What trail stories are you the most tired of hearing?
If you're a thru-hiker on the A.T., there are some stories that get told, re-told, and embellished. And this can become a problem because if you're hiking in any kind of "bubble", you're hiking with mostly the same hikers while new people are catching up to you and others are passing you.
So eventually your trail family will get sick and tired of hearing the same stories over and over again getting told to new people in the group.
Some stories I never get tired of hearing, like the infamous "Baltimore Jack, Death, Decay, and the Doyle" story where he discovered a corpse in Duncannon, PA. Or the various Grandma Gatewood stories, which are still fascinating to me no matter how many times they are re-told. Or maybe it's a story about a famous place or establishment on the trail, or about a crazy person encountered on the trail.
What trail stories are you sick and tired of hearing on the trail and wish would be retired permanently?
Not a story, but a joke that's not amusing anymore
I want the "joke" that ends "I only need to outrun YOU" to never be repeated again. People in a panic HAVE used its "advice," resulting in the first documented bear fatality in New Jersey history.
https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/09...in-new-jersey/
Staying together in a group and NOT running will pretty much guarantee a non-fatal encounter with a black bear, no matter how aggressive it is*.
It's a simple case of, "It stops being a joke after somebody gets killed." The latter has happened, so let's stop spreading this advice.
* I'll also note that, once you learn of an aggressive bear nearby, you should NOT decide to get closer to that bear -- particularly if nobody has bear repellent ready for use.