Hiker feed issues

[squeezebox]

Please don't. Trail feeds are even worse than feeding the bears. Maybe do some good and sign up for some trail maintenance instead.
Hikers can carry their own food but they don't carry tools for cleaning the trail.

[Tuckahoe]

Please don't. Trail feeds are even worse than feeding the bears. Maybe do some good and sign up for some trail maintenance instead.
Hikers can carry their own food but they don't carry tools for cleaning the trail.

What is it with you always taking a dump on threads? You'd think that you could tell the difference between a poster putting up an announcement in the Get Togethers folder, and someone opening up a hot button topic fo discussion.

[doritotex]

I agree. Please don't, these hiker feeds are getting out of control. The trail has become a big circus.

[paule]

It's a kind gesture,,,,,and I will say this,I set up some food and drinks at a detour in connecticut last year,not knowing how frowned upon it is.Not one of the forty hikers that came by and ate and drank ever explained it to me either.If they had I would have picked up and left.I just want to apologize for doing it,it won't happen again....live and learn

[Coffee]

No good deed goes unpunished, right? I think that this was a simple announcement from someone trying to do a nice thing for hikers, not an invitation to discuss whether hiker feeds are good or not. In a free society, free people are given the right of free association.

[Puddlefish]

Eh, one's at the Fontana Hilton. Not like they'll be clogging the trail for that one. Is the picnic shelter even directly on the AT? I don't have my trail map for that section yet, and don't see it in the guide.

As for "dumping" on threads, he's just stating an opinion. When there's something that one person enjoys, and another person feels detracts from the trail experience, then both people should be able to express their opinion. As long as everyone is respectful, that would seem to be within the TOS of this website.

I don't enjoy crowds, I don't enjoy ministry groups, I don't enjoy this kind of activity. I fail to see why my voice should be stifled, and yours should be heard.

Maybe between all of our opinions there can be compromise reached, and concerns can be addressed. Reasoned debate is a wonderful thing. Internet forums are a great place for such debate, as long as we keep within the terms of service.

[damskipi]

It's a kind gesture,,,,,and I will say this,I set up some food and drinks at a detour in connecticut last year,not knowing how frowned upon it is.Not one of the forty hikers that came by and ate and drank ever explained it to me either.If they had I would have picked up and left.I just want to apologize for doing it,it won't happen again....live and learn

If forty hikers partook of the feed, I don't think it's all that frowned upon. Sounds like you had forty people who appreciated what you did. I don't think you need to apologize for anything.


Sojourner: Clearly some people don't like them, so please don't set up smack dab in the middle of a trail. But if it's off trail a bit and you aren't hassling people...plenty of people seem to appreciate them, so I think it's okay. Just make sure you pack out the trash. Thanks for doing this.

[Coffee]

I bet most of the critics wouldn't pass up an ice cold soda on a hot day.

[Puddlefish]

I bet most of the critics wouldn't pass up an ice cold soda on a hot day.

I gave up soda years ago, it's poison. It's essentially a serving of acid, with enough sweetener added so that your body doesn't immediately reject it for the poison that it is. It does horrible things to your body because of the pH balance. Basically most tasty foods are acidic. Ingest too much acid and your body has systems that negate that acid, push the limits and that balancing system will start eating your own bones.

I'd gladly pass up a soda, but I'd probably accept some water from a single individual hanging out, who wasn't evangelizing, and wasn't widening the trail by setting up a pavilion and grill and otherwise destroying my peace of mind.

[4eyedbuzzard]

It's a interesting situation. Decades ago, before thru-hiking became so popular, someone sitting at a road crossing with 50 cold sodas would probably have gone home with over 40 of them. It wasn't that there wasn't trail magic. People often would give you things - fresh vegetables while passing a farm, a cold soda or beer, an invite to dinner, a ride to town, etc. It's just that it wasn't advertised, scheduled, etc. Perhaps "staged" is the word I'm looking for. It was generally spontaneous, and more personal. So maybe it's more just a factor of the times we live in.

