View Full Version : What's the dumbest thing you have ever
seen somebody do on the AT?
Catching their tent on fire cooking a meal, going the wrong direction for miles, etc.
The Desperado
11-29-2005, 00:02
Going a full day in the wrong direction. I met them and asked how they were doing & etc and where they were headed....then gave them the bad news, ha ha I drove them back to their original start and got them off in the right direction then proceeded to laugh all the way home ....D
the goat
11-29-2005, 00:03
good one lobster.....
in '01, i was sobo'ing & at pierce pond there was this sobo couple who announced to everyone that they were leaving the trail. their reason was: the AT was just too "commercial" for them and they went on to say that none of the AT establishments "belonged anywhere near the trail, b/c it ruins the wilderness experience".......a 1/2 hour later, they found out a/b harrison's and promptly walked over to make reservations for breakfast.
Lion King
11-29-2005, 01:09
Many...
one from 2003, Apple Orchard Shelter
Farmer was lighting his alcohol stove, suddenly things went bad, other things begin to catch fire, so he grabbed his 'water' bottle to douse the flames, but it wasnt his water bottle but a Aqua Fini bottle filled with...alcohol...his arm went up, my sleeping pad went up and a few other things as well...funny.
Annoying as my gear got burnt, but funny none the less.
saw a guy who had hiked in a glass jar of marshmallow fluff....it broke and managed it's way onto just about every nook and cranny in his pack.
walkin' wally
11-29-2005, 06:02
Meeting two very nice people in the 100 Mile Wilderness at Rainbow Stream Lean-To that were southbound and already low on food. No kidding
Whistler
11-29-2005, 08:16
So... [Hiker's name redacted for privacy] told me that he was going to the privy one time. When he got there he saw that it was full, just about to the brim. He got the bright idea to find a big rock to try to smash it all down with. So he went looking for a rock. He came back with small boulder in hand, hefted it, lifted it up, and let it fly. WHOMP. So then there was big rock on top of the pile of crap, sticking out of the toilet bowl.
-Mark
squirrel bait
11-29-2005, 08:53
Me going southbound over Dragoons Tooth in July with a 40+ lb pack.:datz
ARambler
11-29-2005, 10:00
Dragons Tooth was one of the few streaches that I found much easier south bound. I guess I find the short steep sections better going up. Any other segments that would be much easier southbound?
Rambler
Kerosene
11-29-2005, 10:04
Me going southbound over Dragoons Tooth in July with a 40+ lb pack.Don't you just love that stair-stepper exercise regimen? Frankly it wasn't all that much easier with a 25-pound pack towards the end of a warm day.
Kerosene
11-29-2005, 10:05
A boy scout troop washing dishes in the stream next to the shelter in southern Vermont.
A young woman who had been dropped off in Snickers Gap in northern Virginia so she could walk home after school. I found her 3 miles south of the Gap and finally convinced her (with my map) that she was headed in the wrong direction. It would have been a very cold night in the woods.
There was this guy, let's call him Tick Dick for now, who was making dinner at a crowded shelter. He complained that his Mountain House meals never came out right...always undercooked and too dry. One of his buddies saw him preparing that evening's supper and said, "You're not using enough water!" An argument pursued. TD insisted he had measured a "cup of water" at home before he left, and marked it on a cut off plastic bottle he was using to measure his water for cooking on the trail. Turns out TD used a baking cup at home, which is way short of the 8 ounce liquid cup called for in the instructions.
It didn't end there. The discussion drew a lot of attention from others. Getting a little defensive, TD says, "Look, here on the back of the package it only calls for 6 ounces anyway." Then, one hiker looks at the package and says, "You Jerk!...the number one rubbed off, it's 16 ounces!":eek:
He ate alone that evening...and hiked alone the next day.:(
the dumbest thing i've seen...(where do i start)...
a hiker carrying a 7lb boy scout hatchet & 2 burner Coleman stove (approx 10lbs)
also: a hiker with a full size guitar & a fully-loaded gallon of whiskey on his backpack!
Alligator
11-29-2005, 10:30
Talk of Dragon's Tooth reminds me of when I passed there. Two nights earlier I had started sectioning during a snowstorm. The total was about 6 inches of snow. When I got to Dragon's Tooth (I was heading northbound), it was still icy in patches going down. Slow travel. At the bottom of the ledge area I ran into a guy and a woman heading up to the Tooth with their dog, a labrador mix. I politely informed them of the ice patches but they kept going. Rather stupid place for a dog IMO.
squirrel bait
11-29-2005, 10:41
Makes me think now going southbound in July wasn't all that bad. Going down those stairs/steps in snow, well my respect to ya. But then you might find postholing fun...:D
Alligator
11-29-2005, 10:51
...you might find postholing fun...:D
Absolutely not! There was a bit of postholing that trip too, as the snow had drifted into several of the depressions.
Lone Wolf
11-29-2005, 10:53
Hikers who smoke.
I met very nice guy from Montana who didn't realize that there were water sources available on the AT. It was Overmountain shelter in March of '05, he carried 12 1 liter bottles, in the biggest damn pack I have ever seen.
tlbj6142
11-29-2005, 11:49
There was this guy, let's call him Tick Dick for nowWasn't that your nickname?
