what did YOU do this weekend??

“I came down with strep throat and missed a trail cleanup in Ocala, FL. But, while stationed here in the residence, I had plenty of time to really scope out this site.
I really enjoyed the photos and journals of you guys. I am really looking forward to packing with some of you some day. (and, some of you NOT). I did get to put in a 5 mile walk on the beach at St.Augustine, FL. (I called it therapy). Anyways, I found a lot of positive reinforcement from this site. I will put up with the frazing a while longer. :o)”

“Too bad about the strep throat. St Augustine beaches are (or at least were) a nice place to walk. I haven't been there in a long, long time.

I couldn't leave town this weekend, so I did an overnight with my second grader and his friend in the back yard. Today I packed for Wheeler Peak. Looks like I will weigh in at about 35-40 lbs complete. We'll probably see temps in the upper 30's at night, good chance for afternoon/evening thunderstorms and 60's during the day. I won't have to carry as much water as I do in some places here. Water should be relatively plentiful with streams and a couple of lakes.

I've checked out the alternate route suggestions and they look great.”

“Trekker John, I grew up surfing in St. Augustine. A-Street and Anastasia State Park (blowhole) were two of my favorite spots. Bummer about the strep throat, you'll be hitting the trails again in no time.

I did a nice little 10 mile dayhike in Harriman State Park (south NY State). Took some sweet photos of two praying mantids fighting eachother. Today was a scheduled rest day, so I just chilled and watched football. Bucs suck.”

“Pathman, did you get some other peole to go with... or will you go it alone?

I went canoeing! With people who are not happy to just float down the river, but have to make it in record time. GEEZZ!! Canoeing is work!! On the Upper Iowa for 4 hours Saturday. DYING TODAY!! Had to go to health club and sit in whirlpool to try to alleviate awful aches in shoulders, upper arms...even in lower arms!! geez!!

Oh but it was fun, too! hehehehe... The river was really low. I really enjoyed:

A. The people setting off firecrackers ahead of us.

B. The woman dancing (yes standing up and dancing to BOOMBOX music in her canoe) ahead of us.

But of course we soon enough passed them.

I REALLY DID ENJOY seeing three bald eagles and another who kept screeching but could not be seen.”

“But Chicago and Brian Urlacher rule.”

“how are you just gonna act like you didn't call us a bunch of wannabe's who sit in front of the computer all day.
it's not hazing, dude. you came here and acted like a dumbass and you got made fun of. it's not cause you're new. it's cause you acted like a jackass. if anyone who's been around for a while asked something so stupid they would get the same treatment.”

“Lizs,

I've got one other going, guy goes by stumped. He checks in at a couple of the other "boards". He lives about an hour south and east of ABQ, but also has a place in ABQ. Looks like we'll get to head out early on Friday.”

“Geobeet, send Josh some of your Vicadin.”

“canoing is awesome. all that work stuff's for the birds though. you need to go boatin with stikmon, that dude doesn't know the meaning of the word "work."
the bald eagles sound pretty cool, too.
the funniest thing i've ever seen out on the river was a group of people with a canoe dedicated to hauling kegs. these people might have been having a little too much "fun" out there. im usually all for catchin a buzz but there is a limit.(im not talking about the kegs, i thought that was cool) these people were just too drunk to talk. sheesh, car camping people.”

“what are you talking about?”

“Went canoeing, took a dayhike, took the pooch for a swim, gave the pooch a bath, washed the truck, and the normal stuff like grocery shopping, etc.”

“JOSH, give it a rest already. The guy f^cked up and he got beat up. Give him a chance, dude...










'course, if he f^cks up again, NUKE 'IM!”

“Went mountain biking yesterday and went for an hour hike today to test out an REI pack that I just modified with a Dana Design hipbelt. It carried the weight well and is a big improvement over the old hipbelt.”

“fine”

“My granddaughter Ana and I went camping - what a blast!”

“Had to work and that sucked but my boss said I can have next Friday off so I am going to be backpacking for 3 days so I guess I am happy now!

8)”

“I learned to drive a firetruck this weekend. ACtually, it was a 80 foot aerial boom truck to be exact and boy, are they a job to steer! It was a pseudo aerobic workout just getting that honkin big-a$$ ole truck through the obstacle course. And yes, I did squash a cone or two the first time around!

We also drove the course in the Brush truck which was pretty cool. Plus I got to hang out at the Fire Academy training grounds all weekend and watch other classes at work - live burns, public safety class (they played with make up for the kids), structure fires, SCBA classes and even CPR.

It was an awesome weekend and I ended it by hitting the gym for a good workout! Trying to be ready for the Sierras next month!

Tex”

“Sounds like you had fun Tex!

