How was your weekend?

“I had a great time up at Marlette Lake. Not too many folks around, and the weather was great!! And at the trailhead my car was uninjured by vandals, a fantastic weekend all together.
What did you all do?”

“Belle and I did the 18 mile Chinnabee Silent/Pinhoti/Skyway loop in Talledega NF, AL.

We hit the trail at 6 a.m. on Saturday, and completed the trip at noon on Sunday. I returned to the trailhead to find that my truck HAD been vandalized... beeyastads!

We did not see one single person on the trails. It was great!

It rained intermittantly on Saturday, but never enough to prompt me to dig out the raingear. As I was laying in the tent on Saturday evening, I thought that a nice, long shower would be cool - something to lull me to sleep. Within minutes it was raining something fierce, and let up little for the next 15 hours. On Sunday, we hiked the final six miles in a constant rain. Great!”

“WE had a terrific trip on the Chuck Keiper Trail in PA. Hiked 26 miles in two days, then did a short dayhike on Monday on the DHT. Weather was terrific, cool and sunny, and the trail was a good challenge. After so long with no real hiking, it was terrific.”

“My weekend was fan-tab-u-lous.”

“Horseback riding - party - more horsebackriding

Good weekend”

“Great weekend. I spent three days off trail in Grand Canyon with the first female hiker I have ever met that knows those canyons as well or better than I do. We never saw a soul, saw some new places, lost and found ourselves. I hurt in every muscle in my body and I have umpteen bruises and look like I lost a cat fight but I am a happy girl--I did really well.”

“We took a college men's and women's cross country team up to the Beartooths for 4 days and ran them up to 10,000 feet. We started Friday afternoon and came out Monday noon. Did some trail runs up to some old mine workings and soaked our legs in the cold streams afterwards. The highlight was the "Man Shower" under a waterfall. Much shrinkage occured.”

“gojo,
Where did you park? I've left mine at Adams Gap with no problems although I think I was very very lucky.”

“Went to a football game Saturday. Test drove a new kayak Sunday. It was a beautiful weekend for it.”

“Never mind gojo, I just read your other thread.

My weekend, rain rain rain.”

“I spent the Labor Day weekend refinishing my hardwood floors. Talk about fun!

And to think that I could've been hikin'.....”

“Great 27 mile, 3-day trip on the Eagle Rock Loop in Arkansas.”

“Gypsy Kings Friday night, up to the Jemez Mountains near Fenton Lake Sat, Sun and Monday. We used to camper (ugh) but my son (6) and his friend did some awesome exploring with me.

Got to sit under the stars and listen to the Lobos beat UTEP in their football opener.”

“Gojo, where were you parked? I go up that way a good bit and haven't had any problems. Also, let me know if you ever want company on the trail. I live about 30 minutes up I-20 from Anniston. I can be at the Chinnabee parking lot in about an hour. I've thought about doing that loop as a dayhike. I might try it in a couple of weeks.”

“I was outside but nowhere near a trail. We celebrated my parent's 50th wedding anniversary. Wonderful weather for a special day. It was golden.”

“I hate all of you!!!!
I was sick at home with a nasty cold.I also had to pack and clean because I'm moving on Friday. I'm hoping for a full month of weekend getaways starting in 2 weeks!”

“Pretty quiet... I took a couple of days off. Medic Girl was in town, so we hooked up, for a short dayhike, on Eagle Mountain, for some nice views over Vancouver.”

“I have an '87 Mazda pickup that is hard to start, smokes a lot and has throttle problems.

So I worked on it all weekend.

Now it is hard to start, smokes a lot and has throttle problems.

But at least it sounds a little better when it is warmed up.”

“bc trailguy, so, you weren't one of the many B.C. people I saw at Mt. Baker this weekend? I saw a lot of B.C. plates on cars. You know, just because you can see our mountain, doesn't mean all you b.c. people should come down in hordes, lol.

I can see why everyone visits from B.C. It's pretty close, and has accessible trails for everyone. It's too bad that B.C. hiker was killed over the weekend.”

