mount rogers, va - november 2003

“my mistake rad.”

“baume wins the "out of the blue" award.”

“Ok. It was great getting out there and meeting so many new people!! And even though the weather was miserable, I had a great time (isn't it funny how when you look back the weather doesn't seem half as cold and windy and rainy as it actually was??)

Great pics Fritz and WD and Ewker!! Ewker--LOL at your captions!!”

“I mean, I'm into Leave No Trace and all, but you can get carried away - no pun intended.”

“Ewker, Dude & Fritz those are some awesome photos.I got some good pics too but I've never set myself up with a photo page.

By the Ewker it looked like ya might have gotten lil Spam Burritto grease on the lower left hand side of your lens on a few pics. LOL!”

“I want to thank everyone who made this trip and sorry I didn't get to meet everyone. My family had been sick all week and I think I may have picked it up. I was slower than my usual self and sweating bullets climbing Pine Mtn. on Saturday. Several people at the Old Orchard shelter said we would camp at the Spring just below the junction of the Crest Trail and Rhododendron Gap trail so that's where we went. I had mild hyperthermia and had to get dry and warm. All the wood that I gathered was soaked so Little Bit gathered some water, we filtered it and I cooked in my tent in a warm bed. After we ate, we retired to our "seperate" tents and talked for a while till dark. Just before dark we heard someone yelling but I honestly don't think it was any TTers. The next morn there was some other people with kids and a hugh camp just above us at the trail juncion. I hope I have all the names right on my pics, I met so many new people and everyone was terrific. Maybe next time we can organize the trip and destinations better. It would also help if mother nature cooperated! I want ot personally thank Fritz and especially Little Bit for looking out for me. I am the one who is supposed to do the rescueing and I wind up needing the help! Well here are my pics:
http://community.webshots.com/album/100583515qRyjlX
hope this works.”

“I love my digital camera! No more waiting to film processing!”

“Nice shots Karo!”

“My mistake Ewker I think it was Spam grease on my computer screen!!!!!!!!!”

“lol@Spam, thanks for the spam burritos they were good even without the eggs.

Still waiting for Spam in a foil pouch.”

“LOL!!!!!
I can believe that.”

“Iffin everyone hadn't been in such a hurry Saturday morn I would have made the eggs too but even so I forgot the salsa anyways.It'll be better next time Ewk I promise!”

“I'm sittin here thinkin that sounds kinda good in spite of myself.”

“Hey Spam, just make sure you don't waste three perfectly good slices of Spam next time. What a waste.”

“Well go peel a can open then!! LOL! Come to Linville Gorge in January and I'll cook em up.Date coming soon!”

“Ewker that's Top Secret info bro!
Don't make me come to TN!”

“Let me know when - Linvill aint' that far away from me at all!”

“Very nice photos Ewker, Walkindude, Fritz, and Karo.

I'm glad everybody got off the mountain safe and sound. It was great meeting a whole bunch of new friends and reuniting with some old friends. I had a lot of fun despite the weather. My only regret is that I didn't get to spend nearly as much time chatting with individuals as I would have liked to. There's always next year.

Thanks to Baume for organizing this trip and for his awesome fruitcake. Yummy! Walkindude gave me a cd of his band FB/2 and I listened to it on the long drive home. Dude, your music rocks!! Thanks!

Anyway, here are my pics.

I intended to get a portrait of everybody on this trip, and I did get a few Friday night. I planned to get the rest Sat but Mother Nature butted in. I'll get the rest of ya's next time.”

“Nice pics Pennsy!

By the way I had already gone to rack out at Old Orchard shelter when I hear someone (Stikmon?) playing a Native American flut and it was awesome. I could have listened to it all night. After that there was no way I was going to break out the harmonica although iffin I had the right key with me we might have composed something very unusual. LOL!”

“I heard that as I was going off to sleep on Fri night, I thought it was Pan!”

“Great pictures Pennsy!

Glad you liked the CD also. What tunes did you like the best?”

“Yeah Stikmon, That was some really cool flut playing. Wanna jam sometime? LOL!!!!!”

