gPib 2005!

“Come on Gem, we could use a little Eastern Europe influence on this trip.”

“maybe you could make a week long vacation out of it.”

“Hey PS, how did you make out with crampons on ebay? don't take that out of context.”

“gem, i have an extra 0* bag you can borrow. it's not down, it's hollofil, but it's warm. it's a little heavier and bulkier than a down bag, but since we're car-camping it won't be a problem.

you better come on this trip!”

“yeah gem, you best be coming ya hear!!”

“Don't know about the Crampons, I think I might've missed them....oops.

Anywhoo, Gems, if you could somehow make your way over to I-81, you can take that up to Harrisburg, PA and catch the I-78 cut-over towards New York via Allentown...

Far less traffic than DC and Baltimore, and wouldn't you know, the drive is actually scenic.”

“lot less traffic then in DC and Baltimore”

“The Crampons I'm watchin' are up to $36. Still a very good price for 12 pointers.”

“Ifyou get them for under $100 it's a good price. $50 would be awesome. Good luck!”

“Yea I know, but these things tend to skyrocket in price as the auction is ending. I'm hoping though.
last edited: 1/20/05 9:03:28 PM”

“you're probably bidding against a fellow TTer lol”

“I could just see it now --

PhantomSoul: Hey BS, Check out my new crampons.
BackSlacker: Say, are those the ones that got sniped from me on eBay? Why you little....

”

“Not a chance, the one's I'm watchin' only go up to size 10 :p”

“PS, if you score some crampons, that means more winter trips in your crystal ball right?”

“less than two weeks to gPib baby!!! woohoo! Those falls should be good and frozen and lots of snow on the trail. I hope everyone has good luck getting their crampons. My crampons are my favorate piece of gear.”

“they should definitly be frozen by now with this winter storm we got.

you're really making me nervous about the crampons i have, ENS.”

“I think your's should be fine Scorch especially in Ricketts Glen. If you were hiking a lot in the White Mountains where it's really rocky and above tree line, those are the conditions to worry about, but not in Ricketts Glen. I don't even know if that is true. That's just what the guy in EMS told me, he could have told me that just to get me to buy a more expensive kind.”

“we shall see!”

“2 hours to go on the BD crampons,up to$56, also looking at a nice ice axe. Hope all bidders are watching football.”

“that's a good idea to try for an ice axe on ebay.”

“i'm gonna skip out on the ice axe for this trip”

“I'm not sure if I'll take an ice axe either. We'll see. I may rent one. I saw where one just sold for $41 on ebay and it looked like a really nice one. It was brand new too. Not bad.”

“I gots me some CRAMPONS!!! Black Diamonds $63.00 WooHoo Bring on them there falls!!!
last edited: 1/23/05 9:58:32 PM”

“WOW Backslacker!!! Black Diamonds are very good crampons and for $63 that is quite a score! Congrats!!!”

“cool... i don't wanna hear any excuse now for you to back out on this trip, BS, ya heard?”

“lets see a week of 20 or below temps and a foot of dry snow.... maybe. The falls are fed by a large lake so the water may still be a bit on the warm side, I will hike up next week when I have the time and see what is. The snow pack here isnt very deep yet as the new snow all compacted down to about 6 inches or so.”

“I got my crampons!”

“I'll be there with bell...I mean Crampons on! Haven't bailed on a trip yet! Woohoo and Booya!”

“I think we'll see a lot of ice by the time this trip arrives.”

“Snow pack conditions in the mountains around here are pretty difficult. There's 16 inches of very fine powder and more is on the way for tomorrow. The snow is so fine that with 9X34" snowshoes I sank almost to the ground with each step. Going up steeper slopes is really hard since the snow is very slippery and fine and breaks away easily leaving you sliding. With a few hikers taking turns breaking trail it would be a lot easier, but by myself was tough. I think (hope) the snow will compact with time and get a little easier with less sinking in. A day of hiking in this with a loaded pack feels like you just finished a marathon.”

“ A day of hiking in this with a loaded pack feels like you just finished a marathon.”

i bet! i don't even have snow shoes.”

“You can actually do pretty well without snowshoes because the snow is so light and fluffy you don't get stuck in it like a heaver snow. I'm not sure how much that will change since they are talking about 4 more inches tonight and tomorrow. It's supposed to get warmer next week so that will change conditions.”

“1/24/2005 9:34:00 AM Due to an ice storm which left numerous trees/limbs covering trails, snowmobiling is closed for the season. Campground is closed until further notice due to a water main break.

This message is from the Ricketts Glen Web site, does anyone know for how long?”

“ooh.. I better call and if it's closed during that weekend, they better refund my money.”

“Well then we'll have to go somewhere else G-Dammit, but I really hope it's open!”

“me too. Ricketts Glen is awesome and it's been so long since I've been there. It's been like 6 years and that's just unacceptible.”

“oh shiznit...”

“I'll call the park tomorrow and see what the dealio is.”

“Uh oh...somebody's in trouble... Looks like it may be time to start formulating a Plan B.

Ground rules: Must be within the commonwealth limits of Pennsylvania. This will be my PA hike for February, and I will not have it fall thru...

Other than that,
go crazy (aagh aagh aagh aagh aagh)
go crazy (aagh aagh aagh aagh aagh)”

“ok eminem. i think that's enough.

ENS, keep us posted.”

“The campground's closed and they don't think it will be fixxed in time. :( this sucks! we won't be able to camp at Ricketts Glen. Time for a plan B.

What do you guys think about the Laurel Highlands Trail? They have shelters with fireplaces to camp in and they say it is a really pretty trail in the winter.”

“will this be an ice trip?”

“the other option is camp at Worlds End and then drive down to Ricketts Glen for the hike. Worlds End is about a 40 minute drive from Ricket Glen though. What do you guys think? Ricketts Glen is an awesome place, it would suck to miss hiking the Glens Trail.”