[pct-l] thrus behaving badly

[Randy Forsland]

I think the funniest thing is realizing that she has been on the trail for 
less than a week....and has hit 3 trail Angels places so far...That last 
entry of hers is hilarious...the utter despair of being dumped in the desert 
without having a chance to thoroughly read her data book had me rolling..

Hey, here's a thought..how about taking a break and just lie around outside 
of Hiker Haven if you really need the extra time...You don't have to have 
internet access or A/C to take a break...

Man..that 2 day walk from Casa de luna must have been Hell to be in such 
dire need of another zero...

This lady better buck up if she expects to make it thru the real hardships 
that await her...The section that she has done is a walk in the park with 
the abundance of trail angels and towns around every corner..

I don't give her much of a chance to finish unlessa major attitude 
adjustment is made..

Just my 2 cents

Couchman

I'll be serving the thrus breakfast at the KO...Hope that I see a lot of you 
08 hikers out there...

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Travis Beals" <trbeals at berkeley.edu>
Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2008 5:26 PM
To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Subject: [pct-l] thrus behaving badly

> First of all, I'd like to say I  think it was entirely appropriate for
> Bob to post on his blog a description of what happened with Wheeew at
> Hikertown and mention it on the PCT list. Wheeew made her own decision
> to post her own trail journal, and everyone should know that there's
> no anonymity on the internet (unless you go to great pains). As for
> the decision to name her (using her trail name), Wheeew's "hiker
> identity" was already "blown" from the point trail-name-here quoted
> (without naming her) a piece of her trail journal about the "muffin
> frisbee" incident; I found her trail journal with my first Google
> search, using part of the quote. (I'm not trying to blame trail-name-
> here---just pointing out the lack of anonymity on the internet).
>
> What would be inappropriate is to post her real name on the list. I
> think the boundary between trail life and "everything else" should be
> preserved except in extreme cases.
>
> It worries me how much damage one bad apple can do, both to the
> ecosystem (e.g., feeding bears) and to the trail angel support
> network. On the other hand, I'm aware that a lot of what appears like
> self-centered and reckless behavior is actually just the result of
> ignorance. I'm sure I did stupid things as I was learning about
> hiking, and others were patient with me while pointing me in the right
> direction. That said, there has to be a limit to patience.
>
> Hopefully, some tactful souls will take Wheeew aside at the kick-off
> and gently reminder her about LNT practices and how to be a good
> guest. With luck, it will stick, and we'll all be better off for it.
> If she's still being a bad guest at other trail angels' places, they
> would be fully justified in telling her she's not welcome, and I hope
> other hikers would support that. Also, if she's still blogging about
> chucking food around by the time she hits the Sierras, somebody should
> alert the rangers, as her behavior would then pose a serious risk to
> bears and other hikers. Unlike trail angels and hikers, rangers are at
> least paid to deal with that kind of unpleasant behavior, and have the
> authority to do something about it.
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