new hiker

“I'm sorry. Pay stub showed up and said.... not this week. :?(”

“I'm going to look for jersey Fri - Sun. See how he's doing.

I'm still having a screaming banshee fit at those who've necessitated my not going. *$*&^#@ morons. >;<

He has all my contact numbers should he decided he's had enough.”

“what happened, spin?”

“my prayers go with him on the trail”

“Spindle and the Rev are out and so am I.”

“i wanna know if anyone hears of him or sees him this weekend; k?”

“Ok. The kids and I went up to Kirkridge shelter yesterday at 5. No sign of him yet. Saw two other sobo section hikers who hadn't seen him either.

I left him a note in the register and will run up today and tomorrow around the same time. Hopefully I'll catch him there.”

“hey everyone just wanted to let everyone know that i'm back major problems on the trail most of it due to too much weight
i fell on my second day and dislocated my knee and sprain my ankle thankfuly it happended close to a road acess.. its a real bummer but it could of been worse so now the plan is heal up and replan and try again
chris”

“Dude, Sorry to hear about the fall.Glad all was ok though. How the hell did you get yourself and all your gear out with the leg injuries? What happened?”

“Ouch Chris! That sux. At least you're home and healing.

I had been worrying about you all this morning with the rain. Had I caught up with you tonight you'd have been stuffed in the car and dragged home to dry out. ;) The kids were looking forward to "going to get a hiker".:-D

Get better. Then get on some hikes with the people here and start planning for the next go at it.”

“Think you'll be ready in 3 weeks?

We are trying to put together a mobfest in late Nov or early Dec. This would be a great way for you to meet loads of us, and get to check out tons of gear and see it in action.”

“it was about 30 mins after sunrise i left camp do know exactly were i was but i was somewhere between brinks and crater lake i walked till about mid afternoon( keeping in mind i was only going about 5ish miles a day ) and somehow wound up getting off trail and unbealiveably lost. so all i could hear is cars in a distant so i traveled in that direction. so as im walking i come to a part were you had to walk on these rocks going down and there were like 1ft-2ft down from each other and on the second step all the weight went right on my knee and my knee went pop.
And all who laughed about my hatchett it allowed me to make a spilt,a cruch, anda sled for the pack. i had about 100ft of rope so i walked 100ft stop sat down pulled my sled to meand repeated that till i got to the road i reached the road alittle before nightfall then hitched 2 rides to the medi-care center.”

“I vote for the Masten Trip... Admittedly it's not backpacking but it would give you chance to pick some brains and check out some gear.”

“some intresting note

the infamous rattle snake in the brinks shelter is no more!

learned i need better maps and alot less weight no more than 35lbs

2 socks on = no blisters

a extra blanket can replace a sweatshirt and a jacket =less weight

bleach to purify water has a nasty taste and just boiling it is ok but not great

all in all i had a great time even with the injury and it being so darn short and not even making it to pa which is really a bummer

p.s. 5ish miles day doesn't get you that far lol”

“Well, I'm glad the hatchet worked out for you. And the 100' of rope too. Use this as a learning experience, and don't give up. Not to bust your balls about it but a bow saw would have done the same job, and something else could have been improvised instead of all that rope. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you had something available to you that you used to get your azz out. You could have been in a lot of trouble. 5 miles per day? seriously? damn. How much did that pack weigh?

Masten would be closer to home for you, but come to Indiana anyway. It will be better. I'm a little biased though.”

“bleach to purify water has a nasty taste and just boiling it is ok but not great


BLEACH?! JesusChrist! It's a wonder you came back at all! You don't bleach your water! Are you serious? If you are using chemicals then you use Iodine tabs, or aquamira. Never bleach.”

“and unberable 60 lbs when iwas weighing my pack before i left i never put water into the eqaution water is heavy
so yeah i healing now and in a few weeks i should be right as rain i'm gonna plan on getting in a few shorter hikes like 3-4 days at a clip then go to a like a week or so then replan and attack the AT again hopefully by then i can go north and start at springer”

“Actually a couple drops of bleach can be done for the short term if you have nothing else.

I'm really pissed off at the people who prevented me from going now...some of this could have been prevented...

pardon while I go yell at someone now...>;-{”

“jersey... my only caution to your plan is work closely with a physical therapy guy to make sure that knee is healing properly and all that. Please don't just "let it heal". Knees are one of the most complex joints in the whole body. If you over stress it again before it is ready you could end up doing far more damage making it even harder to recover.