“Took the kids to shutes and ladders. Did laundry and cleaned after it rained in my livingroom. My non-quite-two-year-old flooded the bathroom sink which rained down into my livingroom.

Kid for rent. Cheap.

;o)”

“Bought a bunch of Pabst Blue Ribbon in a misguided tribute to Labor Day. Bad idea.”

“I had a relaxing weekend myself - BPed down Saw Mill Run in SNP - a relatively easy bushwhack of maybe a mile or so on Friday. Setup the hammock and bearbag at a place reasonably close to water - surprisingly hard to find - spring at old shelter site was dry so I had to go another good ways to find clear water. Rained Friday night/Saturday morning so I lounged around in the hammock til noon when I got up and cooked lunch (Liptons cheddar, rice and brocoli with a small pouch of tuna - rating 7.5 on the Hog O'scale), basically putzed around doing not much of anything - did some dayhiking / wildlife watching etc. for the next two days then on Monday packed up and decided to do the tourist thing and go up to the view point on Turk's Mtn. I knew of an old abandoned trail (an old fire foot trail) that ran along Saw Mill Ridge so I hiked up the side of the ridge - a good stiff slope of up to 30% and rocky - only fell once - no damage done. When I got to the trail I found it still well blazed but a bit tough going in spots - sort of like following the seam in the laurel - only a couple walkarounds/crawl unders not too bad for about a mile plus of bushwhacking - reached the Turk's Mtn. trail after only losing the trail once - not bad for a trail that has not been maintained for probably 30 years. The hike up Turk's Mtn. was a bit tougher than the last time I had been up it but that time I was just dayhiking and this time I had a fairly full pack - packed too much food again (sigh). Had lunch at the top - view was a bit hazy - could not even see across the Shenandoah Valley. Ran into my first people seen since Friday on top - then I remembered why I hike alone - irritating to say the least - at least the dog was quiet mostly.

The best part of the hike was finding a new plant (new for me anyways). It was Monotropa hypopithys aka Pinesap in its fall red phase - the red version looked so striking I had though I had not seen it before - actually I had but only it is yellow summer form - still an exciting thing to think about for the weekend since I didn't know what it was until I got back home and could look it up.

Minly I was checking out a new bag - the Snugpac Merlin 3 mentioned on another thread. - It was OK - good for its weight but I would not use it even with a liner much below freezing - it fit a need in my geer assortment so all it all it was a good choice for a 40 deg. bag.

Now to do something about my pack ...

HOI”

“Owl, was there very much ice damage (limbs and trees down) on the Eagle Rock Loop?”

“Had a great weekend...
Rain, thunder and lightning!!! Camped at 5,000 feet in a cabin with all the amenities.”

“Did alittle trail maitenance..spent the night alone(except for a hoot owl) in a very nice pine forest. Stopped at the sports store on the way home and got a gear fix.Clip Light Year and Mountain Hardwear 600 down bag...well it was on clearance! I know YOU understand.”

“I understand ....how long can you go between fixes?”

“I made a shoulder bag to replace my hipsack that was taken from me.

I took a 6"x10" stuffsack, a nylon strap that I sewed D-rings onto the ends, and sewed them up to make a stuffsack that I could clip a shoulderstrap to.

The materials cost me next to nothing. I bought the stuffsack a while ago, salvaged the D-rings from my old Tevas, had the nylon strap in my sewing stuff, and grabbed the shoulderstrap with clips from someone's trash outside their house.

I now have a small dayhiking sack, worn over the shoulder, to carry my stuff.

...and my sprained ankle felt good enough to take the boy for a long walk in the woods...three days in a row :)”

“Lipstick- Ya, Baker's pretty handy, alright. It's pretty hard to miss her, when you look southeast, from my backyard. I think it's easier, for us to get to, than for yourselves.

I know who the guy that died is, although we've never met personally. From the local report, I got the impression, that they were properly equipment, but had little knowledge or experience. Sad”

“Ooops- equipped”

“bc trailguy, I think no matter how much equipment you have or how well you are trained, you can always run into trouble.

