Anyone hiking Thanksgiving Weekend?

“I was taking a look at weather in Michigan. It looks dreary for Thanksgiving weekend. I got out of all obligations and am looking for somewhere within about 8 hours that may be warmer or dryer, not a risk of getting shot by hunters and where I can take my dog. Any ideas? Is anyone else hiking?”

“Great idea! I too have been looking. If I can swing it, can I tag along?

PS - We have to hook up sometime so I can get yer stuff back to ya before you leave!”

“I'm looking too!

I was thinking about Hoist Lakes. They hunt there, but on the perimiter mostly. Not many hikers bother to hike to the interior. Not an escape from the weather, tho.

Please let me know if you decide on something.

You never answered my e-mail about the batteries :-(”

“head south to KY and the sheltowee trace trail, red river gorge, or big south fork. very beautiful, great hiking. i think it's within 8 hours.”

“...but now my inlaws are coming over for a vist. I guess I have to stay home and cook”

“I have to go to the in-laws for three days. I asked my wife if I could go bping but she said it would be rude to just leave during our visit. I am going on day hikes though.”

“ill be hiking

to the easy chair to nap”

“i am, i am!!! Tarpy and i are leaving at too-early-o'clock tomorrow morning for Vermont...we'll be up there for until next weekend! some bed-&-breakfasting, but backpacking too. :-)”

“Probably going to take the wife and kids to Yosemite and do some car camping. I suggested a day trip but my wife actually prefered to stay the night!

Who was I to argue?”

“I'm going to take my nephews on a little couple nights Sispey Wilderness trip after turkey day.”

“I'll be hiking on skis, maybe some snowshoes in Colorado. Looks like a good storm will come through just before T-day.”

“The plan is stikmon, Khatru and me... backpacking part of the time somewhere in southern Missouri. I'm visiting there from Thursday-Sunday. :-)!! (so when you come to rob me, please clean the house, too, OK?? LOL!)”

“I'm thinking about it. I have Thursday and Friday free. I could request Sat. and Sun. Maybe a trip to Ocala NF or to the Everglades NP.”

“Hoist lakes even sounds ok but the weather looks bad at this point. I had thought about Red River Gorge in KY near Lexington. 5 hour drive (hoist lakes is 4 for me) Leaving Thurs or Fri, returning Sun. It will be a touch warmer, with less snow? I am up for a vote. I think we can all squeeze in to my Explorer if Shane gives up some room in the back and it works to carpool.

Q - I have another pot, but you're right, we need to make that connection. Let me know any day that I may be able to find you on a lunch hour and retrieve it. I am not that far from you at work. Or, if we do end up hiking next weekend, you could just bring it along.

It's good to see so many holiday hikers!”

“dhutch, Q and lesubtil, I'm going somewhere that is less than 8 hours and pretty sweet. It's in PA. Email me for more details.”

“Anyone that wants to hike Thankgiving weekend in PA., sign up on the AFT thread.”

“lyra-
What town?
Inquiring axe-murderers want to know~~%^]
Vermont is lovely.
I lived in South Randolph for five years.

Will be at Roaring Plains Nov 28, 29, 30.

The weather looks OK-
Thu- Cloudy 34/23 20%
Fri- Light Snow 41/25 40%
Sat- Few Snow Showers 41/24 30%

The hunters don't usually go where we're going.”

“workin' on it rich”

“looking at the weather reports it looks real good for the Sipsey but I will probably just go to the local Shen. NP unless we get together a group for the Sipsey.”

“I'm dying to get out and the Sipsey sounds like a great idea, but I just don't think I'm going to be free that weekend. Too much stuff associated with Thanksgiving going on, grrrr....”

“Going to be backpacking the Adventure Hiking Trail in Southern Indiana.

8)”

“I'm going to try to make the Pennsylvania trip. It sounds like a Friday morning start, so I'll drive Thursday, late afternoon or evening and if BB's offer still stands, crash there in OH or at the trail. If you want to tag along, we can squeeze everyone and gear + Shane into the Explorer and road trip. May be tight, but I'd be glad for the company....Shane doesn't talk much and seems to dislike my singing. I'm keeping up with trip plans on the AFT thread as suggested above.
D”

“"Shane"

I always envision some tall, silent cowboy riding lookout and making sure your stage... errrr, CAR... is OK from the desperadoes along the way.