[paule]

Oh I was getting the impression that it was a no no....I always pack out what I pack in and was actually on the road walk of the detour.Like I said no one walked by without grabbing something and no one told me what a bad idea it was.It was actually a give and take ordeal,,,,I wanted info on equipment and what they thought of the hike for future references,,,what do you think the percentage is of people that hike that frown upon this?

[TexasBob]

I gave up soda years ago, it's poison. It's essentially a serving of acid, with enough sweetener added so that your body doesn't immediately reject it for the poison that it is. It does horrible things to your body because of the pH balance. Basically most tasty foods are acidic. Ingest too much acid and your body has systems that negate that acid, push the limits and that balancing system will start eating your own bones .......................

I have been drinking massive amounts of soda for years and I haven't turned into a boneless quivering blob of jelly yet!

[Puddlefish]

I have been drinking massive amounts of soda for years and I haven't turned into a boneless quivering blob of jelly yet!

Get back to us when you fall and break your hip. It actually goes far beyond bone loss, into obesity and other ailments. Do some googling, find a site that you trust, better yet, ask your doctor. It's worth looking into.

[soilman]

I don't feel hiker feeds necessarily are bad, but I think they help to foster the party atmosphere along the trail. Some hikers will do whatever to get to a scheduled feed. A couple of years back I ran into some NOBO's in the Grayson highlands and they said they had an app for their phone that told about hiker feeds and trail magic. It seems some people down south get disappointed if there is not some trail magic at every road crossing.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Oh I was getting the impression that it was a no no....I always pack out what I pack in and was actually on the road walk of the detour.Like I said no one walked by without grabbing something and no one told me what a bad idea it was.It was actually a give and take ordeal,,,,I wanted info on equipment and what they thought of the hike for future references,,,what do you think the percentage is of people that hike that frown upon this?

Hiker feeds and planned trail magic are much more a southern thing than northern thing. A large part of that is the sheer numbers all starting around the same time (within roughly a 4 week window). By the time "the herd" gets past Harpers Ferry, less than half remain, and even more so into New England, their numbers are cut to perhaps 25% of the original, and they have spread out a lot as well due to hiking pace. But even so, you don't see hiker feeds in the Whites in the summer, where there is a potential "hiker audience" on many days as large as anything you will see in the south in March/April. Local people, and organizations, are generally more reserved and/or focused on activities other than feeding hikers. Hiking isn't accompanied by the same party atmosphere that occurs with Springer Fever (note the Baxter State Park controversy).

I doubt many hikers actually frown on it (free food/beverage, etc.) at the time they receive it. But lots of starting thru-hikers aren't experienced or long term hikers either. Most seasoned hikers don't expect anything, and honestly, hitched rides are probably cherished more than anything else. But as hiker feeds and such proliferate and become commonplace, thru-hikers hear about it and almost start to expect it. Leading to seeing the situation in a less than positive light, and conjuring up negative thoughts about intentional trail magic. Such as, "Don't feed the thru-hikers - It's like feeding the bears, eventually the bears come to expect it."

[TexasBob]

Get back to us when you fall and break your hip. It actually goes far beyond bone loss, into obesity and other ailments. Do some googling, find a site that you trust, better yet, ask your doctor. It's worth looking into.

I did ask my doctor - Dr. Pepper - he said it was OK.

[4eyedbuzzard]

I did ask my doctor - Dr. Pepper - he said it was OK.

Yes, but he's so misunderstood.

[Lone Wolf]

I did ask my doctor - Dr. Pepper - he said it was OK.

Dr. Enuf agrees
http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2012/0...tennessee.html

[Coffee]

Soda was just an example. Substitute with bottled water, beer, burgers, hot dogs, etc. partake if you wish, move on if you don't.

As as for soda, I used to drink several cokes a day. I'm down to one or two per week.

[Christoph]

I don't feel hiker feeds necessarily are bad, but I think they help to foster the party atmosphere along the trail. Some hikers will do whatever to get to a scheduled feed. A couple of years back I ran into some NOBO's in the Grayson highlands and they said they had an app for their phone that told about hiker feeds and trail magic. It seems some people down south get disappointed if there is not some trail magic at every road crossing.

Very well said, my thoughts exaclty (only nicer).