The Hypothetical TT Family Reunion Threa d

“if you think it will be 50...

it will be 15.”

“got a point there radman”

“Elevation is probably important to some folks (not me). Bug season might be a consideration too.

I don't think the number of people matters if everyone knows they are welcome.
We all bring our own chow anyway.”

“Montana is incredible. The shift in terrain between the Absorkas of WY and the Beartooths is really wild.

Newgirl, no I've never been through the Beartooth pass. I was up in Cooke City with NOLS last summer. I passed a kidney stone while during an evac for this girl who split her face open on a boulder field. I came out through Cooke City, but drove south into Cody to the ER, and then to Lander (NOLS headquarters).

Coming out of the woods sucked pretty bad.”

“How about Black Hills SD or Someplace in Colorado?
Are we gonna backpack or slackpack?”

“How many tters are on Baume66's list of tt people?

Unforunately, there will be a lot of good reasons for someone not to come like i.e., who doesn't have the money, the time off, has kids, hubby doesn't want to go, can't go without hubby or wife, or wife doesn't want to go, can't leave dog behind or sarabelle may not want to leave the new kitty behind :{}”

“I vote with Supertroll.

YOU SHOULD ALL COME TO MY HOUSE!

If that doesn't work, I'm with Wanderer....

I can GET to Reno.”

“Great idea drinking bear! I'm in! Tahoe sounds good. And to give people a few months to save & plan would be great. The fall would be perfect don't you think?

I think we should throw a few places out there and have everyone vote.”

“This does sound like a cool idea but let's think of a couple of things first.

Location with cheap airfares, check.

Now, we have to decide what kind of event this will be. A backpacking trip with the possibility of 25 - 50 people?! I don't think we're going to get any kind of a permit for that. I'm certainly not serving up any locations that I would want that large of a group converging on.

Now, if Mel is offering up her place, then hey. After all, you don't go to a high school reunion to study. We all know that we backpack, let's just meet somewhere and socialize (party).

If it happens to be a place where we can get some hiking or backpacking in with smaller groups say before or after the reunion event, so be it.

Just my thoughts.”

“How about we do this, to try to accomodate everyone:
Have a simultaneous 4 location TT reunion hike. 1 in the East, One in the South, One in the Midwest, and One in the West. That way, many more people could go, without having to worry about permits and overcrowding. We could then all share our pics, and reports here, and it'd be like we had 4 trips in one. Just a thought!”

“But we've met the people in our areas! We want to expand our horizons! I say NEXT summer,(2002), plenty of time for vacation planning and saving. I, like I-am-om have my vacation set for thiss summer already.”

“Nobody has met me yet :(”

“Well you live in the frozen white wasteland, no? I live in North freakin Carolina and still haven't met anybody!”

“Sounds like a great idea! Anytime- anywhere. Montana sounds cool. I haven't been there yet and just a couple days drivin' for me.”

“bc, is that British Columbia? I should go up there. Pretty Stuff!”

“I say next spring or summer 2002. I have plans for this summer all set and fall 2001 is too soon to save any money.”

“I've got it!
2002 on the AT.
Half start in Maine.
Half start in Georgia.
Hike until we meet.

Just hypothetically...
But a nice thought....”

“Drunk Bear
Your welcome to come on any of the trips that are always happening. I just started hiking with this bunch last October and I've been on 7 or 8 trips and met over 25 regulars from TT.”

“Joy is right. Let's at least plan it for next year. A good chunk of my vacation is already spoken for. If possible, plan it for after the middle of June. That way I'll have vacation time built up again.”

“I'z just thinkin. Why don't we we hold this event at Matt's house? I'm sure he'd love for us all to come over!”

“New Girl- It is British Columbia and you're right, it's pretty stuff. So come on up and I'll meet ya half way... Say, Banff in August?

You're in Montana, right? A neighbour of mine has as house near Whitefish and I've been intending to get down there, for some skiing, at least. It looks like beautiful country.”

“bc trailguy & newgirl, I hear that Jasper is even more quiet than Banff, not that I wouldn't stop in Banff on the way to Jasper.

bc trailguy, I've been to BC a couple of times. I went to Vancouver, but didn't hike. I went shopping. When I was there, I took walks in Stanley Park. I went to Van Dusen gardens. I forget the other gardens name. Both were beautifuls with many weddings going on there. I stayed in the hotel called "The Wall", great views. For cheaper stays, I've stayed at the Travel Lodge, next to the restaurants called "the kettle of fish" and "Tony Romas".”

“Hey Guys, excellent idea. cheap flights, from a major hub, are usually to denver(rocky mtn natl park),san fran(yoesemite/napa valley), phoenix(grand canyon/mesa verde),las vegas(red rock state park), ...
N. Cal has alot to offer in a relativly small area, same with phoenix, and denver.
I wouldn't mind a yellowstone trip, you know the great american safari????
Please let me know I'm trying to arrange a trip to macchu picchu, anyone interested????”

