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I have not ventured back onto the AT in the age of machines, and am not sure I want to. Most of what I know from this is from "Loner '12's" book "Painted Blazes," which, given that it was 8 years...

KnightErrant: Sounds like you knew you had to avoid shelters or you'd suffer their consequences. Starting in mid-April is one thing. Try starting in early March, when there is still lots of snow and...

JNI64 wrote:
"Nothing but the sound of crickets......... ( urgh y'all just don't get it)."

Huh?

JNI64 wrote:
"No one cares what you respect and don't respect."

And isn't that exactly the problem?

No one cares what anyone else thinks anymore, so, as a proper modern American citizen, they...

soilman wrote:
"What would Earl Shaffer or Grandma Gatewood think about those hikers in 1996 using all that new fangled technology? Nylon internal frame packs, down sleeping bags, leather boots with...

And when they refuse?
Whey later they're making a phone call?
They're "hiking their own hike," right?

Why do you hike, anyway?

You honestly do not have a problem with coming into a shelter after a 15-mile, rainy day, 8 pm, only to find someone playing a phone with rap music singing "******" this and "******" that?

loneh: So you think it's OK that hikers play music in shelters? That they have phone calls at all hours? That even in inclement weather you're the one who's supposed to move out and sleep in the rain...

>> you should heed your own advice.... <<

I am. But not without defending myself and pointing out to all of you that you're way out of bounds.

Clearly this is a sensitive topic.

Hank -- you're another one who relies on personal attacks instead of discussing the issues.

1) pretty sure I've hiked more of the AT than you.
2) certain you're wrong about where I live
3) why...

My second problem with videologs, etc is that, if you want to hike the trail, why watch them instead of being surprised when you come across the wonderful trail features in the wild? And more than...

TNhiker wrote:
"did someone force you to hike the AT or did you not realize there was other long distance trails in the states?"

Is the AT now meant to be an amusement park, because that's what...

Bitter? You've misunderstood.

Books I've read of recent thru-hikers write about phones in shelters playing music and making phone calls.

Is this "hike your own hike," bothering others with the...

Is there a limit to how many posts the OP can make?

If so, why?

I did, after all, start this discussion, because I had many thoughts on it.

Now it seems all of you are anxious to insult me...

TNhiker: Now you're resorting with personal insults because you have no intellectual arguments to make about this topic.

PS: Anyone who graduated from high school should know what the word...

I have no idea what your point is, except that it's clear again you have no clue what it's about.

Do you take weekend hikes with video games and squirt guns and cell phones and consider it happy...

If you think it's all about a law, you don't understand the first think about a backwoods experience.

I think the current generation is so ruined, so corrupted, so unable to imagine a world...

JN, that really says it all - you think Disneyland is a worthwhile experience.

That's as stark as it gets.

And don't try to tell me that nothing is lost when thru-hikers are recording every meter of the trail and broadcasting it to YouTube.

Is that the hike you want, safe and simple, all pre-recorded...

If a hiker is filming and recording they are inevitably intruding on other hikers, at shelters, crossings, hostels, etc.

What right do they have to do that?

TN - I'm far from bitter.

In fact, I'm seeing things more clearly than ever.

I'm seeing what's important. Wilderness is important. Silence is important. Solitude is important.

And today's...

TN - Oh. No. I meant that I don't think Loner '12 knew what his hike could have been like if he'd hiked without electronics, and if he'd been in an electronics-free environment.

Spelling counts in the real world, and those who can't spell don't look very smart.

JN, it's spelled "Peace," not "Piece."

(Yes, spelling counts. This is the real world.)

Metallica???? No wonder you don't get the trail experience.