View Full Version : Firebug on Trail in Georgia
Mother Nature
05-03-2007, 14:33
"Wierd happenings? A few. First, there's a fellow (last seen on Thursday at Low Gap) who is building fires on the trail every night. He's hauling a couple of duffle bags north...each appear to be very heavy. He'll carry one a half mile then go back for the other and leap frog like that all day. Law enforcement was informed and was interested but never showed up. Anyways...you can see the ashes from his fires every few miles on the trail starting at Neel's Gap."
I transferred the above quote from another recent thread.
I received an email this morning from Laura at Cloud 9. Hikers have been reporting to her that they have encountered a hiker that has been burning fires along the trail in Georgia.
I have reported the problem to the GATC trails supervisor. Can anyone give a description of the person?
The fire danger in this area is tremendous and we need to clarify and rid ourselves of this activity!
Mother Nature
mweinstone
05-03-2007, 17:51
he should be givin a proper stove if he needs one. i got plenty if needed. oh, and hes an ass.
The guy is approximately 5'10" - 6'0" tall, 180-190 pounds, no idea on his age but he appeared to be in his late 30's to early 40's. Hard to judge his age - it appears the years have not been kind to him. He was looking very rough. Long hair (light brown) and a scraggly beard.
I passed this yahoo last weekend and he's a whack job. I rounded a corner and he's urinating in the middle of the trail. Not to the side, not off in the bushes, literally in the middle of the trail.
I also saw the fires you are referring to. He also builds the fires DIRECTLY on the trail.
Very shady character. He gave me the creeps both times I passed him.
Speer Carrier
05-03-2007, 19:09
The forest service has issued a ban on all camp fires in Georgia until further notice because of the drought we are in. I hope this guy can be stopped before he starts a major fire, like the one we now have in south Georgia.
The guy is approximately 5'10" - 6'0" tall, 180-190 pounds, no idea on his age but he appeared to be in his late 30's to early 40's. Hard to judge his age - it appears the years have not been kind to him. He was looking very rough. Long hair (light brown) and a scraggly beard.
I passed this yahoo last weekend and he's a whack job. I rounded a corner and he's urinating in the middle of the trail. Not to the side, not off in the bushes, literally in the middle of the trail.
I also saw the fires you are referring to. He also builds the fires DIRECTLY on the trail.
Very shady character. He gave me the creeps both times I passed him.
Yes, exactly, gave me the creeps. Meant to ask you about him earlier. Guess I passed him about an hour after you did (around 5pm), so I tried to hike as much as I could the rest of the day to put distance between him and me.
The guy is approximately 5'10" - 6'0" tall, 180-190 pounds, no idea on his age but he appeared to be in his late 30's to early 40's. Hard to judge his age - it appears the years have not been kind to him. He was looking very rough. Long hair (light brown) and a scraggly beard.
I passed this yahoo last weekend and he's a whack job. I rounded a corner and he's urinating in the middle of the trail. Not to the side, not off in the bushes, literally in the middle of the trail.
I also saw the fires you are referring to. He also builds the fires DIRECTLY on the trail.
Very shady character. He gave me the creeps both times I passed him.
Pissing in the middle of the trail is not entirely a bad thing. And being a shady character is okay too, I mean the trail is full of shady characters hiking every year. This man undoubtedly has some mental issues that have gotten out of hand. If you run into him again why don't you reach out to him, it may be one of the best experiences you will have in your entire life.....
Pissing in the middle of the trail is not entirely a bad thing. And being a shady character is okay too, I mean the trail is full of shady characters hiking every year. This man undoubtedly has some mental issues that have gotten out of hand. If you run into him again why don't you reach out to him, it may be one of the best experiences you will have in your entire life.....
I've done that before and paid for it. You're right, it can be a rewarding experience. Or, it can ruin an otherwise peaceful trail experience. In an environment around other people, it might have been entertaining to get to know him. Around Cold Springs Gap it was creepy.
max patch
05-04-2007, 09:59
Pissing in the middle of the trail is not entirely a bad thing
HUH?
