Savage Gulf Trip Report

“i'm lazy, so i bailed and walked an extra few miles to come home.

i got back to the parking lot at 7pm, and i'm home now.

i would still like to know what happened to nekkid, crow, and jerbear. hmmm. i'm sure there's a story there.”

“Rad, what happen? Why are you back so soon, thought it was a longer hike?”

“hmm, you didn't read that top post, did ya?”

“Yep, read it and just can't figure why you and that new pack were so eager to get off the trail, that's all. I noticed your ICQ isn't up either. Oh, well, hope you had fun while you were out there.

I'm taking a buddy and his kid up Blood tomorrow with Joshua. You are invited if ya wanna come. Call me or leave a email. Gonna leave around noon.”

“the pack was great. almost too good. usually i concentrate on my pack and my legs. all i thought about this time was my legs. that pack is a dream come true.”

“Which Gregory was it you got Rad?”

“the forester.

it's a big reality.”

“damn! what happened? these guys should be back by now!”

“Radman, how come ya bailed?!?!
Man, if I had a free weekend...>sigh<
Time is such a rare commodity these days. You better have a good reason or I'll have ta kick yer a$$! ;oP

I'm lookin' forward to the trip report, guys. :o)”

“Me and sirpete just got in.
GREAT TRIP!!!!!
We're going to go grab a bite to eat. I'll post a report later. Tired & hungry now.
Sorry you bailed Rad. I hope your OK.”

“for the last 6 months i've hiked 3 weekends a month, on average. i've been getting my share. but more and more of these have been without jen. that's what's getting hard. she helps me buy gear and sends me on my way, but i miss having her with me. i need to hike a bit more with her.”

“and i'm damned glad y'all made it back. honestly, y'all had me worried. i can't wait to hear what happened to our other group. i hope y'all were ok.”

“Everybody made it out fine. Steve Hiker got a tweeked ankle but he's fine.”

“but what about jer, crow and nekkid? were they having a party?”

“well y'all he done walked my britches off!(Naked Ape says they use that word all the time,must just be a Southern thing) Saterday night it was 7 of you guys in Hobbs cabin against this lil old yankee and I still came out sparkling clean. but really it was an awsome week-end. The weather couldn't be beat and neither could the company. I meet some really great people I hope that we will be able to get together again. Talk to you guys monday night when I get home.”

“PIZZA TIME!!!!!!”

“Just made it in the door. Made it in six and a half hours.

Steve Hiker still has four plus hours on the road, with his ankle bothering him. Kinda' makes my drive seem not so bad.

Radman; Remember the ECT's motto(new); "Hike your own hike."

I'm off to clean-up, then to sweet sleep. Looking forward to reading the posts tomorrow evening.”

“Just got in after 10 hours on the road. Will post some headlines and write the details later:

--Awesome scenery!!!
--Wrong turns.
--Lost on the mountain after dark.
--Cabin nearly caught fire (twice).
--Hand in alcohol flames.
--Sprained ankle.
--Black eye.
--Good hiking experience and great people.

Gonna hit the sack now.”

“I got to make it on some of these hikes!”

“awww, Raddy...I think yer going soft on us. You stayed home to spend quality time with yer wife, over getting bumped, bruised, and broken on the trail with yer fellow TT-hooligans? Good for you. :o)

Hey, why is it anyway, that you suthahnas can't seem to hike without casualties? I used to think that someday it would be nice to meet ya'll, but mebbe now I'm skeert! =:0

OK, enuff teasin'...where's the report?!!”

“DAYUMM FANTASTIC TRIP AND EVEN DAYUMNER FANTASTICKER PEOPLE!!!! I thank you greatly WD for your hike! A PERFECT WEEKEND!

Radman we missed ya bro! Imagine our surprise when we hit the Connector a little after you left hearing that radman wuz OUTY! I hope your knee is ok brother, but I need to tell ya that you were'nt yourself from the first minute ya met us. Regardless of what the situation is, I'm sittin here hoping the very best for you. And next time we hike mebbe thangs (knee or whatever) will be good to go. For some reason I'm thankin a lil clarification is needed about something over "split paries". Heck fire, I cain't see no reason to thank that some ppl decided to split from the group??? Just that a cupla of us decided on Sun to frost our afterburners and take it nice 'n easy.

