So as I mentioned in my last post, there are some creepy-ass people out here. While I've met only one woman that I didn't like out here (she complains non-stop), I haven't met any women who make my skin crawl (to be fair, there aren't a lot of women out here, so it's not really much of a comparison). Sadly, the same can't be said about the men, some of whom I'm happy to go far out of my way to avoid (such as, for example, hiking 22 miles in one day). (Small disclaimer: almost every single guy I've met so far has been absolutely wonderful- I feel well taken care of and watched out for out here, despite hiking alone most of the time. All of the men (and boys) I've been interacting with on a regular basis are incredibly nice, polite, and interesting.)
The creepy guy who showed up early in the morning at Clingman's Dome is one such example of a guy that I want absolutely nothing to do with. I had noticed him at the shelter the night before, a skinny, twitchy guy who seemed to not ever to be still (or to stop talking). His conversation (if you can call a soliloquy that) focused mostly around his military past: being a sniper. After making a mental note to not call attention to myself around him, I proceeded to tune him out, until he showed up the following morning on the viewing platform at Clingman's Dome. After babbling incessantly for a while about the view, and the climb up, and everything else under the sun, he settled on the often-discussed topic of Trail Days. Trail Days is coming up in early May, and is a two day hiker celebration containing consultations with doctors, gear manufactures, dancing, boozing, and frivolity. Anyhow, creepy guy looked straight at me (the only woman who made the climb that morning), and said to the group "I'm really sorry, but Trail Days is great because women come from miles around to fuck all the hikers. Sorry."
Okay.
A) Saying that you're sorry before you say or do something potentially offensive does not make it okay to say it.
B) Hikers don't look or smell particularly good. (A mere glance at my heels would make small children cry, and I haven't even discussed how each shelter smells strongly of unwashed feet.) I sincerely doubt the truth of his statement.
C) I don't need anyone to make me feel welcome out here. I belong in these woods, and I belong on this trail. But making me feel unwelcome by virtue of my gender is an assholish thing to do.
So I out hiked the bastard, and left him behind. Unfortunately, this meant that I had out hiked all of my friends, who had spent the day in Gatlinburg.
Also, unfortunately, this meant that the following day I hiked into one of the most uncomfortable shelter situations that I've seen so far. It had been an okay morning- not particularly great because my feet were hurting badly from hiking 22 miles the day before, but I was making good time and was loving the morning weather. I stopped at Tri-Corner Knob shelter for lunch, and was immediately struck by a couple of things. First, nobody responded when I said hello. There were about 8 folks there, and normally when I walk into a shelter, either someone recognizes me or is at least friendly. Instead, nothing: it was as if I didn't even exist. Second, the conversation of the folks around me wasn't one I could follow- it was all over the place, and didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense. And finally when one of the guys wandered up to me and said hello, he apologized for being drunk at noon. And that's when it clicked. I had wandered into a small group of partiers, who were spending the day drinking and drugging it up at a shelter: the reason why I couldn't follow their conversation was because I was sober. When my friends caught up later that evening, they relayed a similar experience at the shelter. There's a saying out here: hike your own hike. This means that each of us should be free to have our own experience, and to hike the trail in our own way. I don't mean to say that the folks who are getting wasted out here every night are doing the trail wrong; they're just doing it differently (much, much, MUCH differently) than I am.
Anyhow, I've rambled on enough about the things that have been upsetting me lately. Despite the creepy people and periodic uncomfortable situations, one of the things that has been absolutely wonderful is the sense of community. Like I've said earlier, I've never felt so watched out for before. There have been some absolutely amazing things that I've seen and done in the past few days, and I want to make sure that I share all of them with you as well. But first: More Ice Cream!
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