RickshawFan
Verified Outdoor Recreation Specialist
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2013
- Messages
- 11,175
- Reaction score
- 55,767
Ummmm... he SAYS he hiked the AT, but that is no AT long-distance hiker. Perhaps a day trip or two. It was clear he doesn't even know how to put a pack on: he doesn't buckle it correctly.I'm surprised you say that. This is a guy who has spent months tooling around the US in a van, and prior to that, hiked the AT. Despite his other flaws, he seems exceptionally comfortable outdoors. Compared to most of us, who wouldn't care to spend months in a tent or van.
There are a lot of people out there who say they've hiked the AT; BL wouldn't be the first.
If he'd hiked on the AT for very long, you'd have a string of thru-hikers on this board with sightings and stories. Hikers on those trails hang out. News gets telegraphed up and down the trail. Hostel owners communicate. They have hinky meters. At dark, whether sitting around the fire or cooking dinner, hikers are nattering. What else are they going to do? It's pitch black out there, and they travel so light, they don't bring anything to do (I carried a couple of sudokus, a pencil, and a couple of blank notebook pages for my journal.) They don't know the history of other hikers, generally, but they know other hikers and they remember them (viz Mostly Harmless) with even a short encounter. BL on the AT would have been noticed. They'd be giving the FBI tips by the hundreds.
And when would he have done a trip like that? He graduated from high school not too long ago. A long-distance AT hike could be a month for a section, or 4-6 for the whole thing.
And does BL walk like a long-distance hiker? No. He just walks like a regular walker. Ultra-distance hikers, on the other hand, don't straighten their knees; they kind of sit back and pump their legs. It's a very distinctive look. I fall into this once I get going. It's light on the feet and quick, quick, quick.
So, I call wannabe on whatever outdoor "experience" BL has.
Hallmark: he ran home to momma instead of taking straight to the wilderness.