I was curious if any of you had any experience with the some of the homeless people that I have met on the trail. Iv only met two who were both in VA but, I was wondering if you did meet them, how the situation went and if it was abnormal like mine.Im not making assumptions either, they told me they were homeless. The two I meet were “ Green Horn” around parisburg and The Raven of Mountain man around Catawba.
Manfire
I also met Green Horn in Virginia, at Punch Bowl Shelter seemed like a real nice guy, hope he is doing well.
Chubster
So many people are homeless on the trail and end up living with their parents after the trail but I don’t think that’s what you mean. I’m homeless and don’t even know what country to live in. How’s that for abnormal?!
Apple Pie
Green Horn was technically homeless (as are others every year), but he was actually making his way SOBO–starting off poorly equipped but he learned along the way… He didn’t have the $$ to spend unnecessary town time, tho I understand he got off the Trail occasionally to find temporary work to keep him going.
There was a thread about him on another site last winter regarding his aggressive yogiing up north, but the people I know who met him by the time he got to VA had only good things to say about him. He was signed in at the shelter I help maintain in SNP, but unfortunately I missed him–wish I could have said hi.
Skyline
The only homeless I knowingly encountered was Samsonite (the suitcase man) in northern VA. Some saw him headed south but when we saw him he was headed north. Many talked about him but I never felt I got the real story.
socks
No homeless on our hike. But we met the “naked hiker” in Maryland. (It was not hike naked day) He had the shaved body from head to toe and a daypack. Several hikers saw him over a weeks period. Okie stood and laughed at him until the guy started crying and ran off into the woods.
Papa Smurf
I resided down in Damascus last year after my Section hike until October. On several occasions I took notice of two fella’s who came & went from “The Place” often. I never went in to chat but they finnaly left in late August after rumors cirrculated that they were forced out. Funny thing is I ran into them on the Creeper Trail in September.
Also on my 2004 hike my brother “Solace” & I ran into a man who went by the name of “Gums” at the shelter behind the visitors center. We talked that night for some time as he consumed a 12 pack of ‘Natty Light’. He was obviously Homeless, but addmitted it. he had been living there until he also was asked to leave. He has a sad story but had & for beer.
:cheers
KTR
I met a couple on the At a few years back who said that they basically lived on the trail during the good weather months and worked odd jobs during the winter.
I wonder if this is something that has happened before. If I didn’t have a family I’d probably do something similar.
And oh…by the way…we have a grammar nazi…cool.
Doc Holiday
met a guy in a storm on over mt who said he was homeless and bummed several cigs from me. I hiked away, cause i didn’t want to support his nonhike. He had tin can food and started fires to cook. Bob Peoples said something about how the guy sets up camp for weeks until they go in and ask him to move on.
pretty much i think anyone who is thruhiking is temporarily homeless yet hopefully self supporting. when i ran outta money, i went home where i belonged, but if i hit the lottery, i might just stroll along over a buncha trails. the people you meet can be pretty diverse.
Burn
With the gap between rich and poor widening;
With more and more people relying on multiple jobs with no benefits to make ends meet;
With retirement plans failing left and right and medical benefits non-existent;
With high school dropout rates over 50%;
With social security possibly gutted;
We will see more and more homeless people on all the trails in future years.
Sincerely–and greatly troubled about it–Conan.
Conan
With the gap between rich and poor widening;
With more and more people relying on multiple jobs with no benefits to make ends meet;
With retirement plans failing left and right and medical benefits non-existent;
With high school dropout rates over 50%;
With social security possibly gutted;
We will see more and more homeless people on all the trails in future years.
Sincerely–and greatly troubled about it–Conan.
Conan
Met a wonderful fellow who had been “on the road/trail” for three years…a true “road dog” circling the country and using the AT as a main southern route each summer.
Met others too…some are "safe"and sane, others clearly “dangerous” and spewing hate. Be cautious.
jerseytomato
(Caveat: I am not an English major, so yes there are grammer errors, and no I don’t care)
Yes, the gap is widening, but this is based on comparisons between the richest 10% and poorest 10%. And, looking at the numbers, the lower 3 quintiles are making the same amount and the upper most quintile is making more, and sub-stratified, the upper 1/2 of that upper quintile is the accelerated group with regards to income.
