Footballpalooza 1

“The trip began when dayhiker and coco Williams arrived in Memphis at 830 Thursday morning. We immediately set out across I-40 toward the beautiful Ozark Mountains. As soon as we crossed the Mississippi River, Dayhiker exclaimed “This is as far west as I have ever been”……another few miles and Dayhiker again states “This is as far west as I have ever been”…..another few miles …by that time, I got the point.

We arrived at the Fairview Trailhead at 1 PM to find Dunadan standing by. Being an hour late, we were afraid that Dunadan had already consumed the Free State Beer he brought from Kansas. However, it was all intact and we soon had it loaded up in our nalgene containers and we were on the trail. A nice 6 mile hike over to the Chancel Spur and we were camped on the bank of the Hurricane Creek. The engineers, (Dayhiker and coco Williams (ask him how he got his trail name), immediately began to build a rock oven and start a fire. Dunadan and I then watched to two budding chefs roll pizza dough and bake a 5 inch thick pizza in their new rock oven. Although Dunadan and I stuck to more traditional backpacker fare, we all washed the food down with the cold Free State Beer that we chilled in the creek.

Thursday night was brisk and we all slept well having topped the day off with a couple of pints of Kansas’ finest beer.

Friday was a short 3.5 mile hike on across the Hurricane Wilderness to the Creek Crossing. On the way, we stopped by the old Sexton Cemetery which bore evidence of the number of inhabitants who resided in the valley in the 1800’s to early 1900’s. Although this is a wilderness area, the road is maintained to the cemetery and it remains well maintained. We then proceeded on to camp where we were able to pitch camp before the rain began and had time to explore the area. An old chimney still stands near the camp site and exhibited a prime example of early masonry with well set rocks and mud filled seams. Dayhiker and coco Williams spent the afternoon passing the football they brought along as the “luxury” item. Fortunately, there was now injury report even though they decided to run routes along the slick creek rocks.

Friday night saw Dayhiker cooking chicken alfredo. By that time Dunadan and I were wondering how he managed to put 5000 cubic inches of food (including a 6 pack of Budweiser) into a 3000 cubic inch backpack. He was like a magician with a hat!

Saturday brought one of the greatest backpacking moments I have ever experienced. We decided to bushwhack across some private property (there is a small pocket in the middle of the Hurricane Wilderness). I read the map, set the course and off we went. We were able to follow a rough roadway for about a half mile. As we proceeded,,,,we came around a bend in the roadway and there,,,,,in the mist of light rain,,,,,hanging above the crude road,,,,was a sign…….


“Welcome to Mirkwood, Beware of Spiders!”

How many people can ever claim they hiked to Mirkwood with Dunadan? A picture was quickly taken to evidence this amazing feat! It will follow as soon as it is developed. After the photo session, we bushwhacked across high weeds, and thick creek bottom vegetation,,,,with the trusty compass, we came out within 150 feet of the trail.

Although it was by then raining steadily, we pushed forward another couple of miles to find arky and Parker at camp. They were putting up a tarp and just as they finished, the rain stopped. Arky immediately produced a 30 pack of Miller Lite for the event. He also brought in a radio and the remainder of the day was spent listening to erratic reception of the games in progress and sipping cool beer. This was truly a Footballpalooza. Later that night,,,,,coco Williams was to create a concoction that earned him his trail name.

Sunday was a short hike out and the return to Memphis.

More details to follow as soon as any of us can get caught up.

Short version……on h@ll of a football hike!!!!

Next year will be the Footballpalooza H2O on the Buffalo River!”

“awww, what a good trip report! sounds magically delicious. i guess i'll give you a few moments to post the pictures...”

“actually, dayhiker has the picture from Mirkwood....”

“okay, i'll give him several moments, then...
;-)

did the sign really say "Beware of Spiders"??? yikes!”

“Did you have to carry Spider Spray and Spider Cannisters?”

“Yes! dayhiker, coco williams and dunadan can verify it.”

“mmm,,,,that was yes to lyra,,

no aero! we had Dunadan with us...”

“what, are spiders scared of tuna?
;-D”

“that must have been it lyra,,,,I didn't see any....”

“I agree with all that the Chili-meister has written except that the trip actually began in Kansas.
I want to say that it was great meeting these guys and that I experienced real "Southern Hospitality" on this hike. If you can't make friends with these gentlemen, then you can't make friends. The hike went well, thanks to Chili's planning and everyone's cooperation.
If you ever get a chance to hike the Ozarks Highland Trail, you should take advantage of it. The woods and the mountains were magnificent, and you are never far from a reminder of the deep history of this place. Many times we turned to one another and wondered how tough you would have to be to homestead such a place.
I was flattered that these guys with real football teams, (well maybe not Cocoa), would allow me on a football hike. However, they assured me that with the seasons that their teams were having, they were thrilled to have a KU fan in tow. I'm always glad to be of service. However, you might notice a change of temperament when basketball season begins. LOL
It's true what he says about Mirkwood. There was a sign that read "MIRKWOOD" on top, and
"THERE ARE SPIDERS" on bottom. Chili mentioned showing his son the picture to prove that he had hiked Mirkwoood with Dunadan, but I advised him to keep the picture to himself. He shouldn't shatter a young man's image of Dunadan like that.
At the last campsite, there we met Arky and his friend. They played the part of gracious hosts, and we enjoyed our last campsite, immensely. Sadly for the Arkansas boys, we all listened to their team go down in flames against Kentucky, (a basketball school, whodathunkit?)
Great trip. Looking forward to next year.”

