i recently came across a homeless person with a mt bike and all his personal possessions in tow. i believe he his living in the shelters along that part of the trail which is in southern ma, hemlock shelter and glen brook shelter. what are other hikers opinion on this, should you let them travel on, or report them to the local police department
_satchel_Homeless hikers
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#1
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#2
If he is not staying multiple days in any one shelter, I think he may be within his rights. BUT if he has a mountain bike on the trail please report him. He can undue many hours of hard work by your friendly maintainers. thanks :x
_apple_
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#3
Point is moot unless you actually see him doing his thing at the shelters. Running across this fellow somewhere else and then speculating about hearsay and rumors in an attempt to elicit strong opinions from the list is borderline reckless.
_fern_
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#4
he was on the trail between the two shelters, how he got there is unknown. there was no bike tracks were he traveled. i think he was off the trail waiting to see what shelter he can stay at, and the at is a foot path not for bikes
_satchel_
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#5
I hardly think the police are interested in pursuing a case against a homeless person. Most hikers are "homeless" for the duration of their hike so I personally would have some sympathy for the guy if he was otherwise acting civil.
As for the bike,: it doesn’t sound like he’s ripping up the trail doing extreme biking. If he is not leaving tire marks, perhaps he is just stashing it in the woods for town use.
I think that in these tough economic times, we will need to think long and hard about the issue of “homeless” people using the shelters. For me, one of the benefits of through hiking was that I got to meet people from all walks of life.
As long as people aren’t monopolizing the shelters or acting inappropriate, I think I am inclined to a moderate reaction.
_strtyker_
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#6
I saw him in mass this weekend, I think it was near Guilder Pond. Thought it was strange that he had a bike with a trailer but he was near a picnic area so I thought he was just camping near the closed road.
_Gg-man_
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#7
what is thru-hiking but glorified homelessness?
I think the best option is to talk to the person first if he’s breaking any rules (ie mountain biking the AT or living in a shelter). He may not be aware of the no biking rule.
If he continues breaking the rules, then simply contact the regional ATC office. They have the authority to deal with problems on the trail.
Calling the police is a bit much unless actual crimes are committed…
_freebird_
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#8
Just think if the word got out that homeless people could live and Yogi up and down the trail,work for stay and the rest. Pretty soon the trail would just be a corridor of networking bums. They would have all the shelter built up with plastic sheeting and old grocery carts. You could hike by them and they would be holding up cardboard signs that said "God bless" how cool would that be?
_Virginian_