View Full Version : Funniest thing saw on the trail
tiamalle
12-04-2005, 21:29
What is the funniest thing you've saw on the trail?:jump :jump :jump
Hikerhead
12-04-2005, 21:46
If you wear contacts a small mirror is a must have.
Just jokin Hh, better suited for Most Scary thread.
Hikerhead
12-04-2005, 22:09
I get it :D
Lone Wolf
12-04-2005, 23:14
Baltimore Jack!:clap
Just Jeff
12-04-2005, 23:41
I saw a guy hike in to a shelter in VA with a 5 pound bag of rice...even with my pre-enlightenment heavy pack, I thought that was funny.
Mysteriously, that rice was still there when he left the next day...
A 'thru hiker' at Standing Indian mountain completely outfitted with Marlboro gear he'd gotten from redeeming his cigarette packs. Pack, jacket, sleeping bag - everything with the garish Marlboro logo.
Too Tall Paul
Baltimore Jack!:clap
......Ha !
...and I mean't that nicely....
Footslogger
12-05-2005, 12:10
In 2001 there was a guy on the trail named "PowerBar Man". As the name suggests he had a leaning toward Power Bars ...so much so that it was his only food item. When we got to Franklin he picked up his mail drop and, yeah, you guessed it ...ALL POWER BARS.
As we all know, Power Bars are a tad on the heavy side and since this was all he carried, his pack was too.
'Slogger
I wonder if he made it the whole way on just the bars? Probably not, or we would have seen him in an ad or be part of the trail lore.
Footslogger
12-05-2005, 12:29
I wonder if he made it the whole way on just the bars? Probably not, or we would have seen him in an ad or be part of the trail lore.
===================================
Dunno ...he was a rather portly man in his 50's and had developed a pretty nasty case of bronchitis by the time we hit Franklin. We all stayed at the Micro hotel and he was in the next room. He hacked and coughed all night. We saw him the next morning at breakfast just before we headed back to the trail and he said that he had made an appointment to see a doctor to get a prescription. That was the last we saw or heard of him.
One lasting memory of him (aside from the whole PowerBar thing) was at Big Spring Shelter. We had already arrive and were cooking dinner when he hiked (or should I say "lumbered") in off the trail. He sat down on the edge of the shelter and fell backwards with a thud, due to the weight of his pack. He rolled over and within a couple minutes had fallen asleep and was snoring up a storm.
Fortunately for us we were tenting away from the shelter ...
'Slogger
I was woken up in the Fingerboard shelter in Harriman by two Japanese couples on a Sunday morning. They saw me sleeping in the shelter and were about to leave but I told them they could stay and hang out. I am glad I did, because they made a fire and proceeded to make breakfast which they fed me....hot dogs with ketchup, mustard, and relish....at 8 in the morning. Wasn't expecting to be woken up to a hot dog breakfast...it was great.
i was hiking in PA and was heading down a hill,and to my right i saw three women in dresses, amish,or quakers something like that they were bbr some meat over a fire,I keep going down the hill and these people in all gypsy attire were coming right at me :-? ,Man i thought i was in another world.ky
To understand the funny side of my story you have to understand that my accent is not the regular "american" accent.. On my 1999 thru-hike I developed the habit of singing the same song everytime I came to a high mountain with great views. The song was: How big is God, how big and wide his vast domain,to try to tell these lips can only start, He is big enough to rule the mighty universe, yet small enough to live within my heart..................... I was enjoying the view from a mountain in VT and suddently I started to sing my song. When I finished a lady approached me and said " Sir, that was a beautiful, what language was that?" My response to her was "I thought it was Enghish."
tiamalle
12-05-2005, 22:11
To understand the funny side of my story you have to understand that my accent is not the regular "american" accent.. On my 1999 thru-hike I developed the habit of singing the same song everytime I came to a high mountain with great views. The song was: How big is God, how big and wide his vast domain,to try to tell these lips can only start, He is big enough to rule the mighty universe, yet small enough to live within my heart..................... I was enjoying the view from a mountain in VT and suddently I started to sing my song. When I finished a lady approached me and said " Sir, that was a beautiful, what language was that?" My response to her was "I thought it was Enghish."Curt,Your not by chance from
Shooting Creek:confused:
tiamalle
12-05-2005, 22:15
In 2001 there was a guy on the trail named "PowerBar Man". As the name suggests he had a leaning toward Power Bars ...so much so that it was his only food item. When we got to Franklin he picked up his mail drop and, yeah, you guessed it ...ALL POWER BARS.
As we all know, Power Bars are a tad on the heavy side and since this was all he carried, his pack was too.
'SloggerIs that the Amway Bars
jackiebolen
12-05-2005, 22:15
A guy in Damascus who was just starting the trek. He got dubbed with the name, "Death by Cotton" That should explain everything.
Hikes in Rain
12-06-2005, 10:02
A 'thru hiker' at Standing Indian mountain completely outfitted with Marlboro gear he'd gotten from redeeming his cigarette packs. Pack, jacket, sleeping bag - everything with the garish Marlboro logo.
