FOOKING LLAMA T- SHIRTS!

“Since it seems I have been left holding the bag with these damn shirts, and since I have had to get on the phone, and start from scratch with a new design and logo (despite the fact I am trying to get ready for an 11 day, 10 llama, 8 person trip this weekend....
As WELL as trying to continue packing for an additional FIVE more trips that add up to 40 MORE days this summer....

(Do you have any idea how long it takes to weigh out, and pack 225 pounds of llama food in 1 pound bags?)

This INCLUDES the Llama Rama you all are coming up here to go on),
And PUNT with a local, EXPENSIVE silk screen company, I am still lacking e-mail replies to the letters I sent many of you about WHAT FOOKING COLOR YOU WANT ON YOUR FOOKING SHIRT!

Three choices:

Lite blue
Lite Green
Lite Ash...gray.

I do not know how much they will cost.
I am waiting to hear from the silk screen printer.
With luck, I will know this afternoon.

When I am informed of the prices, I will advertise here, and e-mail you as well.

Now, if you can EMAIL me PLEASE, or at least check in here with a color, I can get this dog off my back.

Since I have to front the cost of the shirts, and wipe out my checking account in the process, you will be expected to either send the money, or pay when you get here on July 28/ 29.

Anyone who doesn't pony up will get a BILL and a pissy letter from me.

I am lacking color information from the following:

Freedom 1 xl. long
sleeve, 1 XL ss

David L 1 ss Large
Bryan L 1 ss Large

JVZ 1 Ls XL

Kent 2 ss l

Mozark 1 ss L

Mozark jr. 1 ss Med.

10 bears 2 ss L

Explorer 1 ss XL

Didjfan 1 LS Lg.

Naviguesser 1 ss XL

Maryphyl 1 ss L

Bigfoot 1 ss XXX (BF..No cash, just a color)

Norachai 1 ss L

If you have ordered a shirt, YOU ARE GOING TO GET ONE....

Unless you cancel.

If you don't choose a color by Friday the 13th, 3 PM....

You're going to get lite blue.

MEL”

“Not that this will help the situation.. but i want it known to all here that the design that i worked my arse off to get done and sent to Pepperdog was done in time and never was put on the back burner... it was a problem with not recieving e-mails to the correct account that made it seemed like i was not around..however pepperdog did know better...i was in contact with her at all times..till she disappeared..after i sent a design and a check her way! I then later find out from Mel that pepperdog has been "worried " about telling me that the design needed some line inhancement and never told me... if i had been told it could have happened in only a few moments and could have been taken care of. I did my part..and nobody is allowed to think otherwise! As for Pepperdog.. I have asked twice for my design and check back and have recieved neither.. so far check has not been cashed... damn good thing too.. I relaly do not know what to think about it all. But there i have said my two cents.. good luck mel.. you need it!”

“Long sleeve--please madam. Thank you. MP”

“Mel - I sent you my color preference, but considering the situation, an executive decision on your part to pick a color would be in order as far as I am concerned. I could live with any color and the three choices (four if you can include white) are fairly reasonable.

Just my $.02. I'll put a check in the mail!”

“TA....

You can't lay the blame on Pepperdog.

Since I am the "Figurehead" of this fiasco, I am elected to convey messages to everyone after dual conversations with other members.

I ask for advice, and I get it. I ask for feedback, and I get it.
I make the final decision to get this thing working.

My primary concern, because I will be out of the picture so much as this thing grinds down to the finish, was that we needed a useable design in a timely fashion.

General concensus (by the printer) was that the design needed a little more work to make it suitable for the printing.

The line enhancement thing came up almost immediately after you sent the finished drawing. I belive you were told soon after that.

But I don't know much of what transpired during, and after this process.

I was out of the loop. For a while.

I sent e-mail, and hit the wall.

The way my e-mails went to live with Jesus, and no explanation as to why they did, did not ease my mind.

The deadline figured prominently in the final decision to go with an offered back- up design, which at the last miniute failed to materialize while I was out on a trip.

I can't ride herd on this project if me and my horse are out of town.

I have found that despite the mystery that seems to surround such an artistic pursuit, it IS possible to put a t-shirt together in less than 3 days, and e-mail the design to a local printer.

This, combined with a couple of frenzied phone calls, and a credit card should produce a t-shirt.

We may not have a design...but if I had realized this was going to be such a monumental undertaking, somewhat similar to cleaning the Aegean Stables, I would have sat down at my desk, and threw something servicible together MONTHS ago, when I had more time.

I never realized that there was such a limited desire to have a shirt for this trip.
This has not been the case in the past.

Generally, people have been more enthusiastic, and we end up with a shirt, not a chore.

With a little luck, today while I continue to try to keep my OWN act together, I will work on the phone with the printer, and get this thing done.

We have had one shirt cancellation, and these are the remaining people who have not chosen a color.


Freedom 1 xl. long
sleeve, 1 XL ss

JVZ 1 Ls XL

Kent 2 ss l

10 bears 2 ss L


Maryphyl 1 ss L

Bigfoot 1 ss XXX (BF..No cash, just a color)

Norachai 1 ss L”

“Has anyone considered the option of just saying "to Hell with the Llama Rama tee shirts this year"? What's the big deal about having these shirts? Screw them!

Are friendships and possible future hikes together going to be ruined or cancelled because of a few lousy shirts? I'm going on this trip just to go hiking and camping with everyone. Not to get a shirt.

