montanapalooza 2002

“Gosh, it seems like only yesterday when newgirl was the lucky 1000th poster....”

“Martyb, and I thought you were a genious. The plates is gone again you stupid, beefheaded, beef-witted, beetleheaded, blear-eyed, blear-witted, blockheaded, blockish, chuckleheaded, dense, doltish, dull, dumb, duncical, fatheaded, goosey, hammerheaded, numskulled, pinhead, pinheaded, thick, thickheaded, thick-witted moron!

Just Kidding!”

“Aero, it was yesterday!”

“Dangit, it had re-appeared on my screen just a few minutes ago. Hey Geezr, I think it's something on your end. Try this: turn your computer on and off several times in rapid succession. If that doesn't help, leave your computer on, then turn the main power supply to your house on and off several times in rapid succession. If that doesn't work, leave your computer on, leave the main power supply to your house on, and throw the chain from your bicycle up onto the wires outside your house, several times in rapid succession. Let me know if that helps!”

“Martyb, it didn't help, but the sprinklers are finally working. ;-)”

“Just tried to post some pics at webshots - it's down for maintenance. Looks like you screwed that up too, Geezr.”

“got a call from da loose bear yesterday......haunting the utah dens ....
have not heard a peep from gojo”

“If you see this: I can't make it for a pre-hike hike, 'cause, duh, I have a wedding to attend that weekend. It is the marriage of the my first ever boy-toy and I'm in it, so it should be lotsa' fun. He found a great girl, soooo, actually, they are getting married at Rock Creek in Red Lodge.”

“How's about one of you organizers bringing the itinerary (SP?) forward here.

Ldhiker aka lurker”

“Good Morning People!”

“Good morning to you too.”

“So . . . . what's up today?”

“Thinking about what to pack for this weekend.

And you....”

“I am wasting co. time. I feel really good about it.”

“It appears this IS what they pay me for.”

“They pay me to sell lumber, do some random accounting, harass past due account holders, keep the guys in line (okay, okay I just bother them over the radio out of boredom), and finally . . . . to post on TT. All in all, a decent job.”

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot, they also pay me to make coffee and have eating contests.”

“Keep up the good work.”

“Will do Navi.”

“I'm going to put you in for a raise.


Of course it will have to go through Accounting.”

“Well, then we (me, the accounting depart.) will be approving it.”

“Then it's a done deal!




Just don't expect a very big one with the economy the way it is.”

“Okay, I'll just make up for the small raise by doing less work.”

“I think we can give you more time to do that.”

“I'm pretty happy w/ the schedule, thanks anyway. LOL!”

“As long as you're up, what time does your return flight leave from here?”

“Aero, I'll have to go home to check that. I think it's in the evening on the 20th.”

“Ng, I was thinking we could give you less to do, more time to do it in, and more money for not getting it done.”

“In that case, I would be really happy w/ that deal.”

“I just needed to figure out who was going to be around on Sat. and when they need a lift to the airport. It looks like folks are leaving at 9, 1 and 4 so far.”

“Aero, if a person couldn't make the entire trip, is it possible to do an easy turn around or some kind of hike out in a reasonable amount of time?”

“No turning around. You'd just have to haul your arse more miles in any given day. After Fossil it's all downhill, so you can make miles if you have to.

It would be a shame to leave early though. Scenery is AWESOME!!!!!!!!”

“Well, I found out that my final for my math class this session is on the 17th. It's looking like there may not be a way around that. The second thing is that 5 days is a really long time away from Newergirl and I'm starting to get a little upset about that.”

“You could get up to the ouzel lake/Bald Knob lake area for the first night and hang out the next day for a bit. Then it's about 8 miles back down to the trailhead. That would go fairly fast.

Or....The second day we're only going a couple more miles up to the Fizzle lake area up top. if you stayed a second night you could hike 10 miles back down. That wouldn't be too bad. But we'd sure miss you!”

“Girl are you still worried about if you can make it or not?

I assume you have 2 legs, and have the capacity of carrying a todler around in a backpack, and you don't have any MAJOR handicaps.
Am I correct?
You will be on a trip with an average daily mileage of 4 miles. Let's see, 10 hours of day light and 4 miles a day equals 2.5 hours per mile.
You're going to with 20 other people rangeing in age from 21 (you?) to over 50 (me plus others) in shape and not. All who will willing to help each other (and you too).

My style is to make the hike part of the enjoyment. If I start to sweat I slow down. So if I pass you, you'll catch up to me on one of my breaks.
If you hang back with Om you'll have so much fun you won't even know you have a pack on.

So, please chill lady. You're going to have such a great time no other backpacking trip will ever measure up.
Trust me on this I know what I'm talking about. 8^)”

“Opps, I see you have other concerns.”

“Navi, I am nervous, but I'm not worried that I can't do it. I am, however, worried about flunking a class (I have a 4.0 and I want to keep it that way) and I am worried about leaving Newergirl for so long. It would be the longest we have been apart. I'm a mommy, I can't help it. Also, I'm 23.”

“The closer it gets the more upset I get thinking about leaving her that long. Especially, because I am going to be very busy in the wks. right before. I just feel guilty leaving her.”

“I am no way missing the trip, but I was thinking maybe heading out early in the morning on the 17th. How long do you think it will take me to do 10 miles? Do you think I will be fine by myself? I may decide to just go for the whole trip, but I thought I would try to work out the particulars in case I have to leave earlier.”

“Well then, that's different.

4.0? You go girl!
Will the instructor let you take the test before you have to leave? Most would be OK with that.

As to Newergirl, it's time to cut the apron strings! 8^)
She'll have a happier mommy when you get back (if she remembers you).
I bet that helps.”

“You'd probably be OK. There's a lot of hikers (for here) on the trail that time in the summer, so you'd be pretty safe, plus it's downhill, plus you'd have a light load. If you shared a tent with someone you could split it on the way up and you wouldn't have as much weight on the way back.”

“...but we'd still miss you!”

“If you explain to the prof I'm sure they will let you take it early.

As to missing newergirl, how can she miss you if you don't go away?

You sound like a devoted mom, one who also needs to think of herself. You need time too, and this is the perfect time to get it.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!”

“This is mommy training so you can teach her how to be independent.

Yeah, that's it!”

“Well, I need to think it over more and see what the prof. has to say. I sorta' already approached him about it, but now that I'm in the class I am worried. He has an accent that is so deeply Eastern Euro. and thick, you can hardly comprehend the man. Math is really challenging for me and I might need the extra days leading up to the test on the 17th. So taking it a wk. early might be hard on my grade. I have to have a $160 graphing calculator for this class, if that is an indication of how hard it is. I worked my tush off in Alegbra, this stuff is frying my brain.”

“ng, Seems to me there are a lot of techie nerds on this board that could help you out with a little tutoring, myself included (hey I got a 780 on the math SAT - that oughtta be worth something). What kind of math is it?”

“newgie, is there a study group you can join? they can really help a lot.”

“Finite, Martyb. When it comes to almost any other subject I do really well, w/out too much effort. Math, on the other hand, blows my mind. I just don't think "mathily" (I love that I just made my own corny word.).”

“Bit, the other students in the class are as lost as I am (only 8 of us). As for the tutoring center . . . you will not believe this. They are offering a tutor for every other math class this session. I guess no one could handle Finite. Plus the tutoring center is only open in the day, which rules it out for me.”

“Maybe you don't have the "Math Gene". You have the "Personality Gene". The two, it turns out, are mutually exclusive.”