Too Tall Paul
OMG! I saw this guy, at Woods Hole Shelter! He'd just joined up with a couple of guys on a long weekend holiday. So he at least made it to Standing Indian.
RITBlake
12-06-2005, 10:03
A mirror .....yikes!!
LOL That got me going
RITBlake
12-06-2005, 10:06
We rolled up to a shelter one night and saw some section hikers spread out at the picnic table. One of the hikers, Skippy, had a long feather in his hand. I asked him what he was doing and he showed me that he was writing in his journal with a bird feather he had found earlier in the day!
I asked him what he was using for ink and he showed me the glass jar of indian ink he had been carrying. He was an art student and was definitely prepared.
Maybe not the funniest thing I saw on the trail, but certainly one that made me laugh.
I was headed up out of town where I had stayed a tthe blueberry patch to resupply the day before. Outside of the bus tour of elderly people who got off the bus for a walk, there was about 30 of them in a line on the trail, a little difficult to pass all at once, halfway through them they started pointing into the woods, it was an emu (domesticated orstrich). By the time I got by all the ole folks I turned around and the emu, which was obviously used to people had gotten on the trail and was walking along with this massive group of people. A pretty funny site. I did get a picture on my disposable camera, later that nite when other hikers had made it to the shelter I told them the story - NOBODY believed me!
I had just walked north up to Clingmans Dome in the Smokies, looking forward to an RV that I knew was going to supply me with ice cream and beer (thanks Jingles and Bluegrass). So I head with my pack down the half mile paved trail to the car lot. Buses and buses of middle schoolers were getting off and were walking up hill the half mile to Clingmans Dome. It was very funny to hear them complain about that walk up when I had just climbed up like 1000' with a 30 lbs pack on. I mean, they are like 10 years old, this should be a cakewalk for them.
Also, any memories of ATKentucky (aka Gilligan) are funny as hell, but I won't go into great detail, just know that this guy did some "interesting" things while on trial, like dump a bottle of alcohol all over the ground because he accidently caught it on fire, or loose the only set of keys to his rented Cadallic at Trail Days. lol
I also thought it was funny to watch Badger cut his huge red curly afro all by himself. I wasn't about to offer to touch his hair after months of not showering. I don't think he showered once.
Or, how about the numerous conversations you had with people who had no clue what the AT was and were astonished to find out that you were walking from GA->ME.
Pennsylvania Rose
12-06-2005, 20:55
I was just south of Roaring Fork Shelter, came around a bend, and almost ran over a group of elderly ladies. One was peeing a half step off the Trail. After having three kids, I understand that when you gotta go, you gotta go, but there were trees all over the place to hide behind. Their reaction was priceless...like I was invading their privacy.
OMG! I saw this guy, at Woods Hole Shelter! He'd just joined up with a couple of guys on a long weekend holiday. So he at least made it to Standing Indian.
LOL! Marlboro Man stayed the night at Standing Indian Shelter but was waiting for his friends who were supposedly behind him. I think his friends were talking about getting off the trail and he wasn't sure if he would continue on without them or not.
Too Tall Paul
Limbohiker
12-06-2005, 22:36
A 'thru hiker' at Standing Indian mountain completely outfitted with Marlboro gear he'd gotten from redeeming his cigarette packs. Pack, jacket, sleeping bag - everything with the garish Marlboro logo.
Too Tall Paul
whether its the same man or a different one.....I hiked with marlboro man...and hated every minute of it.....he was up my heels the entire time stopped and smoked a ciggarette every 4 miles and stated how EASY it would be for him to complete the entire AT and cried when i suggested we sleep a few miles apart for a few nights
lets just say he was reason #1 that i decided to do a thru hike solo
Hikerhead
12-06-2005, 22:59
Those bright red shoes that Kerosene stole from Ronald McDonald.
Hikes in Rain
12-07-2005, 11:18
LOL! Marlboro Man stayed the night at Standing Indian Shelter but was waiting for his friends who were supposedly behind him. I think his friends were talking about getting off the trail and he wasn't sure if he would continue on without them or not.
Too Tall Paul
This just keeps getting better! If it's the same friends, I don't doubt they were leaving the trail. Those boys packs must have weighed 80 or 90 pounds each! They were carrying a variety of tools; just in case. Saw them use a set of lineman's pliers to try to work their broken can opener, until I took pity on them and opened their soup cans with my little swiss army knife's opener. When evening came, they pulled out one of those huge battery powered lanterns. One of them (I swear I'm not making this up!) used an acetylene torch, complete with separate gas and oxygen tanks, to start a fire to heat the canned soup! He claimed he prefered to cook over a fire and wanted to make sure he could always get a fire going.
For all of that, I did enjoy my evening with them. They certainly were entertaining, and relatively considerate shelter mates. I was, however, very happy to wake up early and move on up Blood Mountain while they slept.
Hmmm....
Let's see. Mine would have to be the guy i met just north of Springer at the shelter in 98- he had 15 rolls of toilet paper in his pack "just in case" and had a ferret sitting in his jacket.
