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Stefan
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Stefan
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PostFri Sep 06, 2002 10:23 am 
So what do you say when you pass a fellow hiker by on the trail? a) "Hello" b) "Hi" c) "Gruss Gott" d) "Ciao" e) "Bonjourno" f) "Don't shoot" g) "Dog on leash please" h) "Shoes. Is that all your wearing?" i) "Can you show me where the next cairn is?" or do you just smile and pass a silent but deadly one at the right moment? moon.gif I would love to know what you say!

Art is an adventure.
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Backpacker Joe
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Backpacker Joe
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PostFri Sep 06, 2002 10:29 am 
I say Hello! TB

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
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Otter
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PostFri Sep 06, 2002 10:30 am 
LOL...Stefan ... you are AWFUL! It all depends on the hikers...their mood and mine at the moment. After I read the situation it can be anything from that silent smile( w/o smell factor, hopefully) to a chipper friendly conversation. How bout when you get off the trail... does anyone else feel like being a recluse for a while? After a longer trip into the backcountry I HATE going into crowded places like supermarkets and such...I feel invaded...I just wish everyone would turn into nice green trees!

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#19
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#19
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PostFri Sep 06, 2002 10:38 am 
Being an early starter, I tend to see folks on my way out. And I having been have fun with this for a couple years. Trying to look really haggard, I'll ask in a panting voice, "How far to the car"? Or, if they beat me to the punch and give me the old, "how far to the pass?" line, I lie and tell them something like, "about 20 minutes" knowing it is more like an hour and a half. I suppose this makes me kind of a jerk lol.gif lol.gif but it helps me pass the time. wink.gif

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MCaver
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PostFri Sep 06, 2002 10:46 am 
It all depends on how out of breath I am. tongue.gif If I'm huffing and puffing, it's generally just a smile, otherwise a pleasant "hello". Of course, if it's a cute girl a "chipper conversation" (as Otter puts it) is always possible! up.gif agree.gif
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How bout when you get off the trail... does anyone else feel like being a recluse for a while? After a longer trip into the backcountry I HATE going into crowded places like supermarkets and such...I feel invaded...I just wish everyone would turn into nice green trees!
Honestly, I'm pretty much like that all the time. I seek some degree of solitude all the time, even in crowded places. I'm the one sitting in the corner with a book at a crowded coffee house, or speedwalking through a shopping center to get in, get what I need and get out. You're also much more likely to run into me on a more remote trail than in the I-90 or US-2 areas, particularly during the popular hiking seasons. I don't care much for crowds or places where you have to shout to be heard (except I like concerts, go figure). I'll take a book, a soliatary hike, and/or hanging out with a few friends over mingling with the masses any day.

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Ice Girl
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PostFri Sep 06, 2002 10:55 am 
Me, i like to say hello at least. Sometime people start to talk for a moment or two. i have talked to lots of nice people on the trail. As for saying it's 20 min. when it is really 1hr, or longer. i think that is dirty pool. People who do that i think are bums, totally. i would never tell people the wrong distance or time. How would you like it if someone did that to you. i feel you should treat people the way you would like to be treated yourself. Ice Girl

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Dslayer
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PostFri Sep 06, 2002 10:56 am 
I usually have a bit of a conversation-generally try to find out where people are going, what they're doing particularly if I'm going to be in a spot for a couple of days-a little bit of a gauge of what kind of company I might be keeping. Some of the most interesting conversations I've had in my life have been with PCT Thruhikers-by the time they get to Central Cascades in Wa., they've about seen it all and most are pretty willing to chat.

"The Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights is my concealed weapon permit."-Ted Nugent
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Randy
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PostFri Sep 06, 2002 11:04 am 
wazzup.gif

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RajunCajun
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PostFri Sep 06, 2002 11:07 am 
hey, can you tell me where they keep the bears... i forgot my gun today paranoid.gif

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Tom
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PostFri Sep 06, 2002 11:11 am 
I usually greet people with a "how's it goin'?" If it's a crowded trail (i.e. Snow Lake) I usually shorten it to a "hello". If it's a more lonely trail and they are heading in the same direction I'll usually try and strike up a conversation. Of course, if it's an attractive female taking a skinny dip I keep mum and enjoy the scenery wink.gif.

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Otter
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PostFri Sep 06, 2002 11:29 am 
HAHAHA TOM! SHEESH! lol! moon.gif

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catwoman
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PostFri Sep 06, 2002 12:17 pm 
Ice Girl, I agree with you that it's cruel to say purposely say an incorrect distance/time estimate. I usually like to say hi, hey, hello, good morning, etc. Sometimes I'll make brief chat with something like.... did you go to such and such or did you go somewhere else? And maybe talk about it or the way there or something. I like meeting people if they're nice enough to like to be met? (make sense?) But I keep it short, because I, and I know they likely have places to go. One time I was hiking solo and wound up hiking with a man going the same direction as I was. That was pretty cool. We had interesting conversation and even kept in touch via email for awhile.

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ajgoodkids
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PostFri Sep 06, 2002 12:44 pm 
The vibes and body language for whether someone wants to chat or not are pretty straightforward and automatic. I consider chatting with other hikers on less crowded trails to be an enjoyable aspect of hiking. The further in you get, the more you have to talk about with the folks you do run into. There are very few trails around here where it is so crowded that a cheerful "howdy" or some quick smalltalk becomes undesirable. Snow Lake and Lake Annette on summer weekends stand out as two trails with enough hikers that friendly silence is often the best. One of the odder experiences is encountering someone off-trail or on some obscure trail where you expect to see no one else.

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kleet
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PostFri Sep 06, 2002 1:29 pm 
mad.gif You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? Then who the hell else are you talkin' to? You talkin' to me? Well I'm the only one here. Who do you think you're talking to? Oh yeah? Huh? Ok. Saying that to passing hikers usually gets me all the solitude I need.

A fuxk, why do I not give one?
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#19
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PostFri Sep 06, 2002 2:17 pm 
ah come on icegirl and catwoman. rant.gif I'm really a nice guy and not too often intentionally cruel, and would never lead a serious hiker astray. shakehead.gif But IMO, if you (they) need to ask "are we almost there yet", then you (they) probably shouldn't be going there in the first place. suuure.gif IMO. And I thoroughly enjoy conversing with other hikers I meet along the trail.

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