I know money is an issue for you. But please find some way to work the phys-therapy process on it.”

“Water is the single heaviest thing you will cary, and there is nothing you can do to lighten that either. How much water were you carrying?

On the short term, and in limited amounts you could get away with the bleach thing but you were not talking about short term here. This was a very long trip and bleach would have done damage to you over that much time.

Sounds like you have a much more realistic plan now Jersey. I'm glad to hear it. It was an awakening wasn't it? BTW, I would ditch the blanket and keep the coat.”

“Actually a couple drops of bleach can be done for the short term if you have nothing else.

I'm really pissed off at the people who prevented me from going now...some of this could have been prevented...

pardon while I go yell at someone now...>;-{”
spindlette
10:58:55 AM
9/22/07

Spindlette... If I have my timeline straight, this happened Thursday and you were not scheduled to get together with him until Friday. I understand your angst and by all means go ahead and yell at someone if it makes you feel better. But don't beat anybody up over it including yourself. Things happen.”

“I would ditch the blanket and keep the coat.”


I agree the coat is much more versatile. When you are taking this kind of a trip, versatile is crucial. I have seen people say they not take any gear beyond the base gear that does not serve at least two functions. Base gear being pack, shelter and sleep system.”

“Yeah Rev, I know. But I feel bad for letting him go solo and he got hurt.

Although, if he was only doing 5 mile days...my usual 15 would have probably done something equally painful.

Chris, come to Masten. Less hiking, more drinking, meet lots of people.”

“What?! You people drink on these trips?
Shamefull.



LOL! You know, cause I don't drink anything but water. LOL!”

“Oh my. Let me get the hip waders. It's getting deep in here.”

“Hey, who told you I drank?!
Was it Doolittle? I'm gonna have to have a talk with that girl...”

“where and when is masten”

“meangreen drink????? Like a sailor!”

“Check the trips page. Full details are there. It's in PA. The Old Logger's Path that Spindlette was talking about has a trailhead there.
End of October sometime”

“meangreen drink????? Like a sailor!”
Spirit Coyote
9:31:31 AM
9/22/07


Pssshhhhh! Cuss like a sailor and drink like a phukin fish is more appropriate. LOL!”

“dang it. Mean, are you free to hike today? If so I'll meet you down at shades.”

“sorry hotrod, I'm workin all weekend. 0900 to 2000 both Saturday and Sunday. I have Monday off but that will be filled w housework so I can go back for more abuse on Tues. sux major azz.”

“gggrrrrrrrr. yeah it sucks!”

“What about next Sunday? I'll bring the kiddies.”

“mean, I work next sunday :( I have wendsday off though?
last edited: 9/22/07 8:32:31 AM”

“Chris, at the end of Oct. Big backpacker social event.

yacking thread: http://www.thebackpacker.com/trailtalk/thread/48848,6.php”

“damnit! I'm workin then.”

“That actually fits for SC and Spindle's posts. LOL!”

“mean, what about 2 weekends from now?”

“Actually, 2 drops of bleach to a liter of water does work (as spindle noted) for long term, without ill effect. I'm told you get used to the taste after a bit. I'm thinking of converting (and still bringing my iodine tablets for just in case on the next couple of trips. I know I can do those).”

“I think I'll stick with my iodine. Thanks. Sounds like drinking drano to me (probably more like pool water really). Is there really a weight savings over the others, or is it just a convenience thing? I would do it in a pinch, but long term, or if there were options... I don't think so.”

“I vote for iodine as well. But, in winter, iodine takes even longer to be effective...”

“sounds like a fun trip i should be able to attend as long as no one pees on my tent lol”

“Who told you about the peeing on tents thing? Damnit that was a secret!”

“not much of a secret when its posted”

“peeing on the tent is forgivable.. to a degree...

peeing _in_ the tent is not. Unless it happens to be your tent.”

“LMAO @ Rev”

“Sheesh, ever hear of a pee bottle?

I have to try peeing on someones tent with my new lady J lol”

“Spirit Coyote...

Please note the "unless it happens to be your own tent."”

“I still want to see you write your name in the snow! LOL!”