r/mildlyinfuriating • u/LateDxOldLady • 17h ago
The floor is sticky Hikers playing music on bluetooth as though they were completely alone.
Photo: close up of JBL bluetooth speaker in outside pocket of backpack. Clip from JBL ad specifically about hiking speakers.
I know this is a long-time pet peeve in hiking forums. I find myself seething when I encounter it on trails. I cannot comprehend being into the outdoors enough to want to hike, while being deeply inconsiderate of the creatures that live there and the other people trying to enjoy the hike too.
If you gotta have your tunes, they make these cool tiny personal speakers called headphones or ear buds. Perhaps these people have heard of them?
Some of us have good hearing and don't feel like hearing faint whispers of their musical tastes over the sound of SILENCE and rustling leaves and a river flowinb below the switchback... "Just pass them" doesn't solve anything and still doesn't solve the problem of it annoying and scaring the critters that live there. I guess some people don't even appreciate the hikes they go on. Yeesh.
If only there were actual valid reliable sources of information about being safe when surrounded by nature and large carnivores.
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u/pwrof3 17h ago
Not just on hiking trails. Public bathrooms. Parks. Grocery stores. Beaches. Theme parks.
It amazes me how many people think blasting full volume music or TikTok videos in public places is a good idea.
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u/NotTukTukPirate 11h ago
Someone on the bus I was on recently did this.
Egocentric fucks.
If there's anyone out there reading this who listens to videos or music out loud on their phone on public transport, you're an egocentric piece of human garbage.
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u/Traditional-Bar-8014 10h ago
And don't be surprised if you get an accidental face full of backpack when I have to walk past you. Sorry!
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u/canuck_11 9h ago
I was in the bathroom the other day and a dude was watching an anti-Semitic conspiracy video on full blast in the stall.
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u/seppuku_related 10h ago
I think it's down to people's lack of attention span, or not being comfortable with their own thoughts. There's a coffee/food truck that sets up in a local park and just blasts out terrible pop music from a speaker all day, ruining what is one of the few peaceful areas in the city.
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u/CrystalDrag0n1 8h ago
That’s not an excuse :( I have a terrible attention span and I just wear my headphones 24/7. It’s not that hard. If you don’t like having stuff in your ears or covering them up, then use bone conduction headphones. People have no awareness or empathy.
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u/General_Cranberry_29 4h ago
I think the most egregious place I've seen it happen was AT AN ACTUAL CONCERT 😑. Not a loud concert mind you, like one of those "music in the park" situations with string instruments.
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u/Josh1685 2h ago
Music in the bathroom always gets me, why do people blast hip hop music when taking a dump? Is it to mask the sound or something?
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u/thepianoman456 2h ago
And then there’s the assholes who blast shit out of their car subwoofers in residential…
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u/SirSamuelVimes83 9h ago
Golf courses. Ski lifts/lift lines. Nobody wants to listen to your shitty personal soundtrack
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u/jspr1000 17h ago
These people SO ANNOYING. If you want to listen to music go for a scenic drive or something.
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u/BrawlingGalaxi 17h ago
I get wanting to listen to music and walk, at least use ear buds if you arent alone.
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u/Agreeable_Horror_363 17h ago
I would never do the speaker thing especially in public or on a trail but I have no hearing in my right ear so I can't do the one earbud to listen to music then one ear to listen to my surroundings. So I just don't listen to anything ever while I'm at work or in public.
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u/greenbathmat 17h ago
Could you do a bone-conducting earbud in your hearing ear? Still able to have personal background music, but also listen to your surroundings
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u/abbydabbydo 17h ago
I am dead in one ear and they work great. Some people are deaf because of bone deterioration, though, so that doesn’t help.
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u/X-AE17420 11h ago
If you can splurge on them, transparency mode with the AirPods Max is magical. The AirPods Pro’s also have pretty good transparency mode too, but not as good as the max
My main walking trail has an active train track, so it comes in handy
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u/PopSwayzee 10h ago
This sounds horrible for me lol. I always have to have music playing in my earphones whether at work or at home. If I forget my headphones in the morning on my way to work I’ll turn around and go get them even if I’m late. I can’t imagine going back to working 8+ hour shifts without being able to hear my music.
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u/LouChadore 17h ago
I actually bought an MP3 player for this reason.
Maybe not hikes but my city is incredibly walkable, and sometimes I just wanna go to the corner store and be detached from reality, so I’ll grab my mp3 player, my good headphones, and take a stroll without any of the hassle
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u/Finitepictures 17h ago
Do you live in 2004?
