There has been an upswing lately in posts by confessed noobs on a few of the forums I frequent (or lurk in) seeking early season trip options.

I also have a trip the last weekend of March with some of my hiking group. I was contacted by a noob who came with me on a four day in Point Reyes. He wanted to go with me in March and cited his PR trip as proof he could do it. The Oholone trail is several orders of magnitude harder than PR, twice the miles and a lot more cumulative gain, and he just got a new pack. I can quote the numbers at him but it will do no good - machismo, enthusiasm and noob excitement are driving him, and he has already decided he has a future in "leading" trips - yet he has a curiously hard head when it comes to learning anything. He nearly blew up someone else's stove last time, and despite clear instruction managed to get my Hiker Pro completely mudded up. His original plan was to jam a five pound cheap bag in a 20 liter day pack for four days and dangle all the rest on the outside of his pack.

The trend is looking like this - wanting to backpack, refusing to research anything, refusing to accept that it is the wrong pack, the wrong season, the wrong weather.... On another forum a fellow posted not once but twice looking for advice on doing the High Sierra Trail next month. Many explained why he should not attempt it solo with just a pack and a 20 degree bag, some told him to go right ahead and have an adventure, and somewhere inside me the cringing began....

I just got an email today from someone too lazy to use google or the calendar of past hikes on the hiking group to look up some easy hikes for himself. On an easy one night trip I posted for April, someone said she would be waiting for more details of what to bring - I posted a link to a gear list.

I am now to the point where I am answering with "if you have to ask, you aren't ready - go to an REI class and get back to me."

I used to put out a backpacking trip on our group calendar and get two people, one of which didn't show up. Now I have trips with waiting lists. Except they are all expecting to be spoon fed how to backpack.

I have a lot of experienced backpacker friends.... We're all getting tired of this.

On the one hand, I think it's fun to nurture newbies....

On the other..... Wtf is up with all the drama noobs who don't get it? Why do they compliment and thank me for help while refusing to listen to why I think the Oholone is the wrong thing for them - 30 miles in three days is not going to do anything but hurt you, with your "bombproof" tent (aka security blanket) and 30 lbs of nonessentials.

I have a love-hate relationship with the internet and the hiking group at this point. I am telling the masochistic noob he can't come in march. And the new order will be pre-emptively screening the new backpackers for signs of mental issues.

At some point, posters on forums who don't want to accept your cautionary advice start to frustrate - perhaps we need to say no. Or nothing. Civil attorneys of my acquaintance have made the point to me that telling others what to do carries a certain level of responsibility.... Perhaps even liability.