Care to explain?
briarpatch
05-04-2007, 20:19
BTW, there is a outdoor burning ban, including campfires, in the Chattahoochee National Forest because of extremely dry conditions. Its effective till further notice.
DawnTreader
05-04-2007, 20:34
HUH?
Care to explain?
LNT Purist thought... if you can't wait, mostly in alpine areas, don't tread off the trail, piss on the rocks on the trail..
max patch
05-04-2007, 21:31
LNT Purist thought... if you can't wait, mostly in alpine areas, don't tread off the trail, piss on the rocks on the trail..
No alpine areas in GA last I looked.
DawnTreader
05-04-2007, 23:27
Hence the posters "not ENTIRELY a bad thing" which is to say not always, or in certain situations.. This is the only reason I can think of why one should EVER piss on a trail
Ron Haven
05-04-2007, 23:30
BTW, there is a outdoor burning ban, including campfires, in the Chattahoochee National Forest because of extremely dry conditions. Its effective till further notice.I heard he was around Tray,is this still correct?
RSWillis
05-04-2007, 23:55
Ill probably see him tomorrow since I'm at cloud 9 and heading SOBO in the am. Ill kick one of his duffels when I see him. Jackass!!!
I dunno about this guy, but what difference does it make wether your piss lands to the side of the trail or the middle? Seriously, it's hitting the ground either way right? At least that way you're not pissing on the blackberries we like to eat.
When you come to Maine, think before you pick those blueberries.
HUH?
Care to explain?
Explain what? Is there something wrong with peeing on the trail?
Gray Blazer
05-05-2007, 17:18
Explain what? Is there something wrong with peeing on the trail?
Would you pee on the Path of Life?;)
max patch
05-05-2007, 17:22
Explain what? Is there something wrong with peeing on the trail?
You apparently don't think so.
Do you piss on the sidewalks in Damascus?
Is it okay for a bear to crap in the middle of the trail?
In some hiking classes that I have attended in the past the topic of where to urinate has arisen. One thing that some of the instructors have said is to just take a pee right on the trail so as not to create damage in areas that are not designated for human use. I have peed right smack dab on the trail and probably will do it again.
What is the difference between an animal and I doing it? Bears crap right in the middle of the trail along with other animals as well.
All your crap consists of is that you just want to bash me, go right ahead. You guys ain't got the guts to admit that you probably have done this too.
Back when I was hiking all the time I've witnessed female hikers squatting right in the middle of the trail to relieve themselves.
max patch
05-06-2007, 15:03
What is the difference between an animal and I doing it? Bears crap right in the middle of the trail along with other animals as well.
All your crap consists of is that you just want to bash me, go right ahead.
Back when I was hiking all the time I've witnessed female hikers squatting right in the middle of the trail to relieve themselves.
1. Animals don't know any better.
2. Maybe some want to bash you, but don't lump me in with them. I think you are one of the few posters here that display a bit of common sense when they post.
3. Those females you saw are idiots.
The path is surrounded by acres and acres of forest. Anyone who stands on the trail and pisses on the footpath is remarkedly stupid.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
05-06-2007, 16:15
Re: urinating on the trail - I've had to because I couldn't get off the trail due to the terrain or undergrowth (mostly when I was re-learning how to hike after I re-learned how to walk), but I certainly don't make a regular practice of doing so. As Max Patch notes, there are acres and acres of forest available....
What is the difference between an animal and I doing it? When your dog poops on your neighbors lawn, you scoop it up, but when you poop on your neighbors lawn, your dog won't clean up after you.
Bears crap right in the middle of the trail along with other animals as well.
All your crap consists of is that you just want to bash me, go right ahead. You guys ain't got the guts to admit that you probably have done this too.No, I don't want to bash you, but neither do I think taking a dump in the middle of the trail is a very nice thing to do.
I have never pooped in the middle of a trail, or on a sidewalk, or on a neighbor's lawn, but you're right. If I had done these things I doubt if I'd own up to it.
Nightwalker
05-07-2007, 04:33
All your crap consists of is that you just want to bash me, go right ahead. You guys ain't got the guts to admit that you probably have done this too.
