Mammoth Cave in November

“Sorry to unload all that crap on the thread, but was trying to explain why I've been silent on trips that I normally have on the board now.

Here's how I see it:
If Bryce happens:
Savage/Mammoth in Jan
Bryce in March

If Bryce doesn't happen:
Appalachicola in Feb
Sipsey in March
last edited: 10/03/05 10:57:35 AM”
dayhiker
10:54:21 AM
10/03/05


just post all of this under a Hypothetical Situation thread and you will be fine”

“Yeah, that might work Ewk.”

“LOL at Ewker.”

“Now wait a minute, WK has two halloween names??

Bloody Knee Gravy and Mr Poopy Pants?”

“This is my haloween name, Mr Poopy Pants is my troll.”

“CockaBooMugsy and I are looking forward to this trip.
last edited: 10/05/05 1:17:43 PM”

“It's looking like you are going to get a good turnout for this one WK.”

“Looking forward to see you again Dave and of course Mugsy!

You think you can get out of the house for this one Hub?”

“Kinda doubful. I'm eyeing sometime in the Dec/Jan timeframe to do some sleeping in the woods.”

“Understand. If you are thinking Jan, let me know.”

“I will.

I just found out I have to go to Dallas 11/3-5 and whatever glimmer of hope I had of going on this one it totally gone.”

“I will hopefully have my new small pack for this trip....we shall see.”

“Who wants to share my tent with me?”

“My spidy sense is tingling.

… at least that’s what I think that sensation is.”

“pick me pick me”

“I might be in on this trip now!!! I got a new schedule which should be approved by the end of the week and if it is I can come! Is there still room?”

“Hell yea there is still room!

Hope you can make it!”

“wk, forgive me if this has been addressed but this thread is just too damn long to search for it ;)

is there a size limit to this trip?”

“yes. anyone weighing over 400 pounds will not be allowed to go as they will likely not be able to keep up with the blistering pace wk and i are going to set for 8 hours straight”

“Ungh, death march! I knew it!!!!”

“Um, no death march for me. I am going to be one of the ones who opts for a shorter distance, something under 20 miles/day perhaps. ;)




Actually, I was thinking 10 miles or so would be good if that could be done on an alternate route and then plan to meet up with y'all at the camp site.”

“oh. did i say 8 hours? i meant all day”

“i think 10 miles would be good for a warm-up. good idea, jack ruby :-)”

“hold up,
wait a minute,
let me put my booty in it!!!

you guys are just joking right??!!...if i remember right this is supposed to be a "takin it easy" kinda trip, right?”

“i suggest lots of pre-hike calisthenics and stretching.”

“Aw CB, you I've-done-the-AT show off!!!


Warm up? I'm with TH, I don't want to exert myself too much. After all, I haven't done any real backpacking since May.”

“Ha Ha!

The trails we are thinking about for Saturday will add up to about 14 or so miles. LIke Ruby said, you can opt for a much shorter route if you wish.

I don't know about a size limit. Technically you are only allowed 8 persons per backcountry site. Where we will be camping SAT night, there are 3 sites that are close by.”

“I heard there are going to be a few groups. The route as documented is 14-17 miles assuming (and I don't know if this is a big assumption yet) that Wounded Knee can read a map. Based on the last trip I am having my doubts... that said I was told that this was going to be a large group and we would probably spin off lower mileage groups once we got to the site to hike.

I'll be on the documented path because I played a hand in it's creation. That said, there are LOTS of trails to hike on that map and the camp site is like 6 miles from the first nights camp. So there are lots of options.”

“hey pitts, im going off the itinerary wk said you drew up (which i still cant make heads or tails of)

im sure there are a variety of ways one could hike to camp to get the distance they want”

“We came up with that while were were drinking and smokin weed!

Does that explain it?”

“Has it been determined yet if the ferry will be running or not? Just curious.”

“Depends on rain.

I would say no at this point. We will have to take an alternate route to the trail head then.

No biggie”

“im sure the ferry will be running. only low water level would keep it from runnin”

“If the route is no good then change it. I only offered the route as an alternate to avoid a lot of backtracking and to walk both loops of the wet prong trail. I had no reason for doing this other than people said that this looked like a rugged trail and they wanted to try and hike it.

The whole point to my going is so I can hike with the group. I do almost all my hikes alone, so this is a real unusual thing for me. If the route I proposed means nobody will hike with me then there is no point in my going. Put another way, since I have offered to drive people and have committed on attending, if the route I proposed means nobody will hike with me then the hike needs to be re-routed.”

“#&%!$ dude, I what to hike more. Wait a minute, that new pillow is going to weigh me down.”

“Crash Bang: You've got mail.”

“pitts, do whatever hike you want to do. Most people don't hike together anyway since they are hike at different speeds. Everyone will be in camp anyway.

Finally I will get to meet s-rge's troll”

“I'm out, important doctor appointment the Friday before. :-(

I find out if my blood pressure medicine is working, the results of the blood tests, and heart ultrasound results, so I need to be there.”

“Sorry dude.”

“I hear you, Ewker. I have never hiked with a group this large so I admit I don't know the routine that well.

I sent CB and WK a map with the route highlighted on it. I can't upload it to the board because the pictures section is busted.”

“I can't do it either.”

“send one to me..email on profile. I have a map but haven't looked at the route yet.”

“Ewker: You've got mail”

“got it. looking at the map you can cut across and do a shorter route if anyone wants to do that. lots of options available.

Pitts if you want a long hike I am sure someone would go with you.
Just remember the time will have changed so it will be dark by 5:00 and with everyone getting a late start Sat morning (9:00 AM to meet?) you will have a fast hike to beat the darkness or hike in the dark to camp”

“Pitts,
Birch and I are looking forward to a long day on the trail Saturday. It's getting dark at 7:30 up here, in a few weeks it'll probably be six o'clock. If we keep a 3mph pace we'll be done in five, six hours. It'll be fine. If we started at noon we'd be fine, but I imagine if just a few folks are going long we'll get an earlier start since we won't be waiting on twenty folks to get organized. (I mean that in the nicest way possible, lol)
Sunday we'll probably chose a shorter route. We have a 7.5 hour drive home.

Stovestomper, sorry to hear you can't make this one. Sounds like an important appointment though. Hope all turns out possitive.”

“sass, you forgot the time change which makes it darker earlier”

“Hiking East to West also makes it darker sooner. Remember that...”

“I think the safest way to approach this this is to have 2, perhaps 3 groups all hiking different trails. Those that only want to cover 10 miles or so can hike the shorter route. Those that want to cover more ground and hike faster will hike a different route.

This way everyone is happy.

I don't think we need to have one group push off earlier than another. I covered 10 miles on my last trip in a little over 4 hours and that was a slow pace.”

“Ewker quit being a sissy! ;) What are you afraid of the dark or something?!
I didn't forget about the time change, it really isn't an issue to me. Who cares what time it is when you're out in the woods? Start earlier and darkness won't be a problem unless the locusts descend or something. Everything is going to be fine. =)”

“You tell him Sass!”