mount rogers, va - november 2003

“That ROCKS! man. Definitely let us know when your on the web with a couple of mp3s”

“You got it.”

“Its rather long. I make no apologies. These trip reports are mostly for myself and my record book...I hope you enjoy it also.

Started the trip after work at 5pm on Thursday the 13. Khatru and I hit the road by 6pm and was cruising along and @ 80 miles in, I realized that I had missed my turn off after Dyersburg Tn and had gone 20 miles (one way) out of my way, which became 40 miles to get back on track. Got myself righted and hit up I-40 in Jackson Tn. Now the long haul…100 miles into the trip (+ the 40 mile screw up its now 8:30. I had more than 350 miles to travel that night plus a 1-hour time zone change. I finally came to a stop (and believe me, it was necessary) my eyes were failing and I was hallucinating and hearing voices, it was 2:30am (my time), which was 3:30am local time. I slept in the car, just outside Abingdon at a gas station on Rt 58. I was out, before the car stopped rocking. In the morning, I raided the place for coffee and gas and continued on to Grayson Highlands St Pk. To await Stratusloop’s arrival from Philly. I hit up the ranger station, for the obligatory donations to the local economy, met the rangers (the woman ranger was VERY pretty) (ok, fine…I’m a letch…all women are pretty to me) and was told that Bruce Almighty had just gone up to the parking area…as I was staring at the rangerette, Jerbear came up and disturbed my concentration.

After a few moments, the 2 of us were heading up to parking area to meet Pennsy. First time meeting him…(hail and well met, Pennsy) After a few photos, those guys took off to hike the AT to Old Orchard Shelter. Soon after Stratusloop (Joe) showed up and he began putting his pack together. Hog On Ice showed up and in a short, the 3 of us hit the trail. In an even shorter short. HOI left to hike up to Rhododendron Gap. SL and I continued on up, taking many breaks and enjoying the moment. We almost immediately saw some wild ponies. That was awesome! The hike on up to the AT was a good steady climb with a good many views since the leaves were all off. Upon reaching the AT, I was really excited as this was my first treading upon the Mother Trail this far south. It was a glorious day, blue skies and moderate temps and tolerable winds. The trail is rutted deep, from all the hikers of the past…I felt like I was one of a very privileged group. We traveled at a good pace for a bit, but in actuality, we dilly-dallied as much as possible. Speed was not on our agenda and we wanted to share and savor the moments that we had together, in this very special place in time.

We took the AT to the intersection with the Scales Trail, which reconnected to the AT at Pine Mtn. From there we hiked it to the Old Orchard Shelter the other members of this austere gathering. We never saw any other personages the entire day. It was now 4:30pm and all the festivities were getting underway. There were people and tents everywhere. It was like some grand gear show. Neat. As I entered the area, many people that I had met in the past and lots of new faces warmly greeted me. It truly amazing to know so many different people, that loves the same activity, which can come together and have a grand time. TT rules and you all ROCK for sure!!! I was asked to relinquish up my saw, so that some serious wood cutting could begin, I gladly did so asking that some wood be saved for me to cut…I love to saw wood…really, I do.

Evening now, and SL and I remove ourselves to set up our area and let Khatru calm down and for the 3 of us to eat. In a short, Baume66 came up to say hello and offer up some awesome fruitcake, and individually wrapped! Too cool, dude…thanks and it was delicious too. We made it up to the fire and MAN!!! Was it a fire!!! Freakin thing was like 7’ tall at one point. I sat up my lazy boy reclining set up and commence to errrr…relax. I drank a bit of drambuie and shared some with whomever and ate more food…I ate food all day long and all night long, then all morning, afternoon…..well, you get the picture…I eat a lot. Apples, Pineapple and beef jerky. Khatru settled down after walking about and saying hello…he really took a liking to Smoky Girl…I think he tried to eat her braid…(good boy). I approved of his choice as she is rather cute. It was a bright night and the stars were amazingly brilliant. If you got away from the fire, you could see the Milky Way. I love seeing the Milky Way.