LOL... yes, am a fan of Westerns, although I can't say I've ever seen the specific "Shane" movie.”

“Shane: Tall, fit, lean, long silky red hair, long floppy ears, brown almond eyes and red nose. Purebred Irish Setter. :) My backpacking dog.”

“I have to get some info from Buddha about this. I know I will not be able to get outta here Thursday night, so if I go, I'd have to truck it myself. I'll keep ya posted.”

“Collins Valley in Anza Borego. Hope to see some wild horses and maybe some bighorn.”

“smokies, im still lookin for someone who wants to overnight on saturday.”

“This is the time of year when I always seem to find something indoors to do. I am only now beginning to realize my reluctance to be out in the woods with a bunch of beer drinking, excitable men who carry loaded guns and shoot at anything that moves.

My pack is cobalt blue and I have a blaze orange fleece I wear. I put blaze orange scarfs on my dog, who always likes to go with me, and she always stays near to me.

I guess that having the "right" to be out there, and being able to say it is somebody else's fault and all that, just won't make up for being shot.

Every year there are published reports where cows, horses, goats, dogs, and other hunters are shot by hunters. The goat, BTW, was shot and brought to a tagging station as a spike horn. What an idiot!

One guy I used to work with told me that he loves to go hunting, as much to be in the woods as to bring home dinner. One day some one shot at him, hit the branch near him. So he hollered at the guy. The guy shot at him again, and again. So he shot back, at a branch near the other guy. He finally figured it out, and ran away from my buddy. My buddy calls it a day and drives home, developing uncontrollable shakes as he gets home. He sold his hunting rifle that weekend, knowing he'd never be able to go out there in hunting season again.

Another buddy of mine, a firm advocate of the hunter safety, has hunted for decades and says if you do all the hunter safety courses teach, no one should get shot, can't happen. He confides that all too many ignore hunter safety training.

I do get out there on Sundays, as there is no hunting on Sundays, but very seldom will I do an overniter. I don't even feel safe in State or National parks. The boundries aren't always clearly marked, and all too easliy and often ignored.

I think most of my phobia has to do with deer season with rifles. I believe it lasts 5 weeks in Maine. Seems every one has a rifle and can't wait to get his deer. "I'm gonna go shoot me a deer". I see men on my construction jobs, who do a six pack every night, and can't properly nail down a sheet a plywood, who are "entitled" to go "shoot me a deer". I tell you, I am almost petrified to be out there with those idiots. Now, I am talking about deer rifle season.

Let's talk about Moose season, deer bow season, deer black powder season, rabbit season, bird season, other varmit season. I have absolutely no qualms about backpacking in those seasons. Moose are so big and easy to hunt (besides there is a lottery of over 10,000 hunters vying for 2000 licenses, so if you get one, you focus in pretty seriously about your trophy), bow hunters are true hunters, exercising much patience and waiting for the deer to be very close, black powder hunters are a much more practiced hunter, and I am not in competition with smaller critters. These guys, I have a whole lot more respect for, and actually feel a bit safe out there.

Then when hunting season is over, the temps have dropped 10-20 degrees from what I was hiking in and I'm not really aclimated anymore, and ski season is right around the corner. How ironic, that just when it is cool enough not to sweat nad no bugs, I don't do too much hiking....

Funny thing is when I am hiking, I long for skiing, being able to see the mountains, and when I am skiing, I long for hiking, being able to see the woods.....”

“Uphill Klimber - Are there any public areas near you which are closed to hunting?”

“Nowslimmer, there are areas closed to hunting, but as I have said, they are often not well marked (in many cases they ARE well marked), but the boundries do get ignored. Where I live there are many small parcels closed to hunting, a couple miles across at the largest. If I go north, a couple hours, I can find larger areas, but I have a... well, I'll admit, it's a prejidice; I have a belief that the laws are ignored more as you get farther away from civilization and enforcement.

