Chocorua, Bluejeans, and sneakers

JohnL said it well! This is a tr gone awry by too much focus of everyone else's hike on a sweet little summit! There is eminent danger that we could lose hope of enjoying the hike if we are in haste to judge. I have met folks in sandals and long thin dresses on spring snow hiking that trail. I enjoyed their acquaintance and had I thought they could not find their way down surely would offer some advice. It is a blessing we aren't all crazed to think in one notion. If you hike a popular crowded path best to enjoy the journey as a cultural experience. When I was a teen, hiking in wet jeans was the best way to break in the stiff new ones so they moved well. My energy at the time was enough to dry them out and I remained warmer then than I am now with layers of winter fat! I felt fortunate back then to have jeans, for they were my "Sunday Best"! Most of my clothes were soiled of dirt and manure from working our farm and torn up from handling lumber on our sawmill. These too would journey through the woods if I were logging or hiking locally. We should cast aside judgement based on atire alone. Besides if you don't like people some how you have found yourself on the wrong planet, perhaps its time for map and compass to find another!

DougPaul said:

But, of course, everybody has to start somewhere and we were all beginners once too. I would hazard a guess that most of us have worn jeans and/or sneakers on the trail once or twice upon a time.

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And with all due respect, some trails/peaks can still be done in blue jeans and sneakers, even by experienced hikers. The Pack Monadnocks come to mind.

Dave Bear, there is intelligent life on Earth, but I am just visiting.

Tom Rankin said:

... But can't we promote hiking safely, (not the web page), without being called 'snobs', 'snotty', 'elitist', etc. ???

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Sure we can, but I think it can be done without "making people wrong" -- in a constructive, rather than condescending way.

Tim, I'd like to hear more of your epic tale.

Tom Rankin said:

Can't we all just get along?

Well, probably not, but seriously, does anyone think that hiking in jeans and sneakers is a preferred approach to this activity we all purport to love? (I'm speaking of the N.E., not Colorado, etc.)

No, hiking in jeans will almost never kill someone, but don't we agree that the more poor choices one makes, the more trouble one is likely to face?

If DW, or TS, or JL (there are 2 answers to that one! ) want to wear denim or crocs, fine, they understand the risks. But can't we promote hiking safely, (not the web page), without being called 'snobs', 'snotty', 'elitist', etc. ???

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yea, but there is certainly a faction of the hiker crowd that once they get a few trips under their belts and all of a sudden, they are experts. I know, b/c I fell into this trap as well. After a few trips out and you got all the high tech gear, (the new gore -tex, etc..) you think its fun to mock those "idiots" out there with the jeans and sneakers... looking back, I now realize at that time, I didn't know squat and relied more on gear than my head. probably still true now.

its the same story....nobody is ever an expert, people hike with what they have, and what works for them...

and at the end of the day - who really cares... cuz the hiking crowd is just like high school, there are some hot shots, there are the introverts, there are the vocal ones, and there are the one that quietly get it done above and beyond the standards....

at the end of the day - who cares....

Bigfoot said:

Dave Bear, there is intelligent life on Earth, but I am just visiting.

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I believe we all are and I hope you didn't take any personal offense because my last statement was in a plural sense and not specific. Pleasant journeys and enjoy the path! I like my world to have a positive rotation but also enjoy constructive debates from different perspectives. I don't believe any cache of gear can beat the value of the human mind at work! This doesn't by any measure mean I'm done buying gear!

Did somebody say shopping? Neat new gear? I love it! The only reason you'll see me at the Mall is if there is a gear store there. I enjoy visiting my friends who work at the Manchester EMS and when I go to the outlets in Maine it is to see what's new at Kittery Trading Post. When I travel, my souvenirs are from places like Neptune in Boulder, REI in Seattle where we got locked out of the garage on a Sunday night before flying home.

I don't know anyone who is a gear snob, but I do know people who like to have new hiking stuff that makes a difference in their outdoor experience.

I don't buy gear so I can hike. I hike so I can buy gear.

PA Ridgerunner said:

Sure we can, but I think it can be done without "making people wrong" -- in a constructive, rather than condescending way.

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I went back and reread this thread to see what all the hub bub is about.

I personally didn't read anything snobbish in Bigfoot's post. Rather, I gathered from reading his many recent posts as he's hit some remote and lesser travelled spots on his journey to complete his NEHH goal, that he found himself in a bit of "culture shock" on Chocorhua.

I must say, I was a bit surprised that so many people didn't see it the way I did, but that's OK with me.

I have to admit that when I am hiking more popular places, like Franconia Ridge on a sunny summer saturday, that I feel a bit in culture shock, too! Its interesting to me, to say hello to each passerby, and for a moment be a part of thier hike. Some people are enthusiastic, others look bewildered, some look like they wonder how they got dragged into this?? Lotsa people probably out there for thier first time and its quite an accomplishment if its thier first hike. Lack of "hiking gear" helps frame that "beginner image". We were all beginners once, afterall. I was never fortunate enough to set out on any new outdoor endeavor with new gear. I'm still backpacking with an outdated, basic Kelty external frame pack ...I'm sure there are those who pass me and make fun of me, probably think I'm a newbie, but who cares.... and I digress...