Kerosene
12-07-2005, 13:38
Those bright red shoes that Kerosene stole from Ronald McDonald.Those are high-quality Crocs, my friend, although they are a little on the large side. The company was out of blue, my first color choice, so I just asked them to send whatever they had in my size since I was leaving soon. I should have known that they had extra reds in stock!
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=1753&original=1&c=665&userid=3
I did get some strange smirks when I wore them to an AYCE buffet in Daleville one night.
saw the aftermath myself.
there is a sock hanging from a tree on the side of the trail. the note attached to the sock says:
sat down on this snake. got bit by said snake. twisted my ancle trying to catch it. can you identify it. goin' to town. Mule ( the 2000 mule w/ the loin cloth)
it was a freakin' garder snake about 10 inches long and was set free.
also, i was hiking behind lurch who is about 6'7", or something, when a black snake decided to use him as a jump off point between a tree and a bush. he's just hiking along when the snake hops on his head, hauls ass across his shoulders, and into the bush. needless to say, lurch looses his friggin' grip, tosses his pack, and proceeds to scream like a child. thats all pretty funny until the snakes mate decides to do exactly the same thing, on the head, across the shoulders, and into the bush with its buddy. at this point i was laughing uncontrollably and fell down, pack and all. when i looked up lurch was 20 yards up the trail at full speed. thats like an elephant in the bush. i had to take his pack to him. the 2 snakes were completely happy in the bush.
all animals in this story were unhurt, except the pride of one mule.
Just Jeff
12-07-2005, 16:51
also, i was hiking behind lurch who is about 6'7", or something, when a black snake decided to use him as a jump off point between a tree and a bush. he's just hiking along when the snake hops on his head, hauls ass across his shoulders, and into the bush. needless to say, lurch looses his friggin' grip, tosses his pack, and proceeds to scream like a child. thats all pretty funny until the snakes mate decides to do exactly the same thing, on the head, across the shoulders, and into the bush with its buddy. at this point i was laughing uncontrollably and fell down, pack and all. when i looked up lurch was 20 yards up the trail at full speed. thats like an elephant in the bush. i had to take his pack to him. the 2 snakes were completely happy in the bush.
Haha...that's the best one yet!
Jim Lemire
12-07-2005, 16:56
Met a guy with a backpack made from a pampers box coated with shelf paper and rope shoulder straps. His food for a week was a 2 lb jar of grape jely, loaf of bread, and 1 lb of peanut butter.
AT2000
Sounds like the Grandma Gatewood school of outfitting.
Haha...that's the best one yet!
i got cracked up just thinking about it. it was even hard to type. still makes me laugh.
Lion King
12-07-2005, 17:12
saw the aftermath myself.
there is a sock hanging from a tree on the side of the trail. the note attached to the sock says:
sat down on this snake. got bit by said snake. twisted my ancle trying to catch it. can you identify it. goin' to town. Mule ( the 2000 mule w/ the loin cloth)
it was a freakin' garder snake about 10 inches long and was set free.
also, i was hiking behind lurch who is about 6'7", or something, when a black snake decided to use him as a jump off point between a tree and a bush. he's just hiking along when the snake hops on his head, hauls ass across his shoulders, and into the bush. needless to say, lurch looses his friggin' grip, tosses his pack, and proceeds to scream like a child. thats all pretty funny until the snakes mate decides to do exactly the same thing, on the head, across the shoulders, and into the bush with its buddy. at this point i was laughing uncontrollably and fell down, pack and all. when i looked up lurch was 20 yards up the trail at full speed. thats like an elephant in the bush. i had to take his pack to him. the 2 snakes were completely happy in the bush.
all animals in this story were unhurt, except the pride of one mule.
Good times!
Good times, and you know I am the RISK master!
on the river anyway... :D
Good times!
Good times, and you know I am the RISK master!
on the river anyway... :D
oh s***, i've been practicing for you there big daddy, my little green men are ready for what ever you've got. i've been feeding them a special diet of reefer and kill me quick. i'm goin' to cut em off and tell them you took it away and turn em loose on your ass.
Hi Tiamalle,
I live in the vicinity of Shooting Creek, not to far from High Bridge on Hwy 175. How do you know?
Take care
Corsican
tiamalle
12-07-2005, 23:21
[quote=Curt]Hi Tiamalle,
I live in the vicinity of Shooting Creek, not to far from High Bridge on Hwy 175. How do you know?take care
I Live near Winding Stairs Gap.Know lots of people in your community and I know where the high bridge is by the lake.The owner of Moores landing is my friend also near you.
Youngblood
12-08-2005, 09:32
On July 24th of last year Little Bear (aka MowGli) and I were doing a little one-nighter on the AT from Dicks Creek Gap in GA to Deep Gap Shelter. When we got to the sidetrail for Deep Gap Shelter I found a note attached to a tree; from the time stamp on it I realized that it was from at least a day earlier and most likely had been missed... so I took it to the shelter with me. Here is the note:
"Warren/Eric
Well here I am. It's 2:45 and I already made it. Jacks Knob (editorial note: I think he remembered Jack's Gap and meant Kelly's Knob... BTW, Kelly's Knob is almost always a bitch if you have hiked Rocky Mtn and Tray Mtn earlier that day.) was a bitch. I have decided to hike on alone for the next week or so. I would have left you the maps but you couldn't show me one bit of ______ (editorial note: think 'F' word) respect."
