What's New, El Grande #&%!$cat? (Tom Jon es Mtn TR)

“Ok, you kinda had to be there for the El Grande reference. Where is 'there'? Harrimann State Park - April 17 -18. This was pretty much the PICTURE PERFECT trip. Beautiful weather, superb company, food and booze flowing freely and some of the most side splitting belly laughs I have yet to experience around a campfire.

Friday night, Scorchfire came to the Tree House and spent the night. We resisted the temptation to have more than one drink, opting to get some sleep so we can get up early and get the day in gear. We picked Twinks up on the way up the west side of Manhattan and, although running a few minutes late, we made pretty good time from there to the train station at Tuxedo, New York. We met up with NJPacker and the newly dubbed Baby Face Nelson. BF is from the other side and should be posting here by tomorrow, so go easy on him. NJ was one of the finest guys I have had the pleasure of hiking and sharing some good times with, ever. Must Hike had said he would meet us at the shelter a little later, so we geared up and set out to the trail.

The temp was getting into the seventies and the trail was as beautiful as the weather. It started with a fairly steep uphil climb that got the blood moving pretty fast within us. We then took our time and stayed together through this fine trail, stopping for photo ops and such. We broke for lunch a few miles in by the nice little creek and waterfall and filtered some of that water.

We continued along until we hit Lake Sebago and took another rest (about 3 -4 miles into the trip. There were some geese there getting a bit of a hissy fit at Maple and Scorchy. Will include a few pics of those guys.

We continued on and the pace of this trip was just so good that you couldn't help but feel all the week's stress peel right off you. There was another 2 to 3 miles left to go and we took them casually, until we hit something unexpected. Maple and Scorchy were trailing behind a bit and said they would catch up with us. However, the red flags went up in our heads after seeing a tennis court in the middle of this wilderness! We quickly went to the map to find that we spaced out the turnoff for the trail. There were somne cabins too, so we found we were at some summer camp type thing. I assured NJ, Twinks and Baby Face that it was best that we don't go back for the girls. I knew that Maple knew the trail and had a map and would meet us at the shelter. The road dumped out on route 106 and then we hiked the last half mile, what seemed like it was almost straight up the mountain! Man, that was some real fast elevation gain!

Got to the top just in time for a long breather. Didn't go to the shelter as NJ and BF had a bad feeling from the jerks that were there. They said later that they cut into a live tree and didn't appear to be wrapped too tight. Then we met Jack, who still needs a trail name. Great guy from the other side. We found a nice spot on the mountaintop and then Must Hike came up the other side to form our octet. We proceeded to set up camp and get some food going for dinner. After some delicious grub, we couldn't wait to get into the Amaretto, Tequila, Scorchy's liqueur (the name escapes me but the cinammon didn't!), wine and MH's TNT mixture of ice tea and Wild Turkey, a la Capn Bobo. Well, let me tell you, the night was absolutely beautiful and the jokes started flying and didn't stop. My sides were hurting. And Baby Face tied one on faster than you could say, buzzzzz! The star gazxing was beautiful and we all talked and laughed till we dropped.

Woke up early and fine the next morning and twinks, Scorchy, Twinks and I hiked out the short side with our newcomer, Jack. The sunburn from the day before smarted a bit and basically we opted for a little less sun exposure as the day was warming up mighty fast. The others came out a little later and we said our good byes and cofirmed that we had one hell of a time. I feel so relaxed now. Thank you all for the wonderful company. TTer's rock, baby!

I will work on my pics now and hopefully have them up in about an hour...”

“Picture pictures....my wife thinks I called from a bar!!!!lol
Great trip , can't wait to see everyone again.

Jackcanine”

“Scorchy started another thread of same title while I was typing this. Look at other Tom Jones Poosycat thread!”

“saw that but did not see pictures....am I missing something ???? I was late getting home as I had to stop off for some nylons.... didn't know they came in XXXL!!”

“I was wondering if you guys just had the hiccups er somethin'.”

“"Friday, April 16, 2004:

Arrived at the Treehouse approximately 6pm on Friday evening. Shared some wine, Bloody Mary's, and had lots of laughs. Maple and I apparently have now invented the game "Wall Darts" (we don't have too good of an aim for the actual board).

Saturday, April 17, 2004:

Me, Maple, Treebeard went to pick up Treebeard's friend in NYC only to realize that she missed her train and wasn't coming. Delayed us quite a bit. Continued on to pick up Twinks and arrived only an hour late at the trailhead : )

Met NJpacker and Ben from "the other side" (now known as Babyface Nelson because he is 22 years old but looks no older than 16). Got geared up, took some pics and headed on the trail.

