PCT hikers wrecking *****?

[ShelterLeopard]

Hey y'all- I'm a member of a few of the PCT forums on facebook and I've been seeing a lot of posts about disrespectful hikers making a mess of trail towns. Has anyone heard of/experienced the bad hiker behavior? If it really sounds like a mob of crazies are making a bad name for hikers, I might switch my NoBo for a SoBo next year...

[ShelterLeopard]

Weird that that got blipped out... wasn't an expletive but who cares? You get the idea.

[fiddlehead]

SOBO PCT is not easy.
I had too much snow in WA in August one year.
Not too much that I couldn't get through it, but needed ice ax and GPS as the trail was under snow and that trail traverses more steep slope than any other trail that I know. Especially in WA.
Good luck with that.

As far as folks giving hikers a bad name, it sounds like the numbers game is bringing out the bad with the good. Just like the AT.
When I first hiked it, there were lots of free hostels and free places to stay for hikers. (fire houses, church hostels, etc)
One by one, they all closed.

Probably best to pick a little known trail for a while.
These movies are gonna have the numbers up for a while.

[Mags]

As far as folks giving hikers a bad name, it sounds like the numbers game is bringing out the bad with the good. Just like the AT.

Bingo.

If 10% of the people are jerkwads, that means 10 out of 100 are, well, jerkwads.

So, if 400+ people hike the trails, 40+ people are going to be jerks. And since people tend to bunch of up in town, all it takes is handful of people in a small town to give hikers a bad name.

[rocketsocks]

Wads of a feather jerk it together.

[ShelterLeopard]

Yeah, I'm thinking that wild will attract large numbers for a while (cue: womp womp sound effect). I wish I'd done this four years ago like I'd planned! But oh well, I'm sure it'll still be awesome. I'll be starting a few weeks earlier than the kickoff anyway, so hopefully there won't be too much of a crowd.

[Wolf - 23000]

It is sad to say but there are a lot of jerks out there on the trail. What many hikers don't get is when some jerk create problems in town, this is still people home. No one wants to deal with that crap year after year. It really gets old, especially when it is the same place that gets abuse over and over again. Some people just simple need to grow up.

Wolf

[sbhikes]

I think I saw the facebook post you mentioned. There seem to be posts like that every year, though. There was a good backpacker.com article about Donna Sauffley closing up shop that also featured some "bad guys" who were hated by everyone for "trashing the trail towns" but it turned out they hadn't done anything wrong after all. You kind of have to take these things with a grain of salt sometimes.

It does sound like the crowds are pretty big this year, though. I hiked in 2008 and 2009 and largely I was alone if I wanted to be. Since I did it in two half sections, my 2nd year I was able to get a whole month ahead of the crowd. (My first year I wasn't even aware there was a crowd, I knew nothing about kickoff, Yogi's books, Halfmile maps or anything.) I enjoyed a lot of zero days in Oregon and Washington towns/resorts as the only hiker there. Large sections are another option. You get all the experience of a long hike but a little more flexibility over the dates.

[wrap89]

one of my good friends RED-DOG was telling me the other night that it was so bad that he actually had to leave one town early because the locals didn't want him their any longer. he also said that he started doing 30-35 MPD just to get ahead so that he would have a good reception in the towns.

[ShelterLeopard]

See, this is what worries me. And not so my reception in towns, but being in a group of people that make me feel ashamed to be part of the PCT hikers. I do plan to start early though, and if there's too much snow I might hop around a little and come back to the Sierras. I do want to do the whole thing at once though- worse comes to worst, I'll try to hike ahead and and bring so many good vibes that it'll last all the towns forever. (Yeah, I'm not quite that naive, but whatever, I'll try)

And yep, Sbhikes, I bet you saw the same post- but whatever will be, will be, I suppose. I read the article about the Saufley's, sad to hear that they're going, but glad to read the article.

one of my good friends RED-DOG was telling me the other night that it was so bad that he actually had to leave one town early because the locals didn't want him their any longer. he also said that he started doing 30-35 MPD just to get ahead so that he would have a good reception in the towns.

[sbhikes]

one of my good friends RED-DOG was telling me the other night that it was so bad that he actually had to leave one town early because the locals didn't want him their any longer. he also said that he started doing 30-35 MPD just to get ahead so that he would have a good reception in the towns.