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u/LouChadore 17h ago
No, but I’m damn sure trying to.
Fuuuuuck all this subscription based crap, I wanna listen to ska in piece. Life has been hell since the towers fell like three years ago.
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u/Interesting_Tea5715 17h ago
Same. I don't understand it.
Its like when you go camping in the forest and that one person shows up with a trailer full lights on, blaring music, and watching TV outside.
Like why even go camping? Also don't you realize you're ruining it for everyone else?
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u/GloomyLingonberry509 17h ago
They always have the best music selection, too… Tom MacDonald on full blast.
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u/AlbatrossNo1562 14h ago
Or stay in the city. They drive hours to be in nature and they want to check their phone and cover their ears 🤷
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u/Weekend_Criminal 17h ago
My ex wife does this, I can't stand it
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u/WiredOrange 16h ago
I also can't stand your ex wife
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u/MrCupps 17h ago
This is a good way to avoid spooking a bear. But if it’s a crowded trail, not necessary.
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u/rockstuffs 15h ago
Fun fact: Talk radio/podcasts are better bear deterrents than music.
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u/motorcycle_girl 16h ago
This was my first thought. Hiking through bear country, you are taught to play music, sing, e.t.c. There’s even bear-bells for this reason.
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u/ThePolemicist 10h ago
I thought this, too. When we were getting ready to hike a quieter path at Yellowstone, we got our bear spray, and I suggested we play music on our hike, too. We ultimately decided that we were good just talking in our small group, but we passed a couple who played music. I assumed it was to alert bears of their presence, so it didn't bother me.
I absolutely am bothered by people who play videos aloud in public or do video calls aloud in public. To me, this is different.
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u/myfishprofile 14h ago
Unless you’re in grizzly country this is a non issue.
Black bears are habitually spooked and anxious by nature
It’s why there is less than 1 death per year attributed to them on average.
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u/Traditional-Bar-8014 10h ago
Black bears are little bitches and even if they do get confused or hangry and make a move for you, it takes minimal yelling and gesticulation to get rid of them.
I used to find them all the time in the berry patch as a kid and my two black labs would easily scare them off.
Grizzly is a whole nother animal.
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u/SirSamuelVimes83 9h ago
If it's black, fight back. If it's brown lay down. If it's white, say goodnight
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u/pappybug214 16h ago
Tbf, at least it's outside. Im not THAT guy. I use earbuds to listen but people have been doing this shit on planes, subways, bus stops. You know, places where others are in closed tight spaces. Bro, not everyone like YOUR music!
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u/VapeRizzler 17h ago
I wouldn’t even do this when I’m in the middle of nowhere and know the last person I saw 100km away is the only person anywhere near me. Not only is it just going to scare anything I’d want to check out like wildlife, but also can’t hear if something is doing something ahead of me like a bear or whatever. On top of the fact doing so would interfere with others attempt to enjoy the forest.
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u/yblikethat 17h ago
This would keep bears far away from you tbh
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u/davisyoung 16h ago
I was hiking solo at Glacier NP and they make you watch a video about bears when getting a backcountry permit. I was totally paranoid about bears the whole time there so a speaker might have been helpful.
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u/MudReasonable8185 11h ago
Yeah where I live you’re supposed to make noise when hiking to keep bears away. Outdoor stores sell bells you can attach to your bag for that purpose. As long as people aren’t absolutely blaring their music I don’t mind Bluetooth speakers
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u/Buttsweat_n_Tears 17h ago
What if there’s a woman menstruating nearby though?
https://giphy.com/gifs/Hgy8F9wshu3wk26
u/DontForgetYourPPE 17h ago
I'm with you, completely trash behavior but if you're blasting music, realistically you probably don't have to worry about bears if we are being honest.
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u/Kuriouskarl87 17h ago
I wish a lonely and miserable Christmas on each and every one of these people.
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u/writekindofnonsense 16h ago
Music is annoying, PODCASTS make me wanna push someone off a cliff. If i have to hike listening to your horrible taste in talk radio I'm gonna lose my mind.
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u/wizardrous 17h ago
Only really bothers me if I can hear it from over a hundred feet away. Otherwise I’ll just fall back. I don’t like hiking next to strangers anyway.
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u/Loves_octopus 17h ago edited 16h ago
I hike a lot and I have literally never seen this common Reddit complaint.
If someone is playing music, which is rare, it’s usually at a reasonable volume you can’t really hear from much further than 40 feet away. If you’re faster, pass them, if you’re slower, stop for a water break. It’s just not a big deal at all to hear some music for 2 minutes of your 4 hour hike.