Back when I was hiking all the time I've witnessed female hikers squatting right in the middle of the trail to relieve themselves.
I pee right beside the trail all the time. Maybe it's eco-correct to do it right on the treadway, but it'd just be too weird for my warpeded little mind.
Crap on the trail? Nah, but I've seen evidence of "emergency" dumps right beside the trail. It's gross to have to bury someone else's dumps, yuk
When your dog poops on your neighbors lawn, you scoop it up, but when you poop on your neighbors lawn, your dog won't clean up after you.
.
Well, you don't know dogs very well do you? I bet if you ever did such a thing your dog would be right there lapping it up!
BTW, I was having a bad Wanderer day yesterday and thought the whole world was bashing me. I suffer from pitty pot syndrome sometimes. Forgive me please...................
As far as crapping goes, i ain't about to do that in the middle of the trail. i will get off the trail no matter if it is an alpine area and either bury it or cover it with leaf matter................
Is it okay for a bear to crap in the middle of the trail?
No its not, and this is an obvious problem for us hygenic hikers. Therefore, I nominate you as chief enforcement officer, bear division.
Funny, I thought this thread was about the Firebug in Georgia. Has he started to PooPoo in the trail?
Any new reports of him from last weekend's warriors?
Ask him if his name is Russell Hemphill, he was a homeless guy who hung out here this past winter and talked about going to Springer and hiking back to hear. He comes across mighty creepy, but he's convinced he is a reincarnated civil war soldier killed at Gettysburg...
Pissing in the middle of the trail is not entirely a bad thing. And being a shady character is okay too, I mean the trail is full of shady characters hiking every year. This man undoubtedly has some mental issues that have gotten out of hand. If you run into him again why don't you reach out to him, it may be one of the best experiences you will have in your entire life.....
Pissing in the middle of the trail is a VERY bad thing in my book. How hard is it to take a few steps off the trail and do your business? Is defecating in the middle of the trail not a bad thing as well?
Pissing in the middle of the trail is a VERY bad thing in my book. How hard is it to take a few steps off the trail and do your business? Is defecating in the middle of the trail not a bad thing as well?
Yeah? How does it affect you? I mean why is it a very bad thing to do?
iesman69
05-08-2007, 09:20
Has "Firebug" been seen around any of the shelters/tent sites? I was up at Mountain Crossings on 5/5 and didn't hear any chatter about him?? The guy doesn't sound too dangerous, but his fires certainly are!!
Yeah? How does it affect you? I mean why is it a very bad thing to do?
Because a speeding hiker could come flying around the corner and you might get him wet. :eek: But if he's wearing rain pants and Gore-Tex shoes its OK. Excuse me, he or she.
Because a speeding hiker could come flying around the corner and you might get him wet. :eek: But if he's wearing rain pants and Gore-Tex shoes its OK. Excuse me, he or she.
That's a very good point........I think that hikers should buy rain gear that is especially equipped to deflect urine.......Hey Scope you want to help me invent the stuff?
Whistler
05-08-2007, 15:38
I met the gentleman in GA around April 25 or so. He's known to most of the hikers around there as Trader James or Trapper James, something like that. Yes, he was carrying a large, full, pricey pack and when I met him he had two duffel bags which were reportedly full of books. His plan was to spend 10 years on the AT, and then head for the west coast. Something like that. He was nice to me--offered me food and water if I needed it. Other hikers have reported the same friendliness, despite his weirdness.
I think he is the one making campfires within inches of the trailpath. I don't think he's dangerous, just something of an idiot when it comes to LNT. I counted 4 ash-heaps between Neel's and just before Low Gap where I passed him.
Anyway, Joshua, one of the GATC ridgerunners, was aware of Trader James and should have spoken to him by now about the fires.
-Mark
That's a very good point........I think that hikers should buy rain gear that is especially equipped to deflect urine.......Hey Scope you want to help me invent the stuff?
Well, you know, as a parent of a toddler in potty training, this actually sounds like a good idea! I'm thinking something like ultralight chaps, made of silnylon with a special anti-bacterial coating. And maybe that same coating in spray form to be applied to shoes. Hmmm.....