This sounds awful. But then again, is hiking a long trail about the trail towns or the trail? Maybe those who spend more time on trail and less time in town will have a less annoying experience. I know I was able to get away from annoying people by simply not staying long in town and hiking on ahead.

[Malto]

Yeah, I'm thinking that wild will attract large numbers for a while (cue: womp womp sound effect). I wish I'd done this four years ago like I'd planned! But oh well, I'm sure it'll still be awesome. I'll be starting a few weeks earlier than the kickoff anyway, so hopefully there won't be too much of a crowd.

Luckily I did do it four years ago. Tommorrow is my my 4 yr Sierra Entry Anniversery.

I doubt the percent of idiots has gone up. There were a few back in '11. The difference is in the the number that percentage is multiplied by.

[ShelterLeopard]

Ah, I'm sure it'll be fine. There were a few rude folks on the AT too, I'll deal. And Sbhikes, exactly- I figure if it's bad I just won't stick around towns.

[takethisbread]

Ah, I'm sure it'll be fine. There were a few rude folks on the AT too, I'll deal. And Sbhikes, exactly- I figure if it's bad I just won't stick around towns.

Shlep keeping away from knuckleheads on the AT was sometimes a chore but it was possible. I'm sure it'll be the same on the pct. As far as all the bad reports, I think it's probably just growing pains. It will all sort itself out. The more people the better, that's why these trails were built so people could use them respectfully. Don't try to make the experience what it's not. Sobo or nobo I wish u good luck out there! I'm heading out April 20 ish. 300 days to go!!


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[ShelterLeopard]

Digger, thanks! I've decided on the 15th, I can't wait!!

[takethisbread]

Digger, thanks! I've decided on the 15th, I can't wait!!

I should see u out there then, as I'm hoping for a April 20ish start. I'm pretty psyched as well.


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[Singto]

It is sad to say but there are a lot of jerks out there on the trail. What many hikers don't get is when some jerk create problems in town, this is still people home. No one wants to deal with that crap year after year. It really gets old, especially when it is the same place that gets abuse over and over again. Some people just simple need to grow up.

Wolf

Yes the A-wholes have infiltrated everything now. It used to be that they flocked together at specific types of places, now they've dispersed to spread their vileness everywhere possible.

[Tipi Walter]

I've been seeing a lot of posts about disrespectful hikers making a mess of trail towns.

When I first hiked it, there were lots of free hostels and free places to stay for hikers. (fire houses, church hostels, etc)

Bingo.
And since people tend to bunch of up in town

I enjoyed a lot of zero days in Oregon and Washington towns/resorts as the only hiker there.

it was so bad that he actually had to leave one town early

my reception in towns,

There's a painful common thread here---Towns. Who goes backpacking to go to a town? Avoiding towns is the reason I go backpacking.

This sounds awful. But then again, is hiking a long trail about the trail towns or the trail? Maybe those who spend more time on trail and less time in town will have a less annoying experience. I know I was able to get away from annoying people by simply not staying long in town and hiking on ahead.

Yes, totally agree with sbhikes: More time on the trail and less time in towns, please. Let the motards and ruffians and derelicts and sots and miscreants glom onto towns---stay smart and stay out in the woods.

Del Gue: Jeremiah, you've maybe been out in the mountains too long. Maybe need to see city life.
Jeremiah Johnson: I've been to a town, Del.

[10-K]

If you're hiking for months at a time for thousands of miles you have to deal with going into town on a regular basis. Though I'm sure they exist, I have yet to meet a hiker who did not look forward to arriving in a town at some point. When that happens you're going to be around other hikers and deal with any blowback that the hikers in front of you may have left.

If you're just loading up a pack and going into the woods for a month and not going outside of a 100 mile radius it's easier to play Jerimiah Johnson.

[Coffee]

Almost all of the people I encountered on the PCT this spring over seven weeks on trail starting at the border were pleasant to be around, and I never felt that the trail itself was crowded. Other than the Warner Springs Community Center (which is a great stop), I didn't feel like there were an overwhelming number of people in "towns" either. I should note that I stayed in private accommodations by myself (motel rooms) in all of my town stops. I never split a room and never stayed at a hostel. As a result I had the privacy that many others might not have enjoyed and avoided the close quarters that sometimes can lead to conflicts. This of course cost more money and I spent quite a bit more on lodging than I anticipated but it was worth it for me.