Treebeard was modeling the Adventure Master (did I get that right?) backpack that he got for free in exchange for pictures for their website. The damn pack was 7000 cubic inches!!!! Me and Maple decided that by the end of the trip someone was getting INTO the pack and a picture would be taken (the guinea pig wound up being me,.. see pics).

The trail was awesome... a few big climbs that were butt-kicking especially since I haven't been out backpacking since mid-January and was pretty out of shape. The weather was absolutely gorgeous... about 75-80 during the days and about 50 during the night.

Stopped at Lake Sabago (sp?) for lunch, soaked our feet in the lake, and got harrassed by geese.

Saw a few other dayhikers on the trail, but no other backpackers.

While on the Victory Trail, me and Maple stayed behind and caught our breath while the others continued on. The Victory Trail turns at one point and apparently, the rest of the group must have gone straight because Maple and I never caught up to them. Some senile guy told her and I that we were going the wrong way,.. but we knew better.

Finally arrived at the top of Tom Jones Mt. to find out that the shelter had been taken. Decided to camp on a nearby cliff where we met up with Jack and Pumba dog (also from "the other site"). A half hour later must hike arrived and the party began.

LOTS of wine and spirits and approximately a shot of this and a shot of that later and poor Babyface was passed out on ol' Scorch's lap. I was his alcohol mentor and vowed to get him drunk. I succeeded : )

Sunday, April 18, 2004:

The next morning, Twinks, Treebeard, Jack and Pumba dog, and myself headed down Tom Jones Mountain while the others continued on. I vowed to hike down the mountain because I got real sunburnt and could barely tolerate my pack on my shoulders any longer.

Parted with Jack and Pumba dog, and me, Twinks, and Tree caught a bite to eat at a local diner while waiting for the others to meet us back at the parking lot.

After meeting up with everyone, we all parted ways and headed home. I left the Treehouse approximately 4pm to head home and wound up going over the wrong bridge (nice directions, Stu! LOL jk) and had to pay another $8 going back over it for the second time. Damn NYC tolls. Hit a ton of traffic but still made it home in an hour and a half.

I've never had so much fun on a TT trip. I wish I was still at camp!

Mapleleaf: Tell Michael to tell Cody I said, "Hi."
Treebeard: Remind me to ask your wife for directions from now on ; )
Twinks: It was great to finally meet you! Camp Redhead forever!
NJpacker: Missy Miss Miss. You better always bring your high heels and tights with you on the future hikes. You're a hoot to have around and I'll see you next weekend at Thunderswamp!
Ben, now known as Babyface Nelson: Glad to have met you and you are not taking my lap home for your shelf.
Jack: Sorry, don't know if you even have a trail name? Great to meet you, your dog rocks. Also happy that your GPS wasn't stolen!
Pumba dog: Arf, Arf!
must hike: Hey, Miguel el nombre dos! Curious if you got that boulder home okay?

Can't wait to do it again." ~ScorchFire”

“jackcanine! Okay I guess that can be your trailname for now. I didn't put the pics on the website yet, but I can fwd them to your email address (my pics and also nora and stu's). i somehow lost the paper i wrote your addy down on, so if you would so kindly give it to moi again, that would be lovely.”

“Moi would be glad to forward moi address.....
jack.canine@verizon.net

Thanks and glad you made it home alright. I here babyface is in rehab....

Jackcanine”

“

Snowball, The Giant Mutant Cat of Ontario.”

“holy crap, that cat is not real!

jack, fwding the emails to you now.”

“sorry there are a ton of emails.. they were mine, stu and nora's pictures. there may be doubles since we took some of the same pictures.”

“whoooOOOOOOaaaaaooooOOOOoooooaaaaaoooooOOOOOOOaaaaooooOOOOOOOOaaaaah...


"You, and your pussycat #&%!$...."”

“oops.

Sorry! <cringe>”

“Earplugs anyone?”

“great pics...... I couldn't figure out why you were holding a piece of foam and then I remembered it was missy's mouse pad..LMAO... thanks again.”

“no prob, jack!”

“Having problems with Webshots. Working on the problem...”

“Get crackin'!”

“{The crowd chants}
WE WANT PICTURES! WE WANT PICTURES!”

“Oy, more nutty photos from Scorchie!

I've go along on the next Camp Redhead Trip.”

“Me too, but I've been warned about redheads. Nothing but trouble.”

“An awesome trip we all had a blast. It was great to meet Jack and Ben and to see everyone else again. My pics will have to wait until tonight. Some of them could simply be titled “A view from my boulder”.”

“I've got to go along.......”

“I HAD SOOO MUCH FUN!!!

