Are we scarry to locals? Any rudeness encountered?

[mcskinney]

That's really cold. And from I understand, Californians are the new Texans in Colorado.

Californians and Texans make up a majority of transplants and in that regard are hated equally. Its the Texans behavior on the ski slopes and their winter driving skills that makes them more hated then the Californians in the long run.

My sister lives in Texas, it's not too bad there. I don't see why y'all have to move here.


Colorado sucks.... Nothing to see here.

[WingedMonkey]

Maybe she had been previously raped.

And she thought this WOMAN was going to rape her?

[Dogwood]

Let's face it! Most Americans live out of a house, apartment, condo, trailer, etc. Not out of a tent, hammock, tarp, etc. Most Americans get from place to place by automobile, plane, train or bus. Not by walking and hitch hiking. Most Americans have sizable wardrobes and get dressed in clean clothes each day where their clothing and "accessories" are stored neatly in closets and dressers, having much more than one or two sets of clothing and certainly not storing everything they have for sustaining life jammed into a backpack. Most American women have drawers full of face paint and American men shave regularly or have trimmed beards and mustaches and both take frequent showers. Backpackers have streams and lakes and take an ocassional shower at a hostel, hotel, etc. Avoiding make-up and shaving and engaging in infrequent sometimes impromptu bathing is not the norm. Most Americans watch excessive amounts of TV, own microwave ovens, many are addicted to a sedentary electronic filled life, have kitchens packed with all manner of cooking gear, and grab their food from a fridge and pantry. Hikers don't have TVs(usually!) or microwaves. Hikers have sunrises, sunsets, lakes, rivers, trees, and wilderness, wild life, and maybe a cell ph, camera, and/or mp3 player. Hikers usually have a small cookset, maybe one spork and a pot, and shuffle through a food sack for what limited amount of food they have on hand. Most Americans are strongly(totally?)infleunced on who and what to believe by mainstream media outlets, politicians, organized religionists, big business, and family and friends, who have themsleves been influenced by the same. Hikers, when out hiking long enough, and if they will take the sole focus off themselves, learn from the wind, weather, plants and trees, water, sky, stars, wild animals, etc


Backpackers are not normal in our society! They don't look, smell, or act normal! Backpackers are mutants! Realize/expect, if you are going to backpack, you will not always be perceived as "normal." You will not fit into a typical lifestyle. That scares the hell out of some non-backpacking people! Sometimes fear comes out in the form of rudeness or skepticism.


BUT, no matter how abnormal you may be perceived by the non-backpacking world realize their is a campsite somewhere with some dirty smelly unshaven hikers that will welcome you into their tribe!


I think it every hiker's opportunity that they can share with non-hikers that there exists different lifestyles, perspectives, ways of thought, and options to succesful living!

[Amanita]

Oh yeah, I forgot about Kent. I thought nannies were only something you saw in movies and reality shows before I got to Kent. I think there were something like 6 or 7 art galleries in that little town and the outfitter was basically a high end dept store. Some teenager in a brand new big 4X4 pick-up swerved at me as I was road-walking into town. The people at the library def don't want you there. On a brighter note, I got rock-star treatment from some old ladies at the grocery store and the pastor at one of the churches said I could stay there. The AYCE place at the end of town was the hiker-friendly restaurant, I didn't dare step foot in any of the other restaurants.

Definitely. I hit the library in Kent yesterday and the disdain wafting off the librarian stank WAY worse than I did. I think there's a boarding school I passed on the way into town. Nothing like swarms of rich high schoolers with daddy's credit card swarming around town on a saturday afternoon.

[Old Hiker]

It's kinda funny the looks I get, wearing my backpack, when I do the 5-mile round-trip through the back streets of my suburban subdivision to my local supermarket. (Lugging 35-40 pounds of groceries home once a week or so is a good way to stay in condition). Guess my good neighbors aren't accustomed to seeing vagrants like myself anywhere but downtown or on the highway off-ramps.

I do that too Beachcomber- but not with groceries. I load up my pack to prepare for a serious hike to get used to hauling the weight. People either think I'm lost or frightening. But man, I must be the cleanest vagrant in the whole world when I hike the five miles near my home...

Oh, yes. Had to explain several times to several security people who patrol my neighborhood who I was, homeowner, in training, etc. etc. I'm NOT complaining - what's what our HOA pays them for. Now, I just get a wave and a "how far today?" from them.

Wanna REALLY freak the neighbors who don't know you out? As you hike by, ask if there are any empty, foreclosed homes nearby!

[LoneRidgeRunner]

"I've been to a town........Dale"...Jeremiah Johnson...He wouldn't have liked Kent, CN either

[Bare Bear]

Yeah I meet mean rude people all the time in Clearwater, usually from the NE USA.

[skooch]

I'm going with "she is tired of being approached by panhandlers.) Years ago I saw a 35ish, dirty, pack wearing man walking alone thru downtown St Pete. I thought he was creepy. Probably just a regular guy on a long walk. He may have appreciated a little kindness but my mind was closed at the time.

