travel and rhum

Starting about 15 years ago pretty much every time I hiked a trail someone would come up on me and demand I bail them out of the predicament they got themselves into. They were all day hikers who were lost and starving hungry and thirsty, so I gave them my food and water and led them back to their car.

One thing most all of them had in common was as soon as I got them back to their car they took off as fast as they could without so much as a simple "thank you". This was because they were so lost they had no clue where they were while I was leading them back to their car and by the time I got them back they had become so seriously paranoid that, I suppose, they must've thought I was leading them somewhere to rob and/or murder them.

I never carry a gun but I always carry a fillet knife strapped to my belt and I suppose that might've freaked them out a bit, but I did my best to try and ease their worries while guiding them back.

But as for me, I had to head home too and most all of them didn't think at all or care a bit about that. The last time that happened I decided to stop hiking the trails and start bushwhacking instead.

Since then I plan a route and sketch it on a printed topo map and give it to my wife in case I don't make it back. I'll add that I practice LNT for those who might want to assume we shouldn't do that.

Since doing that I've not seen anyone while I'm out there, and I've found some great spots to setup my campsite and hang out for a few days. I quit caring about how many miles I hike and slowed down and took the time to stop and really absorb the area I was in. I learned to turn around now and then and study what it looked like so I could recognize where I am on the way back.

I learned that when I sat quiet for a bit the wildlife would start coming back out of hiding and get back to doing what they do, and that's really pretty cool to witness.

For me, I've found a slow two mile hike off trail is far more enjoyable than racing along on a trail to rake up miles.

As for ticks, chiggers, snakes, etc, locals here don't hike in the forests during Summer in the Ozarks. We hike and backpack from November to March when they're hunkering down, and campfires are legal because we very rarely have any risk of forest fires here.

Have you ever come across people woefully unprepared? I used to all the time in the White Mountains. I was legit worried they were going to die.

Just this past week, I was at an REI getting new boots and the guys next to me, lol. Staff was trying to talk them out of their plans, because it didn’t make any sense.

We def all start at different points. I didn’t have a family that was into this stuff. So I absolutely made mistakes when I started, we all do. And we continue to make them. But some of the things I’ve seen or overheard, idk how to react.