You guys are a wonderful bunch of people and I'm delighted to accompany your future trips. And for y'all that missed it, you really did miss out on something beautiful. I never would've thought that a filthy Yank 'd be great company, but I KNOW they's ONE for sure, thanks for coming down Pete!

Hey Jer, HAPPY B-DAY brutha, but I do believe you've done your math wrong on your age. I thank you've somehow overshot them years you tolt us by about 10 or so!

I better do some thankin about supper, so I'll hafta wait til tonight and I'll commence to reportin' then. Smiles y'all, and thanx again WD!”

“Somethings I learned on the ECT Savage Gulf trip:

1: Seven hours in not too far to drive for a good four night backpacking trip.

2: When you stop every half an hour to check out something interesting your average hiking speed for the day is very low.
But it's all good.

3: Three ECT trips and I alway forgot the coffee, never went without a cup of 'joe in the mornings.
The TT'ers have got your back.

4: The rangers at Savage Gulf are like sitcom dads, nice but strict.

5: JerBear's da MAN.

6: When you pack your tent don't forger the pole for the rainfly.
If you do trekking poles will work in fair weather.

7: If you left three tent pegs with the raifly pole you will find two pegs in the dirt around camp and JerBear will find the third for you(see #5).
Remember kids, maintain a positive Karmic balance to encourage Trail Magic.

8: If someone throws enough white gas in a fire place a wall of vapor-flame will shoot across the cabin floor causing the guy next to me to toss his 1/2 cooked soup on my boots during an attempt to avoid the flame.
Remember kids, liquid fuel and fire places ARE a fun combination but try not to set anything, including you, on fire.

9: SirPete can defend the Yankees even when out numbered by Rebels seven to one.
I live in a border state so I just tried to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

10: If SteveHiker breaks, duct tape him back together and he will hike out in good spirits.

11: Sometimes people just lolly-gag along the trail, somethimes they march straight to camp, but when push comes to shove all these guys are strong hikers.

12: I feel like a wus around NakedApe because he hiked the whole AT.
He's a good chap all the same.

13: If you don't think Knoxville is a big city try to pass-thru on I-75. Traffic was bad enough Sunday evening, Thursday afternoon was just nasty.

14: Don't turn you back on RadMan during a Titanium Ladder match(ouch!). If you get the upper hand in the match RadMan will "hear" his wife calling and sneak out of the ring.

15: Trust WalkinDude when he says he knows a good place to got hiking.

16: If you get a oportunity to go backpacking; GO.
Sometimes you have to create your own oportunity.”

“I loved your trip report there, Walkincrow!
It sounds like it was fun all around and you came back with stuff to share.
Good on ya!”

“Split Parties;
I'm of the mind that we don't have to be within sight of each other all day.

Sometimes I'll take my pack off at every senic view. Othertimes I'm in a groove and will march for hours without taking off my pack. Depends on the mood.

I don't wanna try to keep up with Walkindude on the hills and I don't wanna hang back with the back of the pack when I'm in the groove.

As long as we all know the plan for the day I think you should get there however you like.
Just because I wanna have a snack every half hour shouldn't mean that you've GOT to stop too. Just because no one else is tired doesn't mean I should push myself to keep up.

Friday I was in the mood to just hop from one interesting spot to the next. Sunday I got in the groove and just wanted to hike. Not everyone is gonna be of the same mind at the same time.

Hike your own hike.”

“hey! i was the one who dragged those big-assed ladders in there! and don't forget about the THUNDERCAGE. damn! my pack must have weighed 35,450 pounds and 7.384 ounces (i used a digital scale). that gregory was really put to the test.”

“That Titanium Thundercage must have cost at least $100,000.”

“but the TI chainsaws were the bizzomb!!!!

i get my stitches out in two weeks. how 'bout you?”