“Hey Guys....I just wanted to tell everyone what a great time I had on this backpack. Meeting so many exceptional people while sitting around the "best campfire" ever built, sharing great food and drink,...all while viewing millions of stars is beyond words to describe. Stikmon your pineapple was delicious and your drink took my break away! Jerbear...what a blast building a "fire" with you. I was amazed at how easy it was to get to know a little about such a large group of people.

Saturday our hike up Pine Mountain was beautiful with great hiking companions... Karo and Fritz. It was nice having time to talk with you Fritz and Karo was a great backpacking buddy. Even though he felt really bad he toughed it out and made it to Rhododenron Pass. The view was incredible and the wind was exciting to say the least! Karo and I found the spring and started setting up camp in a sheltered spot when we learned from "strangers" that our entire group had bailed on us. We were really disappointed because we were looking forward to more time together with everyone. We set up camp (with our tents close so we could talk), gathered water from the spring, made a good hot dinner, snuggled up in our tents and talked until we got sleepy. During the night, while taking care of business, there was a beautiful fine snow falling on top of the mountain although most of the night the wind sounded like freight trains racing across the mountainside.

Sunday was overcast but warmer...great hiking weather and I was so excited to see my first pony. He was a solid black pony all alone grazing on Wilburn Pass and Karo got some good pictures. The "brisk" wind on Wilburn Pass blew me over three times. It was a new sensation to think I might take flight at any Minute. Ha! My favorite trail was Massie Gap trail and the beautiful fields of grass with the herds of ponies grazing as we hiked past them. The vista was incredible!!! The sun even peeked through the clouds a couple of times on our hike down. Karo did great hiking on Sunday...he was feeling some better until we missed the exit to the parking lot and had to back track. Yah! to TNWarEagle and Trekkngirl for being there and not leaving us. I thought it was a little late in life for me to start hitchhiking.

It was an exciting trip home in the 'Black Dodge Rocket' with TnWarEagle as pilot and Karo as navigator. Our music was provided by "DJ" Trekkngirl and we rocked to the oldies all the way home. What a party! Ewker...It was great to see you again, we enjoyed sharing lunch with Spam on Friday in Damascus and Fritz...your pictures really captured the beauty of the trails we shared. I hope to see you soon.

Little Bit”

“WD - I liked them all, but one of the ones in the middle I liked the best. It's still in the car so I don't know the title. Are any of the vocals you are just your partner?”

“Little Bit, it was good to see you again. Hope you can make it on some more trips.

Great shots Pennsy, you make my pics look terrible”

“Great pics and reports from everyone, it's cool reading about all the different groups and their hikes.”

“The "Not my Will, but Thy Will" and how I came to miss so many of you beautiful people report.

I had the car all packed and ready to leave right after my softball game last thursday evening. The plan was to get to atlanta somewhere around 2 am where i was picking rad up, he would then take the wheel for the remainder of the trip while i slept. I was enjoying the victory beer for a few minutes after the game with the team when the subject turned to the WEATHER report for friday night here in north florida..well, I had to go home after the game to adjust my pet situation so that i would not come home to a frozen petey, my dancing conure. Consequently, I left the river at midnight.....yada yada.....I get to rads around 7 am....by the grace of god , some dr. pepper and the rock and roll chants of krishna das. I had at that point been awake for 24 hours.
So, Rad takes the wheel and we head out, stopped for a hearty cracker barrel breakfast, and even tho rad was driving with one hand on the wheel and one wrapped around a cup of hot coffee in my new used car that i love, on the interstate at 80 mph.., i dozed away, not quite in rem..but relaxing.
We got to grayson around 2:30 and we were faced by the decision of which trailhead to start from. It would have been pretty late arrival to go to old orchard even from grindstone, did not want to do the cartheft parking area, and yada yada yada~~~~~~~~i have of late , begun practicing laziness and we agreed that we would start at massie gap and go as far as we could up to rhododendron area and get up early and intersect with the group coming there on saturday. by the time i got changed into my hiking clothes and took the frozen alligator meat and salsa out of the cooler and packed it, we hit the trail around fourish....heh...bless you rad for never complaining out loud...:)

