Lost another good one

“Take care out there everybody”

“he was a poster here?”

“wow...I hadn't heard of this until now.”

“Crap. So who are we missing? Should we take a headcount?”

“He posted on the AMC board.”

“pepsi seems to know his trail name. Jaytrek doesn't seems to be familar to me. That's real sad news. I hate to see a brother go down. Y'all take an extra look before that step.”

“It is very sad.”

“Not familar with the AMC board. Any link?”

“- I've read his posts. Seems like a good guy. He hiked with some of the other people from that board. He had been in touch with someone I met - I never communicated with him outside the board though.

Damn... that's a sad one.”

“Here's a story (thread starter) he told last month:

December 05, 2003 11:02:59 PM

I thought I would open up a thread regarding unexpected happenings along the trip. Often I am pleasantly amazed with the calibur of people I find on the trail. I have an interesting story of a trip I did this fall. The trip started in Waterville Valley from the Mt. Tecumsah trail from the ski area parking lot on Columbus Day weekend. Those who were out then remember the incredibly unseasonable warm and beautiful weather. I set out for a 2 day backpacking trip solo and passed over Mt. Tecumsah, Mt. Osceola, and East Osceola, looping back through Waterville Valley area (Livermore trailhead) and walked back up to my car at the ski area parking lot..

Now for the interesting part, I spent the night on the summit area of Mt. Osceola, and was amazed at the incredible amount of camping spots at this summit. Another bonus of course, were the impressive views from the cliffs at the summit. On the way up I must have seen 100+ day hikers. The mountain was swamped. But more notably, I kept passing a few people with big packs, headed for the summit. I talked to 1 fellow who told me that he was part of a group of old college buddies who hike this peak and camp at the summit every single Columbus Weekend, regardless of rain, sun, snow, sleet, hail, winds, etc.
I passed a few more who told me they were also a part of this group. Not thinking much of it, I got to the summit early (maybe 2 pm or so), just relaxed, chatted with a few people, and set up camp for the night.

As the day hikers retreated, I noticed the guys I saw on the way up the trail. There were 12 in total. With all of our tents at set-up on the summit, it certainly looked like a bunch backpackers holding the summit hostage with our colony of tents!! What a sight that was. I hung out with these guys, ate supper with them, and we all watched the sun tuck behind the mountains, and witnessed the moon rise on the opposite side of the skyline. The moon was close to full that night, and there was barely a breath of wind, and temps in the upper 40s well into the night.

The next thing that happened was the breaking out of the "liquor cabinet". I didn't bring any, but because I took individual pictures of everyone in their group (12 cameras in all), they invited me to join their little party. As it turns out some of these guys travel from Florida, Wash D.C., Virginia, NYC, Maryland, etc to take part in this once per year gathering on the summit of Osceola. This has been going on for the past 25 years. Drink, drink, and drink we did, and listened to the Red Sox battle the Yankees. That was the when Don Zimmer of the Yankees charged the mound when Pedro Martinez was pitching and Pedro pushed him down on the ground, in attempt to avoid confrontation. What a funny visualization it was, trying to imagine what that looked like, only through the voice of radio...

Anyway, out came the alcohol. I knew in my mind that alcohol was the last form of nurishment I needed, and would inevitably dehydrate my system, but I just didn't care and felt comfortable... hahaha....
Out it came, Grand Minuet, Peppermint Schnapps, Hot Damn, Rolling Rock Beer, Miller Lite, and last but not least, Zambuka. There we were sitting on the cliff top that overlooked the Waterville Valley area and points beyond, on our pads and on top of the sleeping bags because it was plenty warm enough, just passing the bottles of booze around, telling stories. I decided to not even go back to the tent and sleep under the stars that night. I woke up at 5:30 am in good shape, miraculously. After the bombardment of booze I thought I would be a major hurtin' unit!! But I was fine, not even a slight stomach discomfort.

We then parted ways, and they told me "if you feel like it, you'll know where we'll be next Columbus Day weekend! Come join us". What a trip that was. I'll probably go again next year and get just as intoxicated! lol and I am not much of a drinker either, so I guess I am lucky. That's the end of my story of expecting the unexpected. What are some of your unusual events on the trail???”

“Sad f-ing thing is - he can't be there next time. A sad reminder of how fragile and precious life is.”

“Yeah, I am lurking on that board once in a while and he did post.

Pretty sad, but I searched for pics of that area, and I don't think I would've climbed it without any technical equipment. yale gump pic”

“I've been in some pretty tricky places in my travels, and I always stop and assess what I'm doing before plowing ahead. It's amazing how much taking off the pack, sitting down, drinking some water, and thinking a situation through can help you find the right way to ascend or descend rock formations. Gives you a chance to study the route and think through what you need to do.

Then there are some things I would never try, and that sounds like one of them. The impassable cliff is the nightmare of bushwackers.”

“Geo - its not like I have Mt. Washington memorized - but are you sure that is Yale Gully in your pic?

Even if part of the gully is that bad, it's hard to know now what happened - was he hypothermic and rushing to get to a lower altitude?”

“pedxing, I posted the pic, and no, I am not sure, but I searched for it, and that's what I got. Found a bunch of gullys here: More pics

I think one of them is marked Yale gully. I wanted to ask what a gully is, but I think I got it now :)”

“Thanks Gemini - it looks from the caption that that first pic is a view from the gully to the Southwest - not of the gully.

Still - its supposed to be a technical climb there.”

“Rest in peace, brother.”

“Pretty impressive pix Gem. Thanks.”

“WIth the internet making "six points of separation" type connections . . .these tradgedies are getting less anonymous, more personal.


Ugh.”

“R.I.P. But for the grace of God.”