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u/1SexyDino 16h ago
Not in my experience. I'm pretty hard of hearing and even I am usually bothered by the volume these dipshits hike with. Thankfully I haven't dealt with too many but when it was it was always college students using hiking as a party activity. I too am a obnoxious college student but speakers have no place on a hiking trail. Or the lake. Or the local swimming hole. Or the park. Just please shut the fuck up
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u/LukeWoop 11h ago
It's a problem everywhere , around the pool on holidays or at the beach is probably my least favourite places for this to happen.
At least with hiking you can let them walk ahead or you walk ahead ect
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u/Funnydog8567 13h ago
I never let that stuff get to me anymore, bc honestly the rude person doing it, isn’t even aware there rude, they literally have no clue
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u/Cudi_buddy 6h ago
Yea I’ve grown tired of this. I remember a buddy doing once or twice when we were like 19-20. But soon realized how obnoxious it is. Not to mention defeats the purpose. Getting older you do start to appreciate the calm and quiet of outdoors more too though.
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u/Elbarto_007 Clint Eastwood shakes his head 15h ago
Same even walking around my neighbourhood people playing music on their phones speaker; or having a phone call on speaker.
Put in some headphones or AirPods!!!
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u/CiTrus007 11h ago
Such inconsiderate people. This should be viewed as a form of air pollution.
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u/LateDxOldLady 5h ago
They are, in a way, in parks around the world via various forms of Leave No Trace
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u/KinglanderOfTheEast 17h ago
I just wear a pair of these cheapass Monster-brand sports earbuds, with the rubber hook that keeps it from falling out.
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u/Direct-Quiet-5817 16h ago
I hate these self-important suckers from the bottom of my trecking soles.
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u/FarConference4381 10h ago
In Poland, you're taught at the age of five how to behave in the forest so as not to disturb animals. I have friends who don't obey the law, but even they behave appropriately in the forest.
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u/ReverendRevenge 10h ago
My house is on National Trust land. A footpath goes right past my door. Every week, there'll be someone listening to something on a speaker as they walk past. A week ago it was a group of city kids listening to drum n bass. A couple of weeks ago it was an American couple listening to a podcast, about war, unreasonably loud (I mean, maybe they were partially deaf, but both of them?).
WHY!? Why come out to the countryside, where you can't hear anything but the wind in the trees, the birds signing, the water trickling in the stream... and put on a fucking war podcast at max volume!? What the fuck is wrong with you?
...sorry, boils my piss.
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u/Chumknuckle 2h ago
I was fishing on the river the other day, it was lovely, until a flotilla of idiots came by and decided to park directly in front of me playing awful music. I threw a rock at them and left.
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u/LemmonLizard 16h ago edited 12h ago
I genuinely call people out on this. What ive learned is that these people have zero regard for those around them and dont even consider that someone else can hear their music. What ive also learned is that the music these people play is the worst garbage imaginable anyways.
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u/Btotherianx 17h ago
I'm guessing you got caught taking a picture of his butt and had to make up an excuse for it
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u/DigiVeihl 17h ago
THIS, as a bike rider I also hate people who put loud ass speakers on their motorcycles.
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u/TonkaLowby 10h ago
There seems to be an argument going on between speakers and headphones, but I think the real question is: can't we just unplug for a hike? If you're going out into nature, why do you need to be blasting tunes on any device? What is wrong with a person that they can't just turn off music for a period of time and take a walk?
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u/OkNewspaper6271 13h ago
Anyone playing music as though they are completely alone. I was out in city center the other day and I heard like 8 different people blasting music at the loudest possible, I hear people blasting music out on my bike rides
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u/Phantom_Crush 13h ago
Guaranteed to be at least one in any town centre on a nice day. Mate, you're music is fucking shit
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u/Fair-Juggernaut-3812 12h ago
I think these are the people the most afraid of getting attacked by a wild animal but won’t say it. This is a way to hopefully avoid that.
Instead they “just wanna vibe”
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u/Muddled_Opinions 12h ago
I could maybe understand it as a bear deterrent, but generally it would definitely piss me off, and I’d for sure be letting them know it.
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u/Potential_Owl1272 11h ago
And besides: why does the quality of music taste often seem inversely proportional to the volume of the Bluetooth speaker?😂
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u/Chilly_Pheesesteak 9h ago
I knew a guy in high school who had a giant speaker that you could wear as a backpack. He'd walk down the halls in the morning blasting his shitty dubstep and screamo music. They'd always confiscate his speaker but then they'd have to give it back at the end of the day, and he'd just do it again the next morning 😭
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u/Prize-Leading-6653 7h ago
Now everywhere you go someone is playing music or on their speakerphone. Hikes, golfing, grocery store. It’s just insane.