The evening wore on, and there was so much laughter and story telling. I was a true gathering of fine gentlefolk. I’d hang with any of you again, anytime, anywhere. As things were beginning to wind down, and folks were drifting to their respective temporary homes, I pulled Elia (my hand made flute) out and began to play. Softly at first, then a bit louder. All of a sudden, there was total silence and everyone was tuned into the music. The notes drifted out into the surroundings woods and crept into each person’s consciousness and aided in the process of relaxation and the drift into blissful sleep. I’m glad everyone enjoyed the music. It was a pleasure to bring it to you and God’s Forest. I do so love to play, and playing for others is a real joy. Usually, it’s just myself and the silence, but here was a group to make music for…cool, again, it was my pleasure.

Not soon after, everyone began to slip to their areas…must be the music…LOL. SL, Khatru and I went back to our quarters, where we climbed into warm sleeping bags and I slept like a rock. It wasn’t till late in the Am, that I awoke. It had rained through the night. I had barley noticed, but, everything was now wet and folks everywhere were packed up and heading out on the trail. I never had a chance to say good morning nor even good-bye to many of the people that were there. That was a real bummer, but, I’m not an early riser, nor am I ever in a hurry. Time is something I pay no attention to, and distance to hike that day, was not daunting, so, I slept in and missed all but a few. Just as I got everything in the pack and took it over to the shelter, which BTW, was the first AT shelter that I had ever seen. Pretty cool. The shelter was now empty, the fire was near out. There were only a few people still there, and the plan of the day was to hike up to Rhododendron Gap, where Hog On Ice was staying. Some were going to hike to the Thomas Knob Shelter and hump Mt Rogers. Our initial plan was to hike up the AT to the Lewis Fork Trail to Cliffside Trail, back to LFT, and then on to Pine Mtn. Trail.
We did do this hike, just not then on Sat. At this particular moment, the last of the folk pulled out, and the only other persons still there were Gonzo and Rock Stomper. In talking to them, we concocted plan “B”. I said, we had plenty of water, loads of food, a dry place to stay (the shelter), a huge fire, a deck of cards, unlimited supply of wood…1/2 lb of very fine coffee…and THE SAW!!! Why go anywhere else, since it was going to rain all day, and be extremely windy up and the Gap. I sprung this idea on SL, and he immediately concurred that it sounded like a sound plan. So…plan “B”, it was. And, it turns out that we made the correct choice, cause so many people bailed that evening and had to head into town or other parts unknown. But the 4 of us had an awesome time and made a huge fire and met and greeted people coming up the trail all day…we were the Official Old Orchard Greeting Committee. We told stories of TT and how we happened to be there, spreading the Gospel of The Backpacker.com and all the Psycho-TelePathetic people that inhabit this realm. It was SOOOO much fun…(Gonzo & RockStomper…you 2 are the best…it was too much fun, really, it was a pleasure and an honor to have hung with you that day).

Rock Stomper and Gonzo went out for a day hike, and had a super time, and even got a bit wet, but, while they were out, SL and I went out and search for tons of wood. We got enough and cut it all up so that it filled up the bottom of the picnic table, entirely. I tell ya, I can’t remember the last time I got to just “HANG OUT” with my best friend. How freakin cool!!! We never knew what time it was, nor cared, we ate when were hungry, and hunted wood all day…oh yeah…the coffee…well, it never stopped…all day long.

The day wore on, the fire raged, some dudes showed up and pitched tents next to the shelter, we yakked all night long and swapped stories and laughed. All this time Khatru was just hanging out, sleeping and relaxing, not bothering anything or anyone. At first, he slept under the shelter and in the evening, he moved up into the corner of the shelter, right next to our stuff. He was really good and made me feel proud to be his human. I’d hike with him anytime, and probably will, for sure. LOL

Sometime in the night, Gonzo and Rock Stomper went to sleep and SL and I tweeked and played with the fire for many hours, but eventually, it was time to pass out as the morning would bring us the need to hike out and it would be ALL uphill, in the rain and wind when we got up top to the ridge.

Sunday morn…very early…arose and got the fire going, made coffee ate breakfast and began the slow process of packing the pack up. Gonzo and Rock Stomper were complete and gone first…again…awesome you 2, just simply awesome!!! Thanks for your company….and coffee.

SL, Khatru and myself turned our backs onto the place and moved off into the future and up the trail, bidding farewell to a place and a memory that shall never be relived…only remembered.