I thought that was pretty funny, they hadn't even made it but sixty or so miles and already were breaking up! I keep a small packet with printed out topo maps and directions for the first few 80 mile sections of the southern end of the AT since I hike them on occassion and keep that note in the GA packet. I consider it a piece of trail history explaining why thru hikers shouldn't worry too much about whether they have a partner when they start off from Springer.
flyfisher
12-08-2005, 10:55
This is from near the AT, but just a little off.
A friend and I had just hiked to Abram's Falls, across a two mile day hiking trail in the smokies. Somewhere along the way to the falls we passed a couple who were decked out with about 10 lbs ($1000) of camera gear and were personally (looking at their bellys) about 50% overweight.
My friend and I had spent about 15 minutes lying down on the rock shelf to one side of the base of the falls, absorbing the thundering bass note from the cascade entering a clear pool of water 50 feet away. The May sun shone on us and kept us warm. We were blown away by the power of the water, the beauty of the day, and the complete perfection of this falls in the middle of the woods.
On our way out, we came across the female of the pair of photographers.
I say "Good morning. How was your walk?"
She, with an angry scowl, "Is this all there is?"
I raised my eyebrows in astonishment.
She continued, "I mean, I thought there was something special back here. Why would they build a path back to this little thing. I thought it would be bigger."
I said something about hoping that she got some nice pictures.
My friend and I, it is necessary to confess, had a very enjoyable time walking back the trail while mocking her astonishment at the "smallness" of God's wonders.
"Warren/Eric
Well here I am. It's 2:45 and I already made it. Jacks Knob (editorial note: I think he remembered Jack's Gap and meant Kelly's Knob... BTW, Kelly's Knob is almost always a bitch if you have hiked Rocky Mtn and Tray Mtn earlier that day.) was a bitch. I have decided to hike on alone for the next week or so. I would have left you the maps but you couldn't show me one bit of ______ (editorial note: think 'F' word) respect."
I thought that was pretty funny, they hadn't even made it but sixty or so miles and already were breaking up! I keep a small packet with printed out topo maps and directions for the first few 80 mile sections of the southern end of the AT since I hike them on occassion and keep that note in the GA packet. I consider it a piece of trail history explaining why thru hikers shouldn't worry too much about whether they have a partner when they start off from Springer.
I forgot about that note. Doesn't your taking of the note violate LNT principles? I mean, what other trail history have you "stolen" over the years? ;)
Nightwalker
12-08-2005, 14:54
I forgot about that note. Doesn't your taking of the note violate LNT principles? I mean, what other trail history have you "stolen" over the years? ;)
They was this trace, ya see. He figgered it dinna need leavin'
What wa your question again?
:jump
Youngblood's posting reminded me of something that happened in 2000.
So there is a group of about 7 of us. Fapoo, Stormcrow, Hollywood Mike, Crispy Hexagon, Philosophy, Youngblood and me. Two women and five guys. We're at Big Meadows in Shenandoah National Park on Memorial Day weekend. Its rainy, cool, and foggy out - I mean miserable - so we decide to stop and have a big sit down lunch in the lodge.
At one point I get up and walk over to the TV. The Indy 500 race is on, and I ask the guy standing next to me what's happening. He starts laughing and says "did you know that the two women who are in the race crashed into one another and knocked each other out of the race." (thankfully they were unharmed)
Well I took this tidbit back to the table, and said, "you wanna hear something funny", and proceeded to tell the story. A funny thing happened. All the guys laughed great big belly laughs, and for some reason, the women seemed to get annoyed with my story. :dance
I still tell that one every now and then, but make sure my wife isn't around when I do. I may be stupid, but I'm not foolish. :jump
Youngblood
12-08-2005, 15:35
Youngblood's posting reminded me of something that happened in 2000.
So there is a group of about 7 of us. Fapoo, Stormcrow, Hollywood Mike, Crispy Hexagon, Philosophy, Youngblood and me. Two women and five guys. We're at Big Meadows in Shenandoah National Park on Memorial Day weekend. Its rainy, cool, and foggy out - I mean miserable - so we decide to stop and have a big sit down lunch in the lodge. ...
When I saw this I thought about the dog and the cabin... and it wasn't cool, it was cold. The weather was so bad that a lot of the folks that had cabin reservations either canceled or were no shows and some of us didn't want to see nice warm cabins go to waste. They had a nice lodge where they served hot food, beer and had live entertainment-- an Irishman I think. We had a dog with us so we couldn't all go at once (everything revolves around a dog of course:) ) so we had to divide up in groups and take turns going to the lodge. The odd part was the some of our group volunteered to take the dog (it was a stray picked up along the trail) for this women whose husband was joining her through SNP with cabin reservations since you couldn't have dogs in the cabins. So here we were with this dog, crappy weather and nice warm dry cabins...
