Comments on: Grumpy talk on the trail

By: Tom Patton

Tom Patton — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 15:09:24 +0000

In my 40+ year career as a ski resort operations manager I always had a 2-way radio attached to me. The question I would get a lot on said radio that irked me was “what’s your 20” (location)? My usual answer was “I’m directly over the center of the earth.” Beyond that I had to suppress my true grumpy introvert nature to succeed in that career.

There is a character in Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods, a young female curmudgeon that he and his hiking partner are accosted by in a very unfiltered manner on the Appalachian trail who could’ve been a younger “Slim” Woodruff, or not so slim Tom Patton.

By: Doug Allinger

Doug Allinger — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 22:09:03 +0000

I’m with you. Although on a trail, I might prefer not to be.

Not that I don’t crave human connection, I do desperately, but trails are not where I seek it.

It can take an intense sort of focus for me to “be” where I am physically and to connect that physicality to the spiritual grounding of the actual place.

Impromptu ad hoc relationships with social rules and expectations interupt my grounding and activate the part of my brain I meant to leave in the car.

If I’m awkward exchanging pleasantries on the trail, please don’t take it personally; I’m just trying to ignore you so I don’t lose my place.

By: Martin Gross

Martin Gross — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 12:38:36 +0000

Like you, I would have had it up to here with absolute niceties. I’m 78, and I use a walker. Enough said. “I was doing just fine until you came along.” Suffice it to say if protocol encourages it, who am I to object? “See you on the downside.”

By: Alice Robison

Alice Robison — Wed, 28 Aug 2024 22:23:25 +0000

3 words: white, entitled, unaware

By: Georgia Wagner

Georgia Wagner — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 20:21:17 +0000

This article made me chuckle, and I enjoyed it immensely. I’m a 76-year-old seasoned hiker in Colorado, and I love to speak to other hikers (and other walkers when I’m just walking on a sidewalk or elsewhere), even if they don’t acknowledge me at all. Sometimes they say hi back to me and sometimes they don’t, but either way is OK. It’s a challenge of sorts to see who will reply to my greeting and who will choose to ignore me. It makes my day when someone I meet beats me to the punch and says hello or good morning first. My philosophy is….acknowledge others, and, who knows?…you may make THEIR day! Your article gave me a new perspective, which I welcome. Those who ignore me probably are in your camp, and now I get it. But I’m gonna keep hiking, keep greeting people, and keep hoping for the best. You know, maybe there’s one person on the trail who just needs to see a smile or hear a “good morning” in order to have a much better day!

By: Tami

Tami — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 19:27:27 +0000

Thanks for a good chuckle! Funny article, esp as I get older!

By: ELAINE KALLOS

ELAINE KALLOS — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 19:02:06 +0000

You are indeed a grumpy hiker. I always briefly speak, say a simple “Hi!” to people and I appreciate their return greeting as this is a human connection. I believe in and need human connection. Maybe it’s because I’ve lost my beloved partner Paul, don’t have any family, but I have always appreciated being acknowledged as a fellow human walking a trail with other fellow humans. I have never understood why it’s so damned hard to simply smile, or raise a friendy finger, or nod, at least, if you’re too shy or introverted to say “hi”. But I very much am glad for every chance to be positive, to connect. I am glad for and appreciate kind, friendly, human others. My mom always said it’s not hard to smile. She’s right. Plus a friendly human acknowledgment makes me smile, makes me think we’re enjoying this together, and that I’m recognized as a worthwhile person. It’s one more ugly when someone cannot at least smile at or acknowledge a fellow human. I need/want positives, not uglies. I recognize some people’s need for isolation and non-recognition, but I’d hope you’d recognize my simple need for simple acknowledgement.

I don’t know when I’ll come across a grumpy hiker like you but I am grateful for all the others who smile, acknowledge me as fellow human, and share the joy of being Outside with them, walking a lovely trail. Again, it’s human connection and I’m glad for it. No one is trying to annoy you; they’re simply wanting to briefly share aloud with other humans, to acknowledge them as worthy beings. Yes, folks can sometimes say the wrong thing and I hate ageism. But I am glad for those brief human interactions on trail, appreciate that we are all enjoying and sharing Nature together, and that I am not just an invisible nothing to others. It’s a joyous connection I refuse to miss. Thank you to all who smile and acknowledge me as a fellow human like you, and for enjoying our hike together.