Day 124: The rude shelter dweller

Day:  Miles:  Trip:   Started:  Destination:  

Thundering Falls, VT

Today I caught an early bus out of Rutland and headed back up to the trail head on Rt. 4.  After a short blue blaze back to the AT I was again heading north.  The skies are threatening more rain again today but better trail conditions are keeping the mud at a manageable level for the most part.  Early in the evening the rain was getting worse.  There is a cabin called 'The Lookout' that is on private land but is open and available for use by hikers.  I decided to avoid more rain and headed to the cabin for the night.  It was early and I could have covered more miles but the mud was getting pretty slick and a break was in order. 

After settling in for the night I had one of my worse experiences in a shelter so far.  There were about eight people in the cabin, plenty of space overall.  Often in shelters I will fall asleep listening to music.  This was the case tonight.  Just as I started to fall asleep I heard a large banging.  Somebody was banging on the walls of the cabin.  I realized it was somebody named 'Moving On'.  He and his wife were on the other side of the lower shelter.  It really startled me and I took out my ear buds to listen to what was going on.  I could hear somebody upstairs snoring a little but that was it.  After about another 30 minutes 'Moving On' got up and not very quietly went upstairs and started poking the person that was snoring.  In the process he made quite a bit of noise and woke up everyone upstairs. 

Steep section near Quimby Mt.

I have never seen this happen before and realized that he was probably the source of the banging on the walls earlier.  People snore.  It is just something you have to adapt to or avoid, but to actively wake everybody up in the shelter was something new to me.  About 45 minutes later, just as I was about to fall asleep again, the banging started again.   I was dumbfounded.  I have never experienced somebody so rude in a shelter.  By now, it was almost midnight, quite late for thru-hikers and I finally managed to sleep.   My sleep did not last long.  I was woken up to a bright flashlight with Moving On standing over me shaking my shoulder violently.  I guess I was snoring.  The experience of being woken up like that when in a public situation is disturbing.  I have come to trust and be very comfortable around other thru-hikers, but this experience was something new.   As I lay there and slowly realized what had happened I contemplated what I would do if he touched me again.   He did not and I eventually fell asleep for the rest of the night.  In the morning I confronted him about his behavior saying if he was that sensitive to snoring he should not be in a public shelter.  His response that snorers had no business staying shelters quickly clued me in to how shallow he really was.  My only parting comment to him was that I have experienced many snorers in shelters, but only one person that behaved like him.  If I am ever to stay with him again, I don't think I will be so patient if he decides to wake me like that again.  There is an unspoken rule about not invading someones space and he crossed the line on a few levels.  After he left in the morning I had a conversation with others and they agreed with me about his behavior.  One hiker, 'Little Bit' confided that she was truly scared about the banging and did not go to sleep until quite late.  I guess I am lucky this is the first experience I have had so far like this.  By far, the people I meet in shelters are very friendly and fun to be around and until that eventing I thought the same way about 'Moving On'.  I'm glad he is...