Morning Glory
11-29-2005, 13:02
I picked up a SOBO a few years ago at Sam's Gap in November. Snow was coming down. He said he had hiked 10 or 11 miles in the wrong direction. The thing is, I don't know how it took him so long to realize he had gone the wrong way, considering there were 2 other road crossings and plenty of significant landmarks in that section...I would have thought he would have recognized he had been going the wrong way much sooner than Sam's Gap. Anyway, he was a nice guy and I drove him on into Hot Springs.
Also, this past summer we were staying at Overmountain Shelter when a group of boys and their counselors came in. Apparently, they were from some camp for troubled boys. They were carrying the most incredibly heavy equipment that I have ever seen. There was a cast iron skillet, loaves of bread, frozen hamburgers, lettuce, onions all sorts of stuff. We hid all of our much lighter gear from them. We figured that the boys didn't know that there was a much lighter way to go, and figured it they were to see that there counselors had duped them into carrying that crazy stuff, that they would revolt.
We have run into a few lost hikers. We used to try to set them straight, but after arguing with a few we no longer try to help and just smile and continue on. Since we are anal about looking at our map every .5 mile or so, we are never lost ourselves. :rolleyes:
tlbj6142 yelled out:
Wasn't that your nickname?
Uncle Silly
11-29-2005, 13:52
Dumb things seen on the trail? hmmm....
1) the hiker with a GPS that was only useful as an mp3 player;
2) the "pink sock" drama in several shelter registers in VA this summer;
3) 11 hikers and 3 dogs attempting a 35-mile, 30-hour hike across Harriman SP ... in which one hiker got separated and turned around on Bear Mtn and was mistaken by a park ranger as the first SOBO of the season;
4) a 26-mile overnight hike from Boiling Springs to Duncannon, where at 4am the group found a lovely stone bench at an overlook and sat down for a break ... and the first one to sit down didn't see the pile 'o poop he managed to sit in.
Uncle Silly
11-29-2005, 13:53
oh, and
5) the hiker who managed to stab himself in the chest while throwing his knife at a tree ...
1990ish.
The Steriotypical: Blond cheerleader, and Jock boyfriend. Probably 3 braincells between them. (nothing against Cheerleaders or jocks, think "steriotype" OK)
Him: too tight Jeans, Baskeball shoes (for use on smooth hardwood) Tee.
Her: Too thight jean shorts, Jellies (stylin plastic shoes of the time), tee.
No food or water or raingear (it T-stormed about 1 hr after I left them)
Location: the trail to rainbow falls in the GSMNP, a rather rocky & at times steep trail. I met them about 50' from the trail head, about 10' before the end of the well graded section of the trail.
Their destination: The falls, about 5 miles from trailhead.
Tried to suggest they at least get different footwear. She assured me they would be fine, he said nothing, I suppose she had 2 of the brain cells.
Always wished I had stayed around to see them limp back to the car.
Doctari.
Footslogger
11-29-2005, 14:17
I knew someone who hiked from Springer to Katahdin with really serious kidney stone disease and then had 2 surgeries to get rid of the stones when he got home.
Oh ...but wait a minute, that was ME
Dooooh !!
'Slogger
tlbj6142
11-29-2005, 14:26
tlbj6142 yelled out:
Wasn't that your nickname?I remember the nickname, but I don't remember the measuring cup story from your journal.
Kerosene
11-29-2005, 14:30
2) the "pink sock" drama in several shelter registers in VA this summerCan you fill us in on this?
Stoker53
11-29-2005, 14:35
[quote=scotsghost]Dumb things seen on the trail? hmmm....
2) the "pink sock" drama in several shelter registers in VA this summer;
OK I'll bite......what pink sock drama?
I heard about a hiker that seam-sealed their tent. I mean the WHOLE tent. They woke up on Springer drenched in condensation. Turns out they used several bottles of seam seal and sealed EVERY SQUARE INCH of the tent. That's too funny!
I think Profile & Almanac told me that story.
jmaclennan
11-29-2005, 15:32
a guy with two weeks worth of oatmeal and ramen in giant ziplock bags. that was his only food. plus, it was new york where there are quite a lot of places to resupply along the way. he also had a large down jacket even though it was august.
will never forget "Go Heavy" who i met in the smokies with a pack on his back AND front.
gravityman
11-29-2005, 15:35
Oh, how to pick...
This year as we were finishing up, there was a couple from New Jersey at whitehouse landing. He was a past thruhiker. She was a New Jersey girl trying to convince him she LOVED hiking. Except... she stubbed her toe and HAD to get to a doctor because... drum roll... she was afraid she was going to lose it and it HAD to be saved otherwise she wouldn't be able to wear open toed shoes to work (school teacher). They were arranging a VERY expensive shuttle to get them out.
My personally stupidest things
1) Going up Long's Peak at the end of June without an ice axe or campons. It was death defying, and not something I would repeat. Should have turned back.
2) an attempt to cross the Presidentals in Winter with my brother. I had a new stove (whisperlite - like stove) and had the fuel bottle upside down, which cause gas to POUR out. The bad part was the we decided to do it in my NEW tent. Tent = pile of smoking nylon. Luckily nothing else was ruined... Ah, to be new to backpacking and cold adverse... silly...
1) My first winter backpack in New Hampshire. The trip went fine....now if only I realized that my 1989 Mustang Hatchback could get stuck so easily in mere few inches of snow. Had to walk to pay phone, call a tow truck and get towed out a mere maybe..50 feet.
(Liberty Springs trailhead) Stupid, stupid, stupid!
2) My first ever backpacking trip. I'll post the link rather than retype the whole thing:
http://www.magnanti.com/miscwritings/first_bp_trip.htm
Egads! I had a lot to learn.
