Originally Posted By balzaccom
As a cyclist, I am happy (?) to report that a recent poll showed that people thought cyclists were the most unpleasant and arrogant of all amateur athletes. Backpackers didn't even make the list.

Somethig about spending all that time sitting on that tiny saddle....


It could very well be that tiny, rock hard, seat laugh

I want to add a little localized flavor to this conversation, because, to a degree, I think it can be a local thing.

We probably have the least amount of backpackers here, per acre of public land, than anywhere east of the Rockies. Most of the locals that backpack are as knowledgable as your average backpacker here on the forums, but it's probably true that fewer are true gearheads, or arrogant about their gear or skills.

Backpacking here is not the same as the AT, or Western States backpacking. Our longest trails are measured with a couple hundred miles, and our best spots are often not near a trail because we don't have lot of trails. Most of our trails would be rated nearer the "difficult" end of the scale too, so miles are no measure of a hike here, when compared to most of the popular trails in the U.S.

I don't know of a single hiker here on the forum that has thru-hiked the OHT, or even the BRT, but if you can say that here, you're held in high esteem.

Among the members here, I'd have to say that W_D is the one that hikes most like Ozarkers hike. The miles she does and routes she takes are what the best of us can do here on the trails. I'm not in that group, a 10+ mile day here would kill me, I know W_D could do more here, but she'd be honest about the difficulty too, as I'm sure most our thru-hikers here would be.

So, like our most experienced hikers here on the forums, Ozark backpackers tend to be humble. They know the miles can be tough, and they know the weather can kill you, so if you're out there with them you've pretty much earned their respect already. Even if you find you don't like them much, you have to give them their dues for being out there. I met a couple women down in Arkansas last year at a hiker's gathering that are awesome. As far as I know, not one man there dared to be condescending to them. We can't possibly be, we know where they've been. It's certainly an Ozark thing in that it's how the locals think about it here. I'm sure there are exceptions, but that's the norm.

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