“The staples in my belly come out in a month, the stiches on my leg in two weeks. The concusion was only minor.”

“LOL!!!!

man, i wish i'd seen the fireball in the cabin. y'all we're saving that for when i was gone! i know it!”

“ROTFLMAO!!!”

“I've started the report. It's gonna be a biggun!”

“is it an orbitmanifesto?”

“Here it is!”

“I picked up sirpeteofmillwork at Nashville Airport Wednesday night. As a gift he had picked me up a Philadelphia Eagles Football shirt. We cruised back to the house and he crashed on the couch.

THURSDAY
We headed out to Savage Gulf to meet Jerbear & Steve Hiker. This was my first time to meet Steve Hiker. Upon first site, I couldn't help but notice he had a black eye. It was from a vicious assault from his washing machine at home. The Shuttle was set up and the 4 of us started at Stone Door Ranger Station. The Rangers told us the water in the creeks was up and wasn't sure if we could get across a couple of them. Laurel Creek was our biggest concern. As planned we headed to Stone Door and then cought the Big Creek Rim Trail to Alum Gap Camp Site.
After setting up camp we took a day hike out to Greeter Falls. The Falls were running hard and were absolutly beautiful. While trying to get to the bottom of the falls, Jerbear cracked his head into a rock and for the rest of the trip it looked like a hickey on top of his head.
By the way, Today was Jerbear's 50th BIRTHDAY!!!!!!! What a way to celebrate! He had even packed in his own Birthday cake. A box of Cup Cakes. They were GOOD!!!
About dark we were sitting around camp eating and I said," I wonder what the Hell happened to Walkincrow?" About that time, we heard, "HELLO!!!" The Crow had arrived!!!
We crashed around 10:00.
6.9 miles

FRIDAY
I woke from under my tarp about the time Jerbear was about to start making breakfast.
"mornin" I said.
"Naked Ape showed up last night". Said Jerbear.
I looked out across our camp and said, "Where?"
The bear pointed at a lump of nylon. "he's under his tent". N Ape didn't set his tent up. He just crawled in it like a Bivy sack. He soon woke up and told us he walked in the dark and got to camp about 11:30. While trying to get to sleep, he was trying to keep 3 raccoons out of our stuff. They did however get a pack of Jerbear's Pepperoni. Those Ba$tards!
We packed and headed to the junction of the Connector Trail & Big Creek Gulf Trail to meet Radagast. He wasn't there yet so I jogged up the half mile to check and see if Laurel Creek was passable. It was. Soon after I got back, Rad arrived. We all headed down the Connector trail toward Collins Gulf. On the way, We stopped at Cator Savage Historic Site. The old cabin of the man for which the park was named. A little further up the trail we turn into Collins Gulf and make way to camp. Along the way we had to hop, skip, & jump across Fall Creek. On up was Horsepound Falls. Now we begin our loooooong accent up to the top of the bluffs and the back of that canyon. As we gained elevation the group started to spread out. Me & Naked Ape were in front talking away and I kicked with him as long as I could till he streached it out in front of me. I thought I was a strong hiker on hills till I met him! Our next stop was Suter Falls, where we got water and and did the last little bit to Collins West Camp.
Camp was made, along with supper and a nice fire. It was cold that night. Maybe 20 degrees.
10.3 miles