I've been to B.C. quite a few times, and I was amazed at your Mt. Baker views. If you hit the border crossing right, it isn't even to bad a wait to cross over in either direction.

Even though I'm originally a New Yorker, now that I've been in WA for almost 4 yrs., I'm proud of the state's beauty, and to see visitors here enjoying it.

Hubby & I overheard someone on Mt. Rainier once say that if he lived in WA, he would go to Mt. Rainier every day. WA is amazing. By next year, I'd like to visit Banff & Jasper.”

“budder,
Your shoulder bag sounds devine! He He
It sounds like the Army Surplus bag I picked up at a garage sale years ago, I never go hiking without it 'cause it's my fishing bag. It has a real long shoulder strap so it rests right on my hip. Gotta love a guy that can sew!”

“Mine was awesome... got to see my little people for the first time since they left, did some car camping with them and as BC said, spent a beautifully sunny day hiking with him. Got to see a part of the Lower Mainland I've never seen before too... (did you write down your trailhead notes BC?) ;->”

“I took my oldest son and my BIL to the Pinnacle, about 20 miles west of Allentown, PA, on the AT. A pretty short hike but lots of fun, beautiful views, hawks, caves, not too many other people there (we went in the morning.)”

“Hey MG- How was I to know they'd put a chunk of subdivision hell, right where the shortcut, to the trailhead, should've been! LOL”

“Did 36 holes on Saturday and 18 more on Sunday and sat on my nuts all day Monday.

So, Aero, you are from Billings? I am in Cody. Small world ain't it?”

“dayhiker -
I was at the Lake Chinnabee trailhead. Other trailheads for that loop are on the Motorway (where Chinnabee Silent crosses), at Adams Gap (farther down the Motorway), and at Turnipseed Hunt Camp. There were no vehicles at any of these trailheads when I arrived Friday afternoon.

I will probably use Turnipseed trailhead (for that loop) in the future. I would feel safer parked in a busy campground.

I've parked at TNF trailheads (including Nubbin Creek - remote!) on prolly eight occasions, and have never had any problems.”

“Chief, you must be sore. Try and move them out of the way next time.”

“What a weekend. Saturday, was spent at the bay celebrating my sons 7th birthday.

Sunday, I headed down Carrizo Gorge (an abandoned railroad) on bikes with my father an a buddy. Pretty uneventtful.

Monday, dad though we should get another ride down Carrizo so we take off at 7a.m. At 8a.m. he takes a header into the gorge falling 50 feet, the bike continues down another 100 yards! He yells he's alright but his leg hurts and he lost his glasses. 9:30a.m. I finally get pops up to the tracks into the shade. Looking down at the bike I realize the truck keys are in the saddle bag. 10:20a.m. got the bike up, kind of banged up. Pops says,"get me some crutches, I can walk out of here." I take off for the De Anza Clothing Optional Resort (closest Pay phone). 10:45a.m, got yelled at that I should be naked if I'm gonna ride through the resort, ignored and rode onto the pay phone. Called my brother-in-law to bring crutches and splinting matterial (note: brother-in-law is a firefighter) 12noon, brother-in-law shows up with another Firefighter, supplies and bikes. 12:45p.m. arrive back at pops he looks pretty bad, butt still thinks he can make it. 1:10p.m. start off 2p.m. and 3/4 of mile latter dad is beat. Firefighter takes off for De Anza Resort to see if they have a ORV quad. 2:20p.m. pops looks like he's getting worse so brother-in-law uses his fire department radio and calls for a helicopter. 2:45p.m. copter arrives and so does Firefighter in a golf cart with a naked driver! Then a little rail car shows up, also from the resort. 3p.m. copter decides the rail car is a great option and takes off. Pops rides the rail car to the Ambulance then off to the hospital. X-rays show he shattered his tib and fib below the knee and will need surgery. He still thinks he's going to go back and look for his glasses in a few weeks, at least he's in good spirits.”

“REPTILES, I'm with you.

