Sipsey 07 - Parker and Quillen

“Diabetics can get really fuzzy when their sugar levels are not controlled..that may be why a MARINE seemed not to know where he was...

Questions: Approximately how old is Pardner?

What type of gear was he using? (Walmart stuff or was it Name Brand Backpacking equipment?) Specially the COLOR of his TENT?

DO any of you have a photo of him?”

“I believe I heard him say he was 56 years old. He seemed well equipped and all of his gear was name brand...North Face tent w/ a yellow rain fly. I emailed BAMA a photo of him earlier this morning...”

“56
He had good gear. His tent was a yellow TNF tent.
Bama requested that SS send a photo to him. I'm pretty sure he has one.”

“I was hoping last night when we drove back to the trailhead to look for my ring that his car would be gone. It's good to know that at least he has good gear. Thanks Bama for all you are doing and hopefully we'll hear good news today!”

“Looks like toph solved the picture need for now. I have not looked at mine yet but will tonight and email.”

“The Diabetic thing is what bothers me...Ive experienced first hand the fuzzy mental state that blood sugar levels can induce in diabetics...my little brother is diabetic, when we were kids I used to give him his insulin injections.”

“Wow, hope Pardner is found alive and well.”

“The diabetes is what worries me too.”

“Photos from last weekend: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/558004730EYQWSd”

“good gear - OK
did the gear look new or used?

what I am thinking here is that if he had not done a lot of backpacking after developing diabetes he might not know how much to reduce the insulin by when backpacking or other exercise plus the hike out is more of a workout than the hike in”

“I emailed the tent fly color to BAMA...”

“what was the color of his backpack and clothing - is this seen in toph's picture?”

“Sorry for the long delay, its been a long night. [b]Pardner has been found[b]choper found him at 3:00 am this morning. He made he made it out at 8:30. I didn't talk directly to him, but he is in good shape and able to drive himself home.

Thegreytroll - The reason they did not look for you at first is because this happens every weekend this time of year. They knew you were in good shape and would "find yourself" in short order. For the record a team was made ready to go in looking for you, you beat it by a day. This team is made up of volunteers that take off work and such. There is no formal search team dedicated to Sipsey. As you can tell its like looking for needle in a haystack. The chopper works somewhat but is expensive to fly. Normally the chopper don't come out till later in the search. Glad this one turned out like it did.

BAMA”

“Good to hear everything worked out here.”

“Where the heck was he????

Man, I feel better now!”

“AMEN...I just got leave approved for this afternoon and thru Friday....

Details, BAMA, details! Where, when, WAS he LOST, SICK, or what?

I hope someone told him the TT'rs will NOT leave you hanging.....”

“Now that pardner is found I can feel better about posting this:

SuperTroll came into camp so as to make sure his friend Butane made it in. He was not planing on staying the night, just do a simple in and out. He had no tent or sleeping bag and the temps were expected to be into the mid 20s that night (got down to 23.X something).
He decided to stay the night.
He rigged up his poncho low to the ground and crawled in for the night.

Overheard around the fire was the statement "I'm not burying him".
LMAO!!!!”

“heh heh

How many times did he get up to refill his bottle with hot water?”

“Yeah the Sheriffs and Rangers were really nice to me! They told me what you did about the every weekend thing. I had all night Saturday during the thunderstorms to pray. I am pretty sure God was the only compass heading I had out Sunday! I am really glad Pardner is ok. I can't wait to hear the whole story! My little escapade took me in and out up and down what seemed to be 10 canyons but in all actuality I went through 3 and I was only about 10 friggin minutes from the tree I was after! Well I hope you guys find the ring. Next time I go I will check around the parking area for it. Where are all you guys coming from to hike in the Sipsey? I am coming from Trussville and its a L-O-O-O-O-O-N-G drive!”

“GEEZE THANKS GUYS....

(Tell you all a little something...they were all trying to feed me, clothe me, offering up gear...etc...it was downright makin' me teary eyed I tell ya....)

I had the emergency stuff covered, I wasn't going to die...Butane, (Teresa) got up twice to check on me, she and Opie BOTH commented they felt better about me when they heard me SNORING.”