SATURDAY
We woke and got a late start. Today was going to be our longest miles. The first part of our hike to Boulder Crossing was VERY rocky. Boulder Crossing is a walk across a 100 ft. Suspention bridge. After that we got above the bluffs and trucked on down the rest of the Collins Trail to the old Stage Road Trail. Some of us kicked a pretty good pace while some wanted to lay back and take in the trail. As walkincrow says,"hike your own hike". around 1:00, me, sirpete, Radman, & Steve Hiker reached the StageCoach Trail. I didn't know how far the others were behind me so I told them to head on down and I'd wait on em'. Crow showed up soon after and we filtered some water. About 20 mins later Ape & Bear showed up. The 4 of us made our way down the ankle twisting Stage Road checking out Skinny Falls along the way. At the bottom, sirpete & Steve Hiker waited around to tell us that Rad decided to bail. We'd noticed he hadn't been his regular chatterbox self and with this we worried about if he was OK. We headed on with a little over 3 miles left for the day but this was the start of the HARD part.We had a few hundered ft of elevation to gain along with a VERY ROCKY HARD TO FOLLOW trail. On the hike up, Me, sirpete, & Crow passed a couple of other dude's walking in going to Hobbs cabin as well. By the time we got to the top just below the bluffs, the sun was no longer visible. We were a little concerned that the others may have to find the cabin in the dark. It's a tough trail to find through the rocks. Finally we found the slot and cut up to the bluff tops. Hobbs Cabin was only about .1 from here. The Cabin was already occupied by a couple of boys from Chattanooga. I asked if they would have room for 6 more people and I just got a funny look. I figured, Oh well, We'll just camp. It had gotten dark and still no sign of the others so I got my headlamp and went to the trail to Yell a big "YO BEAR"!!! About 200 feet awayand 30 feet elevation below I got a "YO BEAR"!!! back. SHEEEEEEW!!! Everybody's here. We went to the cabin and N Ape & Jerbear WERE going to stay in the cabin. I went and told the fellows that had first claimed it that if a couple of us slept in the floor, would they mind if we stayed. They figured we was alright so I ran to camp and told sirpete to "pull up camp. We're stayin in the cabin"! We moved in and not only mad ourselve at home but also ate the leftovers they had from supper! We'd totally forgot about to 2 fellows we'd seen earlier on the trail till they came wandering into the cabin REAL late. 10 people stayed in a cabin made to hold 6 people.
11.1 miles

SUNDAY
Our last day and everybody had been eating and giving away all the food they didn't want to tote out. The 2 guys that came in late talked us into giving them a shuttle back to Stone Door so they wouldn't have to go back down the Connector trail again.
We'd been on the trail about 2 miles and I noticed Steve Hiker wasn't moving to quickly like he had been. N Ape told me he'd tweeked his ankle on the accent the night before. I didn't know that. The next time we stopped, we wrapped him with Duct tape and I gave him my trekking poles. Good to go! The rest of the hike out the North Rim Trail was one of Crow's "hike your own Hike" hikes. I hung back with Steve Hiker about the last 3 miles and we checked out Rattlesnake Overlook and Savage Falls. He was a site going down the trail limping along with a black eye. After seeing him, I bet most of the day hikers we saw NEVER wanna try backpacking! LOL!!!We all eventually crawled out of the woods and into the welcome arms of the Savage Falls Ranger Station.
8.5 miles

It was a wonderful journey!!!!! We covered 35.8 miles. My only regrets were that Steve Hiker wouldn't have hurt his foot and Rad would have been there to finish with us. I've hiked all over Savage Gulf many times over about 11 years but this was the first time I'd made a through hike from one end to the other. I was blessed with being able to do it with some of the finest people I know!!!! It was great to have gotten to hike with Rad, walkincrow, & Jerbear again and it was an honor to be able to finally meet Naked Ape, sirpeteofmillwork, & Steve Hiker!!!
THANKS AGAIN GUYS FOR COMMING OUT TO HIKE THE GULF WITH ME!!!!!!! I look foward to our next trip!”

“SHEEEEEW!”

“dammit! where was the part about the gas-bomb?!?!?!? LOL!!!!”

“I am so unbelievably jealous that I couldn't go! As it turns out I have been sicker than a Dickens since Friday anyways and wouldn't have been able make it reguardless.”

“Hey Guys! I was one out of the 2 crew who hauled into Hobbs cabin around dark on Sat. Glad you all didn't burn it down! HA! Sounds like we missed out on all the fun and was wondering in almost everyone slept in the cabin since it was very quiet Sun morn. It is a beautiful place and it sounds like the whole bunch of you thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing all your experiences and thanks for chatting, Walkindude! I can tell you all have a lot of fun. I'd like to join you all sometime, especially to somewhere I haven't been, like Red River Gorge in Ky.
Ha! You ....one sheep and....”

