A Shoutout to THAT GUY on the Trail

What am I missing about editing a post? Anyway here’s the photo.

The first post cannot be edited.

Some people have a real hard time understanding that we don’t all hike for the exact same reason.

Many years ago someone was lecturing me about my LW gear (almost light…) because there is no need to go fast on a trail. I told him that I did not want to go faster, just wanted to carry less weight.

The only thing worse than someone lecturing you on the trail is letting it get to you.  I just add the humorous anecdote to my repertoire and enjoy the hike.

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Not letting things get to you is great, but if you can’t manage that, it might have been possible to have put a big rock in his pack. Maybe if you asked him to help look at your gear to see if anything else was to heavy, he would be distracted for a bit.

A camera is too heavy for the phone does everything crowd. It’s a person’s opinion why give it weight?

The weight of his comment is burdening you way more than the camera.  Reducing that load is where the real payoff lies.  Happy trails.

Just tell him that he’s ugly, and you can buy a lighter camera.

Paul, what an awesome picture!  I keep saying I’m gonna re-invest in a good DSLR or mirror-less camera for my trips.  I got rid of all my ‘good’ cameras when phones started getting so good.  But you still can’t get this type of shot with a phone, just not gonna happen, yet.  I suppose someday maybe.

I wouldn’t sweat it.  You’ve got that picture, and I’m sure other great ones form your trip.  The guy you passed is probably curled up on a couch somewhere, slobbering over his lighter pack list while he pulls every other bristle out of his short handled toothbrush with a pair of titanium tweezers.

Maybe it got to you because you do put effort into selecting lightweight gear, and his comment made it seem like he couldn’t see or appreciate that. Being misunderstood generally feels bad.

Plus, it was unsolicited criticism (by far too common), and he was just being a total jerk.

Someone on the spectrum was on the trail.

Take a deep breath and remember why you are backpacking.  Then tell the guy that your photos are so much better than his because you use a real camera instead of a toy.

It all depends on how much first-rate pics mean to you. If they’re going to be published then yes the extra weight is worth it. If not I’d say the guy was right.  He was probably only trying to be funny, but many a true thing is said in jest. I wouldn’t be overly sensitive about it. Consider the source.

Now if his tone was aggressive and he was trying to impress his buddies, then I’d say “let me explain some basic photography 101 to you.” Next I’d throw in a few quick technical terms and say “oh, but you wouldn’t understand about such things because your knowledge on the subject is, well, simple, lol. And I’d make sure the laugh at the end was done in a way that implies the guy is stupid.

Sounds like he was trying to be funny and bombed.

But it’s easier to let it go once we’ve nailed down the perfect retort for next time.

Is it obvious that in every other way you go UL? I’m guessing it probably is. In which case, I agree with above he probably meant to come across as funny, not critical, and felt you were a fellow UL’er that would get the joke. I dunno. Sometimes it’s best to assume the best of people rather than the worst, in this case by assuming he saw in you a kindred spirit that would get the joke.

This is why i dont talk to people on the trail.  Pack weights get misconstrued, presumed insults are hurled, feelings are in a state of flux for the next 5 miles. ‘What did he say?  What did he mean?’  Skip all that.

‘Hi.  You smell like dryer sheets.  Have a nice hike.’

Sometimes i ask about water availability. But i rarely trust em.

^^^ that made me laugh. I can relate a little bit.

lol dryer sheets?

After a day or two on the trail, I doubt I smell anything close to dryer sheets.

Coming down from Dragon’s Tooth, I encountered some ill-prepared-looking day hikers heading up.  They stopped me and asked how it was, and I told them they were going to die.  They huddled nervously for a minute and then turned around and left.  I had been semi-joking, and I felt like shizzle for possibly ruining a great day for them.  I learned to keep my humor to myself until relationships are better established.

Dryer sheets! An enduring term for day hikers. Or, more precisely, tourists close to a TH. I don’t know about you, but after I’ve been out for a couple of days my nose is really sensitive to all those manufactured smelly things common to life at home (e.g. dryer sheets, fabric softeners, soap, perfume, etc.). I can usually smell them before I even see them.

The only thing I know of that stinks worse than a dryer sheet is the clothes it was dried with.  What evil sadist invented those things?

Yeah I’m not exactly sure what those smell like (bad soap perfume?) or why they exist. I vaguely remember my parents using them as a kid but I never used them once I was old enough to do my own laundry.

Aren’t drier sheets used to avoid static electricity on your clothes?