“When I drive to the Sipsey its about 11 hours of driving from central VA. I really wanted to come this time but I just was not feeling well enough. I am very grateful to hear that Pardner was found safe. BAMA please relay our thanks to the people involved and thanks to you especially for getting the chopper out early.”

“ST knows I enjoy picking at him.
ST was very impressive with his survival skills. He knew exactly what he was doing.
His hot water bottle trick is something we all need to learn.
My hat is off to him.”

“Phew...glad to hear he was found.

That is rugged country. Even with GPS in hand, I had a hard time bushwacking to the campsite. I even took a different route and it wasn't easy to get there. I was happy to see tents along the river as my GPS chirped and told me that I had arrived...

It was good to see everyone. I had a great time relaxing and hiking. It's always nice when you have plenty of deadfall for a good fire. Too bad I had to carry out some left over beer...”

“left over beer oh the shame of it all ;-) at least this year it didn't float away 8-))”

“There were three different guys in camp named John.
It got pretty funny when Butane started talking about her "two Johns".”

“another good reason to only remember trail names - much better chance that they will be unique”

“HOI, your ears should have been burning Sat night. We were talking about you around the fire. Mrs Opie sure did miss you, and Butane got to hear the story of your hammock pulling the tree over.”

“It got pretty funny when Butane started talking about her "two Johns".”
StoveStomper
12:49:54 PM
3/05/07


Yeah, I felt left out. I was the third John.



I just talked with Bama. He said the chopper found him, would move a little and wait on Parnder to catch up and then move a little. He said that P was in good shape and drove himself home. Lots of worried and praying folks about this situation.

Pardner - it was great meeting you. I am so glad you are safe.
last edited: 3/05/07 1:12:34 PM”

“Let's let the talk about the incident stop from this point forward. Pardner wrote me and expresses his gratitude that we followed up and made sure the search happened. Let's not mention it on other threads as well. He is home and is safe. It was a pleasure to meet and hike with him.”

“That is Pardner's wish?”

“yes”

“hey - about that tree - there was a thunder storm happening at the time so I don't think that it was just me hanging on the tree that brought it down - wind, rain, sandy soil, and the fact it was a magnolia (soft wood) also contributed.

BTW was the remains of the tree still alive or was it firewood?”

“There was firewood applenty on Sat night. There was a large downfall on the east end of camp. MDS aka Mr. Sven was a sawin' machine. He had a stikmon worthy stack of firewood in no time.

Sun morning longlosthiker asked, "So, is Quillen Indian for wind tunnel?" It was a mite windy overnight.”

““yes”
dayhiker
2:25:25 PM
3/05/07

OK.

Can we go back to picking on SuperTroll now? ;-)”

“n/m”

“Hee Hee Hee....”

“SS - sure thing, that's always allowed. Mr. Cuddlebunny won't mind.”

“When you LEAST expect it.....”

“One day, when I least expect it, you'll cuddle? You'll have to catch me first.”

“n/m”

“ya won't have to run fast, or even very far...all ya gotta do ya see is OUTRUN KEVIN...”

“Based on ST's hiking speed, outrunning him will not be a problem, LOL. ;-)


I forgot about the Mr CuddleBunny thing, dayhiker. Thanks for bringing up that dark secret ST let slip.”

“You both have email from Pardner through me...please send to those you think should see it.”

“Supertroll, I said I wouldn't bury you but don't worry, the truth is I would bury you 'cause the way I see it whoever takes up burial detail gets first dibs at picking through your gear. ;-)
last edited: 3/05/07 4:12:26 PM”

“Check CAREFULLY for booby traps!”

“

My pics are up. I'll add captions sometime tonight.”

“Should we put the misquotes here..or the out of context thread?




Mrs. Opie- "I like the big DICKS's in Atlanta"”

“OPIE - you live in Atlanta don't you? Oh, she said Dick's plural. Nevermind.”

“SS - how bout removing that one where I'm eating?”

“Ha Ha....

OK, which one?
last edited: 3/05/07 5:46:51 PM”