What Happens on the Trail...

Friendly. A magical thing happens when you step off the pavement and onto a hiking trail: everybody becomes a friend. No matter where I hike, long or short, everybody becomes more polite than they would be if I were to walk past them on a city street. Even I become more polite; I smile at people, make eye contact, and at least say hello. Do you think I'd do that to the random John Doe I pass on the streets? I may like traveling alone, but I'm actually pretty shy when it comes to conversing with random people. I'd rather keep my mouth shut and my eyes downcast, afraid to catch someone's eye and have to acknowledge another human being.

And yet, put me on a trail and I become the nicest, most friendly person you meet. I'll happily share my water or snacks with you, make sure your hike is going well, and assist with blisters or other minor injuries if I have the supplies and you don't. Aside from being a nice person, I want the people who take the time and make the effort to get out and hike to enjoy doing so. I've had my fair share of shitty hiking; they're few and far between, but bad hiking experiences do happen. If I have something in my pack that will make your hike that much better, I will happily share it with you. And I've had the pleasure of finding that a lot of other people on the trail share the same thoughts as I do.

When I first started hiking, way back when I was a kid still living with my parents, and we were hiking while on a family vacation I noticed that a lot of people greeted each other while on the trail. Usually something such as "good morning, how are you," but sometimes these pleasantries morphed into conversations about the remaining trail, how far was left before the destination, and more than once inquires regarding where each member of the conversation was from, how long we were in the area, ect. From a very young age, I've witnessed and participated in being nice while on the trail. Even if you're tired, you still smile at the other person and acknowledge their presence with a simple nod.

As I've gotten older, especially since I started hiking on my own, I've noticed some differences in "trail people" depending on how long the trail is. Now, this is also dependent on where the trail happens to be, whether it's in a popular park or a small, out of the way forest, but I've found the following general rules to hold true: Short trails usually have too much traffic. There are too many people, too many tired children, moody teenagers and harrassed parents. People are less interested in what others are doing, and couldn't care less if anybody is having a better or worse time than they are. Sure, you get the few hikers who smile and nod, but that's the most you should hope for. When you're on a long trail, it's rather unlikely to meet other hikers. If you do cross paths, every single person is polite, concerned, and willing to stop for a short chat. These are the people who want to make sure everything goes ok for you, even though you're a random stranger. But your chances of seeing someone else decrease as your trail length increases. It's the medium length trails that seem to have the highest amount of friendly people on them. The mid-length trails are long enough to keep the bored/tired/unhappy people off of them, but short enough to put you into contact with people who will make sure you don't run into much trouble, or who will help alleviate any problems you do have.

Of course, nearly everybody will tell you to hike with at least one other person, preferably a group of people, but that's not always an option. I never let the lack of a partner stop me from hiking, and I'm more than willing to tackle a long trail with a slim chance of seeing another human being for the length of it. When I do hike alone, though, people tend to become more concerned and almost always stop for a chat. They make sure I'm ok, have enough water/snacks, that my feet are good and that I'm not too tired. I usually get more warnings about the trail ahead of me, usually pertaining to rocky/slick areas, thin bridges, or drop-offs. I appreciate information like that.

I've made it perfectly clear that I love hiking and that I have no intentions of stopping. I recently broke my distance record, and have plans to hike even farther and longer than I ever have before. Moving off of short trails has left me a happier person, mostly because I don't have to deal with people who aren't invested in their hike. To hike a medium-long trail, you have to really want to. And you know that the others on the longer trails want to be there too, which makes you that much nicer to them. Who knows, you might even get to talk to someone who gives you your next adventure idea. Where do you think I get my crazier ideas?