[Pony]

Never had a problem in trail towns. Further off the trail is a different story. Spent a couple of days in Portland after my hike waiting on a plane, and most thought I was just homeless, including the police and other homeless people. Most people were nice to me, but one jerk yelled out of his car window for me to get a job instead of a backpack.

[Pony]

I was warned about the laundromat, so I put my clothes in and sat out back and out of sight devouring three turkey subs, half a bag of cheetos and a two liter of coke. No problems there. Didn't feel unwelcome at the library and two different locals stopped me to see if I needed help finding anything in town. Stopped by the "outfitters" which had turned their shoe section into an ice cream parlor, and they were very nice in directing me down the street to a shoe store, even though I didn't buy anything. The shoe store, which had a very limited selection, recognized that I was a hiker and gave me a 10% discount on new shoes.

I was prepared to get in and out of Kent due to what I had heard about the town, but instead spent a good six or more hours without one negative experience. I've been traeted much worse on many more occasions in my home town, than I was anywhere on the trail.

[Beachcomber]

As to whether trail denizens frighten, offend or antagonize nearby townsfolk, this thread seems pertinent:
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=72881

[Spokes]

.... Most people were nice to me, but one jerk yelled out of his car window for me to get a job instead of a backpack.

Had to chuckle. Reminded me of my solo bicycle trip from Yorktown, VA to Astoria, OR when some guy in Oregon yelled at me to buy a car instead of a bicycle.

Funny thinking I had peddled my bicycle farther than any trip he probably ever took in his car.

[Nean]

I was warned about the laundromat, so I put my clothes in and sat out back and out of sight devouring three turkey subs, half a bag of cheetos and a two liter of coke. No problems there. Didn't feel unwelcome at the library and two different locals stopped me to see if I needed help finding anything in town. Stopped by the "outfitters" which had turned their shoe section into an ice cream parlor, and they were very nice in directing me down the street to a shoe store, even though I didn't buy anything. The shoe store, which had a very limited selection, recognized that I was a hiker and gave me a 10% discount on new shoes.

I was prepared to get in and out of Kent due to what I had heard about the town, but instead spent a good six or more hours without one negative experience. I've been traeted much worse on many more occasions in my home town, than I was anywhere on the trail.

RIGHT ON!!!! to some love
don't be hatin...

ever notice how some folks just attract bad energy?

I've had less than friendly encounters in my life- some just can't be avoided

But more often than not I've had good luck where others may have not- like the huts.

often times what I've seen is that the people with the bad luck expect first- respect second.

The first step is knowing the difference...

[LIhikers]

I wrote in my journal how, as I was hiking down Bishop Pass in the High Sierra, I met a lot of people. Near the top of the pass I met some nice backpackers and they shared their whole itinerary with me and asked me where I had been hiking. We had a nice conversation. Then I continued on and met more people and we also talked a little. As I got closer to the bottom, I met people just starting their trips. They would just say hello. No stopping to talk. Then even closer to the bottom I met day hikers and they wouldn't say hello. Then when I got to the parking lot, people would flee from me like I was the devil. It was like wow, these are the same people who were out on the trail. It's so different out on the trail, even the same people are totally different.

And I'm a blond with long braids short woman, too.

Maybe , as backpackers, it's not how we look but how we smell

[weary]

I got out there Friday and did 17miles fully loaded to break in new boots. I was the only one not riding a bicycle or jogging (except for the guys with the beer.) Can't wait to get on the AT where asking a question can lead to a new friend

I once asked a guy in a Virginia town how best to get back to the trail. He responded, "Don't you have anything better to do with your life?"

[weary]

I'm not surprised by the rudeness. After having spent 15 years following the Grateful Dead, I've experienced my fair share of rudeness. Many people truely are afraid of others who don't fit their idea of "normal". I'll never forget a series of Dead shows at the Spectum in Philly in the mid '80's. Just so happened that a WWF wrestling event took place during the daytime of the 2nd show, also at the Spectrum. I'll never forget how the parents leaving the WWF event with their kids shielded their kids from all us peaceful Deadheads, after taking those same kids to watch a bunch of guys beat the s#%t out of each other. Very strange experience indeed.

Don't you have anything better to do with your life?

[Nean]

I once asked a guy in a Virginia town how best to get back to the trail. He responded, "Don't you have anything better to do with your life?"

or to put it another way, What kind of life is that? (you Fn moron)

If it wasn't for these folks I might not realize how lucky I was though

[Datto]

Some of the truly nicest people I've met in my life were on the AT and the PCT. A few were comedians too. Hiking down the mountain into one of the towns in Pennsylvania, I stopped along the AT going through that town to chat with a guy sitting on his porch. I eventually asked him, "Can you tell me where the library is at?" His response was, "No one in this town can read." He and I both cracked up laughing.

Datto