Hill Rage - A cautionary tale

[Arthurs Eat]

What can one say! Never met them before and hope never to!

[gaffr]

What odd meddling folks....must be English. We must hope that they don't come up here to walk.
Must say that I am a serial col or significant boulder rucksack stower....and not just in Scotland...never had any problems over the number of years that I have been in the hills.
These guys would go mental if they wandered into the areas below some of the lake-land crags.

[Cairngormwanderer]

I wouldn't worry. They sound like a right load of pricks and deserve a sound kicking for rifling through your rucksack.

[KatTai]

What a bunch of nutters! There are some crazy people out there!

[Moriarty]

Serves you right for walking abroad - at least in Scotland most of the bampots are too worn out from the deprecations of obesity, tobacco and alcohol to get up a hill.

Obviously the healthier Southern lifestyle combined with lower hills puts the summits into the "at risk" zone.

The European free-ranging bampots might make onto Alpine summits.

[Sgurr]

Trying to think how I could avoid this in future. We usually leave a note saying "To be collected later" with the date. We don't specify the time as this MIGHT encourage theft if people knew they had an hour or so to get away with it, but I don't think that folk go into the hills to steal things, so omitting the time is unnecessary really. Nor do I think that people go into the hills on a busy summer's day to commit suicide. Maybe on a cold wet day....see thishttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-38757699, but even that wasn't definite.

What had those folk experienced in the past to make them like that? Had they found a rucksack where something bad had happened to the owner? In that case, they maybe should have told you.

I met a couple once whose teenage sons had begged them to be allowed to repeat a Lake District round. At 15 and 16 they felt old enough. Parents said yes, and just to be sure, followed them a day later. Eldest son fell to his death. Youngest son became a paramedic as he wanted to do all he could to stop things like that happening to other people. I suppose an experience like that could have made them like they were. But as others have said, they were probably just officious so-and-sos.

[johnkaysleftleg]

They sound like total Muppets, why spoil your own day getting so wound up over perfectly normal practice in the hills? I've been fortunate enough to never meet anybody of this ilk in the hills either in England, Scotland or Wales. In fact the walking folk of the Lakes tend to be very friendly, polite, good humoured and actually generally enhance the overall experience. Pity the couple involved felt the need to attempt to ruin some people's day.

[nigheandonn]

I once worried some people by leaving my rucksack beside the path up to the waterfall at Kinlochleven, but when I thought about that I could kind of see their point - and they weren't annoyed, just glad to see me back.

On an ordinary flattish ridge it does seem very strange. I've never had any trouble otherwise, but then I tend more to leaving my bag where I nearly don't see it on the way back than leaving it where other people would!

[Sunset tripper]

What astonishing people! You must have been gobsmacked. These folk are clearly not the full shilling.
I love the commit suicide scenario. Why would you carry a bag full of food and life saving equipment up the hill if you were off to kill yourself. Its a bit like jumping off the pier wearing a lifebuoy.
They should really have had a go at you for leaving unattended luggage on the hill and carried out a controlled explosion on your gear to remove the danger.

NB that guy must go into meltdown if he ever walks past one of the luggage carousels at an airport.

[Mal Grey]

Sadly there are idiots everywhere. Obviously just unpleasant people, I don't believe for a minute they were genuinely concerned about you....

[BobMcBob]

What had those folk experienced in the past to make them like that?

This isn't a flippant answer. I wouldn't be surprised if they live in south-east England. I lived there for most of my life until recently. Anything not chained down will be nicked, therefore if you find anything not chained down you assume that some harm must have come to the owner, because nobody in their right mind would leave anything lying around. Even now I wouldn't go off and leave my wallet in my rucksack, no matter where I was. I won't even leave my van unlocked on a campsite if I nip out for a pee. This says more about what I've come to expect from other people than it does about other people.

None of that excuses their confrontational attitude, which I agree should have been met with something that would leave them requiring mountain rescue.

[RocksRock]

What a trio of idiots..............................I doubt they were local hill-goers -or even locals - the Cumbrians are usually used to hillgoers in all their variety and are a warm and friendly crowd in my lifelong experience (my late mother was one!)

Sorry they spoiled your day, but maybe two new hill friends and their dog were some recompense.....I hope so

[Border Reiver]

These kind of incidents make you think "what is your problem?" and they're so unnecessary. I regularly leave my rucksack on cols etc & never worry about it.
Once my wife and I walked to a waterfall in Northumberland & as we go to within 50m of the path end we noticed a family of four ahead of us at a viewpoint. The father was taking photos of his kids in various poses in front of the falls, so we waited, and waited, for about 10mins & his kids returned and the father turned away from his position. My wife waited for me and spoke to the woman & I walked past to get a couple of photos & the guy went mental with me. I was called all the names under the sun & accused of deliberately trying to sabotage his photo session. When I pointed out that it was a public place & I had waited a while and had a right to walk through, he tried to get to me but was hauled back by his wife. We went back past them & his wife apologised to us. As we walked away we could hear his ranting for ages.
We both looked at each other in amazement and we still wonder what lit his fuse to trigger off such an explosion of vile language and threats.

[prog99]

How bizarre. I doubt it's anything to do with it being in the lakes and that those idiots would have acted like that anywhere.
Goodness knows what they would think of the climbing practice of leaving your bags at the bottom of the crag.

[johnkaysleftleg]

What had those folk experienced in the past to make them like that?

This isn't a flippant answer. I wouldn't be surprised if they live in south-east England. I lived there for most of my life until recently. Anything not chained down will be nicked, therefore if you find anything not chained down you assume that some harm must have come to the owner, because nobody in their right mind would leave anything lying around. Even now I wouldn't go off and leave my wallet in my rucksack, no matter where I was. I won't even leave my van unlocked on a campsite if I nip out for a pee. This says more about what I've come to expect from other people than it does about other people.

None of that excuses their confrontational attitude, which I agree should have been met with something that would leave them requiring mountain rescue.

Not just the SE, somebody nicked a rusty old broom whose head kept falling off out of my back yard he other day