for people who asked me to if I found it.  How come I can find the stuff and they can't?  I never look very hard either, just naturally find things, things that really should not be lost.  
So as not to sound unrealistic, there will always be folks out and about who can use a little help.  If that means confronting them for being absolutely obnoxious on a cell phone, please allow me to be of assistance.  Baby Jesus don't have nothing to do with it unless that's your gig.  I prefer a little Zen.                             
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Will Hiltz 
  To: Stephen 
  Cc: Gary Schenk ; pct-l at backcountry.net 
  Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2009 5:35 AM
  Subject: Re: [pct-l] stream crossing near miss


  Why be rude to someone talking on a cellphone?  Doing such helped me through a lot of lonely times on the trail.  Who is to say that talking or not talking on cellphones is the "right"
   way?  Sweet baby Jesus teaches tolerance if I'm not mistaken... why not just move along?


  YITOOD,

  Easy





  On Tue, Feb 3, 2009 at 10:02 PM, Stephen <reddirt2 at earthlink.net> wrote:

    I didn't say what I read, but a few comments are pretty nasty.  But I have
    explored a good deal of what's in Peaks, Passes and Trails, and from what I
    gather from my experience in comparison, a good deal more than the author.
    And I said accidents, not death, but you can include it if you like.  Some
    lady took a nice dive this last early season, I think it was approaching Mt
    Mendal.  Just because you join a club doesn't mean you are particularly
    suited to its activities.  Anyone can buy tools; doesn't mean they are
    mechanically inclined. Catch my meaning.  You can root for the club all you
    want, I just know what I've encountered and heard from trail crews and
    rangers over many years in the Sierra and Southwest.  I'm also not
    suggesting the SC or anyone involved is good, bad ,or irresponsible.
    However, it was a SC outing that the man suffered the bear slash from
    imporper food storage, and a SC outing that had the broken ankle on the
    Middlefork Kings. It was a SC outing when the woman tossed to her death over
    near Darwin, and it was a SC outing that they had this water crossing
    trouble that could have been easily avoided.  It was also a SC outing I
    believe when Secor pitched a little while ago near Baldy area.  Nothing
    personal, and I have met some real nice folks from SC outings, but a good
    many have absolutley no business out in the backcountry. Ever heard of car
    camping?  So I'm on Muir Pass about nine years ago.  There is a small group,
    about seven or eight.  Oh well, I'll just say howdy and have my snack right.
    All good.  Then some lady gets on her cell phone and starts yackin away like
    she's in the market or who knows what she was thinkin.  Really rude, so I
    put on my rude hat too and that was solved imediately.  Funny thing is I ran
    into this group again about a few days later going out over Keasarge.  The
    lady looked like she'd been ostrisized and the rest of the group seemed
    kinda glad to see me and was very friendly.  Hum?  So what I'm telling you
    by this little story is having a high profile club sort of creates a sort of
    image for all.  Sloppy camps, rude people, accidents, improper backcountry
    etiquite, and approaching the mountians with an attitude of propriety.  I'm
    sure it's actually worse outside the club like the father and son who got
    lost over Gardiner Pass for a couple days,or the PCT'r who tossed 'cause he
    had no axe, but when you have a high profile people tend to notice more, and
    when you have a name with Sierra in it, you have a lot to live up to.  I
    just don't see it.  What you have now is a big political lobby that has
    become a bit unwiedly and lost focus many years gone now.  Meanwhile the
    backcountry experience has deteriorated, and I'm not so sure part of the
    reason isn't the SC itself.  Change is good, try it.

    ----- Original Message -----
    From: "Gary Schenk" <gwschenk at socal.rr.com>
    To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>

    Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2009 4:09 PM
    Subject: Re: [pct-l] stream crossing near miss


    > On Monday 02 February 2009 23:54:06 Stephen wrote:
    >> Yeah and they tend to have a lot of accidents, seems a trait common to SC
    >> outings.
    >
    > In 50+ years of the Sierra Club's Angeles Chapter's Sierra Peaks Section
    > climbing throughout the Sierra, there has been one death on an outing.
    >
    >>No disrepect to Mr Secor, but there are some interesting comments
    >>regarding him in a numberof peak registeries.
    >
    > Don't believe everything you read in a register.
    >
    > Cheers,
    > Gary
    > _______________________________________________
    > Pct-l mailing list
    > Pct-l at backcountry.net
    > http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l


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