I hate being at work and looking at the pics :(

great weather. I am so sore from the sunburn. will post more later.”

“Nice pics!
No one had to go to the ER? ;-)

So Mapes and scorchy DIDN"T get lost and the guys did? ;-)

Hey scorchy, nice butt shot in the tent! ;-)

Glad y'all had a good time. I'm gonna have to fly up for a trip with this bunch.”

“Gotta love the butt shot. Wait til you see Maple's photo of Scorchy and the new "wonder bra" AKA Leki's.”

“no no no

left the left boob up more.”

“ok, that does sound interesting!”

“To hot for WebShots?
Email it to me. ;-)”

“she did have a heck of a time fixing her left boob.”

“wench”

“Fixin' the boob?

Heck of a time?

Wanna borrow a wrench.....wench?

I'll give you a hand....”

“Sounds like a lot of fun :o)”

“...hope you have more success with webshots than I did this morning

What's New Poosycat?”

“Y'all look like a buncha refugees from a Go-rilla Love-in!!!

Sorry I missed it.”

“it seems that after every TT trip i go on, I need to go to a Detox afterwards.”

“haha, ya lush.

i was the only sober one.”

“Scorchy, you know you can get into big trouble for molesting a 16 year old.
Baby Face's mom might see those pictures. ;-)”

“No, he's 22!!! I swear!”

“he was 22. i carded him prior to his first drink.

LOL”

“You carded him?

Did you frisk the poor boy too?

I got a feelin' the Redheads worked the boy over butt good.

Sorry I missed a good man-handlin', er, uh.....woman-handlin'”

“You missed a great time MarkO!”

“Okie-dokie, here’s my version of “What’s new El Grande Pu…ssyGato”

Saturday morning Clan of the Trees and Scorchie picked me up at around 7:45am. Woohoo! Upon finally meeting the ‘infamous’ Scorchfire, the Redhead Triangle was complete. Treebeard saved the late start by discovering a new way off the island and getting us to the trailhead only a half hour late (it was the bodega’s fault I swear!). Met up with NJpacker and Babyface. NJpacker is one awesome TT’er…and Babyface….kiddo, you’re not bad yourself J. After some moderate futzing about with gear and packs and goofball photo ops we all soon headed off on the trail. It was a gorgeous NY spring day, i.e., sunny blue skies, warm temps, and a lovely cool breeze. Perfect. Even more perfect then the weather was the great company! I think I’m sorer from laughing than from the actual backpacking. Had a lovely hike to the snowmelt waterfall where we stopped for an “ooh ahh” break and water filtering. The water was yummy but ladies…didn’t the guys look a bit ‘suspicious’ from the back? From there we continued on courted by tiny purple butterflies and little green finches that glistened like Christmas tree ornaments. At some point the guys and I got separated from the other two redheads….too much laughing? or perhaps it was the garter snake we mucked about with (and which Njpacker tossed at me – eek!) that was the distraction which caused us to miss the left turn?…regardless, it’s not my destiny to go up Tom Jones from the back! We knew we were a bit off when we passed the tennis courts and progressively nicer houses. No worries, we caught the road and then had to huff it up Tom Jones’ front…grr baby! Passed some guy and his beautiful white shepherd who was robbed of his camera and GPS…he’d asked NJpacker and Babyface to watch his tent while he schlepped back to his car to see if the missing items had been left behind. We plotted to kick some booty while pathetically sprawled out on the mountain - huffing and puffing after the short but steep hike up Tom Jones (beware of the Welsh!). As it turns the guy had left his gear at home and was actually….drum roll….Jack Canine and super dog – Pumba! Shortly thereafter Maple and Scorchfire mounted Tom from the back and we were once again a happy crew of TT’ers. Set-up camp in the high wind (must insert here that my new solo Mountain Hardwear PCT 1 tent rocks! – so easy to set up and quite roomy for it’s wonderfully light weight. I love it! I love it! I love it!) and crashed for awhile. Babyface decided since his young and virile to do a quick trek to Blacktop and back (that bastig!). About an hour later Must Hike (?) joined us – of course by that time the wind had died down! Ate like a bunch of starvin’ marvins and then the TT drinking began. Scorchie corrupted the youth…while the youth rambled on about the oracles and Delphi….and strange lights were seen all around (just the CIA spying on Scorch!)…before the youth passed out in the lap to take home and put on a shelf. LOL! Oh, let’s not forget Missy Elliot and his pantyhose doing the tequila dance! The Redhead Triangle strikes again? You’ll have to join us all on another trip to find out won’t ya? After all the refreshments were gone…and a few night hikers scared away by the thought of fun….and Jack’s wife serenaded by our starpower version of every TJ song…it was time to roll into bed. Again, I need to share that my other new piece of gear (Northface Blaze mummy bag) rocked! This usually cold sleeper was finally so hot in a sleeping bag that I got to experience the joy of sleeping in undies and camisole – with my feet out of the bag! Oh it was devine! Next morning up and at ‘em – down the mountain for Jack, Tree, Scorch, and I….and back the way we’d come for the rest!
This trip was one of the best TT trips I’ve ever been on – and that’s hard to narrow down since they are always great! Can’t wait to see this crew again!

