hey all

“hi all my first time here...seems fun...killing time on this snowy afternoon...spent all morning snowshoeing...soo...errr duhhh ya all like backpackin'???anybody else out there enjoying the snow???”

“Hey zen, welcome to the asylum. Cozy up to some of the regulars and they might share their med's with ya.”

“no we won't.”

“Hey zen, so where in the Monadnock region are you? I have family in Marlbourough. My parents in VT are snowed in! The snow plows can't even make up the road they live on.”

“I'm enjoying the rain. Does that count?”

“Welcomd Mountain. You should meet zen hiker and pedxing. Then you can all talk about... beer. And, yeah, I'll share my meds with you. Hope you like your coffee strong.”

“hey again thanks for the welcome...sippin coffee and watchin' bonanza...roads are kinda covered...I live in bennington...about 20 mins from marlborough”

“I like beer. and coffee. Oh, hello MZ.”

“Hi Mountain Zen, I'm way up in WA, and I am ejoying 63 degrees, and will be motorcycling later this afternoon.”

“Welcome Mr.Mountain Zen, I'm here in The Great Central Valley of California, rain and 65 degrees here.
Backpacking skiing and fishing are all good as long as I get my coffee first.

ThinAir”

“Welcome to the funny farm! Put on your thick skin and jump right in.”

“Mountain Zen good to have you here! You picked a good time to join us, not too much fightin'.”

“Hey Zen,
Welcome. I'm about 40 miles east of you, right on the VT border just below Wilmington. About 3' of new snow here with more coming down. Finally got in some snowshoeing today - circling the house to rake the roof before it leaks. You ever climb a ladder in snowshoes?”

“Hey MZ hows it goin? Maybe we can get a group all get together and do a weekend in the Whites this summer, what do ya think. How about it Steiny, you up for some hills this summer?”

“Hello. Do you have ICQ if not get it. Do you have AIM if not get it.”

“get it?

got it?

good!”

“Hey any one know how long one must be hear before you are no longer new. Am I still new?”

“you will ALWAYS be new, punk! LOL!!!!”

“One more question, am I a TT regular?”

“you aren't old, so ya must be new.”

“so you all on icq huh???i just got this new computer here and haveta load in allotta' new stuff...will do icq I guess...ya all worth talkin to???lol...seems to be to me...and yeah I am always into some new trail buddies...but why wait till summer huh???gotta get a jump on them blackflies!!!snowshoin' was great today huh steiny...we got close to 3 ft I guess by now..maybe more...good snow too...for snowshoe anyway...heavy wind blown so not much sinkin here...”

“mountain zen, trailtalk is something of a paradox: it's a forum inhabited by arch-conservative wilderness lovers. They love to backpack, but laugh at conservationists and most any policy that protects wilderness. Hypocritical, but considering they're also mostly religious fundamentalists, that should come as no surprise. There's some exceptions to the rule though.”

“sorry I couldn't resist. Most everyone's friendly & helpful when they're not spouting off about politics & religion, except of course for me”

“Don't listen to Mutt (he's been chasin' rats with Sarabelle too long LOL), not all of us are Bush/Nader developer types. I for one am an ardent environmentalist and so are quite a few others on this site. Makes sense, considering this is a site of backpackers.”

“I'd chime in, but it's hard to do when you're hugging a tree like me.

Damn! Got pitch on my Birkenstocks again!”

“ok....for instance????”

“Hi mountain zen - glad you're here. I'm in Southern Illinois, I don't think we've had any snow since Jan. Overcast and 40's today.”

“This can be a rough group (as I haves sampled for my self many times). How ever, we are a good bunch. Well some of us. Just some hints so you don?t have to endure the same pain that I have.

1) NEVER say any thing if you don?t have sources to back you up, they will kill you for that.
2) Always use your best spelling and grammar.
3) If make fun of some one they WILL retaliate.
4) If you never in you TT life made fun of any one, you still may have harsh comments coming your way.
5) If you state a scientific fact that is hard to believe, don?t expect them too.

