Hooiser Hiking

“looking to get another trip planned.”

“i already have plans for that weekend. have fun ya'll.”

“Gotta check the calendar tonight”

“You chose the one weekend I will be working all month :P

Otherwise I'd be there!
last edited: 1/12/09 2:18:15 PM”

“I plan to be posting on the hoosier haikuing all that weekend”

“ the one weekend I will be working all month

”

“I am just signing up so I can meet maybe meet Wounded Knee”

“And the question is---will wounded knee make it?”

“Thanks for the invite Windi. Can't make this one, will have just returned home from Tampa.”

“Calendar looks empty so count me as a strong maybe at this point.

Question: What if we camped at the site about a tenth of a mile in at the second parking lot? A lot easier to haul in wood to have a nice fire on Friday.”

“I'm open to ideas for the trip plan.”

“bushwack!”

“you're already doing that. I thought this could be something different.”

“different than what? is there a 1 bushwack limit?”

“different than what? is there a 1 bushwack limit?�
It's in the TT'er handbook - there can be only one bushwacking trip per quarter. lol”

“that handbook needs an amendment”

“Crash just like to wack the bush.”

“different than what? is there a 1 bushwack limit?�
It's in the TT'er handbook - there can be only one bushwacking trip per quarter. lol”

More importantly there needs to be a 1 "Crash" limit!

I think I might actually be able to make this...maybe if I'm lucky I can even talk a friend of mine into coming along...”

“you have a friend?”

“I knew I could count on you CB! :p~
and yeah believe or not there are a few ppl in this world that actually like me!”

“"you have a friend?�

Yes, he's got a bunch of friends!!

At this point, my kids are with their dad that weekend, I'm a strong maybe!!”

“Of course the important question is...
"Will the be cheeseburgers and beer??"”

“Friday yes

Sautrday we will be drinking your bourbon”

“I will pick a campsite for Friday night where there won't be too much hiking in, so everyone can bring what they want. What would you think about meeting up at Blackwell campground? Or there are a couple of sites not too far in on Grubb Ridge trail or Sycamore trail. Any thoughts?
Saturday night, you'll have to rely on Upluver's bourbon. lol”

“theres a campsite at the start of the sycamore trail ive always wanted to camp at”

“I am a maybe. Yo bear!
last edited: 1/14/09 2:19:09 PM”

“Is that the first campsite in? I think that is a good sized one too.”

“That is a good size campsite. First one off from Sycamore Trail it is for Friday night.”

“its right there at the corner”

“Calendar is empty so I am in.
last edited: 1/15/09 10:40:22 AM”

“This weekend will be somewhat of an anniversary hike for me. Six years ago, this same weekend, I joined Crazy Mike and G-Force and spanky (Think that was his trail name) for a hike here.

We hiked the Grubb-Ridge loop through about 4 inches of wet, undisturbed snow. About 2 miles in, I could hardly walk. Part of the problem was that I had 50 pounds of crap in my pack for an overnight trip. Not knowing my knees were worse than I thought was the other.

I fell behind fast and told the others I would follow their footsteps.

Camping for the first time in snow as well as night time temps of 32 degrees were not too bad...did I mention that Crazy Mike was the trip leader?

Putting my pack on in the morning, I felt okay, for about 30 paces, then the knees felt like #&%!$ again.

We visited the cave and trudged through wet slop the majority of the morning. I believe I had a smile on my face the entire time, including when we hit the switchbacks leading us out of the sloppy lowland we were in.

Rounding the corner near the road you turn left on to get to Blackwell, I had had enough. I dropped my pack and continued on without it.

When I arrived back, the faces of Mike and Gary said it all. They thought they would never see me again.

MoooooooooooooHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa!!!!!
Little did they know that even with the intense pain, I was never giving this up.”

“did you ever go back for your pack?”

“nope...it's still there.”

“cool! finders keepers!”

“Probably nothing left of the pack”

“hmmm, gear left out in the elements for 6 years...probably still in better condition than mine”

“Well, we know that WK has new gear since then. Hopefully lighter. lol. I'm the slowest hiker, so it he leave it behind again, I'll have first grabs at it.”

“I bet I hike slower then you! :P :)”

“�I bet I hike slower then you! :P :)� You might be surprise. lol”

“I bet I hike slower then you!

youd lose. well, youd win the race, but youd lose the bet”

“cb, it's a miracle if i ever reach camp before dark LOL!!!

I have been the first to camp befor, that was in THE UP.......


But everyone else never made it to camp that night anyway LOL!!! They all got lost.”

“I'm in. So camping on the Sycamore and ending up at Patton Cave? Where is Patton Cave? What loop gets ya there and what are the hiking options?”

“i'm going to figure out a bushwacking route. im so tired of the trails there”

“i love exploring the cave. if the water is not up, im going all the way thru again. who's with me?”

“Patton Cave is off from Grubb Ridge loop trail. It's an "unmarked trail" , but easy to find. The trail to Patton Cave is between Hays trail and Penninsula trail. The cave is about 8-8.5 miles from where we are camping Friday night. Other choices would be to park at the 2nd parking area on Saturday and hike from there. That makes the cave about 5 miles. It also makes for a shorter hike out on Sunday. The shortest hike would be from Hays Trail. It would be about 4 miles from there.”

“i just sent an email to nigal to explain how to get there, because i'd rather not advertise it. guess i shouldve mentioned that”

“Ops, sorry. Hope I didn't give too much away.”

“I posted it on SlobCampers.com and it will now be over run and destroyed. LOL!

Thanks for the heads up Crash and Windi.”

““i just sent an email to nigal to explain how to get there, because i'd rather not advertise it. guess i shouldve mentioned that”

good move. not that it's hard to find.”

“i realize a lot of ppl know where it is, but i'd really like that number not to grow. patton cave is a really special place, and so far it has not been trashed. i'd like to keep it that way.”