;)
Well, you know, as a parent of a toddler in potty training, this actually sounds like a good idea! I'm thinking something like ultralight chaps, made of silnylon with a special anti-bacterial coating. And maybe that same coating in spray form to be applied to shoes. Hmmm.....
;)
We could probably purchase all this material at Wal Mart? You think we got time to get a set done by Trail Day's?
Uncle Silly
05-14-2007, 16:03
Pissing in the middle of the trail is a VERY bad thing in my book. How hard is it to take a few steps off the trail and do your business? Is defecating in the middle of the trail not a bad thing as well?
Look dude, your shoes are gonna get muddy & dirty & nasty anyways. Don't worry about whether the mud contains my urine or not, just plan to rinse your bootsoles when you get to town. (Or in the next creek you have to ford.) It's not like you're using your boots to stir your ramen.
max patch
05-14-2007, 16:49
Look dude, your shoes are gonna get muddy & dirty & nasty anyways. Don't worry about whether the mud contains my urine or not, just plan to rinse your bootsoles when you get to town. (Or in the next creek you have to ford.) It's not like you're using your boots to stir your ramen.
Do you piss in your hallway at home instead of the toilet?
Same thing.
this guy is either a criminal or an idiot and possibly both.
The news about the drought in Georgia is everywhere (on national news now) and making camp fires is just asking for trouble. There is almost no way he could NOT know how dry things are down there and about the fire danger. Have folks alerted the local rangers? I almost wish I was hiking down there now just so i could see a ranger hike in and confront this guy!
I wonder what the fines/penalties would be? Bet it would be steep! It oughta be steep!
DavidNH
Uncle Silly
05-14-2007, 17:17
Do you piss in your hallway at home instead of the toilet?
Same thing.
I have a porch, and few neighbors. What do I need to piss in the john for?
Look dude, your shoes are gonna get muddy & dirty & nasty anyways. Don't worry about whether the mud contains my urine or not, just plan to rinse your bootsoles when you get to town. (Or in the next creek you have to ford.) It's not like you're using your boots to stir your ramen.Wouldn't it be easier for all concerned if you just faced right or left and let go off the trail instead of on it?
And people complain that cell phone users are inconsiderate?
In Maine, I'm careful about putting Purell on my hands after handling the bottoms of my boots because there is so much Moose poop on the trail. I never thought about pig urine.
I saw a wet patch in the trail this weekend
Then I saw Poo Poo in the trail
Then I hear a roar in a dense thicket down the trail
Then I pissed my pants.................................not:D
"Wierd happenings? A few. First, there's a fellow (last seen on Thursday at Low Gap) who is building fires on the trail every night. He's hauling a couple of duffle bags north...each appear to be very heavy. He'll carry one a half mile then go back for the other and leap frog like that all day. Law enforcement was informed and was interested but never showed up. Anyways...you can see the ashes from his fires every few miles on the trail starting at Neel's Gap."
I transferred the above quote from another recent thread.
I received an email this morning from Laura at Cloud 9. Hikers have been reporting to her that they have encountered a hiker that has been burning fires along the trail in Georgia.
I have reported the problem to the GATC trails supervisor. Can anyone give a description of the person?
The fire danger in this area is tremendous and we need to clarify and rid ourselves of this activity!
Mother Nature
I posted that. He's about 5 feet 10 to 6 feet tall with dark hair in a shouldr length mullet style. I'd put him at 200 to 210 pounds.
He's beefy, with a hawkish nose. The hikers at Low Gap before me had called law enforcement regarding him, if they had showed up they would have caught him with a fire in progress.
Also, i found another reference which I think may refer to this dude. it was posted by "LaughTrack" at TrailJournals...he got to Low Gap a day after our group moved through... The fellow in quesion may be going by " Trapping James " http://trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=177264
he would build a fire in the middle of the trail every night. You could see the ashes as you walked north out of Neels Gap. I think Winton at Mountain Crossings had contacted law enforcement about him, but I'm not sure.