And trailartist, this tee shirt thing has something to do with you and marmot not coming on this trip. I can sense it from your post. Please I urge you and marmot to reconsider and come on the trip. Don't stay away because your feelings are hurt or you are mad at something or someone. Trust me on this one. I'm an old man but I have some common sense left. Let's just go camping and have fun. Come on trailartist, I wanted to give you and marmot some shrimp etoufee for a belated wedding gift. If you don't come I'm going to have to eat it all myself.”

“I will be blunt...and this is not to be rude.. but it is to get to the point...and not beat around the bush.. it is the way that i am...
first of all, Mel... no problem...that was just the view from where i was standing..i know there are always other ways of seeing things. I just wanted to make sure that i did not come across as flakey on this...I am not that way! I liked the idea of shirts...and i tried to do my part...of course the whole screen printing thing.. i am not used to dealing with.. i usually do art for arts sake...so was unaware of the needed line definitions for a screenprint. THere are no hard feelings on my part.. i did not mean to convey that..i simply wanted my name cleared...since the whole thing had turned into a confused and misunderstood mess.

Solitary... You are quite mistaken...this has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with our cancelation. Please do not assume otherwise. I am not the kind of person who makes big decisions over petty problems... in the whole scheme of thing.. the shirts are the petty part.. the desicion not to come was forced upon us..we did not have a choice. Believe me, please, when i say that we would really like to join you and the others on a llama trip. I had been looking forward to this for quite sometime... i will admit that the size of the group was a bit daunting.. but also would not have kept us from coming...
I would prefer to keep from having to explain the messed up financial details of our lifes right now.. but lets just leave it to say... that sometimes life throws you some loops and Mark and I are busy trying to figure out how to jump through them with out catching on fire or falling on our face... (use circus ring picture to understand statement!)
So I do hope that all of you will believe me when i say.. we wish we could make it.. it is not possible at this date and time...and it is not a simple matter to make it possible...and the thought of missing that yummy shrimp dish does break my heart a little further... believe me.. mark had been bragging about that since i met him! Alas it will have to wait... please try to understand... this is nothing personal to anyone.”

“I have continued to push for the t-shirts because these llama trips will not be available forever.

I started these trips to invite people up to play in the Sierras, the place I know better than anywhere on earth.

I enjoy having all of you come to my house, to eat dinner, BS, and crash in the yard, or up in town.

Hiking with so many of you has been a dream come true for me after so many years of my hiking solo.
It's the most fun I have all year.

The fact that I had a couple (and now five)of llamas to carry a little extra group stuff, just made the idea seem more fun.
That, and the fact I get to meet all these neat people.

I want something to remember the trips by; not only faded photographs that sit in a box in the closet.

I wear the t-shirts on my other llama trips with clients.

It's a good way for me to introduce people to thebacker.com and the great people who come here.

I am out on the John Muir Trail between 50 and 70 days a summer.
I wear this t-shirt, and other hikers always ask about it.

It's not an advertisment for my business. I have cards and a website for that.

If you have a shirt, it's a piece of Trail Talk history.

Since we had so many orders, it seemed a given that people REALLY wanted them, and would be eager to play a part of what has become (or IS becoming) a tradition of sorts.

If creating a design on time, (less than three months) before deadline) is such a problem, I concede defeat.

If the project is so unpopular that no one wants to be involved in it, next year no shirts.

I wash my hands of it.”

“Mel sweetie,...... tell me where to send the money and I don`t care what color it is...... Thanks....”

“Okay, here is the old guys opinion, use the same picture each year with a different date. Use an old picture or start a contest for future trips.
I signed on this trip to meet new people and renew old friendships, not to get a tee shirt.
This is a fun trip and things are getting to serious. Nuff said!”

“hey, y'all come join us for an ECT! mel can stay in my hot tub! grr, baby, grr!

no drama and no t-shirts!

but i do have a somewhat spiffy hat!”

“Llama tattoos. One time and you're done.”

“ROTFLMMFAO!!!!”

“Can I get the tatoo on my ass, so I can show it to Rad in his hot tub?”

“sweet!!!”

“Hey, Phil, think of the weigh we'd save if we kept Mel's idea about bringing indelible marking pens to draw on each other's t-shirts but just eliminated the t-shirts and drew directly on each other!

Think also how much more fun we would have...”

“shrimp etouffe and llama tattoos now .........god, i am trembling
~~~~~~”

“Mel,
Whaddaya mean there might not be Llama Ramas in the future? Bull$hit. There will be cause I won't let you stop. And another thing, if I get my old copy of Adobe Illustrator to load or get a new version of it, I'm doing the shirts next year.

trailartist,
Hang in there. Llama Rama 2002 is not that far away. We'll be looking for you and Mark.

OM,
If you make sushi, I'll make shrimp etouffee.”

“Sol - There is no Sushi bar in Miter Basin. I think it is at Crabtree. We need the trout to replace the eel (Mel's idea...cooked in sauce).

I was looking at the sushi stuff today in the store. It's gonna be great. The llamas can pack in some seasoned vinegar for the sushi rice and some avocados.

"Sierra Sushi" - We will call our concoction a "Sierra Roll".”

“Explorer - That wouldn't be considered LNT, would it? Otherwise my lovely wife would kill me in my sleep. (She has promised that if she kills me, it will be painless).”

“sol..........ya got yerself a deal there bro

mel....tonto.....auntie m......my sierra guru! amiga relax.....this trip is gonna go down in history i tell ya...”