Bearmagnethon Tribute Hike

““Jessica isn't?�
spindlette
5:52:49 PM
Nice? HOT yes! But can she hike?”
CrazyPace

heh heh good one. ;)

I think she's supposed to stand at the finish line looking pretty and holding a bottle of expensive whisky”

“Oh, crap! I knew I was missing something with all these plans. I'll give her a call in the morning.




Anyone have her number??”

“570 867-5309”

“324-5789”

“I had a call on my caller ID from 234 567-8910, must have been her mobile phoen that I missed...”

“867-5309 jenny”

“You all are so predictable sometimes.

;)”

“I prefer to think of it as "reliable". :)”

“Or "consistant".”

“Well, the plan was to base camp at black walnut bottom (which we got site 13) and do 3 seperate day hikes - friday, saturday and sunday. The 3 boneheads Pennsy, ENS, and myself all arrived thursday night by 9pm.
It rain shortly after setting up camp. Next morning - it rained, but we hike the north 10 mile section above rt 44. The dozens of stream crossings sucked. So, I think we should take the high water trail to bypass that for the big trip. After the first 22 miles over the hardest section, it would be crazy to risk doing up to 21? stream crossings (we stopped counting at 21). After that hike, we went to the black forrest inn to get food (big john burger!) and got 3 big pieces of black forrest cake to go. The rain tappered off friday night so we made a camp fire to dry out some gear. Saturday was better, we did the section from 44 where we stopped yesterday, to the finish line at slate run (14+ miles). We decided due to the storm blowing in saturday night into sunday and to try and do the hardest section in the rain, it would be better to head back home. We broke camp and as soon as we got in the car, it started to rain! We ate our post hike meal at slate run manor ( which was awsome!) and headed home.

What we learned - Do the trip clockwise from the BFT start (which is backwards) and get the 22 mile hard section out of the way. If you hit 44 feeling good, the next 10 miles are very easy till you get back to 44 again. If you still feel good. Its a nice easy decent into the last section, but there is one more big butt kicker climb at red run. Once you clear red run, again its nice flat easy on the feet hiking and then a long decent into slate run. Depending on the weather and water level, we might do a detour down to the rail trail and finish in the big parking lot by slate run.

I think this can be done, but its gonna hurt.”

“Ouch!!”

“Crazy people.”

“this is ENS..

Lyra and I (plus Liamsky) are going. We have a room reserved at the Hotel Manor in Slate Run. I am going to try to do the 20 mile hike over the hard section to 44 and if I can, maybe do the Deshay trail (high water route).

MarkO, are you planning on going? I want to get in touch with Dani, she said she was interested in going. I have bearmagnet's ashes and I want to spread them along the black forest trail in various spots.

Saturday night, we can spread some into Pine Creek and do a toast with some scotch.. those ashes will eventually make their way to the Atlantic and then around the world!

Where is Sacco? I hope he can still make it.”

“I will try to make an appearance and I would like to toss some ashes with you.

Is there a place to camp Saturday night that does not require a twenty-mile death march??”

“Black walnut bottom camp sites. 2 miles from slate run. Very nice sites!”

“yes, it's not a backpacking trip. Camp is a base camp at Black Walnut Bottoms, right on the Pine Creek. It is a very nice spot. You don't have to hike at all, with the exception of the 200 yards into the campground. The campground is complete with toilets.

I emailed sacco and dani to see if they're coming.

Beer at the Manor Hotel is cold and cheap and they have a good selection for a mountain bar and grill... $7.50 for a six-pack.
last edited: 5/18/08 4:47:48 PM”

“Hot dang!!

Toilets??

I am so there!”

“So y’all are talking about 22 miles of rugged hills followed up by countless over the ankle stream crossings for the next dozen miles? And getting rained on? Yep, sounds like my Sunday in northern Virginia. After accepting the mental shock of wading through the first cold mountain stream in my trail runners it just became a way of life and a good fun way to cool down the feet. But as they say, YMMV.

Anyway, I am back in touch electronically for the first time in several days. Happy to see we’re picking up a couple more people for the fun. Everything is set with Forestry – camping reservations and other details. I will email you soon, CP.

MarkO and anyone else, if you haven’t seen it there are photos of the campground linked on the trip page, as well as a full description a little ways up the page. More details later….”

“So we're all camping at Black Walnut before and after?

I've been badly negligent with paying attention to all the details.

support thread...ah there it is...”

“Yep, we have some sites all reserved for you for both Friday and Saturday nights.

Hey CrazyPace. Did you change your email? The one I had doesn't work.”

“Great. ygm PARidgerunner.”

“Lyra and I will be camping at Manor Hotel in Slate Run...”

“I got the e-mail. I'm in hershey for a 3 day meeting. I will be back on friday and iron out the other details. I need my map.”