I was hiking in Harriman park, NY and came across a group 2 miles in on the trail pulling a huge wheeled cooler. When they stopped at the shelter they pulled out a full gallon of milk along with many other goodies! The trail is so rocky up there, I don't know how they made it.
My son and I used to care for Brien Shelter, also in Harriman Park, and we once found a huge 5 gallon gatorade cooler that someone had left up at the shelter. They obviously had brought it up full and were too lazy to carry it out. It was brand new and we packed it up with trash and carried it out. Our Boy Scout Troop was very happy to get it!
The dog belonged to Sister Act I or II. I forget which sister. But Stormcrow agreed to hike with the dog through Shenandoah. He kept that thing on a leash lashed around his torso. Man, that dog liked to hike!
Some of you on the trail in 2000 might remember the dog from Damascus where Aswah gave it the name D-O-G (pronounced Dee Oh Gee). The dog made it all the way and then went home with Sister Act to Ohio.
Talk about funny, Youngblood and I shared a double bed that night. I forget Youngblood, who was pitching, and who was catching? ;) At one point he drew an imaginary line down the middle of the bed with his finger, and warned me to stay on my side. :D
Just Jeff
12-08-2005, 16:37
At one point he drew an imaginary line down the middle of the bed with his finger, and warned me to stay on my side. :D
He wouldn't even let you lay on your stomach?! Neanderthal... :eek:
He wouldn't even let you lay on your stomach?! Neanderthal... :eek:
I meant to say, "At one point he drew an imaginary line down the middle of the bed with his finger, and warned me to stay on my side of the bed.
Oops! Don't want to give the wrong impression now.
Youngblood
12-08-2005, 17:26
Yeah, there were two double beds, a couple and three males with only so much floor space with packs and such in a small cabin room. The couple, Stormcrow and Fapoo, got one bed and Hollywood Mike won the coin toss... he took the floor. I remember Stormcrow had to miss out on a warm breakfast and hike out before dawn in that crappy weather to meet up with SisterAct to give her D-O-G. D-O-G was a treat. She followed me out of Damascus and I couldn't get her to turn around, every time I tried she would cow away like she had been beaten but stay 50 feet behind only to gradually get even with me and then slightly ahead. She was a great trail dog, never strayed from the blazes and refused to head southbound with hikers heading that way-- even folks she knew. I figure she was the reincarnation of a thru-hiker. She finally saw some other thrus up ahead that she knew about a half a mile ahead of me on the trail at one of the balds and took off for them. Next time I saw D-O-G was in some town where SisterAct had claimed her. Back to Stormcrow, someone carried him a nice blueberry muffin and he was trying not to freeze his butt off while he was waiting on us in the cold. When you hike with a dog, the hike revolves around the dog... they're high maintance.
Seems like twice I shared a 1 bed motel room with Tater in NY and CT, either only one room was available or the rooms were about $80 each... you got to have some flexibility on a thru. First time I took the floor, next time they had a roll away bed that Tater got to use (that was the $80 one in CT).
Cookerhiker
12-08-2005, 17:51
Hmmm....
Let's see. Mine would have to be the guy i met just north of Springer at the shelter in 98- he had 15 rolls of toilet paper in his pack "just in case" and had a ferret sitting in his jacket.
That certainly tops mine. On a long section hike October '04, two inexperienced college girls stumbled into Cosby Knob Shelter just before dark. They were on the first of 2 planned nights. For the 2 of them for 2 nights, they brought 6 rolls of toilet paper. What's more, we had to dissuade them from leaving it out overnight unless they wanted to give the mice free mesting material.
Later on that same hike, the funniest thing happened to me at Russell Field shelter where I was the sole occupant. It's morning, I'm putting on my first boot and find 2 shiny newly-fallen acorns inside. Then it's the second boot: 2 shiny newly-fallen acorns inside. At least there was symmatry.
Cedar Tree
12-08-2005, 18:12
[QUOTE=Youngblood] D-O-G was a treat. She followed me out of Damascus and I couldn't get her to turn around, every time I tried she would cow away like she had been beaten but stay 50 feet behind only to gradually get even with me and then slightly ahead. She was a great trail dog, never strayed from the blazes and refused to head southbound with hikers heading that way-- even folks she knew. I figure she was the reincarnation of a thru-hiker.
What did D-O-G look like? I'm hoping it is the same dog that hiked with me for a couple days in N. Georgia. She was with Pig Pen, Shadow, and Mikey when I passed them. She followed me the rest of the day and stayed with me at Deep Gap Shelter. Pig Pen later assured me she was taken in by hikers. But here is my story with her, just to stay true to the thread.
We were alone at the shelter. The next morning I knew I was getting off at Hiawassee so I decided to try to leave her at the shelter. I didn't want to tie her up, so I decided to give her food and run. I packed up, cooked my last ramen, put my pack on, gave her the ramen, and ran up the trail. Mind you, I was carring about 40 pounds or more at the time. I didn't even make it back to the AT before I gave out. I walked up into the woods about 20 yards and hid in a place where I could see the trail. Sure enough in a couple of minutes, here she comes running full blast nose to the ground. She runs past where I am. I sit still. 10 seconds later she runs back past and stops. She turns around and then walks right up to me. Damn dogs and their sense of smell and thruhikers and their stench. I left her on the road when I hitched into Hiawassee, and felt horrible about it. I hope it is the same dog.