PS – pepsi can stoves kick butt! (NJpacker I’m at triana_@hotmail.com)

I LOVE TT’ers!”

“Hey late night TT'ers, I know there are already other reports posted on this trip but I did promise to post a late night with the factual details, so let's give it a try:
Saturday morning, April 17: I'm supposed to meet the Tree family at the Tuxedo Park train station at 8:30AM. Little did I know that even tho they hail from NYC, they tell time using the Central time zone! While anxiously awaiting arrival from my guides, a young man pulled into the lot and asked if I was with the TT'ers. After I asked if there was anywhere else, he said he was from "The Other Site." Finally, the young man introduced himself as Ben, AKA Zarakambei. Little did Ben realize the fate that lay before him. Before this adventure would end, Ben would get a NEW REAL TT'er name. Suddenly I spotted the Tree Family arriving at the lot, it came to me that the hour of lateness was actually not a fault of the Tree Family. You see, trailing this Tree Family vehicle was a small red sedan resembling a sleigh, containing two red-headed dears with all their gear and a spirit to hit the trail. It was non-other than the infamous Scorchie and Twinks! I'll tell ya', what a sight in a red car!! Gotta luv it! At least this answered the tardiness question in my mind.
After all introductions were made, we started to make our gear ready for the long haul up the mountain.
After I had finished with minor details, I turned to witness Treebeard straping something to his back that looked like Scorchie's car. He told me not to worry...it was only his new "Adventure Pack".
I think it's the first 2000 square foot pack I've ever seen. (Not a typo),I meant feet not inches! Next, I realized why poor Treebeard had to haul this small bungalow to the top of the mountain. Mapleleaf was bringing eveything except the TV! Her therm arest with pillow attached, is more elaborate that my king size Sealy. (And probably just as heavy). And let me tell you...this Tree Family is the best!! They brought more booze than my local social club stocks! I knew immediately that I liked something about this family. My kind of folks. As everyone gathered for a quick Kodak moment, a Tuxedo police cruiser pulled into the lot. Obviously, they were contacted that the Red-Headed Dears were in town and it would be the job of Dragnet to shuttle them quickly into the mountains and out of town. Well finally realizing that wasn't actually the case, we started our trek into the wilderness. The early climb was refreshing to the lungs and my leg muscles finally started to wake up. We stopped at a nice set of falls on the climb, deciding to rest and filter water. I climbed out onto a large boulder just below the falls and started to fill a nalgene bottle when this boulder actually started to slide away from me into deeper water. As I realized what was happening, I stood to jump from the rock but instead, fell back to my knee (which really hurt like h_ll). Being the little "old" macho guy that I am, I made like I never felt a thing (all the while cursing under my breath) and tried in vain to prevent any detection of limping. Pretty good act, huh guys! Could you tell? After filling all the water bottles and recouping enough, the "crew" headed up the mountain to Lake Sebago, a beautiful glacial lake near the top of the mountain. We took a nice break on a small peninsula and basked in the beauty of the day. As I sat there smelling the wonderful aroma of the mountain air, my head felt a little fuzzy...I had not noticed the couple sitting 20 yards to our right. They had lit a dubbie and were tokin' like Cheech and Chong!! My heart sank...I thought I was able to get high on mountain air! After resurrecting from my semi-coma, I saw the girls dangling their feet in the cool water of the lake. Suddenly, two geese appeared and started to give the girls a piece of their minds. WOW!! They can get angry! (The geese, not the girls). We all were about ready to head out except I really believe Mapleleaf wanted to try for one more goose!
Huh...little did Maple know the two Red-Headed Dears had worn them out.( I mean...you should have heard the hissing)!! Well, we were finally on our way to our final destination, with Ben and Treebeard sharing the duties of guide. Soon, I realized our "crew" was without Mapleleaf and Scorchie. Well, after a short walk we came upon a garter snake frantically trying to get out of our way. We stopped briefly for a photo op and allowed Twinks to make friends (with the snake). RIGHT!! We continued on our way and in a short distance, it appeared we had entered some type of eloquent camp. At this point, our "guides", Ben and Treebeard realized that we had hiked too far beyond the trail and would be better taking another trail back up to the top of the mountain and the shelter.