Now some day to day hints:

1) There are some people that check in here every 5 minutes because we have nothing better to do, we call them regulars.
2) There are some people that post something extremely radical, knowing that they will upset many people, we call them trolls.
3) There are some people that change their name every month, we call him tarpy.
4) There is another web site with all of are pictures on it , and the web master of that site we call Phill
5) This site crashes often so buckle your seat belt and where a helmet.
6) You can use most HTML in on TT (trail talk) and if you don?t know any we have a thread to solve that problem
Some of us use AOL IM (AIM RULES), Some of us use MSN IM, Some of us use Yahoo IM, and more of us use ICQ.

There you go I hope that this has set you on the right foot.”

“Who you calling a radical religious fundamentalist?

I worship trees, rocks and fish.
I radically worship fish.

Welcome to the wallow.
Take off your bathing suit.”

“WAZZZZUUUUPPP new guy. Welcome to the best damn site on the Wild Wild Web!”

“ice tea, i am quite impressed with your "newbies guide to TT"!”

“wow ...what am I getting myself into here huh???”

“just be quiet and follow the man in black.”

“I like cheese”

“Welcome mz I love snow and I really like to roll people in it, its great for burying the kids in if they don't beat me to it. I'm kinda new here also and the deranged group has made me welcome or a prisoner I don't know which but you will find your niche soon enough. Have fun.”

“I've been here almost a year and a half. They won't let me leave.”

“Conservative??? Hell no. I am not the least bit conservative. Sign me up for the collective. I'll be there right away. Yes I'm a tree hugger.

I've sitrred up things a bit and have said some not so smart things as well, but the folks here are all great and i wouldn't hesitate a moment to hike with any of them (the fact that I have no wheels and no cash keeps me from doing so).

A few things about me:

I'm young not old
I'm opinionated, but not bold
I'll teach school
That's cool
But I can't write poetry worth a darn.

I'll leave that to BigFoot.”

“Hiya MZ!! All us Canucks up here in the Great (not so)White North(no, I do not know Bob & Doug Mackenzie) bid you welcome! Have you ever been to the Rockies? :-)”

“Peace from the PNW. Certainly could use some of your snow. Check out the trip calendar for a chance to get out with the loonies.”

“Damn B, that was totally uncalled for.”

“Hi MZ, welcome to the funny farm. Just watch where you step!LOL

Oh, Oldie was tellin` a lie, he does great poetry!
Hey Oldie are you the Troll of Truth?”

“Smoked Gouda?”

“Namaste!
it is ALL good here , often there is wealth of helpful information relating to backpacking and serious answers to inquiries,.......sprinkled with the not so serious.......and. lots of opportunity to hook up with other hikers all over the country who are passionate about the sport and love to share the awesome places they know about.
You can enjoy as a "conscious observer" or you can participate.....heh.....
om shanti”

“Welcome my friend,to the show that never ends. This site is very addictive.”

“Big Foot, my friend, of may name you do ponder
Through all threads,it is, I often do wander
Oldie, I'm not, this no doubt is the truth
This Troll, in fact, a bit longer in tooth

I continue to post, using both verse and rhyme
Some will figure my identity, it's a matter of time
Moutain Zen, there are good times, to be had here for you
But for the time being, I must bid you adieu”

“Hi Mountain_Zen, welcome to our playground. Don't let these folks scare you off, we're all friends on some level.”

“Welcome. I better put my two cents in. Lots of good advice so far...which should be either scary or reassuring.

Many of us have gotten together for outings and such. As long as we don't talk about politics we are OK. Those that want to also share pictures of themselves and their favorite outdoor places. You can see all that and find a list of announced upcoming hikes by doing the following:

1. Click on "TT Today Main Page" above.
2. Click on "Phil's Photo Page of TT Regulars" at the lower right of that page. (Send in your picture any time you want it added!!)

Enjoy!

Oh, Yes. I'm in So. Calif. near Disneyland. Love the Sierras and San Gorgonio Wilderness. Skiied at Killington once while in college. Beautiful state you live in!!!!”

“Yo mel! What are we wallowing in this time? Did I even start out with a bathing suite?

I don't think I would classify as a regular. An irregular perhaps but never regular;-)”

“Bathing suite, that's sweet!!!
MZ, be aware that there are some a-holes who have nothing ever to add, but just critique spelling, grammer, punctuation and choice of words. Mostly, it is done in jest! Itz reely funey wen sum bodie trys too currect anuther end mayx en errer thenselfs?”

“Suit dang it! I meant suit!”