Cedar Tree
What did D-O-G look like? I'm hoping it is the same dog that hiked with me for a couple days in N. Georgia. Cedar Tree
Black, about 35-40#.
Youngblood
12-08-2005, 18:29
D-O-G was medium size, about 30 or 40 lbs with long black coat and boundless energy. I don't know my dogs that well but I'm thinking it had some Australian sheep dog or whatever those intelligent hardworking sheep dogs are? Very alert and intelligent.
Very alert and intelligent.
Definitely smarter than The Goat. Er, I mean a goat. :p
In GSMP, about day 15 of a section hike, so I was "trail hardened" by then, I walked into Double Spring gap shelter, was planning on taking a break, or even staying as I still had 6 days of vacation left, but had to stop at Newfound gap. Anyway, It was around 1300 (1:00 PM) & there was a family there, Mom, Dad, 2 teen girls. They looked "TOTALED" like they had walked 40 miles that day. I asked which trail they had hiked (2 trails intesect the AT at/near the shelter), Dad said, from Clingman's dome (2.9 miles or so, plus the 1/2 mile Dome trail) I had hiked about 7 or so miles so far. I offered them some food/water, they declined. They (dad) were carrying a small pack, I think it only had 4 light jackets, no water, no food. So I decided to take a nap, about 5 - 10 min later, Frick & Frack walked up, asked me if I was stopping, (I didn't know) then said "we are going on to Mt Collins Shelter, I said "its only 7 miles,,, Sure Ill finish my break & trot along after you". So, the family of four now knew I was doing a 14+ mile day, the looks on all four faces was priceless. They were thinking what a grind it would be to hike back the less than 4 miles, and here we were casually talking about 14+ as if a quick stroll to the corner Quicky Mart. I offered food & water again, and ambled off. Hope they made it. BTW, I didn't laugh till at least a mile away :p
I met Frick & Frack at "The dome", I told them, they laughed too. :D
Doctari.
the goat
12-09-2005, 12:28
Definitely smarter than The Goat. Er, I mean a goat. :p
jeff,
don't get pissy just 'cause i called you out for hijacking a thread on trailforums. you see, it's just not logical to segue from "pack stealing in damascus" to "rush limbaugh's drug addictions". :confused: (it has less to do w/ political leanings & more to do with common sense).
i don't know what your beef w/ me is, but i assure you, i find you utterly hilarious. ;)
jason
i don't know what your beef w/ me is, but i assure you, i find you utterly hilarious. ;)
jason
Could it have something to do with boasting about eating an endangered species in NJ? :-? And then backpedaling and editing your profile when I called you on it? Doh!
But really, I don't have a beef with you, or with anyone else here for that matter. I don't allow people to live in my head rent free. I just like to break peoples chops when I think they've earned the privledge. ;)
the goat
12-09-2005, 12:58
Could it have something to do with boasting about eating an endangered species in NJ? :-? And then backpedaling and editing your profile when I called you on it? Doh!
But really, I don't have a beef with you, or with anyone else here for that matter. I don't allow people to live in my head rent free. I just like to break peoples chops when I think they've earned the privledge. ;)
ok, it's all clear to me now....you're the same guy that threw a fit when i said i ate a rattlesnake in jersey!! and said he was gonna try to track me down & sick the authorities on me.
damn right i edited my profile, you never know how much time a middle-aged man with grudge has on his hands.;) btw, not to beat a dead horse, but isn't it legal to eat a rattler in all 50 states?...i've investigated & i can find nothing to the contrary.
p.s. i can't believe that's what's been grating on you all this time. so, how much is my rent for the last three months?:D
Alligator
12-09-2005, 14:13
ok, it's all clear to me now....you're the same guy that threw a fit when i said i ate a rattlesnake in jersey!! and said he was gonna try to track me down & sick the authorities on me.
damn right i edited my profile, you never know how much time a middle-aged man with grudge has on his hands.;) btw, not to beat a dead horse, but isn't it legal to eat a rattler in all 50 states?...i've investigated & i can find nothing to the contrary.
p.s. i can't believe that's what's been grating on you all this time. so, how much is my rent for the last three months?:D
I just attended a talk about rattlesnakes and they are protected to some degree in 17 states.
saimyoji
12-09-2005, 14:16
"Persons who hunt, capture, kill, or possess timber rattlesnakes must have an Individual Timber Rattlesnake Hunter and Rattlesnake Possession Permit."
http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/wildlife/rattlesnakes.aspx
I hear they're good eatin'.
saimyoji
12-09-2005, 14:23
Couldn't find anything illegal about EATING a rattler, but you do need a license to posess one. I guess posessing comes before consumption, so you may have broken the law.