It was a beautiful afternoon in the highlands...once we came around a hill, the sun was shining golden on the grass and making rad and his pack all glowing and the wind was gusting...it was just magnificent. I think the wind rivaled any hurricane I have experienced here in florida. I had ample clothing and wind stopper gloves, but nothing covering my face and my lips stung from the wind and the chill.
We trudged onward, it was clear and the sky was glowing. I just love that area...grassy and rocky.
but the wind was relentless...blowing me off balance when gusting,...it was a bit of a struggle, especially since I was carrying a heavier pack, tent and all that alligator meat and mangoes and food to cook for the crowd that i was expecting to hook up with on saturday nite!!!......
I was rewarded with a gorgeous sunset from wilburn ridge area and since arriving to rhododendron gap at night...a skyfull of twinkling stars and the milky way in all its glory.
I think we had considered going further , setting up camp and then hiking into old orchard , then coming back to sleep...but, I was virtually wind beat I guess and i could not fathom taking one more step...once i looked up at the stars , i was ready to throw it down and eat something. Rad said it took me an hour to get my tent set up, and it seemed like it...with gloves on...cause it was freezin out there! I was sooooooo cold, I had a cup of miso, and I split the avacado in half and we put some salsa in the hole and ate it out of the skin. I was feeling really ill from the cold and just scrooched up in the tent , after i got warm i did some star gazing and had some chocolate and then got back in the bag listening to the wind, with thoughts of meeting up with everyone the next night and cooking up all that heavy food!!
I woke up in the middle of the night and i could have sworn i was sleeping at the ocean..the wind blowing sounded like waves crashing on the shore...really...then i looked up thru the window in my tent fly and the partial moon was shining right thru it ..i felt at home!
when i woke up, we were in the clouds and it was rather drippy. I went down to the spring to get water for breakfast and got all turned around since it was socked in by clouds. I ran into a hunter with an orange hat and a big ole rifle. He was really nice and said this was not rain, but clouds, so i felt better..and he pointed the way back to the tents.
After rad and i had breakfast, we headed up to the thomas knob shelter hoping to run into "the others" coming in. We only found boy scouts...so , we decided to go up the pine mtn trail. It was then we ran into Spam and Gemini.
ya'll have heard all the rest of the shakedown from this point.
waited and waited, but weather getting yukkier and yukkier..no matter how much i thought it was just clouds needing to be burned off....it became apparent that i would not get to see everyone and cook up all that alligator meat! especially for walkindude!...or cut up any of those mangoes for whoever...I packed em up and headed down the mtn with rad and hoi.......i was feeling kind of sad about it all and getting to the end.when I looked up and there walking up the trail was Fritz....my heart soared! we exchanged a big NAMASTE! ...he is sunshine in the rain folks.....somebody up there loves me....
so, down at the parking lot, i tried to pass off the alligator to hoi, since i prolly wouldnt eat such a thing myself...and hopes of seeing the dude were sqelched (and to think , he was at the shelter..so close)....Rad and I headed down to damascus to meet up with Spam and Gemini and Trekkengirl and Jerbear....but were flagged down by Spam outside the Old Barn Restaurant. Jerbear and Gemini were no where to be found, so we decided to eat and I must say, they have the best club sandwich i have ever had. Nice folks there, and they didnt even mind when i got on the floor for a little yoga to get rid of the crick in my neck. Their floors are not only clean enough to eat off, but also for yoga...LOL....spam dared me.

Rad had a bit of a headache, so we decided to head home, where I stayed the night with Mr. and Mrs. Rad and had a great hot shower in their buddha bathroom.
I got a rad cooked omelet on sunday morning and headed back to florida...getting home in time to watch little buddha on IFC.

I am sorry I didnt stick it out long enough to meet more of you folks...
but i got a road car now!! will catch ya on the next one.
i ate the mangoes myself and took the gator meat to the dumpster this morning on the way to work, where i spent all day being thankful for such a great weekend, checking this thread to see where everyone ended up and wondering when and where i can go next.

you should be ready for sleep now, if you are not yet there after this. i am sorry it is so long...but petey is asleep and i felt like relating”

“Little Bit
It was great to meet you. Ewker has mentioned you before (all good). Hope to hike with you again!