(The final destination). We were concerned about Mapleleaf and Scorchie, but Treebeard told us not to worry. Mapleleaf knew the trails here, had a map, and Scorchie only got lost in the city. So on we trekked, getting to the base of the mountain not realizing the climb that was ahead. Ben, AKA Zarakambei (shortly to be newly dubbed) and I took off to scout the top of the mountain and the shelter. Once reaching our destination and stripping the pack to catch my breath, I sat to observe a whole family plus 2 dogs already habitating the area. Ben had gone back to check on Treebeard and Twinks, while I sat and pondered the situation. I just knew the girls would be a little upset about the shelter occupancy, so I scoped out an area on the other side of the ridge. This would suffice just perfectly. A nice grassy area with moss scattered throughout, on the edge of the mountain, with a nice rock fire ring already in place. Soon Ben, Treebeard, and Twinks arrived and we were greeted at this point by Jackcanine and Pumba the wonder dog. We learned that Jack comes from "the other site", but were reluctant to say anything because Pumba was BIG and being guard trained, we feared he would defend Jack(with no TT name). Soon, two guys showed up, said they had passed two girls halfway up the other trail and we knew it was Mapleleaf and Scorchie. Ben and I went down the mountain to meet them, asking if we could help with their packs, but as the two girls stood staring at the two skinny figures in front of them, they graciously declined and continued up the mountain with their own packs.(They obviously felt sorry for these two skinny arses). Now our "crew" was complete...minus must hike. We started to make camp and within 20 minutes must hike showed up. Must hike finished making camp, then he and I gathered nalgenes and headed part way down the mountain to filter more water. While we were gone, Twinks gave Treebeard a lesson on"How to NOT blow yourself up, using a new white gas stove." Ben decided to trek up to Bald Rocks and everyone else chilled before dinner. We all sat around and had a feast, sharing new tastes and generally just enjoying the social atmosphere. Most of the left overs ended up with Ben and Jackcanine. Man, for such a small young man...that lad can eat! Soon dinner was finished, we got a nice fire goin' and settled a short distance from the fire for our evening of stories, jokes and alcoholic bliss. This was not a normal social hour but instead it resembled the atmosphere of an Italian wedding. Scorchie was feeding booze to Ben faster than he could swallow, Mapleleaf and Twinks were preparing a musical show, Treebeard was insistant on sharing his spirits and must hike was "chillin' on his rock, drinkin' and takin' it all in". Soon, the girls started a new TT name for Ben AKA Zarakambei...newly named "Babyface Nelson". Well, the night progressed in an interesting manner(to say the least). By the time Ben realized he had a new TT name, he was too far shot to pronounce it)! The girls, by this time had agreed on a song and dance. (I believe they did the Pee Wee Herman dance to the Tom Jones tune of it's not unusual). The girls liked my silk undie outfit along with my stylin' "strange" camp shoes (yes Twinks, I said strange, NOT fa...) and decided I should dance the Pee Wee Herman with them and Mapleleaf started callin'me Miss Elliot !! WOW..What a night!!
We laughed til our stomachs hurt! When the clock struck 12, I was afraid I'd lose my camp shoes, so decided to hit the bag. Talk about a great sleep! I woke only once, when I thought a bear had strolled into camp but realized it was only must hike in his nearby tent. Morning dawned early. It was a treat to see how everyone reacts with a hangover. I never even caught it on camera! We did a quick breakfast, except Babyface, who didn't feel like eating. Remorsefully, we broke camp and decided our routes. We broke into two groups heading down the mountain on different trails and after a few hours ended at the parking lot from whence the adventure started. What a trip...no bull...just facts...only names were changed to protect the innocent.

I hope you all liked the late night edition of....El Grande..Tom Jones Trip.

To all my wonderful friends of this past weekend...luv' ya' all...I'd do it all over again..tomorrow...but only if every one of you could be there.
Positively had one of the best weekends of my life(and at my age, that's a lot of weekends). Let's do it again next year. Hope to see you all soon.
Mike
NJpacker
Miss Eliot...LMAO”

“http://community.webshots.com/album/135828383mTowLT

I got so involved with the story, I forgot to post my trip pics..duh!”

“Last try.....


http://community.webshots.com/scripts/editPhotos.fcgi?action=viewall&albumID=135828383”

“LMFAO!!!!!!!!! Mike, that was by far the most hysterical trip report I've ever read!!! I'm getting nostalgic and I wanna go back :(”