3) My first time tarping it in 1999. I was a big, bad AT thru-hiker veteran. The first time sleeping out exposed (if you will) can be interesting. Naturally, had trouble getting to sleep.I finally did. In the middle of the night, I woke up. See these eyes looking at me a mere 2-3 feet away. I yell. Then the bunny hopped away.... :) Maybe not stupid..but it sure was funny.
I have many more stupid hiker tricks I've done over the years. Probably will make more in the future! :)
geckobunny
11-29-2005, 15:54
I was going on a test hike with a friend whom I thought had some backpacking experience.
But this was NOT the case.
He brought along a full length, 8lb oil-skin jacket. He was so proud of it and did not hesitate to tell everyone that he had actually gotten it in Australia. I asked why he REALLY wanted to take it along. He said, "I can use it for rain gear, and if it doesn't rain, I can use it as a pillow."
Well, it didn't rain.
As evening was approaching, I asked him if he wanted to hang the food bag. He said, "I'm a lot smarter than a mouse, and mice won't get into the food if I just put it under this (behemoth) tarp."
Thank goodness we were hiking out the next morning because the camp mice had a feast. They ate a lot of gorp, at least 3lbs of it. (I ask myself, why were we carrying so much gorp on a 3 day hike?) But now I know that mice don't like raisins :D
<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" width="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off">For me, I guess it was not turning around at the Hillary Step instead of going to the summit of Everest and barely making it down to camp 6 alive.</TD></TR><TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on">
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Impressive. I wouldn't be surprised if you really do have some interesting stories, Lobster.
But keep this in mind. About twice as many people have summited Everest as have hiked the AT southbound.
The implications of those statistics should be obvious.
:D
the goat
11-29-2005, 16:11
amen to that, rick!
i think the implications are clear......and correct :D
Lobster:
Oxygen deprivation? That explains a lot. :D
tlbj6142, refusing to let it die, says,
I remember the nickname, but I don't remember the measuring cup story from your journal.
My journal "Thought for the Day"...Stupid is as stupid does.
durndest thing i ever encountered was in and around the second week of november 2001 at the state park north of harpers ferry where the horror movie was....there i was a talking gear with about twenty scouts when this chap walks up from the parking lot wanting to know where a good place was for him, his brother and kids could camp........so's i tell 'em about the first shelter north where i am headed and it's a first come first serve situation..........so i'm settled in there for the night and i start hearing the distinct sound of pans clanking and i look down the forest service road south of the shelter and here comes this dude, his brother and kids a toting and ice chest, army duffle bags slumped on their shoulders, two big ole coffee pots with three iron skillets and colman laterns to boot, one was even carrying a fishing rod with the biggest tackle box i ever saw-must have thought there was an ocean nearby..........the humor didn't stop there though, they no sooner get settled in and they pop out a Ouje' Board to see what the spirits had to say to them after they had smoked two big ole hooters (excluding the kids......they probably had their own anyway?).....what a memory that is, i'll never forget it........
There was this guy on the CT, returning to the trail from town, who hitched the wrong way out of town...not once, but three times from three different towns during the same hike.:eek:
Footslogger
11-29-2005, 18:26
There was this guy on the CT, returning to the trail from town, who hitched the wrong way out of town...not once, but three times from three different towns during the same hike.:eek:
================================
Well ...there IS something to be said for consistent behavior.
'Slogger
durndest thing i ever encountered was in and around the second week of november 2001 at the state park north of harpers ferry where the horror movie was....there i was a talking gear with about twenty scouts when this chap walks up from the parking lot wanting to know where a good place was for him, his brother and kids could camp........so's i tell 'em about the first shelter north where i am headed and it's a first come first serve situation..........so i'm settled in there for the night and i start hearing the distinct sound of pans clanking and i look down the forest service road south of the shelter and here comes this dude, his brother and kids a toting and ice chest, army duffle bags slumped on their shoulders, two big ole coffee pots with three iron skillets and colman laterns to boot, one was even carrying a fishing rod with the biggest tackle box i ever saw-must have thought there was an ocean nearby..........the humor didn't stop there though, they no sooner get settled in and they pop out a Ouje' Board to see what the spirits had to say to them after they had smoked two big ole hooters (excluding the kids......they probably had their own anyway?).....what a memory that is, i'll never forget it........
Ahh, was the dumb thing about the kids or about you telling them where you were going to be staying? Maybe both? :-?
my first time using a tarp, and setting it up in one of those designated campsites in the smokies, right in a hole. afternoon thunderstorm flooded me pretty badly... in hindsight, it was pretty funny...
Jack Tarlin
11-29-2005, 20:04
Without question, the most extraordinarily stupid thing I've seen on the Trail was this:
A few years ago, I was spending an afternoon at Kincora Hostel, cooking dinner for around 85 people who were off on a work project with Bob Peoples and the Tennessee Eastman Hiking Club.
I took a short break from the kitchen, and took the opportunity to "switch out" the laundry, i.e. I took a wet load of clean towels, put 'em in the dryer, and started up another load in the washer.
While I was doing this, an older guy came into the laundry room. He'd known about the ongoing work project, but wasn't interested in it. Instead, he'd spent the rainy afternoon slackpacking back to the hostel.
He proceeded to remove most of his sopping wet, filthy, muddy clothes, flung them in the dryer, and started it up.
I told him (kindly, too, in case he'd made some sort of crazy mistake) that he'd put his stuff in the DRYER and that the WASHER was at the other end of the room.