“I signed up as a maybe, I should take a weekend off from whitewater kayaking and get on the trail.”

“I just signed up this moment after talking to ENS a couple of hours ago.

Can I get directions from you guys?

I will be there for the Saturday night camp and home on Sunday.”

“Remember how you got up here for the Roam Around trip? Well you do the same thing except you take Rt. 414 where it branches off Route 45 just outside Waterville. Follow 414 until you get to Black Walnut Bottom Access Area. There is a big sign. Then find the campers.”

“That would be Rt. 44 North, off Rt. 220 near Jersey Shore, to Rt. 414 north of Waterville.”

“Mark,

15 north all the way to Williamsport.
Then 220/180 west to Jersey Shore.
In Jersey Shore, you take 44 north to Waterville.
Just north of Waterville, 414 splits off to the right, bear right onto 414 and take that north.
Soon after Waterville, you pass through a small town call Cammal.
I believe, 4 miles north of Cammal, on the left, you will see a sign for Black Walnut Bottoms rec area. Pull in and park in the parking lot. You'll see a yellow gate and a road. walk down the road 200 yards and you'll find the campsites.

If you ride into Slate Run, you went too far. Slate Run is aprox 2 miles north of Black Walnut Bottoms.

Camp TT is in sites 11-13, right?”

“I signed on as a maybe cause I ain't hiking it, but I do want to have a couple trees reserved in my name.”

“The campsites I got are 1, 2 and 3. They are the first ones creekside. Open grassy spots with a lot of room and a lot of shade and closest to the parking lot.

No need to reserve trees, rev. There are toilets at this campground.”

“I really do understand your request for trees. I just wasn't thinking of the swingers among us when I looked over the campground and just took the sites that Matt offered without question. I think your hammock can still be accommodated at these sites.”

“If necessary we can just hang up The Rev like a bear bag.

Thanks, "Lyra".........”

“Here goes with what I pieced together for aid station plan a few months ago. CrazyPace has reviewed the plan and asked me to post it to maybe encourage some more to join.

We - that is all the volunteers who would like to help with this - will man several aid stations along the trail. Hikers will need to assemble their own drop bags to have at the aid stations. There is such a variation of what individuals may want, as well as the fact there is no pot of money to purchase food to hand out at the aid stations. Drop bags should contain everything you think you may need – food resupply, spare clothing, lights, etc. Support people should be able to provide water to refill your own bottles or bladders. You can use pretty much anything for a drop bag – day pack, gym bag, large Ziploc bag, or color-coordinated wheeled luggage. Just try not to pack anything too fragile or that will bust open easily like a really cheap garbage bag.

From my experience 10 miles is about the practical limit between aid stations, with 5 – 8 being much better. With these short mileages between stations the hikers can travel fast and light and not have to worry about carrying anything other than the bare essentials of a small amount of water, food and minimal emergency supplies. By using the mileages from the official guidebook and traveling clockwise from the trailhead near Slate Run, here are my recommendations for aid station locations.

AS #1 Manor Fork at Pine Hollow Road
4.98 miles from start
Road intersection, easy to drive to off Slate Run Road or Rt. 44. Room for 2 – 3 vehicles

AS #2 Naval Run
5.90 from AS#1
At the bottom of a steep descent and just before a major climb. Support people need to hike in an easy ½ mile.

AS #3 Rt. 44 South
7.95 from AS#2
Along highway with ample parking for multiple vehicles.

AS #4 Rt. 44 North
10.39 from AS#3
Along highway with ample parking for multiple vehicles. Longest distance between aid stations, but easiest terrain of the entire trail. Multiple bailout trails available.

AS#5 Francis Road
4.92 from AS#4, 8.30 from end
Wide spot in a narrow forestry road. Enough room for 2 – 3 vehicles with relatively easy access.

The last bailout is at the footbridge over Morris Run just before the climb up Red Run. This is 0.65 miles from AS#5 and 7.65 miles from the end. One vehicle at a time can go in there, but we need to limit traffic because it is not a good road and it is difficult to meet another vehicle.

One variation is if people want to take the high water route that will change the mileage a little. Using the Blackberry Trail and Sentiero de Shay will shorten the trek by about 0.8 miles by my calculations. It’s difficult to predict what the stream levels will be by then. My own preference would be to stay on the BFT, but it ain't my feet this time.

There are at least two distinct groups of people signed up for this hike. The first group is those that are starting out with an attempt at the full mileage, or at least starting at the same point and time as the ones attempting the whole shot even if they know they will not finish. The second group is support people, of which at least half will want to hike a portion as a sweeper or whatever else is needed. The numbers I am seeing right now is maybe 7 or 8 hikers and 10 to 14 support people. I will be attempting to verify the maybes on this list (several of whom are not registered on this forum) this week. If you know you want to do just a particular section and are willing to carry a portable radio for emergency contact, let me know what section you would like. It looks like there will be plenty of support people, especially with the number of hikers involved. If the hikers tend to stay together it also makes it very easy. If it turns into more of a competition with more widely varied abilities and speed, we will need to keep more aid stations open at the same time.

