[pct-l] Trail Humor

[mkwart at gci.net]

Yes--hiker demographics are changing. Although your message was humorous 
I have found a definite incursion of more conservative political 
viewpoints on the trail. It seems that conservatives are actually 
adopting the long distance hiking venue as a way to express the good old 
Protestant work ethic. I hiked for several days on the Arizona Trail 
with a couple from Globe, Arizona. We hiked together amicably for 
several days. But on one night the discussion turned to politics and I 
was shocked at how far apart out viewpoints were--the man pontificated 
on so many right wing Rush Limbaugh party lines (while his wife cowered 
in their tent, not taking part in the "discussion") that it was 
tantamount to a personal attack on me and what I believed. I left camp 
the next morning early and never hiked with them again. I felt sorry for 
his wife who was constantly berated by him on the trail with his demands 
to carry her pack because he didn't think she was hiking fast enough.

I was used to thru hikers having a more progressive bent, but this is 
not so anymore. It definitely isn't so in the rural areas that we have 
to traverse to get rides and services--I will face this in March when I 
do the Grand Enchantment Trail in Arizona and New Mexico. Luckily, 
people are kind when they don't get to the point of having to indulge in 
their political viewpoints.

--Fireweed