Yes, employers are keeping people part-time to avoid paying health care benefits, this has been a corporate practice for 25 years now, and growing. I work multiple jobs even now, while in med school. It sucks, I deal, 'nough said.
Where did you get your drop out rates??? The lowest I could find via NCES was 54% in Georgia in 1998, from a non-governmental source. Currently, the average for dropping out, across all groups, is a mean of about 10%, with ranges from 7-22% when stratified with self-reported racial background and geographical location. This number has been consistently getting smaller since 1972 when the stats began being tabulated. And none of the figures really says WHY they dropped out, including death, disabled, leaving the country, etc.
Social Security is expected to be ‘gutted’, or overcome? The most recent trustee report states that the Social Security system will be oversome (when benefits exceed income) in 2020, with insolvency in 2041. The Medicare system passed it’s threshold in 2004, with insolvency expected in 2017. Insolvency doesn’t mean cease to exist, it means it cannot cover its current expenses. Medicare will drop to 74% of its current benefits if no changes whatsoever are made.
I doubt there will be hoards running to the National Trails to live off the land, but you might see a few more. Going from seeing 1 homeless person per hike to 2 is a full 100% increase. Sounds like alot to a person who only hears the ‘100% increase’ part without hearing the relative numbers used to determine that percentage. Media loves this play on numbers because people in general do not understand statistiscs, and no, I do not really care to engage in a statistics theory arguement here.
Blame your grandparents for knocking out 78 million children in very little time, and the huge load of people making false and/or pathetic claims to the Social Security System and Medicare system, the former being a cause, the latter a handicap to the system.
Changes need to be made, having accurate knowledge of the problem is the first step, not conspiracy theories and misinformation.
Sincerely–and greatly troubled about it–airferret
-xtn :boy
airferret
Most homeless people are mentally Ill, Do not feel sorry for these people That never helps. TOUGH LOVE is required, do not put up with their bull****, help them, but do not give hand outs! I have been homeless all my 42 years and here I am in New Zealand taking a “walk-about” on several different tracks! Peace out!
1/4 of the way
i too hiked for a couple days on and off with green horn, even ate dinner with him in damascus, and i have to say he was a nice guy with good advice to give, he was hoping to finish by the end of august i think, any word on if he did??
clong
Airferret:
You set up the straw man and knock him down; then you claim conspiracy theories; then you mock.
The only real thing you dealt with was your anger about having to work more than you’d like to in order to deal with your medical school expenses.
Your anger clouds your vision.
Take some time to see the bigger picture.
Develop some compassion for those less fortunate than yourself.
Consider sharing more.
Sincerely–Conan.
Conan
The current administration is in denial. They claim the economy is booming. I don’t doubt it is for much of their elite constituency, but what about the rest of us?
Good jobs outsourced, good Americans forced to lower their standard of living. Health care plans drastically curtailed, or withdrawn. New jobs offering part time work with NO benefits. Pension plans legally gutted. Bankruptcy made nearly impossible. Safety net broken. It all adds up to Bush’s America. Ain’t it grand?
Yes, we may be seeing more homeless on the AT and other trails in the future. Not homeless by choice as are some hikers (temporarily), but homeless as a last resort.
Skyline
i met Gysy wind in Erwin back in 2001, anyone remember him? He claimed to have invented the skateboard amongst other things. I heard he used to hike between Erwin and Damascas.
Cheers
Cheers
yeah, i met gypsy in '01 also. i met him in erwin, and he told me he had several patents on knives that could have made him millions of dollars, but they were stolen by the sheriff. he then started cursing the sheriff angrily, so i peaced out.
the goat
I wonder if the government put support systems in place when the automobile replaced the horse and buggy. It put a lot of blacksmiths, wheelwrights and buggy whip makers out of business. Or, maybe society adapted to change? Can you imagine what our world would look like if we had the same political climit in the early part of the 20th Century as we have today. We all would be driving a horse and buggy and watching our TV by candle light. (oops no TV, that put the candle maker out of business) Lighten up guys and let’s just go hiking… remember: miles, packweight, food, water supply and beer and pizza in town!!! And, an occasional person who chooses to spend their unemployeed time on the Trail… just makes it more interesting. Happy Trails.
PS. Burns, I thought you were homeless?? Flame said Hi!
Papa Smurf