He replied, "No, I just need them dried. It'll only take fifteen minutes."
I informed him that filthy, sweaty, worn, crud-covered clothing were uncool for the dryer, and needed to be washed first.
His reply: "I only need them dried, not washed."
I told him other folks didn't want to put their clean clothes in the dryer after he was done filling it with crud; I further offerred to throw his stuff in the wash while he showered, in short, I essentially offered to do his laundry for him.
He gave me a dirty look, took his crappy clothes, and left the room.
I washed my hands and went back to cooking.
Two minutes later, this young kid comes flying into the kitchen going "Jack, Jack, come quick, the dryer's about to explode!"
I dashed to the laundry room, whipped open the dryer, and discovered that this old cluck had not only put his muddy stuff back in there and started it up, but he'd added his gaiters AND his boots, but because the boots were clattering around and making so much noise, he'd broken down his Leki poles and had wedged them in the dryer so they held his boots to the side of the dryer drum. Of course, after a few spins, the boots broke free, so what I heard was the sound of boots and Lekis smashing around inside an operating dryer. It sounded like cats in a blender.
I removed the offending material, and had a rather colorful conversation with the gentleman, focusing mainly on his parentage, ancestry, and intellectual capacity. I further informed him that if there was anything wrong with the dryer, then he'd be expected to buy Bob a new one. Lastly, I suggested that if went near the laundry room again, then his Lekis were going to end up lodged in a new and novel location that would probably displease him.
Funny thing. The SOB actually showed up at dinnertime and cut the line to get in front of dozens of folks who'd been clearing brush and busting rock all day long in the rain.
I told him to get the hell outta line til the other folks were fed.
His reply: "Who put you in charge of this meal?"
To which I said "I did. I helped pay for it, I spent all day cooking it, and now I'm serving it. Please get out of line and let these folks eat."
He grumbled a bit, and got out of line.
And funny thing, I still served him a big dinner, tho he ate LAST.
And he didn't thank me, either.
Anyway, this is about the stupidest thing I've ever seen on the Trail, except maybe for the enormous lady at Gettysburg who stared at me for five minutes checking out my clothes and gear, and then wadlled over to ask "Are you one of those re-enactor fellas?"
But that's another story.
MoBeach42
11-29-2005, 22:16
Without question, the most extraordinarily stupid thing I've seen on the Trail was this.......... except maybe for the enormous lady at Gettysburg who stared at me for five minutes checking out my clothes and gear, and then wadlled over to ask "Are you one of those re-enactor fellas?"
But that's another story.
In moments like these, I wish that WhiteBlaze had an "email this post" function!
Great - but depressing - story, Jack. Some people are hopeless. How do they get off!?!?
Anyway, this is about the stupidest thing I've ever seen on the Trail, except maybe for the enormous lady at Gettysburg who stared at me for five minutes checking out my clothes and gear, and then wadlled over to ask "Are you one of those re-enactor fellas?"
But that's another story.
You shoulda looked her square in the eyes and said, "yup, I'm re-enacting what I did last year, and the year before, and the year before that, and the year before that....." :D
Baltimore Jack relates:
To which I said "I did. I helped pay for it, I spent all day cooking it, and now I'm serving it. Please get out of line and let these folks eat."
This one takes the cake!
You should get some kind of award for just restraining yourself and not bashing this *******'s head in and throwing him in the dryer for 10 minutes. I could not have done what you did...and I'm one of the nicest guys I know.
Who was he...Whatever happened to him?
SGT Rock
11-30-2005, 00:02
The French Connection 2004. I think he finished the AT.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=3532&catid=searchresults&searchid=875
The French Connection 2004. I think he finished the AT.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=3532&catid=searchresults&searchid=875
Yikes! I wonder how many more "friends" he made along the way?
SGT Rock
11-30-2005, 00:11
I had breakfast with him in Hampton, nice guy at the breakfast table, but I never shared a dryer with him :datz
Jack Tarlin
11-30-2005, 00:11
Well,in truth, Skeemer, I didn't really say "Please get out of this line..." It was actually a little more blunt than that, and when he demurred, I seem to recall that I told him he wasn't getting fed, and if he didn't like it, well he could go..... well, I imagine you can guess the rest. Refusing my suggestion that he engage in what is probably a biological impossibility, he slunk to the end of the line.
And if I had to do it all over again, I'd have handled it precisely the same way.
Except I wouldn't have fed the sonofabitch!
And incidentally, Bob later congratulated me for using restraint. He was of the opinion that the old fool needing a good thumping!
...Thank goodness we were hiking out the next morning because the camp mice had a feast. They ate a lot of gorp, at least 3lbs of it. (I ask myself, why were we carrying so much gorp on a 3 day hike?) But now I know that mice don't like raisins :D
Oh, mice like raisins all right, but what was left of your gorp probably wasn't. :eek:
Two things come to mind. One is the thru hiker that shows up at an overloaded shelter during a downpour and says "I don't have a tent, can someone move out to make room for me?" I saw that in N.C. and again in Pa. By then any idiot knows you can't depend on finding shelter space on the AT. The other really dumb thing I saw was in New Jersey at Sunrise Pavillion. A major day long cloudburst happened and Chief, Bones, Four Seasons and I decided to set up for the night despite the "no overnight" rule. After dark fellow dressed in just a t-shirt and shorts, soaking wet, came into the shelter and said, "thank God I found this place, I've got 100 kids with me." Over the next hour 100 poorly dressed kids, soaking wet, came into the shelter two or three at a time. They were all half frozen. It seems they were Orthodox Jewish kids from a summer camp in Pa. who had gone on a day hike on the AT and I guess had gone the wrong way and gotten lost. They were swaying, praying and trying to get warm and dry. About midnight their busses found them and took them back to camp. I am glad I have witnesses and pictures because this was almost so unbelievable I would have thought I was dreaming.