The trail, which we were to travel, has already been mentioned, but, the conditions have not…rainy and windy…in a simple word, NASTY. We took our first 2 minute stop where we had to take the left onto Cliffside Trail…The major climb up to the ridge, 750’, straight uphill…hardly any switchbacks either…I loved it…put it into low gear and just mojoed and slogged straight up the mother. We took it slow and steady, but Khatru really wanted to rip it open and I had to hold him back. Once back on the AT and in the open at the top, the wind ripped us to shreds and regularly blew us literally off the trail. We saw some more ponies, and again, saw no other humanoids, the entire time. The only time it didn’t rain, was while we were up top on the AT. We were very fortunate. It turns out that the weather was so severe up at the Gap, and the Thomas Knob shelter had boy scouts, that most of the other TT’ers bailed on Saturday, and bagged the rest of the weekend …SUCKERS!!!!!!

The hike down the AT through Rhododendron Gap, was awesome, the views were striking, and the rock formations were incredible. We, again, saw ponies, but the wind was so strong, that dilly-dallying was out of the question. But even with the harsh conditions, it was still overwhelmingly enjoyable.

We had no problems and got back to the car at 2pm. This was our plan the entire time….we paid no attention to time the entire weekend, yet here we were, right on time…cool!!! We quickly changed clothes and then hit up the ranger station to wash up and say our goodbyes. It won’t be till sometime next year, when we will again be united. Hopefully, in Death Valley…see ya in Vegas, dude.

The drive home took forever, I stopped in Damascus to hit up MRO, Mount Rogers Outfitters. Again, to make my obligatory contributions to the local economy. $116.00 dollars later, I was walking into Sicily, the pizza joint for a calzone (freakin thing took 30 minutes to make, but, it was SOOOOOOO good). I didn’t get out of Damascus till 4. I had good driving all the way to Nashville, having had to stop only once for a quick power nap, but then I got bogged down in nasty traffic for 45 minutes just 30 miles east of Nashville. I made my way off the highway and followed the truckers, oh…BTW…it was so foggy and misty, that at times, I couldn’t see the front of the car. The driving was very hard and difficult and I was very tired. Once past Nashville, I literally flew, but, again, I had to stop for a power nap, I was hallucinating and hearing voices. I did manage to get home safely, Khatru having slept the entire time…who ever said that having fun was easy work? I pulled in the driveway at 1:30am. And promptly jumped into the shower and then falling on my bed and into sleep, Khatru was already there and snoring heavily.

To conclude, I’m sorry that I didn’t get to hike and hang another day with the rest of you. What I did get to share with you, was awesome…thanks…you all are certainly the best personages out there. There will be many future opportunities to meet up with you and once again, share Gods places. I look forward that time.

Stratusloop…what to say Dude?…to quote the Band…”you were my reason for being there”. Thank you…you the Chooch!!!! See ya soon.

The end…





Oh yeah...Happy birthday Stratusloop. Nov 20th I'm sure glad I got to see ya before you birthday. Enjoy!”

“I'll post the 247 photos that I took later on in the week.

Stratusloop, your such an a$$hole...leave walkindude alone, he's a legend and he's really old...like a grandpa ya know...LOL...smart@ss.

And you all think I have a rotten sense of humor...wait till ya getta load of HIM.

Dude, it was great to see ya again. Gemini...gosh, your awful pretty, jerbear...well...you know man, you know. Ewker...always a pleasure...look forward to doing one more time, next week. SmokyGirl...heck, I think I'm in love. To the rest...well met...see ya on the trail again some time.”

“Cool trip report. Brings back the memeories.”

“one of the best reports I've ever read. you should be a writer man.

Missed ya this time, but maybe next.”

“Great Report Stikmon!
I wondered where yall stayed Staurday.
I loved the little hill going up the Cliffside trail. SWEET!”

“yeah, that was a nice report. Thanks.
Can't wait for the pictures.”

“....nice report....but there's one correction...my birthday is the 19th....not the 20th....maybe you should write that down....”

“oh, yesterday was your birthday?? Hey...Happy Happy birthday!!!!”

“it is written down,,,on a note pad on my frig...its been wrong for 4 years...yikesss...some friend I am. sorry dude...I will go and masticate (I'm not sure what masticate is, but it sounds pretty nasty) my self now...”