“Oh yeah, Sunday morning at Hobbs Cabin, Aparently somebody was ditching some fuel in the fireplace (the fire was out except for smolders)and somehow (not sure) it cought and this HUGE flame came BOILING out of it! Two guys were sitting by it and the flame came straight at them. In the process of getting the Hell out of Dodge, They kicked orer the food they were cooking! Everybody in there at the same time said, "WHAT THE F#CK"!!! It was so AMAZING!”

“Duck can tell ya more about it. WAT UP DUCK!


Hope ya get well soon Spam!”

“is this DUCKman? from atlanta?”

“Nashville”

“oh. wrong duck.”

“Sup Duck!! Which one were you again??? And the atomic fuel incident happened on Sat night, eh? I was thankin that it was one'a the guys suppers that strattled crow's boot?

Anyhow, whether it was supper or b-fast, Steve had finished with his alcohol stove and had just a tad of fuel left in his stove, whereupon he dumped the rest in the fire. Yaknow it made a pretty nifty little flame-up, no big deal. Well one'a those 2 youngsters who were there before we arrived musta thought that was purdy cool. Well some inspiration struck to dump his fuel too, they had white gas. Everyone is moseyin' about their meal, (I thank now that it was b-fast, cause Sat night is when Steve hiker flamed up his hand and jacket like a circus act ... LOL!) anyhow, this kid barely mumbles Look out, or Stand back, or sumthin like that, and uvasudden this bright light flashes outa the fireplace, then a PILLOW OF FLAME bout four inches high literally ROLLS outa the fireplace in every direction. For a split second everyone watches this unfrigginbelieveable marvel, when we all realize it's actually rolling across the floor to US!! LOL! The 2 guys that came in really late were sitting close to the fire INDIAN-STYLE! whilst they cooked b-fast. Imagine having to haul a$$ from injun-style away from some kinda freakish rolling flame! Dang that shore is some funny stuff to see, knowing that everyone is OK of course. Well in the process of haulin anus mode, b-fast and stoves were of no concern. Food and burning stoves then were sent across the floor. Gawd, some funny dang stuff!!!

I gotta tell about Steve the hikin man's fire act too ... LOL!! I'm bout ready to start chowin supper and happen to look to the cozy fire on my first bite, when somebody's fiery hand is waving up and down like some kinda circus traffic cop! Ole Stevo the piro, in his panic over his torching hand, don't yet know about his burning shirt arm and belly! I'm tellin y'all who missed our trip, this beats the flip outa COMIC RELIEF!!! Steve hiker manages to not become a crispy tater, and gets all his bodily fires put out. But I gotta tell yuns, DANG FUNNAAYYYYYYY!!!!!

Awe shux crow and dude, them nice words is making me blush. I shore cain't thank you enough, ALL you guys!!! MANY THANX GRAND FELLERS!”

“Only on a ECT hike can ya walk with a Ape, a Bear, & a Crow at the same time. LOL!”

“All that and a bag of chips! I am so beat. My first flight was canceled because of bad weather in Philli, and then I wasn't able to get a flight until late last night. I didn't get home until about 4 this morning and when I did I found that old man winter dumped 2-1/2 feet of snow on us. I've been out there cleaning up that mess up until now but finally I am going to bed. Laterrrr”

“Great trip report Dude! It wasn't an Orbit report. You bothered to use paragraphs;-)

A quite, subdued raddy? Couldn't have been. It must have been a spy in disguise from the West coast TT group.”

“it was kleetn! he's a spy!”

“Sounds like a fun time, guys! ECT'ers unite. :o)

(good job at upholding the yankee image, sirpete)”

“I hate that ya bailed on us Rad, I was hoping to check out that new Forester backpack ya got. I had my lust out for a Reality, but with me going west, I'll likely have a bear bag/cannister and could use the extra 500 or so ci's for $15 more bucks, specially since they're the same weight. I'll check one'a those thangs out at dealer and see what I think. So ya say you're happy with it huh?”