I once met a Canadian couple at a shelter in Maine. The woman showed up about 3 p.m. after a 10 mile day. Three hours later her boyfriend showed, carrying what he said was a 90 pound pack. It looked more like 110 to me.
As he unpacked for supper he proudly displayed his 10-pound Army surplus sleeping bag, and a five pound bag of sugar. "Just think," he exclaimed, "I bought all this sugar for almost the same price the store was asking for just two pounds."
Then there was the time I drove my station wagon eight miles past the Katahdin Iron Works gate on an icy plowed road in February.
We spent a rainy night camped near the Hermitage. In the morning we hiked out to my car and started home, only to find it impossible to move on the now slushy deep snow.
Luckily two snowmobilers came by. I persuaded them to ride out to KIW, side by side and just my wheel tracks width apart. They compressed the slush enough to allow me to inch my way out.
Weary
Just remembered another one, this time I "Participated":
I, a section hiker, was getting off the AT at newfound gap, Took 4 other hikers into Gatliburg, after running errands, we stopped in a resturant, after ordering, we took turns going to the indoor privy to clean up (& other stuff). I went last, as I was waiting, I noticed that everyone took a looooong time, thought it was my perception. My turn came, I had been on the trail 2 weeks by this time, was (oddly) fascinated by the flush toilet, the running HOT water, electric lights. Played with all for "a while". When I got back to the table, I noticed my companions giving me an odd look. So I told them what I had been doing with the lights & etc. All then said, nearly together: "Me too!!" We laughed. the other people in the resturant moved yet another table away (they had moved when we came in :jump ).
Doctari.
I remember having breakfast at the lodge in Crawford Notch. There was this man who announced that he was going to daylike from there over Mt Washington to Pinkham Notch. Seeing him dressed in jeans and a cotton sweatshirt, I asked if he had read the posters plastered all over the walls warning about proper clothing and safety equipment. He ho-hummed all that, he thought he'd be just fine with an extra sweatshirt and a cheap flimsy rainjacket. The last thing he wanted was to listen to advice from a mere woman, even if she had just hiked in from Georgia! I went on my way, shaking my head.
That day visibility dropped to almost nothing and there was a fierce wind and cold downpour. I could not help wondering what happened to him.
fiddlehead
11-30-2005, 17:35
Many come to mind including: Saw a guy at 3 AM at a shelter in Georgia standing there when i got up to take a leak. He was all dressed in white and i started talking to him. turns out he was out for 10 days carrying only clothes, no tent, sleeping bag or food. He said he does this every year to lose weight and takes some kind of food supplement pills that keep him going. It figured he'd probably die out there but lo and behold, i was back out there about 7 years later and i saw him again, dressed the same, standing there (different shelter) in the middle of the night and said he was doing his yearly weight loss plan.
Perhaps some of you saw or remember this guy. we named him "standing man" although i don't know if he ever went by the name.
Cookerhiker
11-30-2005, 20:25
Fall 2004 section-hiking Allen Gap SOBO to Wallace Gap. First night in the Smokies at Cosby Knob shelter, coldest night of the hike. 2 college girls arrived just before dark both freezing in their cotton sweatshirts and jeans and immensely grateful for arriving at the shelter. They were novices (one on her first trip, the other on her second) but at least they brought plenty of......toilet paper! 2 of them out for 2 nights required 6 rolls. They were going to leave the rolls outside. We told them they had supplied mouse-nesting material so they went to all sorts of troubles to secure the TP safely in their packs and worried about mice the entire night.
Two nights later on the same hike, I arrived in a cold drizzly rain just after dark at Mt. Collins Shelter where all I wanted to do was get in the sleeping bag. 10 minutes after I arrived, the skies opened up. But we had a fire. How? 2 guys build a fire using a duraflame log one of them had lugged in his pack. Hey, that wasn't dumb - it made me warm. PS - they also gave me their extra hot chili. Great way to end a hard day.
Dances with Mice
11-30-2005, 20:56
2 things:
The stupidest thing I ever did was to volunteer - volunteer, mind you - to lead 2 dozen first year Boy Scouts on a 5 mile hike of the AT. That was stupid on several different levels, you'd have to be familiar with the Scouting program to understand. But I learned to let the boys lead, I learned that backpacking gear lists will be trashed before they get home, I learned all kinds of stuff. It's a long story involving a visit from both FS rangers and a deputy sheriff, and some food poisoning, but I don't want to go into it here. But I do know some of those kids are still backpacking, they're college aged now, and they all remember that trip but their memories are fortunately different than mine.
2nd, it wasn't so much dumb as inexperienced, but...some years after that first hike some of those same kids and me rode mountain bikes along FS42 to the base of Springer, then backpacked up to Springer shelter for the night. In the morning, during an early spring ice storm, four of them were still asleep up in the loft but I rolled out early and was standing in the little vestibule of the shelter, stretching and trying to wake up enough to go lower the bear bag and get out our breakfast and my coffee. Another hiker was already awake in the lower sleeping platform lighting his Whisperlite. I didn't pay much attention at first, but I happend to look over and he's sitting up in his sleeping bag with a big dark spot spreading under the stove. BIG SPREADING DARK SPOT?! "Hey, buddy, ahm.... have you ever used that stove before?"