8)

By the way I love fire trucks also but I like them to be yellow I think that looks cool.”

“Hey CMB - I know what you mean on the yellow - I like the white ones better, myself, but they tend to blend in to the background during the day.

There's something about riding in a firetruck that gets your endorphiins rockin! I promised my boys they could wash the trucks at the station this weekend. They are so excited!

It's the little things in life, folks...lol

Tex”

“Like CMB, I worked. However that's all going to change beginning tomorrow when I start a five day stretch off.

On Tuesday, I'm hiking into Sheepherder Lakes, north to Promise Lake, over to Z Lake and then down to Snyder Lake prior to heading back to Sheepherder Lakes and then out to the trailhead. Should see a moose, a herd of elk, or two and a bunch of trout rising to take a Royal Wulff.

Life is soooooooo good!”

“Dang Geezr - you are really tickin me off over here in rainy Texas (Can you belive it's raining??)

The tropical storm FAY has been dousing us pretty good, we've had about 5 inches of rain the last few days and we can still use more - it's been so dry!!

Have a great trip and think of me - I wish I was there!!

Tex”

“under the house while enclosing the foundation (concrete piers) with lattice. I discovered some real interesting things under the house and decided to clean all that stuff out before enclosing it, glued a
water pipe that was just joined together, found a neat old bottle and a great hammer, ..no snakes and the spiders were nice not to jump on me. This took all weekend, and i think the hammer and circular saw get heavier and heavier every project! but , I took a lot of breaks and walked down to swim in the river to cool and wash off. The dogs loved the river walks and we saw a water moccasin on a tree near the swimmin hole after we got out. hmm..high adventure....gotta share i guess, the creature lives here too! was a beauty of a weekend”

“Rearranged furniture.
Went to the local art gallery because my youngest brother had a piece in it.
Went out to eat with my wife.
Worked on the dining table I'm making for my kids.

Didn't go hiking....ughhhhh....”

“worked, listened to the razorbacks on the radio cuz i gave my tickets to my bro-in-law. worked some more. went and checked out 10 heavily wooded acres that we may buy to build a house on. it looked pretty goos. grgeat view of a med sized lake down below it. saw a red fox cruisin around. buckshot will have a friend to play with if we move there.”

“Check your e-mail. In it you should find something to tide you over until you can get here again.”

“Way cool for your kids Tx I wish I could help them wash a fire truck too that would be pimp!

Hey Geezer I know I wanted to go backpacking this weekend but I did my boss a favor and now next weekend OH YA 3 DAYS ON THE TRAIL THAT ROCKS!!!!!!

8)”

“CMB, I know you'll make good use of your three days off. Any idea on where you're heading out to?”

“Hoosier National Forest!

8)”

“MO will post more of the details..but ruby falls and chickamauga battlefield ROCKED!!!...jeezus..could this be the start of another hobby..anyone...spelunk?”

“Firetrucks Are Supposed To Be Red, LOL

Tx, I'm having a Really bad flashback of Kramer steering the back end of that hook&ladder truck...


What else happened this weekend?

OH! I pulled a Nowslimmer and got ambushed by an ex-girlfriend Friday night. None of you guys are into Voodoo are ya? I think some Limbaugh fan put a hex on me.”

“We had a great time in Chattanooga this weekend! I found a package on the internet and it included the room for two nights, a bath and body works gift set with a rubber ducky :), and a bottle of sparkling grape juice with two wine glasses. Very romantic!!

We visited the Chickamauga batterfield yesterday and I was really amazed at how big it was. It was just really neat to think that the Civil War was fought on those grounds. We also went to the Aquarium and saw lots of seahorses! Those were my favorite. After the aquarium we went to Coolidge park and rode the carousel. It was a really neat restored carousel with handpainted animals.

Last night we went downtown to go out but couldn't find anywhere cool so OPIE took me on a carriage ride! It was soo much fun! Our carriage driver had his dalmation with him and she was so cute!

Today we woke up early and visited Rock City first. I had been before but it was a long time ago and I almost forgot how breath-taking the view was from lovers leap, where you can see the 7 states. After we went to rock city we went to the Battles of Chattanooga museum and watched an electronic map reinactment of the civil war. It gave a very good detailed description of the war. Next we went to Ruby Falls and it was unbelievable! At one point they told us we were as far under the ground as the Empire State building is tall! The formations were gorgous and the falls.. I don't even know if I can describe how pretty it was!

As you can tell, we had a really good time. I'll have my pictures posted soon on my webshots page.”

“Miss Opie, across the river from the Aquarium there is a good place to eat, it is called "The Loft".
If you missed it this time try it the next time your there.