“stikmon....great report!!

it was my pleasure to meet you and your partner in crime stratusloop as well as khatru, the wonder dog....

looking forward to seeing those pictures, and to hiking with you guys again....”

“masticate

v. tr.
To chew (food).
To grind and knead (rubber, for example) into a pulp.

v. intr.
To chew food.”

“and looks around, "Is it safe here? ...Jesus!!"

Cool report, Stikkie!”

“smoky girl...the rest of you ROT, but smoky girl is cool.”

“that is a great report, stik!!! A+

btw. you're pineapple was DIVINE. :-)”

“I just made a new batch of jerky...I used chinese ingrediants...Hoisin sauce, black pepper and garlic sauce, red chili pepper paste with a dash of cajun XXXX hot sauce. marinated for 24 hours and man o man...is it GOOD!!!!”

“the photos Enjoy!!!”

“hey stikmon....great pictures!!!”

“I checked them last night. Yes, nice pics.”

“Stkmon is a real poet , I think he missed his calling. Great report!”

“Nice pics. Seems like you guys had the right idea staying at Old Orchard.”

“Cool shots Stikmon!”

“glad you guys enjoyed them. The fun is in the creation though.”

“I actually sat and read everyones reports in thier entirety. I haven't looked at everyones photos, but I will.

It is very cool to see so many different sides to the same tale. It reads like chapters in a book and in the total reading, it makes a complete story...or maybe its like looking at a painting from every perspective so that it becomes 3 dimensional.

I still sit back and relive this moment. It was sublime to say the least. It was only 3 weeks ago, but feels like it was so much longer. Good trips like this deserve to be relived...so...I breathe life back into what has once been...enjoy!”

“It was a beautiful area!”

“is there going to be a Mt. Rogers trip for this year? This is one mt. that is high up on my list.”

“yes, but i don't have any dates figured yet.”

“cool
I am looking forward to this trip”

“try and pick a date that will guarantee good weather for a change, will ya? Someday, I'd like to actually see the sun while on that mountain.”

“is Mt Rogers the last mile high mountain until the daks and whites?”

“Make it thanksgiving weekend...

But I'll be there whatever dates ya got.”

“I'm not missing this hike this time around.”

“last mile high mt? Hmmm, I would think yes. Marcy in NY would be the next one to the north.

Stikky - I keep saying I won't come back because of the weather but I'm sure I'll be there again.”

“looks like a trip in the making..”

“Mt. Rogers is one of those places, because of it's openess and view of the night sky, is a place that should be taken advantage of durung a celestial event.”

“when is the next celestrial event?”

“I'll have to just take your word for it Buddur. I've been there twice and all I've seen is snow, rain, sleet, fog and clouds. Got to see the wild ponies though.”

“plus there no real big cities nearby to pollute the night time sky with light. I think it would be neat on the top of Mt. Craig as well.”

“this year...I hope that I will get to actually spend some time with the others...especially YAM or little bit...I was gettin ready to make my moves...(pineapple does it all the time) when it started raining and everyone bolted to the tents. bummer. Plus..i was puttin on quite a good buzz...drambuie will do that.”

“hey stikky,
I wasn't even there!! You must mean some other sweet potato that you were feeding your pineapple to!! :O”

“I was there once in December and it was cold as you know what - but the skies were clear as a bell - it was awesome.”

“Tilt could probably suggest some good night sky times.”

“i think you'll never pick the right time for mount rogers. weather there is unpredictable...

bad weather is okay once in a while, but mtn rogers needs to be seen during nice days. It is really an awsome trail.”

“nice weather and Mt Rogers just don't go together :(”

“i wanna go this time”

“October full moon if it falls during the third week AND take 3 or 4 days , chances are the weather will break at least one of them :)
i kind of like it when it is foggy there during the early mornings and then the sun pops out and the sky turns an awesome blue and it stays crispy clear thru the night for the celestial events.....

that was fine. fine fine
i don't expect that particular experience to ever happen to me again in that same way....

but Pennsy, i know what you mean...., rain does dilute the enjoyment level....unless you like sleeping...or tent life more than getting outside to check out the scenery and breath fresh air.”

“I'm hoping for a more successful trip there sometime. And one where I'm not very sleeeeeeepppppyyyyy.”

“I think its time to start planning this trip.”

“i set a tentative date soon.”