Schulo I agree and understand the brief nudity and am also in the regards of very inflexible toward the drugs. I totally understand what they are saying and this is helping greatly.
Schulo I agree and understand the brief nudity and am also in the regards of very inflexible toward the drugs. I totally understand what they are saying and this is helping greatly.
It seems to me that smoking dope is your choice and should not be conducted in a community type environment such as in a shelter. It should be some thing you leave and go do by yourself or with whoever wants to do it with you but should never be conducted in a shelter where all do not agree with your view on it.
Some good comments above....
Personally I'd avoid the shelters altogether, but as an alternative, I'd find a nice place to pitch NEAR a shelter. That way, you can enjoy the benefits of being by a shelter (i.e. good water, good campsites, picnic table, a fire at night) and your kids would benefit from meeting and seeing other hikers.....while avoiding all the possile downsides. You'd have you own private campsite for some "family time", you wouldn't be kept up at night by other folks, you could break camp in the morning whenever you wished, and you'd miss out on some of the possible negative aspects of commmunal shelter life.
Have a great trip!
No its call teaching your kids to make a stand in what you believe in. Something that is rare in todays society. You would like me to say, " Its ok, go ahead some your dope Mr. liberal. Although I don't agree with you cant we all get along. Group hug." give me a break.
Skids
Insanity: Asking about inseams over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein, (attributed)
U choose to use brute force against other folks in front of your kids it will teach them violence...also if U choose to use brute force against someone, that someone may choose to defend themself...at which point someone might get really hurt, be bad for your kids to be out thar in the wilderness with U hurt,,,
"I'd rather kill a man than a snake. Not because I love snakes or hate men. It is a question, rather, of proportion." Edward Abbey
If you are stupid enough to lite up in front of a kid you deserve what ever happens to you...
This may be trail legend but in 2000 i heard that in 99 0r 98 someone sparked at the Hilton(fontana) in front of some weekenders kids, he contacted TVA Police (who have a station close to shelter) eventually "the Dogs" were brought in and at least one hiker got in trouble.
Those who know me Know I do not care what you do to yourself, but leave the kids out of it.
Seen plenty of kids at shelters, if you are supervising them there won't be any trouble. I've never heard of anyone actually ecountering such boorish behavior with kids around a shelter, even when crowds are thick. Once in a great while you'll encounter some folks you don't want to shelter with, you'll easily be able to determine that right away. If you're uncertain, a straightforward polite discussion about your and your sheltermate's expectations of eachother shouldn't go amiss. In my opinion this is a non-issue.
If you make an overture and don't like the response you get, best to move on...as Jack Tarlin said, easier to tent, you can rule your own roost.
I would never presume to smoke weed in front of someone's children or unvetted strangers at a shelter, and anyone who does is a jackass. The woods are big, plenty of elbow room, there is no reason anyone should impose on someone else like this. You would be perfectly justified telling them off. But with kids around, better to just avoid such situations and simply move away from it. you can always report them if necessary. However, I would be darned surprised if you came back and told me such a thing happened. Most hikers have a sense of ettiquette and protocol when it comes to strangers. If they don't, they should learn. Again, this discussion draws more attention to the subject than is warranted, though, cuz it ain't gonna happen 999 times out of a thousand.
I agree with Jack (someone record the time and date ). If you want to be sure your kids don't see nude people, hear foul language or see drinking or drugging; tent far enough from shelter that they don't see it. They will still see the trail culture in those you encounter on the trails, but people don't normally change clothes, take a bath or get wasted as they are actively hiking.
In 2005, a 10 yo boy thru hiked with his family. He was at trail days and most party animals toned it down when he was around. Most will - but a handful won't.
What ever happened to the mantra "Leave no trace"? Does this only apply to the trail? What about children & how bad adult behavior affects young minds?
We should treat each other with respect and follow the golden rule on the trail and on WB too. Enough of the bickering and silliness about whether dope smoking is morally better or worse than the nudity of someone changing clothes, which is altogether different than perverse nudity.
Egads
The trail was here before we arrived, and it will still be here when we are gone...enjoy it now, and preserve it for others that come after us
Stoned "pot heads" are harmless. Ask anyone who works in an ER how many visits people make that are marijuana-related vs. those related to alcohol and other drugs, including tobacco. Certainly having a kid see someone smoking marijuana is no worse than a kid seeing someone drinking alcohol or speeding while driving. If anything, it would be a good way to start a conversation with your children about the casual use mind-altering substances in general.
Of course, no one should be smoking anything IN a shelter, because of the smoke itself. But to inform the police of someone casually smoking marijuana is, in my opinion, more than a bit ridiculous.
Most people changing clothes in a shelter do so quickly and relatively discreetly and there is certainly no harm in your children seeing that sort of nudity. If you have a problem with that, you should not use shelters.
And as far as children bothering others, if they're are well-behaved and not whiney, they should be more acceptable to the other hikers than dogs would be. Certainly your children have as much right to be in the shelter as any other hikers.
Do be aware that it is considered courteous for large groups not to monopolize the shelters and that you should always be prepared to tent in case there is no room available.
Yes, except to tell some people that their language is foul and their habits are bad is akin to telling a mama that she has an ugly baby. Is just doesn't fly.
(The only difference being, there aren't any ugly babies. Nobody's homely until 2nd grade at least....when they start getting those big teeth in. Ah, well, sometimes the tables turn by high school.)
I'm kinda conservative and certainly not pro-drugs, but I find your willingness to commit felony assault to prevent your kids from being exposed to a misdemeanor rather disturbing.