Harriamn SP/Fingerboard Mt.

“Well I did it!!
With my oldest daughter turning 18 years old today, It felt good knowing that I was still able to do extrem things!!
I woke up pretty early Sat. morning. The weather was perfect!
When I left it was around 35 degrees outside.
So after about a million stops I finialy got to the trailhead.
One of the stops I made was to pick up some firewood and a sled. From the trailhead it was only about a 1.5 mile to the shelter. But next to the shelter was a trail that lead stight down to the road (Seven Lakes Drive). On the road this is where I left the wood on the sled.
So I arrived at the trailhead about 2:30pm (it was about an hour later then I wanted it to be)
The hike to the shelter was great! I only saw 3 people and dog. It was a little hard hiking on the trail becasue there has not been any snow fall in a while and with all the snowshoers and cross/skiing and hikes the trail was pretty icy. But it was no biggy to hike next to the trail.. I arrived at the shelter and to my dissapiotment there were people already there. They had the shelter all cozy and they were very friendly to me and made me feel welcome!!
So I put my backpack down and made my way on the shortcut trail down to the road to get the firewood. But on the way I found a great camp. There was a very big fireplace and the cool thing was that there was a big rock next to the fireplace. It was kinda like a chair with a table. So thats were I spent the night! I marched down to get the sled but left the wood because there was plenty at the campsite!

well if anyone has dragged a sled you know how much fun it can be But it was rather amusing!
So by the time I set up camp it was getting pretty dark. Once again ive taken a new tent and tried to set it up at night. The problem I had with the tent was, I was not realy able to stake it out the way it needed to be. So the tent was sagging. So after some VERY SPICY!!!! chicken soup and a hot coco with Kahlua(sp) and 2 shots of Benadryl(sp) I was very ready for bed. So this is when the real fun started. I did manage to freak myself out. I was having a pretty hard time trying to wiggle into the sleeping bag with 2fleece blankets while wearing 2 fleece shirts. There was NO room!! But while I was doing this I started to here noices. I thought someone was in camp. It was very loud. It sounded like snow crunching. But it seems that when I stoped to listen, I relized that it was my heart punding so hard. and with the hat on it echoed!! Ok you can laugh at me, cause I made myself laugh!
well i did manage to sleep for most of the night. It wnt down to 12 degrees But I was having problems cause the tent was sagging so bad, that the tent itself was on my face. So I woke up to a wet face. I woke up around 8:30am to the loudest friggen Crow i have ever heard. (wish I had a damn shotgun!!)
I made coffee and then breakfast.
I started to pack when I was visited by the guys that stayed in the shelter. This is were I learned that I had slept at the wrong end of the tent. Yes you can laugh at me yet again (I am so sorry I forgot your names)
They had backpacked all the way from Elk Pen. Man thats a long hike. It took them 2 days just to get to this shelter. So I offered them a ride to there cars and they accepted the ride. They went on down the Mt to watch the Ice Fisherman. (which by the way is very cool)
But while I was packing up the sleeping bag i noticed this Big Wet Spot. Well all I could think of was "Oh My Gawd, I peed the bed". But I did not!! But I made myself laugh again. I think the next time I will remeber to bring my foam pad!
So I was all pakced up but I still dont understand how the hell my pack could weigh more then the day before. It was insane heavy. Thank goodness it was a short hike.
On the way down it started to snow. I love hiking while its snowing. It was so calm that I just had to stop and have a monent. If you ever get a chance to hike in the winter DO IT!
So I marched my way down to meet up with the guys.
But before we all climb into the car, we had to break in the Sled mobil!

HEE HAW!!
what fun. I only went down once but that was a blast.

So I drove everyone back to there car and thanked them very much for pushing my car out of the ditch i got myself into. DUH!!
It was great to meet new people and you all are more then welcome to join us on backpacking trips (but don't forget the Southern Comfort)
I made great time driving home, just in time for a great dinner made by treebeard!! YUMMY
Corp nasty and Twinkles toes came over to watch the game and have dinner with us. That was a great way to end a great weekend!!

My fav gear for the hike... My Down Booties!!
My gear that i wanted to burn... my rented backpack!!

thats it... sorry its so long but when there is no one there to laugh with you, you have to laugh at yourself. I did alot of that. SO I guess the next question is,
Will I do it again?

YES


picture will follow tonight
I want to thank all of you for just being there to help me with all my questions.
Treebeard, Thank you sooo much for just being you and being so supportive!!”

“i'm glad you had such a good time, Maple! was it freezing-cold, or bearable? and i'm glad the wetting-the-bed thing was a false alarm, LOL!!”

“LMAO! *note to self- practice practice practice setting up the tnet!*

glad you made it back safe! :)”

“LOL, It was not that cold, there was no wind which made it great. i didnt stay at the shelter but on 1 ledge doan. So I was not at the top!

yes hikingirl, set tent up before you go on a trip. cause if you go by yourslef there is no one to laugh at but yourself!!”

