Do I Look Like An Idiot?

[PA Ridgerunner]

One thing I've learned is that no one can offend you if you don't take offense.

You nailed it, Dave. If you're looking to be pi$$ed off, you will be. It's a way of life for some folks. Life's too short to bring that crap on yourself. As Sargeant Hulke said, "lighten up, Francis!"

 

[TrishandAlex]

You nailed it, Dave. If you're looking to be pi$$ed off, you will be. It's a way of life for some folks. Life's too short to bring that crap on yourself. As Sargeant Hulke said, "lighten up, Francis!"

I do think you're both right. Must work on my positive outlook and let more things slide off my back.

 

[carole]

Most of these I’ve heard more than once:
Coming off the trail: “Did you go to the top?” “Yes.” “Good for you.”
Near the summit: “You’re going to need a coat if you go up there.”
On the trail: “Why aren’t you wearing gloves? It’s really cold today.”
Looking at my trail runners: “You can hike in those sneakers?”
While trail running: “What’s your hurry, did you leave the tub water running?”
While solo hiking: “Where’s your group? Did they leave you?”
And of course the countless times I’ve heard: “You’re almost there”

I’ve come to look at it all as part of the entertainment.

 

[David Metsky]

I’ve come to look at it all as part of the entertainment.

Anyone want to make up some "Unsolicited Hiker Comment" bingo cards? It'd add some excitement to an otherwise boring hike.

 

[TrishandAlex]

Anyone want to make up some "Unsolicited Hiker Comment" bingo cards? It'd add some excitement to an otherwise boring hike.

Oh my goodness, what a great idea. Once June rolls around, folks will be able to keep score (lots more hikers out there to offer unsolicited commets/advice). We could have one thread on VFTT with a checklist of sorts, after each hike whoever heard one of the comments could log on and check it off....too funny.

 

[MadRiver]

I still think I get the prize for the strangest question when asked by a French Canadian if I were carrying a mouse under my goggles. No lie, ask Scoutmaster.

 

[sli74]

I have gotten and continue to get all sorts of unsolicited advice and judgement from other hikers on the trail. I find that the more experienced I get, the less it annoys me . . . I know that no matter the reason behind their need to force their judgement on me, most of the time "they" are well intentioned and I just smile and tell them I am fine and quite experienced.

I honestly believe that my being a slightly round, short, huffing and puffing female hiker tends to increase the comments
They can't help that I look like an out of shape couch potato and since they don't know me, their choice to judge a book by it's cover is just a bad one.

I think it has become easier to ignore the comments once I fully realized and accepted that my experience and decisions are not based on what "they" think of me. A lot of times, other people's comments and judgement of me bothers Brian more than it does me. At one point on the AT last year, some guy made a comment to me prefaced by "you know darling" and followed with some crazy comment on my lack of experience and Brian, who was sitting around the corner of the shelter, jumped right in and said well that little darling has climbed the highest mountain in the lower 48, summited a mountain by traversing a couple of glaciers and has currently finished more than 1000 miles since Feb 29 . . . blah, blah, blah. The guy just walked away but Brian was more upset than me, which was so sweet, I just had to smile

I rarely give advice unless I think the person might be in real danger and then, I usually say something to the effect of "oh my gosh, I really need to remember that the winds get so fierce above treeline and put on another layer before my hands freeze, I always forget." or something like that where it is more of a *** at myself while dispensing some advice to the person listening.

Anyway, to each their own but I try to just smile say hello and move on when this happens. I will never look like an "experienced hiker" so I just have to accept the consequences of that.

sli74

 

[Grumpy]

I voted for, “I am an idiot, but I don’t want to hear it from anyone.” Virtually every fellow idiot I know shares that same view.

While hiking, I generally prefer to mind my own business. At least as long as I am alone. Meeting other people on the trail is a personal delight, usually. (I don’t like crowds, but an encounter every hour or so or even half hour or fifteen minutes isn’t a bad thing, in my book.)

My way, upon meeting fellow hikers, is to offer a greeting. Some don’t respond, or reply with a grunt. With them, there is no further communication. Others are more affable, and some even seem to welcome an excuse to take a break. It is with the latter that I often converse, about many topics.

Some topics even are related to hiking.

So yes, I both receive (and even welcome) and give advice. Usually it has to do with trail conditions and related stuff about the route I’ve just been over, sometimes we get yakking about other places and favored routes, and so recommendations are offered (both ways). On occasion the conversation turns to equipment or other “preparation” matters, which also includes a certain amount of advice-giving.

I do refrain from being critical of those I meet. It does nothing to improve the day, for me, or them.

One conversation I had a few years ago was enigmatic. I met a couple with their two younger children – I’d say ages 7 and 9 (or 6 and 8) – on the trail near Johns Brook Lodge. They were headed “in,” I was headed “out” toward The Garden. We paused and chatted a minute. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the younger boy blurted out, “My Uncle Jimmy is fatter than you!”

Mom and Dad were mortified, naturally. But what could I do, except laugh it off?

So I did, and chuckled all the way back to town.

G.