“Actually, Cocoa(Jeremy to some of you) carried about 5000 ci of food as well. He carried the pizza ingredients. The good thing about going lightweight is that when you want to carry lots of crap, you can. My pack must have weight double what it usually does. Good times!

The trip was great with lots of exploring and bushwhacking. We were able to do a little rock climbing by the Hurricane creek on Sat. evening. I don't think I have seen so much terrain in so little mileage.

The company was even better. It's neat to talk with a group for over a year and then there personalities be somewhat close to what you expected. We spent lots of time BS'ing around the campfire and drinking beer. It just doesn't get any better than that.

Can't wait for the float trip that Cocoa coined...Footballpalooza H20”

“It was a great weekend. Parker and I just wish we could have made the whole trip. The only problem with that? I don't think I could have conned(sp?) Parker into carrying a 30 pack the whole way. Good people, good conversation, beer, & a campfire. Too bad it had to end so soon. I'm glad to see everyone made it home ok.”

“arky, he wouldn't have had to carry the 30 pack the whole way,,,we would have finished it off before Mirkwood......

the problem would have been in conning him into carrying two 30 packs....LOL.”

“He wouldn't have had to carry that far because it would've been gone the first night.

That was a haul getting back home. I got to Pell City about 9:45. It was just in time to watch the Coach Fran show and see all 5 of Santonio Beard's TD's. We held Ole Siss to about 100 yards of offense until the last two meaningless drives. They ended up with 225 yards of O with only a net of 4 yards rushing. ROLL TIDE ROLL !!!”

“FYI - I did a travel plan search with interstate speeds of 77 and secondary roads at 65 from Lawrence, KS to Sipsey trailhead. The total drving time is 11 hrs. OUCH!”

“I can honestly say I have never seen 2 guys carry so many CANS of food with them on a trip. I'm surprised them seam on your packs didn't tear.”

“and you only saw the last night's worth.....that went on for two days before we showed up there...”

“Pretty good for a daypack I bought when I was deciding if I was going to give this backpacking thing a try or just keep taking dayhikes.”

“Day (can-toting) Hiker....
Eleven hours wouldn't break the bank if I do some serious planning ahead. I am putting Sipsey on my "must see" list. As a matter of fact, I'm thinking of retiring so that I can become a professionaly backpacker. What do you think?”

“go for it dude,,,,,”

“Three hours from Memphis. You get here, we can take in the Blues and BBQ on Beale and make the trip to Sipsey the next morning.”

“Ummmm.... strike the "y" on professional, please. Thankyou.”

“Or swing by here & we can split the driving. Chili36 knows I like BBQ.”

“I can vouch for arky's appreciation of fine BBQ.”

“Arky, you got a deal. We could drive to Chili's, scarf down some classic BBQ, then on to Sipsey. I really like that idea.”

“We'll put it together then. I'm thinking sometime mid to late Feb. I noticed where chili said he had a trip sometime around then. We can work it around that date. I'll scan some of my pics from last winter and email them to yall. I think you'll be surprised at how green everything is that time of year.

Here are some average high/lows
Feb 10 is 53/31
Feb 20 is 55/33
March 5 is 59/37
March 15 is 62/40”

“Hey fellas,
Had a great time on the trip. Looking forward to more trips and better mixers.”

“wine is lighter, and carries more kick.

Sounds like fun guys!”

“The Ocala ECT is in early February. The 7th, I think. End of February would be a good time for Sipsey.”

“That would be good. My only conflict is that my sons birthday is the 24th which is a Monday. His party will probably be the 22nd, which leaves the weekend of the 15th and the weekend of March 1. We can whittle it down later.”

“March 1 might be the best time then.”

“March 1 sounds good to me. Let me know when you guys set a concrete date so I can put in for vacation.”

“Well, I hope to have some sheckles to rub together by then. I will tentatively plan for March 1st unless I hear otherwise.”

“Well, it sounds like a winner. I just noticed where Bama plays Ole Miss in Tuscaloosa on 3/2 at 1 pm on CBS. I may have a double trip planned. It would be extra cool to come off the trail and then hit that game. Dunadan, do you want to see what REAL basketball is all about? Come to Coleman Colesium(sp)”

“yep,,,I'm sure that the Kansas folks will be impressed with Alabama basketball....

;)”

“sounds like a great trip! wish i woulda know ya'll we're comin to my back yard to hike, woulda been great to meet ya'll. oil well, maybe next time.


how bout some pics?”

“I may have a meeting the weekend of the first. I'll let everyone know when I know. Dunadan, if you don't want to see the glorius(sp) Tide just say so...hehehe”

“Pictures, any time soon?”

“"c:\mydocuments:ron1;c:\mydocuments:ron2"”

“Looks like I need help.”

“arky, I think the link would have to be to a web based site”

“Oh well. I sent you a copy of the pics.”

“Thanks.”

“Your email came back at me. Has it changed?”

“Came through, Arky. I thank you for sending those.
Anybody going to post a pic on this thread?”