“Good report, my dear! Glad to be there (or, at home) for you. You did great...”

“"This is were I learned that I had slept at the wrong end of the tent. Yes you can laugh at me yet again" Mapleleaf

ROTFLMAO, only you would do this and tell everyone about it. This is classic Mapleleaf. Don't ever change. :)”

“ML - For what it's worth, I'm very proud of you! I know you wanted to do this trip very badly, and it sounds like you had a GREAT time. I'm very happy for you and look forward to seeing the pictures. :-)”

“Great job on your first.....

Sleeping in the tent was the sporting thing to do, doing it upside down (backwards?) makes it even more sporting!

Well done”

“Way to go mapleleaf! Next week you can try sleeping in the tent the correct way.”

“LOL, yes I plan on going to catskills!!!
Yes another planned hike, email me you want to go”

“Congratulations. Ya did it. Sleep in the tent any way you want to.”

“Very cool!!! I am glad you had a "happy" trip! LOL! Very proud of you. I am glad you enjoyed your solo!”

“Way to go Mom!”

“Way to go Mapleleaf! Hiking when it's snowing is the best, isn't it! Winter hiking rocks; quietude, beautiful sites, fewer people, and no bugs! You can really get freaked out at night when you're camping alone.... ah-Woooo!!! What Wuz Dat!”

“all I kept thinking to myself is the kid from that movie...
"I hear dead people"

Cracked myself up....”

“I just read all of the TT Back up sites, It seems that alot of you people were concerned about my butt freezing and falling off...Lyra....George...stove....
well me and the butt are doing A OK.”

“Maple - THAT "cracks" ME up. ;)”

“All joking aside, you should feel very proud of yourself. First solo, and it was in winter. Most people wait until summer time to try something like that.
You have learned from your mistakes and shared laughter over them with us. You Go Girl!”

“I did my first solo Sept 2001
this was my first winter solo or even my first winter ever!!!”

“"This is were I learned that I had slept at the wrong end of the tent. Yes you can laugh at me yet again"

I bet you were wishing that you had gotten the two man version of the tent around midnight. I can just hear you, "Geeze this oneman tent is awfully tight"

Great Job Mapleleaf! Can't wait to meet you on the trail sometime.
You always have the greatest advetures.”

“lthiker, please email me”

“Stove, i have to once again thank you for the Stove. it worked great. I love how easy it was to set up and to use! I love the wind screen. It 12' it worked like a charm!!



Since we already know that Mapleleaf DID NOT wet the bad, I would like to know why it was wet?
Would it have been wet if I used the foam pad?”

“Your warm body against the cold ground no doubt caused some condensation. A foam pad or thermarest would have solved the problem.”

“Hey congratulations Mapleleaf! It sounds like you had a great campsite! Glad that things went so well. I was worried, but about your asthma, not your freezing or butt health, LOL. The part about sleeping at the low end of the tent is hilarious. Reminds me of the Eloise children's books.”

“Cool beans ML! Way to go!!”

“I am proud to say that I did not have to use the inhaler once !!
But its funny, i really didnt need to use the inhaler on the trip I bailed on until I got to the shelter.
I also felt the same way when I got to this shelter. So i put 2 and 2 together. it was the wood/smoke in the fireplace. It was too much. So I high tailed it out of there before I got bad

:)”

“Sounds like a nice experience Mapleleaf. Glad you had a great time.”

“And I mean more than just the temp. Winter solo...it's just plain cool.”

“Way to go Maple, glad you made it and it sounds like you had a blast.”

“Mapleleaf - you kick arse! Now you are the "uber-goober hiker"....hehehe

Congratulations and thanks for the lovely dinner on Sunday!”

“Mapleleaf I tried to e-mail you but I keep getting it back undeliverable. Try mine.”

“ill try yours if you try mine ~wink~


lol”

“got your email, sent one back to you...”

“Ok here are my pics. Sorry it took so log to post.
Enjoy

Trip Pics”

“yes it is me mapleleaf yet again


gggrrrrrr”

“did the link work?”

“Which ever one you are today, Maple. ;)

Both links worked for me. The date order of the trips were changed.

I liked the "self portrait" pix of you hat, hee hee.

I sleding pixs were fun looking, but why did you keep running into picnic tables, signs, ect.?”

“that was NOT ME!!!!
I choose to try and fly over a little bump. Which I did very nicely thank you very much! It was the landing that was funny even if it did hurt my (you know what)”

“Good pictures, Mapleleaf. Does anyone know what that round building with no door is?
How did you like your tent, Maple? Was it a good weight and a good size?”

“well I liked the weight, but the jury is still out on if I like the tent or not. Im going to have to test it one more time. But this time I will need to have my head at the right end...... mmoowweeaahh”

“Yeah, were on to ya. You just don't like cool breezes in your face.”