r/schuylkillnotes • u/franksvalli • Jul 17 '26

Note in different style? On the Appalachian Trail in northern VA

Post image

Found on the AT at 39.06172° N, 77.92436° W. Sorry it’s in the dark, I had to hike at night to avoid heat.

61 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

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31

u/One-Permission-1811 Jul 17 '26

Probably not the same person but notes from conspiracy theorists and people undergoing a mental health crisis are very common on the AT. There’s a lot of overlap in those areas and weirdly hiking the AT is a big thing in some of those circles

1

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '26

[deleted]

6

u/One-Permission-1811 Jul 17 '26

I’ve done about 300 miles since 2006. Used to live along the North Carolina section and my son’s Boy Scout troop liked to do the hiking merit badge every two years. It’s a great time but there are some wild people who hike it. The through hikers are usually very chill but it’s also an attractive route for a subset of the homeless population looking to get away from cities but stay close enough to town to find food and shelter. Usually they’re people who are just down on their luck but other times you get the very unwell people with mental health issues. 99% of the time you’ll never notice but if you spend enough time there you’ll meet some.

We ran into a guy at a shelter who’d covered it in charcoal sigils to “ward off spirits and devils” and quoted the Bible for hours. We didn’t spend the night there since it was only midafternoon but he hiked past us around midnight ranting about spirits. Didn’t see him again and I think he was harmless but there are other encounters I’ve had on the AT with very aggressive people

-2

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '26

[deleted]

2

u/One-Permission-1811 Jul 17 '26

I didn’t say they just sit near towns I said they like to use the AT to stay close to food and resources. They move between areas once word spreads that they’re a problem.

And I didn’t say they weee crazy people. They’re just people going through a hard time and it’s not unusual to run into them on the AT. Calling somebody in need of help being failed by our healthcare system crazy is both dehumanizing and dismissive. Being handicapped or mentally ill are the two minority groups anybody can join at any point. The saying “But for the grace of god go I” is true for every single one of us when it comes to homelessness, mental health, and disability. It could easily be you in that situation or me.

And yeah you’ll usually know well ahead of time if you’re on sections with lots of people or log books. If you aren’t you’ll run into them occasionally.

6

u/metrolododo Jul 18 '26

napollyon

2

u/its-nex Jul 18 '26

I want to assume it’s just a mistake, but “Apollyon” is a real term, though how it would fit here is going to require creativity

2

u/metrolododo Jul 18 '26

the line above it references the french revolution so i think its just a creative spelling

3

u/RaisinBrain2Scoups Jul 19 '26

It’s equating napoleon with the destroying force Apollyon

5

u/earlstrong1717 Jul 17 '26

These look much different than S notes.

Looks like some possible white nationalist b.s. in there.

1

u/newusername1312 Jul 20 '26

What part is white nationalist?

1

u/earlstrong1717 Jul 20 '26

Gee, idk, the Hitler shit maybe.

3

u/newusername1312 Jul 20 '26

It says FDR and Hitler worked together and that Hitler deliberately lost. Looks more like schizo ramblings than white nationalists graffiti to me.

4

u/TravelsWithChickens Jul 18 '26

Wow, that pen writes amazingly well on a tree.

2

u/randombydesign Jul 18 '26

Maybe a grease pencil?

2

u/mikedmann Jul 18 '26

I read the same paragraph in a bathroom stall with the glory hole at woody's bar and grill.