Re: Backcountry Meetings

B:

If you start with the premise that you need to protect yourself from others on the trail, you increase the chance that you will need to do so.

Although we walk through city streets without greeting the people surrounding us, in my experience when meetings occur on a backcountry trail it's expected that greetings will be shared. Even a simple hello is adequate.

I have never had anything but pleasant meetings with other hikers on the trail. However, I have had less than pleasant meetings with bicyclists--mostly due to my reluctance to step off the trail when they come screaming around a bend or down a hill. But that's not in the backcountry and even then there has never been any threat of physical violence, although I do confess to taking comfort in the presence of my 6-foot long hardwood hiking staff.