Isle Royale Forums

Policy question.
How much should you assist other hikers on their plans?

We bumped into another group and when I asked about the destination for the day it was crazy aggressive. I clarified and it wasn’t the trips destination, it was by that night.

I didn’t counter with any verbal opinion but I am sure my subconscious nonverbals gave a bit away.

If it had been dangerous, I would have said something (they had options to come up short and water). Otherwise I’d think to let it go with maybe some lighthearted push back.

Thoughts?

No obligation whatsoever, but I might make a first attempt to give some friendly advice. “That’s a long day, but you can always stop at Hatchet Lake if it’s getting late when you get there”. If they reject that, then I’ve tried and that’s it.

Bear in mind that, at least some of the time, those with "ambitious" agendas understand what they're proposing to do, and have a good reason to believe that they'll enjoy (in some sense of "enjoy") it. For those souls, something like, "Wow---what is that, 22 miles?" (where you can veer into talking more about the planned route if they don't seem to know the answer!) might go over better as an opening move than an incredulous "Do you know how far that is?!" and/or suggestions of alternative itineraries (which can come across as patronizing).

torpified wrote: Fri Sep 17, 2021 7:39 am "ambitious" agendas

Haha
On our first trip, the ranger wrote overly ambitious on the permit. I wasn’t part of the planning and just knew I only had to out hike at least one group member. But she was right. Oops. Only lost one toenail.

This situation, they would have had to hike at least 5 mph to get into camp by dark. Yikes

I don't offer advice or make suggestions unless asked. I have come across paddlers in canoes attempting to paddle the open lake on days when they would get into trouble, and asked if they knew what the marine forecast was. Upon sharing the forecast info, the paddlers changed their plans.

TopCarrot wrote: Thu Sep 16, 2021 6:32 pm How much should you assist other hikers on their plans?

I just want to help, so I always frame my advice with phrases like "In my experience," or "the last time I did that..." and "I really enjoy..."