Today I went to the Titans game and got burned, dang it was hot today. Good news the Titans beat the Eagles.

Yesterday, I went on a short hike just to get use to my pack. First time I have loaded it up and took it out. I went on a trail that follows a lake near where I live. The trail goes along the bluffs and around a few coves. Nice views of the lake and the ladies skinny dipping in the cove. If they only knew a trail was on the other side of the trees....lol”

“Four of us went up the Whetherford trail on Mt Humphrey's, north of Flagstaff. It was heavy overcast all the way, we were in the clouds, visibility was never more than about one quarter mile. Wind at the saddles was easily 45mph, clouds blowing by, swirling over the trail, rain, hail, sleet, just lovely. The rain really cleaned the air and washed the trees and vegetation off so the colors were very sharp. Had to use a poncho for half the trip, and it was pretty cold up on top, but I did finally complete the entire trail. Altitude got to me, at about 11,400 my field of vision wasn't much wider than the trail. I've been higher before, but was in better condition at the time.
All in all, a great trip.”

“Started a solo backpack as "duh nymph", then got my butt kicked on the mountain. 7000'+ el gain /20+ miles was a slog.........

I still had fun, though.
Will post a trip report and pics tomorrow.”

“hummmm.... is a day home with strep better then a day working?”

“Went to the flea market and got some iron butterflies, cool magnets for the kiddo and some crocks. Walked 5 on Saturday. Watched "The Shipping News" and give it 4stars, "The Lord of the Rings" and give it 5. Had nightmares about orgs, lol.

Also set up a webshots album...check out the Minister Creek pictures thread.”

“I didn't do nothin. I was just sittin around the house, Joe, doin nothin.”

“we spelunk whenever possible. many of the caves here are closed till oct 15, so the seasone is fast approaching, i can't wait. my dalmation, buckshot, ,goes into them with us”

“Bummer,,,

I spent the weekend installing shelving and painting in my laundry room.”

“Stayed home, the weather was pretty nasty. We even had a tornado in Central Utah.”

“Saw the tornado on the news here in Chicago! Really nasty storm! Hope you're alright!”

“went for a dayhike on the MD AT with Tarpy, and on the way stopped at the Trail House to look for a waterproof shell with a matching fleece and puffy down thingy that zips into it. i'm a little excited about winter coming ;-)

the store didn't seem to have anything that matched, though. like they'd have a shell, but no matching puffy thing, or the reverse. it's a pretty small store, but they're usually pretty tasteful, compared to our REI. their women's stuff usually looks like it was picked out by either my grandmother, or a 5-year-old.

now, the question is, is Columbia stuff really as sucky as Tarpy makes it out to be, or is he just the TNF snob everyone claims?? hehe. i actually saw some matching stuff of theirs.

and then Sunday we went to a motorcycle race in WV. the highlites were $1.50 beer and the best Breyers ice cream pop EVER. i think there were some motorcycles there...”

“We had a scout cleanup project Saturday morning.

Saturday afternoon we loaded up the family and went to scout out some campgrounds and trails in the Medicine Bow NF south of Casper.
Made it to 2 of the 4 target campgrounds and checked out 3 trails(ave 3.5 miles each). We ended up camping at the second campground for an impromptu family camp out(it was dark and late). Kinda fun that way sometimes.

We'll have a troop campout at one of the campgrounds in early oct.”

“cool beans garfumscarfum!”

“stumprider,

I'm OK, thanks for caring. We had alot of rain though and a few thunderstorms.

lyra,

Columbia makes same nice stuff. If your looking for winter clothing and got the money, buy Arc'Teryx their the best you can buy. Marmot makes some nice stuff also.”

“glad the tornado missed you! yikes-o-rama.

well, i ain't loaded, but i want to get something i really like so i'll wear it for a long time. i'll check out Arc'Teryx, thanks.

and if anyone EVER sees a Breyers Soft Caramel Magnum ice cream pop, you HAVE to buy it!! the name is a little extra bonus ;-) i'm just trying to look out for everyone's best interest...”

“Here in Bammer dove season opened on Sat and during halftime of several football games I shot just enough to grill up for supper. If someway I could have fit a little backpacking in.”

“Mowed the lawn. Watched some football on TV. Went to a friend's for dinner. Watched some baseball on TV. Bought groceries. Went for a bike ride. Had a wrasslin' match w/Cameron (he won 2 of 3). Got a 20% off coupon from REI for special sale event on 9/21 (will use on Half Dome Plus 2 tent). Thought about backpacking.”

“Fed the baby, changed the baby, nap, fed the baby, changed the babay, nap, fed the baby, changed the baby, nap...”

“HPM.......LOL! .....”