mount rogers, va - november 2003

“Very Cool shots Ewker!”

“Ynamiynami is a really cool British dude. Yep, he's got an accent. Nice guy to hike with.”

“walkindude, cool pics. Glad you had a view from Thomas Knob Shelter. Last yr it was socked in and you couldn't see anything.”

“walkindude - What in the heck were y'all doing hiking on a road? That's what cars are for! ;)
Great pics dude!

ewker - saw that pic of you from the back and didn't think it was you. Not enough stuff attached to the outside of your pack to swing back and forth! Couldn't be you! ;)”

“stove, we parked at a campgrounds that was safe to leave my car. we had to walk 2 miles to the trailhead. Yeah that was me with only the cup and pack cover hanging on the back :)”

“Nice shots guys.

I'm looking forward to hiking with y'all again.”

“Thanks for the pics.......y'all were missed.....”

“I missed seeing ya, too, Buddha Bear!!!


















LOL!”

“OK, looked at walkindude's and Ewker's photos.

I see EEEEEEEVEEEERRRRRRRRRYONE *LOVED* the ponies!! LOL! Musta been dark out, that the flash was operating on most of those shots. Quite a few ponies looked POSSESSED!!

Ewker, I could see you were getting some raindrops on your camera.

All I can say is, better you guys attempting to backpack there than MOI!!!!!! moooooooohhaaaaaaahahahmoi!”

“GREAT TRIP Andd the people were the greatest! Will bo it again and again! Yo bear”

“cool pics walkindude. The ponies closed in on us when we came out Sun morn too. Buster the Backpakin Beagle wasn't too sure what to make of the ponies. He pretty much tucked tail and hugged close to Spazboy.”

“Great pics Ewker and Walkindude.
I had a great time.Enjoyed meeting/ seeing everyone as always.Hated to bail (thanks again for the ride Spam)but was relieved when Dude showed up at the hostel..It was cool staying at there.
Just wish we had more time together.”

“I hope yall didn't have much problems comming home. I saw on the news that I-40 is still backed up. I'm glad we were close to an Exit when we got to the back of the line.”

“Just glanced over the photos, glad you guys had a good time. That must have been cool to see the wild ponies.

Fritz, it looks like you've lost a LOT a weight! Not that you were big before, but it's pretty obvious you're keeping up with running.”

“I was lucky enough to meet everyone that made the trip! Another good one!”

“wow great pictures - the ponies are cool! Well the TTers are as well, but the ponies are really cool. Sounds like a great trip!

You are looking very trim, Fritz!
=D”

“well.. anyways... the weekend was alot of fun even though we didn't get to make a big tire fire again sat night... it was great meeting everyone and seeing some familiar faces... baume thanks for the ride back to grindstone... gemini - i didn't know you were feeling that bad... hope you are feeling better today... me and smokygirl stayed the night in abingdon (i think) and she was feeling alot better after some hot food at cracker barrel. We ate there again sunday morning for breakfast and ran into Ewker Yam and Walkindude... Smokygirl made chili dawgs sunday when i took her home... that was really nice... Spam - looking forward to Linville - keep us posted.”

“azimuth...I wasn't feeling THAT bad, I just had cold feet and hands :)

It was nice to see yall again.
Yeah...Linville!! See you there...”

“Great reports and pictures all.”

“Hi guys! Was great to get out and meet all of you :o) - oh, and I nearly squashed a bobcat on the drive home - little bastard escaped though.”

“a round trip of 1288 miles (with a 40 mile screwup at the begining). We arrived home at 1:30am CT.

Long drive...Awsome time!!! trip report and photo...later.”

“Nice meeting you and khatru,Stikmon.Too bad about Sat,night. : (

Dude we did have a rough time around the traffic..I finally got home about 9:30 pm.
We had a good navigator and driver though.. : )”

“Had a great trip.

The week leading up to the trip kinda sucked, with a car accident (no injuries,) a kid with chicken pox (which I thought was going to cancel my trip,) and some back pain on Thursday. Due to the uncertainties, I was not able to hook up with either of the other two "yankees" for a ride down.

So it was that I was picking up my maps Thursday night at nine, and packing until 1:00am Friday. Got up at 3:15am, and did my grocery shopping on the way down.

Arrived at Grindstone Campground around 2:30 or 3:00. Found Walkindude, Ewker, and Yam about ready to head out. We visited for a few minutes, then I told them to go ahead because they were ready and I was going to take another 10 minutes or so to get situated. Took my food out of the Walmart bags, counted out the bagels and food bars, etc. that I would need, Filled my little fuel bottles from the gallon can (decided I didn't need to whole gallon), zipped my car key into my pack, shoved everything in, pulled it tight, put it on, and started walking.