No, he hadn't. But he'd read the instructions about how the stove needed to be primed before lighting it. He had it, and half the shelter, well primed.
I volunteered to show him how to light it, out and away from the sleeping area.
The stupidest thing I ever did was to volunteer - volunteer, mind you - to lead 2 dozen first year Boy Scouts on a 5 mile hike of the AT.
Similar story, but different ending. My wife volunteered me to lead a hike. Naturally, I picked the AT. The Asst. Scout Master said, no let's go to this start park instead. OK, no problem (I really didn't want to run into any real hikers anyway). I planned the route, made copies of the map, handed them out and started the hike. The AS-SM said, shouldn't we be going this way. I said, no we want to end up at the outlook for lunch. The AS-SM proceeded to question my direction at every trail junction. I repediately had to tell him, it goes this way. On one junction, he was so sure of himself, he stated taking the scouts another way. When I didn't follow, he turned and I said, it goes this way. At the end, the AS-SM said, I am glad you could help me lead this hike. Morale of story - don't let your wife volunteer you for anything and tell the ASSM his job is to keep his ASS back to bring up the rear of the pack.
MoBeach42
11-30-2005, 21:48
2nd to last night in the wilderness, I pull into Potaywadjo Spring Lean-to late in the evening, just before a torrential downpour. There were three young southbound guys in the shelter with their stuff spread everywhere. I went about my business in the corner, cooking on the log extending from side of the shelter out under the overhang. One guy had his tent set up in the shelter, and the other two had hammocks set up in the shelter. I have no problem with this in principle.
But the one guy strung his hammock <i>across</i> the shelter - at the highest point - requiring me to crawl underneath the hammock and sleeping guy in the morning while packing and getting ready to leave. I let him know that such a thing probably would provoke a much stronger reaction from hikers down the line.
Dances with Mice
11-30-2005, 22:11
The AS-SM said, shouldn't we be going this way. I said, no we want to end up at the outlook for lunch. The AS-SM proceeded to question my direction at every trail junction. Now, with some years of painfully gained wisdom, I can realize that the stupidest thing we both did was to think an adult should lead. In that situation today a much wiser DWM would have the Sr PL lead the entire hike, offer my opinion only when the boy asked, shushed any adults who differed, and backed up all of the SPL's decisions that passed my safety filter. So several times I've hiked miles off-route knowing we were going the wrong way, but that's no big thing. Our troop ultimately turned out some very serious and confident map readers.
Now, with some years of painfully gained wisdom, I can realize that the stupidest thing we both did was to think an adult should lead. In that situation today a much wiser DWM would have the Sr PL lead the entire hike, offer my opinion only when the boy asked, shushed any adults who differed, and backed up all of the SPL's decisions that passed my safety filter. So several times I've hiked miles off-route knowing we were going the wrong way, but that's no big thing. Our troop ultimately turned out some very serious and confident map readers.
Nice idea, but the SPL was AWOL. My scouts were 1st year only. And the last time he lead a hike it was for a bunch of cub scouts who he proceeded to lead the wrong way until I bailed him out.
The HotDog
11-30-2005, 22:33
Now, with some years of painfully gained wisdom, I can realize that the stupidest thing we both did was to think an adult should lead. In that situation today a much wiser DWM would have the Sr PL lead the entire hike, offer my opinion only when the boy asked, shushed any adults who differed, and backed up all of the SPL's decisions that passed my safety filter. So several times I've hiked miles off-route knowing we were going the wrong way, but that's no big thing. Our troop ultimately turned out some very serious and confident map readers.
Yup, that's what my SM does, But he usally hints that we are going the wrong way instead of following us miles off course. Since I am our troops new SPL It's brings a new meaning to one hour a week;) Most troops aren't bad it's that they just don't have the hang of things yet, so, most of the horror stories you hear are just rare exceptions. In my troop it's the older scouts the are the trouble makers. the young ones are just that young and green.
That said, the stupidist things I have seen are, Some one bringing a mattress like you would sleep on at home camping. Second seeing scouts change in to dry clothes while its raining and go back out in to the rain and repeating this proccess until the are out of dry clothes and wonder why.
The HotDog
The HotDog
11-30-2005, 22:43
Nice idea, but the SPL was AWOL. What about the ASPL
Originally Posted by Tin Man
The AS-SM said, shouldn't we be going this way. I said, no we want to end up at the outlook for lunch. The AS-SM proceeded to question my direction at every trail junction. where did this SM get trained at?:-? that's just plain rude.
And the last time he lead a hike it was for a bunch of cub scouts who he proceeded to lead the wrong way until I bailed him out. SPL or SM
What about the ASPL MIA. There wasn't even a patrol leader in the group. My son is 11 a Tenderfoot and he is an assistant patrol leader. The troop is in a rebuilding phase with a lot of older scouts retiring as eagles or goof offs last year.
where did this SM get trained at?:-? that's just plain rude. Trained? Do they train Asst. SM's? Actually, I think he was lost because he had his GPS hanging from his neck. Meybe he was reading it upside down.