Of course a plan is just something from which we can deviate, but this is the basic gist of it. As always, I am open to comments.
last edited: 5/26/08 7:54:13 PM”

“I'm back in! Calves/achilles have responded well to training. Just did a 33-mile (7500') hike last weekend. Doggies were sore, but as expected. Just so y'all know... my decision to change my status to "maybe" had very little to do with pride, etc. I just feared that with my calf/achilles issues that I'd only be able to reach the point of no return before I became a liability to the group.

Anywho... do I need to reserve my own site, or do we already have enough accomodations? I could also sleep in my SUV if tent space is an issue. Are drop bags being picked up at central location (assumed camp), or do we have to drop them off? And the most important question... if I spring for a nice bottle of scotch, who's drinking with me?

Sorry if these questions have already been answered... my coffee hasn't quite kicked in this morning.”

“I'm on as a maybe. I will be there as support/sweeper. I'm actually off on Friday so I'll be headed up to help set up base camp.”

“Great news! I really do understand the issues and the sore doggies. I did a similar hike in Virginia the weekend prior. I'm thinking rest is the best plan for you for the next two weeks. At least that worked for me.

There is still some room at our group sites. We will have volunteers to get the drop bags to the aid stations and to be there with them.

BTW, make sure you have enough fuel in that SUV to make it back at least to Wellsboro. Regular gas in Slate Run yesterday was $4.14. The only place for miles and miles around.....”

“"There is still some room at our group sites"... excellent! Then reserve a small plot for me and I'll take the car instead of the SUV.

I've recovered quickly from this weekend's hike, so I'm thinking I'll do a 20-miler this weekend (somewhere I haven't been before... more fun than training), then rest all next week.

I appreciate all the planning and support!”

“��One thing ya can't hide is when you're crippled inside.
last edited: 5/27/08 11:43:01 AM�
MarkO
11:37:23 AM
5/27/08�
StoveStomper
9:49:30 AM
5/27/08
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“Wrong thread”

“This is so cool. It's gonna hurt!!”

“Thanks PARidgerunner for all the work you did. This will be a blast. As far as the camp sites, you think we could get everybody on just those 3 ? Was there a limit on tents per site? I could get 13, 14 & 15 in my name if needed. Then we would have both sides of the road. Mabey we could keep one area a large hang-out community area for the camp fire and lots of chairs? Speaking of campfires, Should we bring wood, or is there a place to get 1 big load up there?”

“We are allowed 10 people per site with no limit on number of tents except the practical space considerations, and they are big sites with no clear boundaries between them. The numbers I have right now are 17 definite and 8 maybe. At least 3 of these will not be staying at the campground, so that leaves us with a max of 22 that I am aware of. I hope to get a mass email out to the support people tonight to confirm some of the maybes and will post names later to be sure what I have is correct with everyone on the forum. Several of the support people are from my hiking club and don't frequent the forums.

I'm not opposed to extra elbow room and the sites you mention are more secluded from the other campers, as well as the eagle nest. Whatever you think is best on sites. I could get them added too if that's what you would like. I'm stuck in a hotel in Maryland on a business trip until Sunday morning but I can still get occasional emails or phone calls out if needed.

I don't keep firewood around any more and haven't made arrangements or even looked for any. It was on my mind to bring it up too. If anyone can bring some, please chime in.”

“I'll bring some firewood. The Saturn doesn't hold much however.”

“Morning wood?

Anyway...... If everybody brings some, we should have more then enough for 2 nights.
I'll be carpooling with Pennsy and a newbee and should be up there by friday noon.”

“A girl could only dream.

A newbee you say? We'll try not to scare him/her too badly. ];)”

“CP - I should be there around noon too. What time does happy hour start ? :)
~spike~”

“12:01

Nogranola and I will be there around then as well.”

“12:01 sounds great to me. I hope to be there by then as well. I'm still working on my crazy schedule for this coming week, but the wood supply may be taken care of. I will post no later than late Wednesday night if I am going to have time to pull it together. In the meantime, don't abandon your original plans entirely. For now I will just say there are more supporters of this than most of you realize.

Extended forecast which is of course subject to change many times, calls for temps in the upper 80s on Saturday. Hydration will be the key to surviving, let alone enjoying, this hike.”

“I should be showing up on Friday afternoon as well. But I probly won't be doing much except hanging around.”

“Enjoying this hike is not an option!”