“wwwandrr, Yellowstone is slammed in the summer. It sucks major di@#! You can't even find a space to lay your left foot in. BC trailguy, Whitefish area is really pretty. I would love to check out Banff. I've been trying to get a girlfriend of mine to committ to a trip forever.”

“Drinking Bears idea is a pretty good one. Have 4 different locations and everyone could still try to travel to another part of the country and the ones that are not to able to travel a long way off could go to the one in their area.”

“Thanks Rabbit, the idea was brought to you by...... Stags Leap 97 Merlot!”

“New Girl- Banff's almost 10 hours from here in Vancouver. Probably about the same for you? But, Lipstick's right.. It's a good place to meet, but August can be very busy. From Banff, it's about 1 hour back to Yoho NP on the B.C. side. Truely awesome and not so busy.

Otherwise, it's a 2 or 3 hour drive north, up the Icefields Parkway (wow!) to Jasper and west to Mt. Robson on the B.C. side. Equally spectacular.

I'm planning to head somewhere up there between Aug 9 and 22, and again in mid September, but haven't set up a trip yet. It appears to be just me, so far as my regular crew can't seem to get it together this year.

I had one group cancel for a trip in May and a couple waffling about the West Coast Trail for the second week of July. Just can't seem to get them together.”

“Drinking Bear has all of the good idea?s. He?s the smartest person I know of. He is one of the few genius?s living today. Uh? what else did you want me to say Bear?”

“I totally agree Rabbitman. Drinking Bear is just courageously smart. The bravery it takes to speak out loud his amazing thoughts is spectacular. Drinking Bear, you are a perfect specimen of the human mind. Was there anything else I should have added?”

“BC Trailguy, it is about a 10 hr. drive for me as well. I live in southeastern MT and if I could get my gf to come we would be driving from southwestern MT. But just maybe . . .”

“I agree with ChinaChas. For a get together like this it would have to be a social event. I shudder to think of the "impact" we would have in any wilderness.

I also stand with I-Am-Om and Joy as far as planning this for the future. If we are seriously going to try to put this together we'll need some time. Unless of course we just set a date and throw up our tents in mels' yard! LOL! Move over Larry, Oreo and gang!

Most state campgrounds have sites set aside for large "organized groups". We're organized aren't we? ;-)”

“Ya right Pamster, just like regular boy/girl scouts... eh? Plan early and maybe aim for September when 'someplace' isn't to busy for a big group.”

“Hey NewGirl I'm chillin' up the Molson's so just say when”

“And, and, and, we could design t-shirts. With a TT logo. But not cotton. No, that would never do. Polypropolyn sounds good.”

“There are lots of trips every year. I would like to make more of them and will make an effort in the future.

I side with the futurists. If we want to get a REALLY special trip up, I'll need more time to plan. I'll need to plan vacation time. I would want to make sure that I didn't back out for lack of preparation.

I like what wwwandrr is thinking about major hubs. They all sound good to me. But if I have until next year, I'd go to Alaska as a first choice. Now THAT would be special. Families could stay in hotels, rent kayaks/canoes, or take a sight-seeing trip. We could have a number of activities from one central location. I've always wanted to take a float plane into some remote Alaskan mountain range. We should go somewhere we can all meet but have different choices.”

“I repeat . . . Montana. Lots of fun for all kinds and types, lots of beautiful scenic views, safe, and friendly.”

“Flatlanders who fly in would be susceptable to ES if elevation exceeds 9k or so.

Group camp (with facilities) and day hikes would prolly be the order of the day.

Far east or far west would allow a significant number of folks to drive.

$.02”

“gojo, what does sarabelle have to say? Would she be going or would she want to stay home and watch the new kitty?”

“I will ride in the truk ok, but I will NOT get on no airpwane!

Cry Baybe got the dopted today.”

“Nepal.

I can get there as easy as I can get to San Fransisco from here.”

“NMO.

Need More Wine.”

“Belle you'll love an airpwane ride you can hang your haid out the window and let the breeze flap around yer earz and play gimme dat with stewardess skirts and have a grand ol time.”

“I wouldn't want to just party if we all got together. There is time enough to do that at night. After flying to a hiking destination, I would like to hike.

sarabelle, I'm sorry to hear cry baby is gone. I'm sure your dad found a good home for her with the nother lady.”

“Gosh, there's so many good ideas! I do like drinking bears other idea of the four trips.
Then I thought gogo's idea was good about the group camp site thing with the facilities. Like the boyscouts do! Like someone earlier posted, if 50 say they are going, probably only half will actually go. I hope most of us can go though!”

“There is a site now that all the airlines contribute to called Orbitz.com. It gives you the cheapest fare to your location.

Input where you are traveling from and to where you are going. Don't necessarily put in the exact airport.

I just booked my Thanksgiving trip to New York, direct flight for $290. per person. This might help people with find good fares for this hypothetical trip or just incase anyone here is traveling for vacation or whatever.”

“After you check out prices there, go to priceline.com and talk em down even more.”

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