After about 20 feet I knew I had forgotten one thing that would bug me all weekend, though it was non-essential. And it was in my car, I just didn't feel like going back, taking the pack off, unloading it to get to my car key, etc. So I went without my watch.

I hiked two miles along 603 (I can do without road hiking, no matter how nice the road is, it just doesn't seem right) to the trailhead, then two miles up the hill to Old Orchard.

Halfway up the hill I spoke with a hunter who told me the weather forecast was for sleet and hail starting around midnight, then continuing for most of the next day. But at that point the planning was done, the deciding was done, the preparations were done, so...just go, and the weather will be what it will be.

Got up to the shelter and saw my old friend Pennsy from four or five previous trips. Always enjoy him. Also there was trekkngirl who I had met very very briefly at Sierrapalooza, and at least a dozen others. I dropped my pack and walked around introducing myself, making new friends.

Really enjoyed the three or four hours around the campfire that night, talking and laughing, listening to stories, getting to know some of the people there. The sky was clear, the stars were phenomenal, the milky way was visible. It is SO good to get away from the light pollution of "civilized" life.

At some point, perhaps around 10:00, the stars all ominously disappeared.

It was very hard to walk away from the campfire to climb into a cold sleeping bag, but eventually it had to be done. I was expecting temps down to 20 or so, but it never got to freezing. I slept pretty good. Sleeping barely two hours the night before helps with that, I suppose.

During the night, it did start to rain. Saturday morning it was hard to get up. I wasn't the last one up but there was a pretty good crowd at the shelter cooking and sipping hot drinks.

I still don't know how to pack up in the rain. I stalled for a while until the guys in the shelter were out of the way, then brought everything but the tent into the shelter so I could pack it there. Went back down for the tent and as I was rolling it up, dirty and wet, I group of six or eight TT'ers was heading out, going north on the AT, a different route than I was planning to take.

Anyhow, it worked out well because I got to hike with Karo and Little Bit for the first two miles. Despite the mostly steady rain, we had a good hike, good conversation. Good people.

Karo was not feeling well, his family had been sick, and he apparently had at least a little of a cold or something. I was a little concerned when I left them at the junction of the AT and the Pine Mouintain Trail. That was the shortest route to Rhododendron Gap, the Saturday night destination. I was going to take the AT out and around. Made Karo promise me he'd be there when I got there.

So off I went, alone again, southbound on the AT. After "the scales" there was an extended period of walking exposed to the wind and it was rather brutal. But the clouds were fascinating, and the mountains in the distance were just visible, in all directions, through the drizzle and haze.

Back in the woods again for a piece, then up to what I guess is Wilburn Ridge. It was windy enough and cloudy enough, and I was tired enough, that I didn't dawdle there at all. Looks like a great spot to go back to someday. It was raining and I didn't get my camera out.

Ran into HOI and om at the intersection of spur trail to Massie Gap backpacker's parking area. She told me all the people who were bailing out. Standing there up on the ridge, in the cold rain, wind whipping, she told me it was a lot worse up higher. I contemplated going up and over and trying to get down to my car.

Continuing up toward Rhodo. Gap I ran into "Hikin Mike of the East" whose new name I can't remember right now. It was nice to meet Mike and his two children. He gave me the same report of the brutal conditions higher up. I considered camping there with him, but didn't want anyone in the group up on top to worry about me and go looking for me.

Ten or fifteen minutes later, I ran into six more TT'ers on their way down. We all compared "sightings" and what we knew and it sounded like the only people "unaccounted for" to be concerned about was Karo and Little Bit, partly because Karo had been feeling sick in the morning, plus the fact that they had not been seen at Rhodo Gap by any of the others who had been through there. I had left them at around noon, where they had 2 miles to go. It was a little after four, getting dark, and no one had seen them. We talked at length about the possibilities and what was the right thing to do. Finally we reached concensus that we would go ahead and leave, that they were probably fine, that Little Bit seemed strong enough and capable, and that there were plenty of other people still up there that they could go to for help if they really needed it.

So we hiked down to Massie Gap, picked up cars, and went to Damascus for pizza. We found trekkngirl at the hostel in Damascus, the others had left town. Eight up us shared pizza and laughs, at the same time thinking about Karo and Little Bit and hoping they were safe and comfortable.

Leaving Damascus, I stopped for gas, and after filling my tank, the car wouldn't start. Dead battery. Got jump started, then drove towards I-81 and now, of course, the battery light was on. Would have been nice to see that light last week so I could have taken care of this. So I drove on, stressed out, afraid the car would stall--I was in the middle of nowhere, far from home. I had a cell phone but there was no signal. I had ten hours of driving ahead of me. And it was 9:00 at night and any place that might help me was going to be closed very soon.

I made it into the next decent-sized town and prayed for a Walmart with an auto center. I couldn't imagine what else might be open and able to help me. Pulled into a gas station to ask about a Walmart and realized there were two service bays and the guy working there had a uniform-type shirt on...he replaced the battery for me! What a relief that was.