I have a porch, and few neighbors. What do I need to piss in the john for?
I see you live in NC.
When was it that you left Maine?
Helps if you switch to the back porch once in a while...
Do you piss in your hallway at home instead of the toilet?
Same thing.
no it is not........gee whiz
John Klein
05-15-2007, 19:25
I posted that. He's about 5 feet 10 to 6 feet tall with dark hair in a shouldr length mullet style. I'd put him at 200 to 210 pounds.
He's beefy, with a hawkish nose. The hikers at Low Gap before me had called law enforcement regarding him, if they had showed up they would have caught him with a fire in progress.
Also, i found another reference which I think may refer to this dude. it was posted by "LaughTrack" at TrailJournals...he got to Low Gap a day after our group moved through... The fellow in quesion may be going by " Trapping James " http://trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=177264
he would build a fire in the middle of the trail every night. You could see the ashes as you walked north out of Neels Gap. I think Winton at Mountain Crossings had contacted law enforcement about him, but I'm not sure.
I'm suprised I haven't seen any talk here about some of the wildfires in North Georgia. I don't have all the details but it's on the Atlanta TV news. Does anyone know if the fires are near the AT?
Nightwalker
05-15-2007, 19:27
I'm surprised I haven't seen any talk here about some of the wildfires in North Georgia. I don't have all the details but it's on the Atlanta TV news. Does anyone know if the fires are near the AT?
Southern GA and Northern FL. Opposite end of the State
Mother Nature
05-15-2007, 19:51
Newb,
I don't think you saw the quotes that I put around your comments in the response I gave. I tried to give you credit for the posting. I don't know how to put your quote on the same page as mine any other way. Sorry. Tech geek I am not! Just a good cookie maker. :)
I was up on my section of the trail today. This section is just before the NC border. It has a campsite and someone recently left gear lying around the ground.
I had walked in from Dicks Creek Gap and I believe it was Bull Gap that has a campsite. That area was full of broken glass lying in a large pile of ash. I mean full.
I don't know if anyone has spoken to this individual but I certainly hope he has been stopped. The place is a tinder box.
MN
briarpatch
05-15-2007, 19:55
Southern GA and Northern FL. Opposite end of the State
There have been a couple of active fires in the north in the last day or 2. One was over near Fort Mountain, I'm not sure about the other. We had a planning meeting with the forest service today and they pointed them out on the map. Both are well away from the AT.
John Klein
05-15-2007, 19:55
Southern GA and Northern FL. Opposite end of the State
No, the TV news said Lumpkin and Gilmer counties.
Skidsteer
05-15-2007, 22:02
Newb,
I don't think you saw the quotes that I put around your comments in the response I gave. I tried to give you credit for the posting. I don't know how to put your quote on the same page as mine any other way. Sorry. Tech geek I am not! Just a good cookie maker. :)
I was up on my section of the trail today. This section is just before the NC border. It has a campsite and someone recently left gear lying around the ground.
I had walked in from Dicks Creek Gap and I believe it was Bull Gap that has a campsite. That area was full of broken glass lying in a large pile of ash. I mean full.
I don't know if anyone has spoken to this individual but I certainly hope he has been stopped. The place is a tinder box.
MN
I saw that pile this weekend too. Did you notice how old the bottles and cans were? Almost like someone had cleaned out a firepit from the 1970's.
Mother Nature
05-16-2007, 08:31
I saw that pile this weekend too. Did you notice how old the bottles and cans were? Almost like someone had cleaned out a firepit from the 1970's.
Absolutely! It was the strangest pile of glass I had ever seen! Makes you wonder how they transported that mess so far from the actual firepit or where the debris came from!
We had an incident about a 1/4 mile uphill from Dicks Creek Gap. Three GATC members (me included) were leading some "at risk" kids on a wilderness experience and we found a day hiker dead in the trail. The coroner deduced that he had suffered a massive heart attack and simply fell over. He was still holding his hiking stick.