SPL or SM SPL. But it doesn't matter, all of the leaders get lost once they are more than 50 feet from their cars. This is a car camping troop. I did setup an orienteering course on a recent car camping trip. The only scout who got it right was my son (and there was no insider information sharing). :D
Now they want me to get approved to be a Backpacking Merit Badge counselor. :datz
SGT Rock
11-30-2005, 23:11
Dumb things I have done:
There I was...
1985, Joyce Kilmer/Slickrock. I once set up my tent in a nice flat spot near one of those killer waterfalls. I was dead tired, and had just finished up a good dinner and went to bed in my comfy down sleeping bag (new to me - first one I ever had). Sometime in the night - pitch dark. I heard someone yelling at me. I woke up to realize I was laying in about 2" of water. That nice flat spot was low ground and the water collected there quickly. My sleeping bag was a down sponge. This was one of those old nylon A frame type tents so when I yanked it to move it, the whole thing collapsed into a ball of nylon. I dragged it to some higher ground where I had not had the chance to make sure it was level, rock free, and root free. I then had to fish in the puddle for the stakes and set the tent that was soaked inside and out back up. Then I climbed in and did the best I could to wring the water out of my bag and dry my gear (the pack was also in the tent). I spent an uncomfortable night that night, and the next few as my bag slowly dried out.
It took many stops (when it wasn't raining) where I would spread my bag out on rocks to let the water evaporate out. By the last night I was comfortable again - or at least relatively comfortable because I was so tired from poor sleep in that bag and weary from a 50+ pound pack in the mountains, and a cold I got from the low temp/wet bag combination that it no longer mattered.
But I had a good time. :jump
Dumbest thing I have seen:
A group of boy scouts with no leader in site heading hell bent for leather in all directions up in Virgina somewhere. About an hour later I ran into an adult that had a behemoth of a pack on with a cast iron frying pan, a gallon of fuel, and a few other odds and end strapped to the outside. He asked me (in a gasping voice, looking like he was close to passing out) if I had seen any boy scouts up ahead.:dance
The HotDog
11-30-2005, 23:20
Tin Man, we have a lot of young scouts too. If I remember correctly the oldest active scout is 16 or so, but don't worry it should get better as they build up experince. I beleive most scout troops are car campers, I know my troop is, but we try to do a lot of day hikes and teach them orienteering and other things they must know that help them complete trail to first class. As far as training goes adults usally have to attend a trainning session their council sets up. good luck on the backpacking MB.
Tin Man, we have a lot of young scouts too. If I remember correctly the oldest active scout is 16 or so, but don't worry it should get better as they build up experince. I beleive most scout troops are car campers, I know my troop is, but we try to do a lot of day hikes and teach them orienteering and other things they must know that help them complete trail to first class. As far as training goes adults usally have to attend a trainning session their council sets up. good luck on the backpacking MB.
Oh, I'm not worried about the scouts. I am worried about the adult leaders. Planning consists of telling everyone what is involved for the weekend trip two days before the trip. IUnfortunately, the training the leaders need is not readily available - respect and common sense. I'll help where I can, but I can't run the troop as I am out of town more than I am in town.
The HotDog
12-01-2005, 00:22
Tin Man, Have you checked your council/districts web site yet most of them have one and list training dates be side's that i don't think I can help much more on the adults except offer support.
Now let's Hear about more dumb things people do :D
Back in my Boy Scout camping days each Patrol in the Troop would bring and cook all their own food for about 6 boys. We used to always rub bar soap on any pot going directly over the flame to ease the cleaning and blackening of the pot. We mentioned this to a few newbies one weekend trip in another patrol and they soaped the pot all right. The INSIDE of the pot. It took the rest of that Patrol group a few minutes of eating their strangely flavored dinner before inspecting the sudsy pot. We certainly got some mileage out of that little mishap and never let them forget it.
Does anyone know if you can buy food at Allen gap?
Lone Wolf
05-31-2006, 11:45
Nothing at Allen gap.
I once got pancake mix and corn starch mixed up (not together) After using "corn starch" for several days to relieve chafing in that real sensitive area to no avail and wondering why it was caking up and not drying out. I decided to mix the pancakes and the water and "mix" were not mixing a huge light went on in my head. Duh!!
Gray Blazer
05-31-2006, 12:24
Does anyone know if you can buy food at Allen gap?
There is a store listed on the At guide, but, it's been closed for a few years. Best bet, hitch North a few miles. Don't miss the tower on Camp Creek Bald...good view of the At in both directions...The Smokies, The Blacks, Big Bald, Unaka and Roan.
Iv'e been saving this one.
There was a guy on a section hike, wanted to lighten his pack weight so got an Esbit stove to replace his heavy gas stove. Didn't practice at all (took it out of the package at the trailhead) carried 2 times the fuel he was sure he needed, which turned out to be 1/2 of what he needed. Part of it was unfamilurarity with what was actually needed to cook with, so used more than needed AND, instead of using Esbit fuel, got the military surplus stuff with not quite the efficency. He ran out of fuel on day 3 of a 5 day hike.
Yes, that was me. :o
Doctari.
leeki pole
05-31-2006, 14:04
There was this guy who went up to meet his thru-hiking buddy at Watauga Lake. He did some trail magic at Dennis Cove Road, took a thru to get a Subway in town and then took off southbound to meet his friend. Only after two hikers hollered at him for 30 seconds or so did he realize that he was headed NOBO.....duh! :eek: Ummm...that guy was me! :)
CaptChaos
05-31-2006, 21:41
Hello all:
Well, this is a repeat but I will tell it in a shorter version this time.