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/dangrspp.htm
the goat
12-09-2005, 14:37
Couldn't find anything illegal about EATING a rattler, but you do need a license to posess one. I guess posessing comes before consumption, so you may have broken the law.
i posessed it only for a little while, i swear that i returned it to nature the following day.:D
It sounds like everyone has a dog that follows them at some time on the trail.
Mine started out of Sams Gap after a horrible breakfast at the "Smokey Bowl Family Farm". Me and 4 other guys start up the trail when this dog starts following us. There is a gate there and we shut it thinking we trapped the dog, but he soon got through.
This dog would follow the first person out, so at each rest period, we tried to pawn the dog off on someone else. Soon it became a competition of who would leave first and therefore take the dog with them.
Well, the dog really never left the group of 5 of us and would run in and out of our legs and poles up and down the trail. He hiked with us like 40 miles to Erwin TN where we planned to give it to an animal shelter (it had a bad wound on its side). So the first sign we see of Erwin says "Erwin needs animal shelters". There goes our plan.
Our group stopped at Uncle Johnnies, but me and another guy start walking to the Holiday Inn and the dog follows. Unfortunately, this dog hates cars and would bark and run after every single one of them. The last I saw of him, he just got hit by a pickup truck and ran off into the woods. Poor dog.
In memory of the dog, we called it Tarin after a Hooters waitress in Johnsonville City (which definitly has the hottest hooters around). Also because it would tear up the trail.
When I stayed at the NOC I went back up the stairs from the restaurant to the cabin my bunk was in, only to be confronted by a dog making itself at home on my sleeping bag and the clothes I had set out to air. It just looked up at me with a "This is MY space, go find your own bed!" sort of expression. And in a "No pets allowed cabin"!
I came upon Cyclehiker this year on the uphill to Chestnut Knob Shelter. For those of you who haven't met him he rode his bike from Illinois to Springer, disassembled his bike and was carrrying it to Katadhin so he could have a ride back home. Anyway he encountered thorny vines hanging down on the trail and managed to get them tangled through the bike wheels which were strapped to the outside of the pack. The situation got worse when he tried to free himself; by the time I got to him the thorns were wrapped around his forehead like a Christ crown and he is bald as Kojak. His body wasnt moving much but his arms were sure thrashing around.
Just Jeff
12-09-2005, 21:04
Hrm. Why didn't he just put it in a bounce box?
Ever hear of the Tuba man? Same deal, he wanted to do something unique. I know he sent the bike home, but did he make it?
smokymtnsteve
12-10-2005, 00:46
I encountered the ridge runner at tri-corner knob shelter...I didn't have the proper permit,,so I made the ridge runner dinner including blueberry dumplings from fresh picked blueberries...he enjoyed dinner so he said he didn't care that i didn;t have a permit..
as he was washing out his titanium cup from dinner..he pitched the wash water down the side of the mtn..when he did the handle separated from his cup and the cup went flying down the side of the hill..
I just burst out laughing and told him he needed to study LNT
tiamalle
12-11-2005, 03:27
Scary but funny discribes this prank.One summer night I got a call at Budget Inn from a female section hiker asking do we run shuttles to Rock Gap.I told her yes and she ask tonight. I ask where exactly are you.She
replied"me and 3 more of my friends are at the Rock Gap Shelter and we believe they are some sort of wild cat near here can you please come for us"?I took off that instant,When I pulled into the parking area there was small mustang with teenagers drinking,One of them knew me and I ask what are you guys doing up here?They said we are up her scaring hell out or hikers.They had put a walkie talkie radio up in a tree about 200 feet from the shelter and they had a hand held cassette player with some sounds of a large cat and they were keying the mike ever so often,I gave those kids a
good scare when I told them I was going to hunt a ranger.I'm too serious at times but I don't go for pranks.With a light I walked to the shelter and found those hikers all shaking like a $2.00 ladder.Here's the funny part.I tried to explain what happened but they didn't believe me.This one guy was explaining to me he saw a black cat about 30 inches high and teeth 3 inches long,red eyes and was tearing up the mountians.I said these kids just now showed me their trick,One of the other girls said thanks for trying to calm us down but we know what we saw and heard.I took them into
town and they got a room.The next day they wanted a shuttle to the bus station and I helped them.But I never convinced them that was a prank played on them.I don't like pranks but I have to sdmit this one was real to those hikers.
Hiking with my five year old when he said he said "look Dad an ostrich." I "missed" it. and moments later I turned around staring face to face with an Emu. It happenned in Mass. and the bird was a local pet that escaped from its pen. It made the paper the next day when they caught it in town.
I am waiting for the "look Dad a tiger!"