I'm not sure where abouts you live, but around the Portland, Maine area, some "no hunting" areas can be traversed by bullets form a single gun shot. I just plain do feel the need to compete with bullets from the "I'm a gonaa kill me a deer" group. I feel like, if I ever got into a competition, I would lose.”

“I just read the paper, and caught a report of a prized 700-800 lb. Scottish Highlander cow being shot in a farmer's field in Berkshire Vermont. The farmer figures he's out about $800.00 in cash, not to mention any violation of his property and person. I seldom pay pay attention to erroneous shootings anymore, but today, this one cought my eye.

It is interesting to note that the report said the Fish and Game department could likely do little about it, even if they were to find the hunter that shot the cow!!!!! There is no closed season on cows in Vermont!!!!! This is just ludicrous to me. First of all, has ANYONE, ever seen a 700-800 lb. deer? Then the Fish and Game department is powerless???? Can't they at least trump up some charges of illegal discharge of a weapon, or something???

What about at least finding out the caliber of the bullet and checking licenses. Maybe this is a good argument for "fingerprinting" of rifles and the patterns they leave on bullets....

The hunter who shot that cow is f**king idiot and shouldn't be allowed to use a gun if he's not sure what he's shooting at. I guess I do get passionate about this subject, but if it's me being shot at, I don't feel like I'd get many second chances.”

“SnowDude and I will be in Mammoth from Th-Sun. Dayhiking on Thurs, maybe Friday. Snowboard Sat/Sun.”

“Change of plans.
The boys and I will be in Otter Creek Wilderness.

Several years ago in Baltimore County, Maryland some bright boys shot someone's LLAMA!!!

It is quite rural and people do hunt with and without permission on fenced fields and wooded areas.
The county borders on Pennsylvania to the north.

These guys were caught butchering the animal in a fenced pasture.

The llama was white....."we thought it was a deer..."”

“The club is going to be backpacking the Adventure Hiking Trail in Southern Indiana in Harrison-Crawford State Forest.It has great views of the Ohio River and good hill climbs.This is one of the best backpacking trails in Southern Indiana.

Its going to be a pimp trip!!!!

)8D”

“I will be hiking in the Santa Cruz Mtns, then off to Mt Shasta the following weekend!”

“I'm thinking of taking her to Land between the Lakes and doing a loophike there. Probably won't see anyother humans there.”

“Were you still thinking of making the Pennsylvania trip? I could always plan to leave REALLY early Friday morning. People are meeting at the trailhead 7:30a.m. That would mean getting out of town around 3a.m. or so??? It may be tough to get up and around but hey, we're backpackers! Let me know. I'd be glad to have you along for the ride. D”

“I'll be cutting up the elk I shot last saturday morning.

It was great, ran into a heard of over 100 elk. Only neede one though.

Now I won't have to go out and buy that half of beef.”

“WHo is going where in Tennessee on Friday or Saturday?”

“I'll be in the smokies friday”

“Nephews just canceled on me for the Sipsey Wilderness this weekend. They decided it's going to be too cold.”

“Did you call them wimps yet?”

“naw...they are good kids but really don't have cold weather clothing. Sounds like good ol Uncle may have to buy them parkas for Xmas.”

“Probably won't really need anything except some fleece and long johns, and a windproof jacket. It's not supposed to get under 25F or so.”

“I am getting out this weekend.. Just not sure where...”

“come out to PA with as WLD, I'm sure you can get a flight, and be at the trailhead in the middle of PA within 48 hours.

lol!”

“I'm thinking of taking her to Land between the Lakes and doing a loophike there. Probably won't see anyother humans there."
Stikmon
01:36:19 AM
11/25/02
haha, lucky for them!!”

“That would be great if I could Budda Bear. I am planning on hitting one of the eastern TT trips soon. But this weekend would be tough. LAX is already a ZOO! LOL”

“Yeah, I'll bet it's a zoo you or I wouldn't want to see either. Well, maybe next time, and be prepared, I plan on flying out there for a trip this coming year.

Have fun!”

“Let me know when you are planning on making it out here....”