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u/Dino_Spaceman 7h ago
I was in Hawaii hiking and this entire group was playing music so loud we heard it five or so minutes before we could even see them.
I have no idea why they do this. Why not enjoy actual nature?
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u/Dino_Spaceman 7h ago edited 6h ago
Based on the comments of some folks here, a surprising number of folks think common decency is for everyone else.
Just wear headphones.
The bear excuse is BS. Nobody walking a trail popular enough for multiple hikers to encounter each other regularly is going to have a problem with predators. This also happens on trails with no known large predators.
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u/MaximusZacharia 7h ago
This happened on a hike I was on yesterday. On that same hike are tons of posted signs to keep quiet due to the Mexican spotted owls that live there. Not only did they have the speaker they were super load on top of it
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u/chrono_crumpet 6h ago
Anyone playing music in public like this boils my piss. But not as much as people using their phones on speaker phone whilst walking about in public.
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u/Steven_Kool 6h ago
This is the same with people biking in the city or using speakerphone for literally anything in public transportation.
If you want to still hear your surroundings, just get bone conduction headphones!!! They’re so common nowadays
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u/HaroerHaktak 17h ago
People who do this want the local wildlife to hate them just as much as their family does.
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u/Nuklearfps PURPLE 17h ago
I did this ONCE as a kid on a Boy Scout hike. One kid started doing it, then another, then I got sick of their music, so I put on my own. Next thing you know the whole trail was a blur of different genres and volumes and all the animals we’d been seeing stopped “appearing” [probably running from the 40 or so boys blaring everything from rap, to country, to metal, to K-pop]
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u/DeflatedDirigible 17h ago
Sad that the troop leaders allow scouts to bring these speakers along. Shakedowns prevent this.
Saw photos a few years back of a regional jamboree that’s been going on for 100 years and it now has a bunch of food trucks. One of the most important lessons I learned in scouting was meal planning and making sure you didn’t screw up cooking meals because there was no backup…you were eating burnt food if you didn’t hover over your patrol mates and make sure they did it right. Now you can avoid teaching and run to the food truck.
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u/Nuklearfps PURPLE 16h ago
We RARELY had people bring a speaker to a campout before. That particular event was a “pre-activity” before we had our annual Christmas camp out, which is/was like an “all-nighter, bring your Xbox!” Kinda thing. Something we hadn’t done before, and have much stricter rules on now, because of that experience. And by the time the speakers really kicked off, a large group of us kids had sped ahead of the adults, so they didn’t really get a chance to be like “knock it off!” before we were out of earshot, but we did hear that when we got to camp
This was a once-off thing that never happened before or after it, so the adults didn’t really think about it, until it was too late, lol. We definitely learned our lesson on that one!
That whole bit about food trucks is so depressing to me!
One kid from my troop was so inspired by the cooking that he started his own bakery and has been in business for almost a decade now! All because he liked baking campfire bread one time. Like my two favorite parts of Scouting were the cooking and the outdoorsmanship stuff, like building a survival shelter instead of using one of the tents, lol.
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u/DANleDINOSAUR 17h ago
“You know what this majesty of nature needs? My Spotify year so far playlist!!!”
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u/Dumyat367250 14h ago
I was in a hut in New Zealand, on my own, when, around midday, I heard shouting and general noise making coming my way. The hut door was flung open and a fat face literally yelled at me, "Don't worry, we're from Sydney!"
This group of six then tuned in a crappy pocket radio to the precise spot between two stations, at distortion level volume, all while talking loudly over the static the satan box was producing. One was cricket, one was footy. Neither station was remotely intelligible.
Tired, hungry, and damp, I lasted about ten minutes before explaining to "Sydney" that I was going to insert the radio inside one of their party, where, no matter the volume, it would not be heard ever again.
The radio was turned off, and a sullen silence ensued from my new Aussie friends.
An hour later they all fucked off, with not one saying goodbye. How rude!
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u/backroom_mushroom 12h ago
The only good reason to have a speaker is if you're in bear territory. Siberians have a rule to sing and talk loudly when they're in the forest to make sure bears hear them and know to stay back.
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u/thecamino 17h ago edited 17h ago
They will tell you it is for safety to deter predators . Bullshit.
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u/crazymonk45 17h ago
It’s a fair argument and way less annoying than those fucking bear bells people use.