The dumbest thing that I ever saw was on a trip from Cades Cove to Spence Field.
I was almost to the top of Bote Mtn trail on my way to the AT when I hear a man behind me shout greetings. I stop and he and his wife come up to me and tell me they are going to Rocky Top. I look at my watch and realize that it will be dark in about an hour and tell them that it might not be a good idea to go there. They tell me not to worry and they head off toward the AT.
I get to Spence Field Shelter about 40 min later and what do I find? This couple trying to determine which way to Rocky Top. The man helps be with my pack and I tell him that this is not the way to Rocky Top and he says that is is towards Russell Fields Shelter, SOBO. I tell him no. The wife says that it is the trail behind Spence Field and I tell her no that takes you to the dam. I drag out my map and show them where we are at and where Rocky Top is and they thank me and tell me they are going.
I point out that it is to late and they have reached the point of no return as they have no supplies, no water, no flashlite, etc. You all know the drill, and they tell me that they will be ok.
I tell them that if they come back that they can spend the night with me as I have extra food and a blanket that they can use and they bid me good evening.
I build a fire and they never return.
Two days later when I make it back to Cades Cove I run into this couple on the trail and they are chewed up one end and down the other with bug bites and they both look pretty bad.
They got to Rocky top and then as the sun set tried to make it back down Bote Mtn trail to Cades Cove to their car. The wife tries to tell him that they need to go back to the shelter where the nice young man is who has a blanket. The man says no way and off they go. It is so dark that they cannot see each other on the trail. They are dressed in cotton white shirt, cotton shorts, white socks and t-shoes. Nothing to drink or eat and no bug spray.
They get stuck on the trail after one of them falls off it and they decide they have to spend the night. Then the bugs come and then the wild boar are running the trail that night.
I pointed out that they could have died on the trail if a cold rain had come up on them like it had the night before. My words never sunk in to either of them. They did offer to drop me off at Tremont but I still remember her jumping him for being so stupid all the way back from Cades Cove to Tremont.
True story with real people and they are both lucky in my book. I can still remember him saying to me, not to worry son, our car is back at Cades Cove and we will be fine. {Famous last words}
Capt Chaos
Ran into a bunch of guys at davenport gap shelter from texas. One of them had a fly fishing pole, in it's case, strapped to the side of his pack. This guy was well over six feet tall and the case rose at least three feet above his head. Asked him how the fishing was going and he looked confused when he said he couldn't find any streams LOLOL. I still wonder how he got thru those rhodie tunnels.
At another shelter, there was a foreign couple who, in the morning before they left, asked me if I knew where the garbage can was. They looked quite surprised when I said it was on their backs.
Amigi'sLastStand
06-01-2006, 03:08
I've seen:
heat a can of soup in the fire -- without popping a hole on top. GRENADE!!!!
I've done:
Not check my shoes when I woke up one morning in Fl near Ocala. Hello Mr. Scorpion, how do you do. I went through a scorpion bite in the woods for three days. When I finally remembered who I was, and that I hadnt eaten in three days, I was dehydrated and seriously f---ed up. Closest I ever came to dying in civilian life. I walked out ( stumbled, more like it ) out to a fire road where a county guy was driving by. He said he felt like something was wrong with one of the fire tower guys. Once again, god looks out for the stupid.
briarpatch
06-01-2006, 04:40
:D
1990ish.
The Steriotypical: Blond cheerleader, and Jock boyfriend. Probably 3 braincells between them. (nothing against Cheerleaders or jocks, think "steriotype" OK)
Him: too tight Jeans, Baskeball shoes (for use on smooth hardwood) Tee.
Her: Too thight jean shorts, Jellies (stylin plastic shoes of the time), tee.
No food or water or raingear (it T-stormed about 1 hr after I left them)
Location: the trail to rainbow falls in the GSMNP, a rather rocky & at times steep trail. I met them about 50' from the trail head, about 10' before the end of the well graded section of the trail.
Their destination: The falls, about 5 miles from trailhead.
Tried to suggest they at least get different footwear. She assured me they would be fine, he said nothing, I suppose she had 2 of the brain cells.
Always wished I had stayed around to see them limp back to the car.
Doctari.
But their car would have been easy to spot. It would be the big pink plastic Corvette. (think Barbie and Ken . . . . . ) :D :D :D
wilderness bob
06-01-2006, 08:12
I do not think this was stupid thing to do, just a case of right idea, wrong material. Naked hiker day 05, a friend while hiking naked covered his private parts with vegetation when coming upon some day hikers, thus the right idea. The wrong material? Poison Ivy. Afterwards he changed his trail name.
Naked hiker day 05, a friend while hiking naked covered his private parts with vegetation when coming upon some day hikers, thus the right idea. The wrong material? Poison Ivy. Afterwards he changed his trail name.
That was Richard, who is now known by his hiking friends as Itchy Dick.
rambunny
06-01-2006, 12:57
I'd been dreaming of Tang for miles got to Ironmasters Hostle in PA and saw in the hiker box TANG! the next morning i mixed it up and spit it across the campsite-it was dehydrated cheese! What was worse yet funny-was offering FAUSA some more spit.
fiddlehead
06-01-2006, 21:54
I saw people use those 7' high bear poles in the shenendoahs and actually thought their food was safe.
also: a hiker with a full size guitar & a fully-loaded gallon of whiskey on his backpack! I'm sure he had his reasons:D, and unless i'm out of the loop, I'll bet it was a half gallon.