Put On Your Freakin' Headphones

[SpiderLegs]

So is it just me or do I just seem to run into the latest trail phenomenon around the Phoenix area? Never ran into this when I've been hiking in other states. It's people that turn their smartphones into mini-boomboxes. Go ahead and listen to your crappy music all you want, but why subject everyone on the trail to this? Guess I am turning older and into a curmudgeon.

[johnlp]

I agree it is annoying, but we were all young and dumb at one time. Be thankful you don't have to listen to Joe sing. ;)

[beterarcher]

Just be happy they aren't 1980's boom boxes

[cactuscat]

Saw this on the BA quite a bit over the summer ... one more annoying thing.

[PatrickL]

They probably do it to show off, I'm sure. Luckily, on Camelback or Piestewa, those are typically the people you can easily hike passed and never see again.

[joebartels]

For the most part I agree with Patrick L on the city trails. In the forest and wilderness it really makes me gasp...

On the same token I enjoy the priceless expressions after busting out a move from those good ol' pink-polo ghetto-blaster days of '84

ghetto-blaster dancin '84

Eight D batteries would last all day. Two hour long bus rides to town & back, lunch and all!

[The_Eagle]

@joe bartels
I just threw up a little....

[big_load]

I don't see the attraction. I want to soak up the sound when I'm on the trail, even if it's just the sound of my own footsteps. And from a safety perspective, there are a few sounds I never want to miss, like a rattler going off or bear cubs scrambling up a tree.

[cactuscat]

Or the sound of a flash flood ... or rockfall ...

[azbackpackr]

If enough of us were to complain to land managers, maybe they would put up signs? I know I sound like an old fogey, asking for more rules, but I was thinking that land managers always want to educate the public about this and that, maybe it could be done in a less authoratative manner. Not: "No effing music allowed on the trail" but "Your music may disturb other hikers. Please use headphones." Or something like that. A plea for courtesy.

[SpiderLegs]

Over the weekend it was some sort of horrid third world disco music for the five minutes it took for me to overtake and pass someone on the Siphon Draw trail.

Couple of years ago when I lived in Idaho the biggest trail race event in the area told participants that their insurance company would not allow people to wear headphones while running. You would not believe the cries of anguish, people thought that there was no way they could run 13 miles unless they were propelled by their Ipods. Letters to the editor bashing the organizers, people wanting to turn in their race numbers for a refund, it was unbelievable. I enjoy music as much, if not more than the average person, but only listen to music while hiking or running very rarely. It's nice to unplug from the world for a few hours. Like knowing that there are still some places that my cell phone doesn't work too.

[azbackpackr]

People are so spoiled. I am glad I lived off the grid with no electricity, running water, shower or flush toilet for several years. I appreciate modern conveniences, but I know I can do without them. I remember we had a cassette player in our cabin back then. The batteries in the thing would not last very long. When they would no longer play the cassette (which has a little motor that turns the spindles) you could use them in a flashlight for a little while. After the flashlight was too dim these same batteries would still power the radio. You didn't need much juice to power the radio.

[Jim]

I find that very disappointing. Maybe it is still early, but there is a lot of nice natural sound to be heard in Spring. Maybe while passing you could lose your balance and accidentally smack the phone out of their hands onto a rock breaking it? It would be hard to explain multiple loses of balance if the first strike failed.

[azbackpackr]

Jim, you are such a sweetheart!

[SpiderLegs]

Gotta bump this thread, ran into another moron who subjected everyone on the Old Baldy trail on Mt. Wrightson to their crappy music on Saturday morning. Had to listen to the music echoing up the mountain from just below the summit to about a mile below Baldy Saddle. Luckily another group of hikers appeared to strongly encourage the jerk to turn off his music just as I was approaching. Added to the encouragement and the guy relented and turned off his music.

This was in a wilderness area, are there noise restrictions in a designated wilderness area?

Is this a new Arizona phenomenon? Never ran into it in other states while I have been out hiking.

[trekkin_gecko]

definitely obnoxious
my approach will be to ask the offender if they lost their headphones
if enough of us say something, maybe...nah, probably not

[----]

It's always the crappiest music that gets played the loudest, and often it's some weird techno dance club music or something, as if that makes sense for hiking. Why can it never be something cool like Slayer or Black Sabbath?

[Dschur]

Popular now are the little cubes that you can amplify your music as seen on TV. They have been using them on races too.... they hang them on themselves..

[SgtLumpy]

... Why can it never be something cool like Slayer or Black Sabbath?

OR maybe something REALLY cool like...um...nature


Sgt Lumpy - n0eq

[azbackpackr]

Hmmm, that would be funny wouldn't it? Someone hiking up the trail with one of those nature soundtracks, with birds singing, mountain lions screaming, bears growling, feral cats howling, etc.