Had plans to get away to the U.P. early Friday since my one class that day is done at 10 a.m., but woke with a headache, which was abetted by nausea by the time I got home at 10:30 a.m., and was into aches and chills by noon. The nausea finally got satisfied by about 2 or 3 (I was pretty hazy about things by then) even though I hadn't eaten anything to send back up. Finally got Tylenols down and remained in the sick zone until the next morning. Made it to Marquette but felt too weak to do much; stopped by a gear store and looked over some Pictured Rocks topos (found an Ex Officio wicking travel shirt for my wife on the sale rack -- she is so lucky that way), then went to see my daughter and got exhausted from playing three games of Trivial Pursuit, had to go back to the family house and lay down. Managed to pull off a three-block walk to Lake Superior on Sunday, and then drove by the two harbors to lust after sailboats under a fine sunset. Later thought my stomach was up to eating more than it was and had a lousy night. Got up Monday morning, had breakfast out with my daughter, packed the dogs back in the car and drove the 3 hrs. home. Along the way, Keksi puked up the two bisquits I had given her for being such a good dog in the car. But I had all the necessary napkins and moist towelettes and stain wipes to save the uphostery. Seems like I wasted a lot of good weather.”

“Wow, LaRock, your dad must be a pretty tough dude! I'm glad he wasn't hurt any worse, although that sounds bad enough.”

“I worked up at camp. I did the ropes course for most of the day. I did not get to try the new zip line which made me sad. But at least I got to go ropin. I hung out wit old friends and made new ones. It was a perfect weekend”

“Rain, rain and more rain. Had a break on Sunday. Ate at my Moms. It was great eatin as usual then as I was leaving to go home a short distance away I almost killed my daughter. I was letting her ride on the tailgate of my pick up and as I was about to back out of the driveway my Aunt pulled in behind me and I didn't see her.My daughters leg just below the knee was trapped between the tailgate and my Aunts Minivan bumper.Talk about feeling like an ass! She didn't have any breaks but her calf swelled to almost twice its regular size and they thought she might have a clot but after an ultra-sound was performed she was cleared. Now I am sucking up to her as hard as I can.”

“Yep, Chief, 100 miles up the road, we're practically neighbors! Good to meet ya.”

“fritz-
Pinnacle / Hawk Mt beautiful area. Like Knife edge and Bear rocks too.

Well, we are now at the start of a new weekend.

As for my son and I, we are going to Harriman, NY to hike this weekend. Probably the Lemon Squeezer area.”

“m&m, sounds like you know the region's hikes a lot better than I do. I have taken too many years off from hiking, with five children and my wife not really being interested. Getting back into it now, though.

Where are Knife Edge and Bear Rocks?

Have fun this weekend in NY.”

“Tooo big.”

“PA AT map Sections 3 thru 6 Lehigh hap to swatara gap.

We usually start at Lehigh Gap, stay at the shelter just about 1.5 miles south, there is a spring there. You can stay on the AT or go on the North trail to Devils pulpit, then hook up again with the AT. The next night stay at the Tripoli campsite and walk out at the 309 parking lot. Sat you can get water at the Bake Oven Knob shelter or the tripoli campsite.

Bear rocks and knife edge are between the shelter and the campsite area. Bear rocks are alot of fun to climb up and hang out.

Easy hike, if you don't mind rocks.

So everything is just north of where you were.

I feel your pain. My husband dosent even camp.”

“OmaHiker, yep he's a tough old fart. He's been riding with me for a little over a year now, we've hit this particular trail 24 time this year alone. It's an easy trail if you stay on the trail, but one small mistake can send you over the edge. I just thank God he doesn't ride with clipless pedals, could have made a much bigger mess.”

“Had an extended weekend from Thursday to Tuesday and went camping, hiking, exploring islands and whatnot and RE-laxing way downeast Maine and Canada. Been exploring that area for eight years or so and nothing much changed from year to year, until now. A couple of years ago the area was written up in Yankee magazine - probably it'll be a mob scene like Bar Harbor within ten years.”

“LaRock--Heck of a day you two had. I just made the boyfriend read it and his reaction was the same as mine "his dad is a tough dude".

Is Pine Valley the same as or anywhere near Pine Mountain (south and west of Bakersfield)?”