As one of the two hikers “Eagle” threatened and accused of “hiking pole theft” [a crime apparently punishable by death in Alaska (grin)], I was just wondering how many other 2001 NOBO hikers heard about this story from him, and whether they had negative or positive reactions to him, me or Leif . . . from my own perspective, running into this guy was the sole negative event in what otherwise was an awesome 1,500 miles of AT hiking. What really galled me was hearing for weeks after this supposedly was resolved that this man still was accusing me and my hiking partner (Leif) of stealing his poles - even though he had signed a written letter to me saying to the contrary . . .
I guess this post confirms that I still have a lot of negative feeling towards this man for bumming out so many people . . . but nothing can cast a shadow over what was an AWESOME summer! My wife and little girl are so glad I came home early, but some day soon I’ve got a date with Lady Katahdin to finish the last 700 miles! I’d also love to hear from any of the many trail friends I made along the way!
Hike On!
Thru-Thinker
Thru-Thinker