No, Blue Jay, I haven’t heard of a place being closed due to dumpster diving. Bet you sure in hell better believe I’ve heard of places no longer letting hikers tent on their property, in picnic pavillions, behind restaurants or businesses; I know of many businesses, especially restaurants and motels, that no longer want thru-hikers as customers; I know of a hiker-friendly motel owner who has been frustrated in her attempts to expand her business because there are too many folks in her small town vocally opposed to encouraging more hikers in their community; I’ve met plenty of folks who’ve told me they never pick up hitch-hikers or that they’ve ceased to due so; I know of several places where they’ve tried to open hostels/churches to hikers but have been prevented from doing so by folks who hold extremely negative feelings about hikers. And like you, I know of many places that no longer offer services to hikers that had beed freely offerred for years.
All too often, Blue Jay, it’s the person hiking with 29 cents who creates the problem: A hiker who has worked, saved money, and properly budgeted for his trip is not likely to get caught by a cop or restaurant employeee while scavenging in a dumpster, nor is he likely to be found illegally camping behind a church or in a town park, or bathing in a restaurant bathroom— nor is he going to turn people off be panhandling, begging, or eating garbage.
In short, Jay, you’re right—to some folks, all hikers look the same, and there will always be some folks who don’t approve of us. But going into a small town and behaving like a homeless bum is simply not going to improve town/hiker relations. On the contrary, this sort of behavior, when witnessed by folks in little hiker towns is merely going to re-inforce these negative views. You mention that maybe these folks would like us better if a few folks “took a more humble position.” How? By being seen eating outta trash cans or asking folks for empty returnable bottles? How on earth does this make hikers look better?
This is a ridiculous argument. As I said previously, if someone wants to hike for six months, then they should work their tail off, save their money, cut down on personal extravagances, cut corners, and set themselves a goal and a budget to make their trip a reality.
What they should not do is behave in a way that makes all the hikers look like freeloaders and tramps—there’s nothing “humble” about acting like a bum. When people witness this sort of behavior in a big city, they perhaps feel pity or compassion; at the least, they feel sorry for the guy in question. When a home-owner or business owner in a small Trail town witnesses behavior like this, they’re more likely to feel disgust, and this negativity is passed on to every hiker that follows. Hiking on a minimal budget is no excuse to engage in behavior that will impact everyone else—if someone is too lazy to have worked enough or saved enough, that’s THEIR problem, and it’s up to them to do something about it, like either postpone their trips, or maybe stop somewhere and get a job for a few weeks. But acting like a bum and ruining things for other hikers is not the way to spend six months on the A.T.
B. Jack
