View Full Version : Birthdays on the Trail
GlazeDog
01-31-2007, 21:07
I was just wondering does anyone have any good stories of birthdays happening on the trail. Either in town, or better yet in some random backwoods shelter surprising the unsuspecting birthday boy/girl.
GlazeDog:sun
Lone Wolf
01-31-2007, 21:10
we did a bday thing for my gypsy back in 2000 in pearisburg, va. was a good time. gag gifts from dollar store, chinese buffet, etc.
I climbed Mt. Whitney and completed the JMT in 15 days on my 45th birthday this past summer. Good times! 8/25/2006 (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=12641&catid=member&imageuser=91).
SOBO Spoonman turned 20 at Rainbow Springs Lean-to this summer. He and his buddy had a package of cheesecake to celebrate with.
I hit the Rendezvous Motel in Pearisburg for my birthday this fall. My husband drove up and joined me for the night. It was quite a nice Rendezvous...
my gypsy
You two married now ??
RAT
Lone Wolf
01-31-2007, 21:32
You two married now ??
RAT
heck no. she won't have me.:cool:
Chaco Taco
01-31-2007, 21:41
I am doing my upcoming section starting on March 8- my 31st. Fontana to D Gap
Lone Wolf
01-31-2007, 21:43
I am doing my upcoming section starting on March 8- my 31st. Fontana to D Gap
and your bday is....?
heck no. she won't have me.
Then I hardly think you have the right to call her "my gypsy" LOL
I am doing my upcoming section starting on March 8- my 31st. Fontana to D Gap
And your point is ? You want us to meet you somewhere with b-day cake and stuff ?? LOL ( I have done this before ;) )
RAT
hopefulhiker
01-31-2007, 22:17
My wife sent me a birthday cake at that store on the road in Vernon NJ right off that plank walk if you remember that part.
Several people celebrated it and Moonshine actually paid for my dinner at a Chinese resturaunt there.... It was great!
Later I paid for Stretch's dinner at Monson for his birthday at the general store where they had that bluegrass jam..
They played a version of Johnny Cash's Iv'e been everywhere except with names of mountains on the AT.....
I got into harper's ferry two days before my birthday... I took a zero, met my parents, stayed in a hotel with an incredible shower, and had a huge birthday dinner with a couple hiking buddies and our families. Might be the best I'll ever have :-)
Chaco Taco
02-01-2007, 00:18
and your bday is....?
My first day of the trip Thursday March 8
Chaco Taco
02-01-2007, 00:21
And your point is ? You want us to meet you somewhere with b-day cake and stuff ?? LOL ( I have done this before ;) )
RAT
I like Carvel Ice Cream cakes and will be in Fontana by 11 am. :D
GlazeDog
02-01-2007, 01:52
You'll need the whole ice cream cake to fuel that walk outta Fontana. Yum!! Happy B-day in advance.
GlazeDog
Footslogger
02-01-2007, 10:30
I have sort of a mixed birthday story from 2003. July 18th was the day and I found myself alone in that night near the shelter. That's the not-so-good part. Next morning I was hiking along and saw what looked like a mylar balloon hanging on a tree limb over the trail with a note attached. As I got closer I realized that it was for ME !! Made up for the night before ...and then some. Have that baloon/note with the rest of my memories of the trail.
'Slogger
In February 2006, I celebrated my birthday by hiking north from Amicalola Lodge to Springer Mtn. Surprisingly, waiting for me on Springer with brownies, hot chocolate and a birthday hat was Stumpknocker! Many Sleeps (who also happens to be the uncle to my cat's veterinarian) was there too.
http://trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=144250
When I walked into NOC I had lots of birthday goodies waiting for me. Marsha sent the most delicious, buttery, jamprint cookies I ever ate. Rambunny sent boatloads of treats (I think she forgot I had a major climb out of NOC) and a birthday bandanna. Felix sent me a story in his unique style and a Suduko puzzle.
Some birthdays just come and go but last year's was very memorable!!!:banana
MrsGorp
TurkeyBacon
02-01-2007, 11:59
I started my hike in my B-day which was planned that way. I will always remember when I started my hike, but can't remember the day it ended. No party.
TB
I like Carvel Ice Cream cakes and will be in Fontana by 11 am. :D
Are we talking Cookie Puss or Fudgie The Whale? :D
mambo_tango
02-01-2007, 17:06
I am going to be 22 on June 3rd and hopefully I will still be on the trail. I like chocolate cake.
leeki pole
02-01-2007, 17:35
Celebrated my 45th birthday in Baxter, in a tent, with my good friend Lost Ball, waiting on our buddy Thoreau to get ready to finish his thru-hike. We summitted Big K the next day. Doesn't get much better than that!:)
leeki pole
02-01-2007, 17:55
But I didn't touch the sign...only 2000 milers can touch the sign:p
Chaco Taco
02-01-2007, 18:09
Are we talking Cookie Puss or Fudgie The Whale? :D
Fudgie the Whale, Rosie O's favorite.
What not to like about a freakin chocolate ice cream filled whale?? Sure makes me smile!:)
September 1st, 2005 <my birthday> I spent walking back and forth from Abol Bridge to the Birches through cold hard running water up to my thighs..lol.I had only packed enough food intending to summit on my birthday but when i woke in the morning Katrina's remnants had dumped almost 9 inches of rain on Katadhin overnight. The rangers shut the mountain completely...in 12 hours Chimney Pond had risen 27 feet (!) and I was out of chow. Everyone else in the park bailed out to hotel rooms, I stayed at the Birches alone..got up and started up the mountain at 5:30 and for a couple hours had all of Katadhin to myself. ( until Roz and Tenbears caught me at 4,000 ft). It was a catastrophically magnificent ending to a good season of hiking, most memorable birthday I can recall.
Jack Tarlin
02-01-2007, 18:36
I've never had a birthday on the Trail, which might seem a bit sad, but then again, I was born on 12 November. Northbounders who are still on the Trail on 12 November are generally having a pretty miserable time.
So no Trail B-days for me. I prefer 5 Olde Nugget Tavern in Hanover. :D
I left Springer on April 15. My 64th birthday was May 4. I don't remember telling anyone on the trail, but I might have. I do remember thinking in a shelter crowded with no one else out of their 20s, "what am I doing here?"
I found it fascinating to find myself a compatriot of 20 somethings again. Most every newcomer to the trail, regardless of age, is a bit shocked in the early days anyway by the enormity of what we have attempted. two thousand mile walks through mountains and weather. Conventional age distinctions tend to disappear for the first few weeks anyway.
Weary