Is this a thing now?

Two weeks ago, I was out for a walk with the kids at a state park. Deep into our hike, we suddenly stopped and all looked at each other. My little one was asking what we heard – was it a woodpecker, a deer, a snake slithering off nearby? No. It was not. It quickly became clear that we were hearing music.

The music approached us in the form of a couple that had either a really loud phone or small portable radio. As we stood there and they approached, I was unable to get the usual eye contact. They wore their frowns right past us. They didn’t even appear to hear me say “hi”. It was one of the more surreal experiences I have had.

Yesterday, the whole family decided to hike a mountain. During our hike we came across three more people playing music in the f*cking woods. Note: this was three different groups of people.

I know there are people here on fluther that love the New Hampshire “live free or die” (aka “I am a psychopath and don’t give a sh*t about anyone else”) attitude. So, I expect some “other people have different values”, etc. But I felt it was worth the sh*t comments because I really need to figure out if this is a thing.

Have you been hiking in the woods and come across people playing music?