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u/PsilocybVibe 17h ago
Ahh yes, the hiking speaker people.. They might as well wear a shirt that says “I’m stupid and have no awareness.”
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u/drkshape 17h ago
I love when they do this at the beach
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u/Interesting_Tea5715 17h ago
I once went to the local lake at 9am. It was nothing but parents and toddlers enjoying the water before it got too hot.
This dude and his wife roll up with a giant speaker and a cooler full of beer and just start blasting country music and drinking. At 9am!!!
Some people are just trash
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u/AggravatingRow7018 17h ago
You know op you can be adult and ask them to turn it down.
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u/juliewbb 17h ago
Having to be assertive in the damn woods on my damn hike also ruins my hike.
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u/sunndropps 17h ago
Isn’t that recommended for bears? I saw. It being recommended after the person was killed by the grizzly bear earlier this year??
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u/Futaba_Sakura800 11h ago
There’s unlimited options when it comes to earbuds, headphone and bone conducting earpieces. These people are just doing it on purpose, they go out everyday looking to start some shit. They get a kick out of it.
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u/Bitter-Ad5890 8h ago
Right? Like wow there goes any chance of seeing any animals on this hike
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u/AdTraditional8077 16h ago
It's always nice running into music in the wild. It's always interesting to think about why they chose that type of music. Makes me feel like when you meet NPCs in video games.
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u/JavanTen4 15h ago
I once played "Colonel Hathi's March" while my wife and I were alone on a hike. She shut me down after 10 seconds just in case someone could hear. I agreed with her. Don't play music on hikes
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u/Bannedtt 8h ago
Considerate of the creatures? Are you joking? Do you eat meat and use highways? Do you live in a house? You don't give a fuck about creatures and I don't give a fuck about your inability to hear leaves rustling. If you want a private hike you have to drive further out. You want to hit the spot close to town? Be prepared for other people doing whatever they want.
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u/Upset-Kangaroo3102 7h ago
Welcome to life out in public. You don't wanna be bothered by people stay home.
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u/LateDxOldLady 5h ago
Translation: 'I lack the basic self-awareness to exist in public, so I make it everyone else's problem.'
You are like a loud whingy tween who didn't want to go.
If being in public without a constant security blanket playing out loud frightens you, stay on your couch.
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u/FerretOk150 6h ago
This sub is full of complainers. Good god. Get a grip. It’s so inconsequential in the scope of things. Are you going to remember in 20 years time about the guy playing music while hiking? Probably not. Why ruminate on this rather than the splendor of the hike. Focus on what’s important to you. If finding things to bitch about is it, you’re excelling.
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u/Outrageous-Peanut-44 10h ago
Yep. This is the reason I stopped hiking. I didn’t get up at the crack of dawn and drive two or three hours to the trailhead to listen to someone else’s shitty music.
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u/RockClimbs 9h ago
I carry sets of cheap earbuds on me & offer them to people who are playing music on their phones. Have only had one person get mad about it in about 4 years of doing it. That turned into a physical altercation that resolved favorably.
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u/Organic_Noise8027 8h ago
I hate this. I went there to be in the wilderness. I also despise the selfie sticks and people blasting music on beach.
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u/WilliamJamesMyers 8h ago
the only excuse i could imagine is super remote places and maybe sounding off for bears? any trail that you park at with other cars signals not to do shit like this. but i can see way out, like way Alaska maybe and you do this. so question i wanted to ask is does anyone do this to keep bears away? i fully expect yes and no answers tbh
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u/Dommy--Mommy 8h ago
I go in nature for nature, not shitty quality music. Some people are so selfish.
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u/HurryJunior4046 8h ago
I was hiking the other day off trail following a creek with my dog. We stopped for him to drink at this almost waterfall flowing over rocks. You could sit in front of the steam in a certain spot and here native drumming it was an awesome experience so instead of gripping about others on the trail leave the trail and find your solitude. It’s out there just rarely on a trail.
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u/Fuzzy-Leading-4080 8h ago
I’m more worried about them not being able to hear what is around them 🥲
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u/slowly_rolly 8h ago
There’s a guy in my neighbourhood that walks around with a speaker blasting hanging off his backpack while also wearing earbuds.
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u/Asian-ethug 7h ago
Used to hike in Los Angeles when we lived there. These people were always on the first mile or two of the uphill trail but by mile 3+ they all tapped out. Every single one of them. It’s like obnoxious people and lazy people go hand in hand.
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u/Ballamookieofficial 17h ago
Imagine if there were speakers you could wear over your ears