 

[Puck]

Anyone want to make up some "Unsolicited Hiker Comment" bingo cards? It'd add some excitement to an otherwise boring hike.

How do you keep us from trying to solicit comments? We can hit the trails in cotton, solo, late starts, no crampons, carrying shovels, mice in our googles etc. just so we can score the points to fill out our card.

could some dye thier hair thinking, for example, blonds get more nonsolicited advice?

 

[TCD]

...and we could all wear skirts...

 

[TrishandAlex]

That could be part of the fun. There could be one or two bingo comments that are out of the ordinary, such as "You aren't from Texas, are you?" Or, "Wow, is that a harp?"

Anyone who wants to try to elicit such comments could go for it, by dressing/acting the part. The bingo card comments could be as strange or as mudane as we choose...

 

[KayakDan]

We must be hiking on the wrong trails in winter. We never get unsolicited advice. Maybe it's because the winter crowd is different?

The only time I give advice is if I think sombody is going into a situation totally unprepared. And even then,I might do it with a friendly"where are you guys headed?" and see what the response is.

Example: We stopped to chat with a young couple on the Great Gulf trail in early Spring. We were coming out from a night on the Osgood platforms,and an unsuccesful attempt to go up Madison (50+ wind temps low 30s). They are coming up the trail,and ask if we camped. We ask where they are headed,and they tell us Madison. They are in jeans,sneakers,and windbreakers,and they have water bottles.
I gave them an idea of the weather,and suggested the Bluff for a great view,instead of going up. They were happy to get the suggestion,and I was happy that they would stay out of trouble.
If they were insistent on going up,we would have given them a friendly wave and gone on our way. Their choice.

 

[skiguy]

So do you look like an idiot or are you an idiot?

A bit of clarification on this comment. Kudos to Brian as he rolled well with this comment which was a question to be directed to everyone participating in this thread...not just him.

Anyway IMO it is entirely possible to look like an idiot and not be one or to be an idiot and not look like one. If you look like one and are one....well maybe hiking is'nt your thing.

 

[Little Rickie]

Some don’t respond, or reply with a grunt. With them, there is no further communication.

See it works.

 

[MadRiver]

Although this doesn’t technically come under the heading of unsolicited advice, it is interesting in that I received a number of different reactions to hiking in a kilt this winter. The most receptive, the most inquisitive, and the most interesting comments came from women. As a group, women were far more accepting of a man hiking in a kilt than my own brethren. They would usually make some cute comment, take a picture, or ask the proverbial question of what I wore underneath, far more than men did. Which is understandable I suppose. The men I encountered fell into two camps; the slightly amused/inquisitive and the totally confused.

The first camp would ask why I was wearing a kilt and I would go through a laundry list of the advantages of wearing a kilt in the winter. They would listen intently, nod with acceptance of the advantages, and go on their way satisfied that their beloved mountains were not be overrun by kilt wearing Nancy Boys. The second camp did not ask questions nor make eye contact. They generally stood off to the side while the first camp asked the questions. I could tell that I was being scrutinized by the second camp. They understood the foul weather gear, the ice axe, the crampons and Snowshoes; they just could not process the kilt no matter how hard they tried. I could see the wheels turning in their brains; yet they never arrived at the “I get it” moment when the world once again made total sense to them.

I do apologize if there is anyone out there still suffering long term effects from our encounter, if so; there are support groups that can help you.

 

[Jimmy Legs and Little D]

Idiots at Acadia

Being told what I should or should not do, in an authoritarian tone of voice, is something else entirely. It's arrogant (the person assumes they know more than I do about my own hiking ability) and rude.

One time my wife and I were on top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park, Maine when I saw some foreigners (in their 20"s) walking over the vegetation off the designated path. I told them how fragile the plants were and that they should stay on the walkway. Perhaps it was the language barrier or just plain "I don't give a damn" but It sure pissed me off when they continued doing the same thing even though I harshend my tone.

Mike

 

[jfb]

I give and receive about the same amount of unsolicited advice and it doesn't bother me. I guess if someone feels like lecturing me about something I already know, it's because they don't know me. If they give me useful information about something I don't know, they are being helpful.

 

[Whiteman]

I get most of my unsolicited advice

When I am standing near the treeline in a T-shirt, the wind is 25 mph, the temperature is below freezing, and I am feeding grey jays (picture near the top of Eisenhower, e.g.). It's a deadly combination.

 

[TrishandAlex]

One time my wife and I were on top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park, Maine when I saw some foreigners (in their 20"s) walking over the vegetation off the designated path. I told them how fragile the plants were and that they should stay on the walkway. Perhaps it was the language barrier or just plain "I don't give a damn" but It sure pissed me off when they continued doing the same thing even though I harshend my tone.

Mike

I'm not talking about violations of Leave No Trace -- I'm all for folks pressuring others to do what is right in terms of cleaning up after themselves, respecting wildlife, etc.

It's the comments about hiking itself that bug me.

 

[Craig]

"One of the most important components of outdoor ethics is to maintain courtesy toward other visitors. It helps everyone enjoy their outdoor experience."

Perhaps if we didn't think of our fellow hikers as idiots, tolerance and courtesy would be the rule and not the exception.