I do worry a bit about folks I see out in less than ideal weather conditions wearing cotton or without a good shell to keep out the elements. I think that's only natural, because of our experience -- we've been through it before or we've read about or known someone who's had a close call and could have fared better with more adequate protection.

Happy Trails.

I thought the Ringo vid was pretty weird.

una_dogger said:

I went back and reread this thread to see what all the hub bub is about.

I personally didn't read anything snobbish in Bigfoot's post. Rather, I gathered from reading his many recent posts as he's hit some remote and lesser travelled spots on his journey to complete his NEHH goal, that he found himself in a bit of "culture shock" on Chocorhua.

I must say, I was a bit surprised that so many people didn't see it the way I did, but that's OK with me....

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Fair enough. I, too, re-read this thread and with respect to the OP, didn't find anything particularly snobbish. What I was responding to mainly was a "tone" I've observed in many threads, perhaps not as in much this one, but lurking here. I agree with Tom that it does make sense to advocate for safer hiking practices (my words, not his), which include proper clothing and footwear. As you said in a previous post, "this is the internet", so we do sometimes get a little argumentative/judgmental/testy/feisty/sensitive/thin-skinned/thick-headed with our commentary. I know that I have been guilty of all of the above, from time to time. Perhaps we would all do well to follow rule #6 (see my signature line).

FWIW, I was reading a book about Bob Marshall* last night in which Paul Schaefer describes Marshall's attire when he met him on Marcy, in the midst of Marshall's legendary hike of 14 peaks, totaling 13,600 feet elevation gain, on July 15, 1932. "He was dressed in a light, well worn plaid shirt, denims, and sneakers." I'm guessing that in July 2009 he would have worn techwick and trail runners, but this was interesting to see, nonetheless.

*"Bob Marshall in the Adirondacks" - Edited by Phil Brown

I am a bit surprised that my comments were taken literally vs figuratively. Una Dogger got it. The bluejean and sneaker thing was mentioned because it was cold and windy on top that day. They were wearing bluejeans and sneakers with no water,pack, windbreaker, hat, etc. The look on many of their tired, frustrated faces led me to believe they had undertaken more of a hike than they anticipated. My comments were figurative in an attempt to create a picture in the readers mind of who I encountered.

I do not really care what people do out on the trail (within reasonable expectations) as long as they have fun and return to their car safe. Since I did not read any reports of SAR on that Mtn on that day, all is well.

In a figuratively perfect world they will learn better ways to get out and enjoy the splendor of hiking.

Bigfoot said:

I am a bit surprised that my comments were taken literally vs figuratively. Una Dogger got it. The bluejean and sneaker thing was mentioned because it was cold and windy on top that day. They were wearing bluejeans and sneakers with no water,pack, windbreaker, hat, etc. The look on many of their tired, frustrated faces led me to believe they had undertaken more of a hike than they anticipated. My comments were figurative in an attempt to create a picture in the readers mind of who I encountered.

I do not really care what people do out on the trail (within reasonable expectations) as long as they have fun and return to their car safe. Since I did not read any reports of SAR on that Mtn on that day, all is well.

In a figuratively perfect world they will learn better ways to get out and enjoy the splendor of hiking.

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If you say they were wearing blue jeans and sneakers, and if they were in fact wearing blue jeans and sneakers, then that's literal. Sorry.

Edit to add: I couldn't care less that they were wearing jeans and sneakers. In moderate weather, any peak in the northeast can be hiked in jeans and sneakers. Just pointing out the literal vs figurative thing.

JohnL said:

I’m surprised that some of you could even see the blue jeans and sneakers with your noses so high in the air. There’s only one reason to scoff at what others are wearing: to create a faux feeling of superiority. Gimme a break! What a bunch of gear snobs! If cotton kills, I would have been dead more times than a cat. I don’t know how many times I drove home from winter hikes when my jeans didn’t thaw out until I got to Tilton. So what! Do you honestly think because you have a bunch of plastic clothes and your 10 electronic essentials you’re a better, more experienced, more aerobic, more environmentally conscious hiker than that ‘clown’ with the jeans and sneakers? Please…spare me. For some people it’s more about being a hiker than looking like one.

JohnL

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Right on brother! I myself have been derided (very recently) as by my choice of boots while hiking on the Wildcats. People who have nothing better to do than smile at you while looking down their noses at you (then writing negative posts) are losers of the highest order.

Grandaddy said:

Right on brother! I myself have been derided (very recently) as by my choice of boots while hiking on the Wildcats. People who have nothing better to do than smile at you while looking down their noses at you (then writing negative posts) are losers of the highest order.

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Keep in mind that you're responding to a 5 year old thread.