Spent the night at a Super 8, then called Tenn War Eagle about ten times between 9am and 1pm to see if he had found Karo and Little Bit, but never got through. Made it to Shippensburg, PA in time to watch most of the Eagles game with my son shiprunner08, then got through to TWE and the lost ones a little after four. Great relief.

Got home around 7:30.

It was great to meet everyone, look forward to the next time. Thanks to all of you (esp. baume) for making this a great trip.

My Pics”

“Hey Fritz, glad you made it home safe, car trouble and all.

Hope to see you again whenever it works out.”

“....Awesome trip! Hopefully a trip report later....odd note...it was exactly 1000 miles R/T...anyway...it was nice to spend some time with Rock Stomper and Gonzo....you guys are a class act....and thanks for the coffee...don't know what I would have done with out it....now...back to reality...argh!”

“Me and Azimuth must have passed you, your daughter, son, and dog in Massie Gap! We were wearing blue rain coats!

I was looking forward to hanging out with everyone again Saturday night - I really enjoyed talking with a few and listening to the conversations around me Friday night! Oh well... next TT trip! Linville, Linville, Linville!!!”

“Yep, you did. I should've worn a nametag! LOL”

“Shoot!! We even said hey to you, and your kids pointed out the ponies! That is so funny!”

“Heck, I almost asked if you guys were from TT. I figured that almost everyone I would run into was, but I guess I was just too shy.”

“Glad to see that everyone made it home safely. It was nice to meet some new TT'ers and see old friends again. It was still a great time beats sitting at home.”

“A bad day in the mountains beats a good day in the office.”

“Had a great time, just a little "under the weather". Thanks Fritz for your company on the trail and your concerns. I see from the trip reports that ya'll had a worse time than we did. We hiked on to Rhodendron Gap after the leaving Fritz at the Pine Mountain Trail. Arrived at the Gap at about 3 pm. and didn't see any of our group. From what most said when we left Old Orchard Shelter, some were planning on going up to Thomas Knob and others were planning on camping just below the Gap at the Spring below the Crest Trail. Well that's what we did, because as most have already posted, the R gap was awful. We camped with another group and headed out the next morn to almost perfect conditions. That changed at Wilburn Gap and the wind and rain were almost unbearable! Thought I had lost Little Bit there once, she almost became the "Flying Nun"!! Wel we mad it back about noon and took a wrong turn at the parking lot where a group were looking for lost kids. We finally met up with TWE and trekkngirl and had a long detour home. Finally arrived safely at 10:30 pm. I think I may have reached my limits, but I see others did too. When we got to R. Gap we were too cold and too late to continue on so we made camp and got warm, sorry no one else came down to the camp like we had planned, but I understand with the trail markings and the wet and cold. Lets do it again when the weather is better. Glad to meet everyone new and sorry I missed Om and Radagast,heard so many good things about you two. Happy hikin”

“glad you guys were ok...

roam around - yeah - it was nice meeting you... sorta! ha ha...
i was the other one in blue”

“...and I was the other other one in blue.”

“old orchard...not only were we warm and dry...but...we had the SAW!!! RUB RUB RUB.”

“I'm glad to hear the four of you stayed together. That worked out well.”

“It's so much fun reading all the different trip reports, puttn' them all together you can see what exactelly happened. Sort of funny. :)”

“Yep, makes me wish I'd been there....to share in the fun!”

“Fritz,nice pics and report.Bummer your car wouldn't start.

Karo,Little Bit.TN WAR EAGLE..enjoyed riding and hiking with you guys..real soon again,ok..”

“she's a REEL cutie. hmmmmmmmm....needs I deflect some attention her way???? Is she available...anyone know? hahaha...

my new trail name is "Trail Slut". hahaha...its an interesting story...ya shoulda been there.

Something about not being loyal to anyone particular trail/woman or both...hahaha”

“I had that nickname in college. some things NEVER change.”

“...you're leaving out a part.....if I remember correctly...isn't something like...Gear Slut Butt Packer....ROTHFLMAO.....now that's funny....you homo...ha ha”

“if my memory serves me correctly it was poop packing trail slut....
my new name is burning ass....”

“cause i got too close to the fire!!”

“sure gonzo, sure....

Hey Fritz,,, I think that's Ewker in the first of your pictures with yam & the Dude.”

“elvis wasn't a rowdy friend!

that was kris!”

“...thanks for putting me straight....I knew it was something along those lines...”

“Sorry to hear about the car trouble. Great Pictures Man!!”

“that was the title...but, I ain't packin no poop...I refuse...I don't give a darn what the regulations say...if they don't catch me layin it...then it ain't mine...prove it...do a DNA test and PROVE that its my #&%!$.

I dare ya.”