[Lagerman]

[Lagerman]

[Jeff R]

I am starting to get confused on this subject, so I am going to try to clarify my reasoning. Of course a "hello" is not mandatory or even needed, but the main reason to say it, is to be nice, the outdoors should be a fun,friendly place,right? Not just a place where everyone is living in there own little world, concerned with only themselves, I see enough of that in society already.

[Blue Dome]

[Slugman]

Ml: Maybe because you are an attractive woman, people are more likely to want to say "hi" to you than to me, a disreputable-looking overweight man. Some people say "hi" or nod to me as I pass, most just look the other way as if they fear eye contact. I guess different people have different experiences, so naturally they end up with different opinions. I usually hike on mondays and tuesdays, on lesser-used trails far from I-90, so I don't see very many people anyway. I know you go off-trail often, but apparently the trails you use to get to the off-trail portions are more used than the trails I stick to. Only when I go to a place like Spider meadows on a Sunday-Tuesday backpack would I ever run into the quantities of people you mention in your Melakwa lake example. I avoid such places and times (weekends) as much as possible, more because I would either have to leash my dog or leave her home, than because of the "hi" thing. PS: when I went to Spider meadows (both times), I left my dog home for that reason (lots of other people). The people who bug you at work know exactly what they are doing. The people who nod on a trail are innocent, if annoying to you none the less. Plus a simple nod is less of an intrusion than "riding the donkey of a creepo".

[whistlingmarmot]

I fail to see the racist comments in this thread.

[Newt]

[jenjen]

[Blue Dome]

[jenjen]

I hate it when bills come in the middle of the month and have due dates exactly one week from when the bill arrived. For 17 years I have paid my bills at the beginning of the month - just gone through the stack of them systematically on one day and gotten the whole thing over with. (I hate paperwork, for those who haven't picked up on that yet. Absolutely detest it) It worked fine - bills normally came at the tail end or very beginning of the month. The last year or so, bills are coming in the middle of the month and they expect payment before the first comes around. This drives me nuts because yet again I have to sit down, dig out the checkbook, and do the whole filing thing. Did I mention I HATE paperwork? I realize this is pointless and silly, but that's true of most pet peeves.

[Allison]

[Newt]

Now you're on the right track ML. I knew you were like other folks. Seriously, a simple nod is courteous and shouldn't break your train of thought any more than negotiating an obstacle on the trail.

[jenjen]

[polarbear]

The racists are the worst, and you can spot them a mile away. They are speeding up to catch you and let you know how racist they are. Then they pull ahead. Then they stop for a snack. Then you pull ahead. The race is on. Now you are racing the racists. Now you are a racist. Now they pull ahead of you. Now you stick out your foot and trip them. Now you pull ahead of them. Now they whip out a Power Bar. With a surge of energy, they pass you and give you a hip check. Ahhh, but you have your padded fanny pack on. They bounce off you and plunge into a ravine. Now you laugh out loud and take a quick nap. But you wake up and you realize you've been passed. You run furiously up the trail. They are crossing the bridge to the lake's outlet stream. You blaze across the bridge, knocking one off the right side, the other off the left. Now there will be only one racist at the lake instead of three.

[dicey]

It BUGS me when I go for a hike all day in the RAIN, and SNOW, then come back home to seattle, where it is SUNNY NOT fair