Chef2000
12-11-2005, 21:20
I was crossing a dirt road in TN just as the trail heads up toward Roan MT. I met an older man with a hand full of ramps. He had the thickest mountain accent I had ever heard. I barely understood him and found myself saying huh and waht every few seconds. Then I realized that because of my Boston accent he could barely understand me. We had a five minute conversation and I do not think either one of us knew what the heck we were talking about.
smokymtnsteve
12-11-2005, 22:02
I was crossing a dirt road in TN just as the trail heads up toward Roan MT. I met an older man with a hand full of ramps. He had the thickest mountain accent I had ever heard. I barely understood him and found myself saying huh and waht every few seconds. Then I realized that because of my Boston accent he could barely understand me. We had a five minute conversation and I do not think either one of us knew what the heck we were talking about.
well bye durn he knowd whatn he wuzn a yakkin bout,,,but nowin youse bin a feriner from boston U miten not knowd what youin wuz a sayin. ;)
stanger what did U sey yore name wuz and whar did U say U wuz a gwine?
tiamalle
12-11-2005, 23:45
I was crossing a dirt road in TN just as the trail heads up toward Roan MT. I met an older man with a hand full of ramps. He had the thickest mountain accent I had ever heard. I barely understood him and found myself saying huh and waht every few seconds. Then I realized that because of my Boston accent he could barely understand me. We had a five minute conversation and I do not think either one of us knew what the heck we were talking about.Chef did he talk you into eating any of those ramps?:D
Big Dawg
12-12-2005, 07:55
I met an older man with a hand full of ramps.
What's a ramp?
What's a ramp?
A wild onion. They grow in the Southern Appalachians.
What's a ramp?
see : http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Ramp.html for a good description
tiamalle
12-13-2005, 22:54
A wild onion. They grow in the Southern Appalachians.As you come into Deep Gap in Clay County NC,The forest service road turning NW,Walk on that road 500 ft and all over the left side of the road they are growing with leaves like a lilly.They're festivals in the south
and thousands of recipes.They grow from March to May.
Kerosene
12-14-2005, 09:01
I ran into a couple of guys digging ramps about the midway point of the Kimsey Creek Trail in April a few years ago.
This past Spring I was heading to Deep Gap to collect some ramps but changed my mind when a friend informed me that now it is illegal to collect ramps from state or federal parks. Is this true?
Corsican
This past Spring I was heading to Deep Gap to collect some ramps but changed my mind when a friend informed me that now it is illegal to collect ramps from state or federal parks. Is this true?
Corsican
It is now illegal to collect ramps in GSMNP. I can't speak for the various state parks.
Cookerhiker
12-15-2005, 21:03
... I know he sent the bike home, but did he make it?
I assume so since we shared Rainbow Steam Leanto in Maine Sept. 12. I was glad to meet him having heard about his attempt to carry the bike. I believe he stayed at Hurd Brook Sept. 13 and summitted Katahdin Sept. 15. I summitted Sept. 14.
tiamalle
12-15-2005, 23:05
It is now illegal to collect ramps in GSMNP. I can't speak for the various state parks.There are a lot of people around our area digs them such as the standing indian area,
CaptChaos
12-16-2005, 00:29
Years ago I took my son and two other Boy Scouts on a backpacking trip from New Found Gap to Cades Cove. We hit every shelter on the journey. The shelter right before you go over Thunderhead Mtn on the way to Spence Field is where this happened.
Three guys come in as the sun is going down. One guy is a freaking walking Walmart. His pack was overflowing with equipment, clothing, and he even had several 1 gallon water jugs hanging off his pack. He looked like hell and you could tell he was not having any fun at all.
His other partners are making fun of him and this guy sits down his pack, rips off his shirt, throws it in the fire in front of us, tells all of us to kiss his a@# and pulls out a new shirt and heads on towards the East without his buddies. His friends told us that he had been dropping gear since Fontana Dam the whole way. Canned food, a cd player with cd's, etc..
It was funny to see this and then once his shirt caught fire, it was soaked, the joke was on us as we could not longer stay by the fire until it burned up. The smell was so bad we had to leave.
I always wondered if he made it or if he killed his friends before it was all over.
CaptChaos
12-16-2005, 00:36
On the same trip heading to Cades Cove from New Found Gap all of us stayed at a shelter one night. It was full except for two slots. Late in the night this couple comes in and they get their gear out and get ready for bed.
I tell the lady that Speakman snores really bad and that she will have to poke him during the night and tell him to roll over and he will stop snoring. You see, I have camped with this young Scout before and all of us had ear plugs.
All during the night you would hear, "Speakman, Speakman" then a thumping sound, then "Roll over will you". This went on all night, and then about 2 in the morning you hear her exclaim "My God, I am going to kill him" She punched him again, Speakman is a large boy so he never felt it, and that was the end of it.
Next morning they are gone when everyone wakes up. As we head out for the next shelter, Speakman tells us, "Man, I must have slept on something last night", "Why, we ask", Well, my left side hurts like hell, I don't know what it was"
You had to be there.
Are you the father of Captain Chaos who hiked this year? He was one of the funniest things I saw on the trail this year. Gotta luv him! Hope all with well with everyone now. Red Hat
neighbor dave
12-16-2005, 16:24
our thru-hiker buddy finish his thru-hike from stratton me to katahdin with a help wanted sign attached to his pack!! go airbus!!!:clap :clap
CaptChaos
12-17-2005, 01:45
Sorry, but no. Got my nickname when I worked for McDonnell Douglas almost 20 years ago.