Pennsy,
I don't sing on any recordings. I'll sing a little back up when we're just jamming though. I'd rather just play guitar.”

“Kid walkindude...just remember us when you make it big”

“I'll hire you to carry my amp around.”

“no pay just throw me a groupie evey now and then, of course we know who your 1st groupie is...lol”

“Ha....Ha.....Ha....”

“om, as always, it was good to see you again. iffin' i'd known you had aligator meat to give away, i would have carried it for you. i had it one time in new orleans and liked it.”

“gmornin...i got so carried away last night in the saga...i forgot a most important thing and that was to say how lucky i was to at least see Baume66, trekngirl, spam, jerbear, and hoi again for some hugs..and to meet Pennsey and Gemini...
also....i hope fruitcake freezes well baume66...if you had any left that is~~~

om shanti om
have a happenin' day folks”

“I'm lovin all the trip reports.

An observation...and part of why I love this group:

Despite the weather, the problems, the confusion of who was where, and missing people we wanted to see, etc. etc. etc., I keep reading about how everyone had a "great trip." I so much love the positive attitudes so often displayed on this board.

So refreshing compared to "real life" where so many people treat every inconvenience as a major crisis...”

“this trip SUCKED....all the people were weird. the trail was poorly marked...there were too many rocks, roots and dead leaves around. there was not enough food to feed the masses. The weather really bit the binachi. there were no considerable challenges...meaning no uphills or downhills.

Overall I''d say this trip earned a -2 on a scale of 10.

I'll post my true feelings and report and all the photos tonight...theres no football to watch...how bout them 49'ers!!! CRUSH the Curtain!!!”

“Great reports everyone!! glad to see that it is not just me that gets rained on!”

“...stop stealing my sayings....and if you're gonna use them....say it right man!....it's binachi balls....get it straight dude!”

“oh yeah. I forgot.”

“bianchi balls?
bocci balls?
binacca balls?

Whaddafah?


Oh -- Here ya go.”

“Tilt....it's an old saying I made up many moons ago...as far as your link goes....I know nothing about that....

Walkindude.....thanks for the CD dude...your smokin on the axe man...I was really diggin those riffs you kick out...like you're almost in the league with the Smother's Brothers and maybe even a tinge of Cowboy Curtis from Pee Wee's Playhouse.....caught myself playing the air guitar while driving....rock on man!”

“Just wanted to say thanks for making me feel so welcome on this trip. I had a great time meeting all of you. The hike was quite an adventure and I look forward to doing it again soon.”

“It was great to meet you too! I would love to hear your music. I heard around the campfire that you were famous but I wasn't sure for what so I ask Karo and he told me you've cut a CD. Sounds like you received fab reviews from the gang.

Little Bit”

“yeah WD, they all talk about your music. I have still not heard it.
How about uploading a mp3 to the net so we can all get a sample of your stuff...”

“yeah, what she said.”

“Bill has been working on a web page but ain't done yet. We also plan to put some MP3s on Soundclick.com. I'm not sure how far he is with that. He's in Vagas till Thursday so when he gets back I'll get with him on that.
I had about 5 CD's during the trip but I never really got a chance to pass them all out. We had just started putting them together so there wasn't many yet.
The music thing is just hobby. We totally do the CDs ourselves. I'll let yall know when we get set up with enough of them to mail some out. For now I've given about 30 away to friends and people at work that like our music.”

“wd, what kind a music is it?? I am really curious, specially as I listen to almost every sort of music style.”

“I'm not really Famous. I just know a ton of people on Trail Talk.
The music has nothing to do with it. I haven't even played a live show in YEARS. Hopefully in a few weeks or months I'll be in front of people playing again. We plan on it anyway.”

“It's most deffinatly Rock. My playing style is kinda like Black Sabbath and Dokken slammed together. I'm an 80's man mostly.”

“I listen to heavy rock too. Cool. Can't wait for you to have it up on the net.”