Help out HPM!

“Okay, here's the wierdness. We got a small yellow envelope in the mail today, no return address, and we can't read the cancellation markings, but they do start with "SEA." Inside, were 2 12" pieces of black elastic cord, nothing else. No notes. Anyone have any ideas on this?”

“I can't believe you opened it!”

“Sounds like something "warranty" might have sent....what kind of warranty, I wouldn't have a clue.”

“And people say I'M weird....”

“Seattle?

Maybe REI...although their packages are clearly marked usually.

Outdoor Research (OR) is in Seattle too. Did you lose a string on your gaiters?”

“Those are alien bungie trackers, you know how close Mars is and that power outage? I'm telling you, they are coming for us.”

“1. Missing parts (as above)

2. Magic trick of some kind

3. Practical joke”

“well if your really curious about the origin check the rear of the envelope for a red bar code, if its there you might take it back to the po and ask them to translate it.....”

“I told my consiglierie to send a horse's head, not a horse's hair!”

“Guylines for the Europa from Six Moons?

Something ordered from Seattle Fabrics?

Something the Horsepacker found amongst his stuff after he delivered your resupply?”

“Water bottle holders for a golite pack?”

“Sounds like a funky pair of earings. When did HPM get his ears (or anything else...) pierced?”

“I thought the penny Bitpusher found in the campsite near Mt. Rogers was pretty cool.”

“i agree with the 3 ideas that Phil posted!

I don't think its nothing to get crazy about.

8)”

“Oops, I guess that second post was supposed to go on the "What's your favorite penny?" thread. Sorry guys.”

“I'm not concerned, just a little perplexed.

I was just wondering if someone here sent me something.”

“4. Impractical joke (?)”

“No red bar markings on it. It was mailed to us on the 12th. Just wierd.”

“Are they more like bungee cord or shoelaces? I think WW may be onto something...



who do we know in Seattle? <G>”

“who in seattle has your address?”

“It is elastic cord, with a 13 ply rubber core, black pvc inner sheath, and woven black polymer outer sheath. It's like the elasticcord in my rain jacket for tightening down the cowl. It's 1/16 diameter.

We know a couple of people in Seattle, but one of HPM's previous death march trips scared them away from backpacking pretty much.”

“hmmm...”

“Ummm...not an accurate assesment TB.

They took my trip plan and made it harder all by themselves.

As I tell young scouts. If you ignore my reccomendations then you assume the responsability of what may happen.”

“Isn't cascade designs in seattle too? They do platypus, thermarest, sealskin, some sorta hiking pole, and a buncha other stuff.”

“I can't think of anyone that I've called for warranty or repair issues, ever.”

“Thbbpt, HPM! You should still be known as "Deathmarch tour guide!"”

“Don't you two live together? Are you typing in separate rooms?

Now I want to read the trip report from this trip with the seattelites. Sounds like fun.”

“me and my roommate lived in a 12x15 dormroom with computers sitting back to back..he would IM me constantly...till i would lean back in my chair and slap the crap out of him”

“Funny! My son sends me email occasionally. His bedroom is at the other end of the hall, we leave the doors open. It would be easier just to shout. He'll also come to the door with the phone in his hand to tell me I have a call and then he'll transfer it to my handset instead of handing me his. [insert sarcasm font here] Aren't cordless phones wonderful?”

“Big Coop-back in 2001 we were supposed to go on a trip to Glacier that HPM laid out and organized. I was hit with a kidney infection a few weeks before the trip and couldn't go. HPM himself did not go. HPM's brother, friend Madman, and 2 friends still went. It was stinking hot, and very smoky in parts because of all the wildfires out there. After hearing the descriptions of the conditions and personal interactions, I'm glad I didn't go.”

“Oh yeah - now I remember hearing about that trip.”

“Nope, more like posting at different times.”

“We play computer tag.”

“Ever read Kurt Vonnegut's "The Sirens of Titan"? There was a robot from Tralfamadore who crash landed on Titan thousands of years ago and all of human history was manipulated to send him encouraging messages and eventually get the replacement part for his spacecraft to him.

I suspect your mystery package is somehow related.”

“You're a nerd, lol.”

“Wow -- a rocketship powered by elastic bands?”

“Is it any less sensical than "spindizzy motors"?”

“It probably has something to do with Psycho Squirrel, since HPM took him in after I stopped feeding him tomatoes.”

“Or the Infinite Improbability Drive?”

“Chuckle all you want.

I'd just be real careful not to step into any chronosynclastic infundibulum if I were you.

It gets surreal.”

“I don't click links from Violin anymore.”

“Auntie Em! Autie Em!

It's a twister!!”

“I don't have a clue. But I am willing to bet that Marvin Gardens could answer this question in definitive fashion.”

“I didn't read all the posts, hope no one guessed this yet:

HPM - did you guys rent bear canisters from SEKI on your HST trip? If so I'm gonna guess that someone left those items in one of the canisters and the park service mailed them to you, the person on the permit.”

“Hmmm...it could be. We did rent bear cans but their paperwork was so screwed up I'd be suprised that they could link the cord with anyone's name.”

“The mystery is solved!

The cords came from Henry Shires' tarptents, some bit of forgotten equipment. They also forgot to include the instructions and the return address.”

“Cool !”