MN
warraghiyagey
05-16-2007, 08:37
. . . We had an incident about a 1/4 mile uphill from Dicks Creek Gap. Three GATC members (me included) were leading some "at risk" kids on a wilderness experience and we found a day hiker dead in the trail. The coroner deduced that he had suffered a massive heart attack and simply fell over. He was still holding his hiking stick.
MN
That is a bummer of a story at 8:30 in the morning.:(
Skidsteer
05-16-2007, 08:50
Absolutely! It was the strangest pile of glass I had ever seen! Makes you wonder how they transported that mess so far from the actual firepit or where the debris came from!
We had an incident about a 1/4 mile uphill from Dicks Creek Gap. Three GATC members (me included) were leading some "at risk" kids on a wilderness experience and we found a day hiker dead in the trail. The coroner deduced that he had suffered a massive heart attack and simply fell over. He was still holding his hiking stick.
MN
Wow. What day was that?
Absolutely! It was the strangest pile of glass I had ever seen! Makes you wonder how they transported that mess so far from the actual firepit or where the debris came from!
We had an incident about a 1/4 mile uphill from Dicks Creek Gap. Three GATC members (me included) were leading some "at risk" kids on a wilderness experience and we found a day hiker dead in the trail. The coroner deduced that he had suffered a massive heart attack and simply fell over. He was still holding his hiking stick.
MN
Geez, that's a downer. What did you do, just call authorities to come get him? Take his body back down the trail? Those poor kids, sorry to have them go through that, but ultimately a decent learning experience I hope.
Wow, Mother Nature! That's pretty intense for both you and the kids. And the hiker's family, of course. My condolences to all of you.
Marta/Five-Leaf
Mother Nature
05-16-2007, 13:53
It was pretty intense as you can imagine. Skids, it was yesterday morning. The GATC sponsors an outreach program for high risk kids. Several GATC members, myself included, were assisting a group of kids and their teachers from Dicks Creek Gap to Blue Ridge Gap.
One of the adults was at the trailhead around 7:30 waiting to assist with a shuttle arrangement. The gentleman arrived alone in a car with FL tags and headed up the trail about 7:30-7:45 carrying a light day pack and a handcarved wooden walking stick.
The remainder of the group arrived around 8:45 and we all started uphill about 9 am. As we reached the crest of the first steep uphill we could see the hips and legs of someone who appeared to have fallen down. Several of the kids in the lead started laughing and said something to the effect... a dude is asleep in the trail and another joked and said.. maybe he's dead. It was a millisecond later that the shock of the discovery set in for them.
Thankfully the majority of the kids couldn't see his full body. One of the adults thoughtfully commented that a gentleman wasn't feeling well and escorted the group through the woods around him saying it was important to give him his privacy.
We checked his pulse but it was obvious he had died suddenly and keeled over backwards landing sort of on his side with his head downhill. It had to have been very sudden as he was still holding the hiking stick loosely in his hand. He appeared to be in his late 60s or 70s. Hard to tell his age with the color disfiguration of his face but he had gray hair.
One of the adults stayed with the body until the authorities arrived. We knew other hikers were preparing to come up the mountain. We didn't want anyone else to be startled.
Another went downhill to the road to call for help as we couldn't get a good cell phone signal. The remainder of us continued on the hike for a mile or so and waited for the other adults to join us after the authorities arrived. Very few of the kids initially knew what happened but eventually word spread from kid to kid. None of them seemed outwardly disturbed but remember that these kids live life on the edge anyway. Everything was a joke to them. It was a surreal moment. I hope that someone talks with these kids about what happened because I sensed under all the bravado it was pretty unsettling.
The coroner arrived and after examining him said that he must have died of a massive heart attack. The only mark on his body was a bruise on his forehead where he struck the ground.
I want to go that way. Holding a hiking stick heading up a beautiful mountain.
MN
spittinpigeon
05-16-2007, 14:22
I want to go that way. Holding a hiking stick heading up a beautiful mountain.
MN
....Indeed.
Whistler
05-16-2007, 17:53
Sad news... at least he got out there one last time.
-Mark
John Klein
05-16-2007, 19:29
I'm suprised I haven't seen any talk here about some of the wildfires in North Georgia. I don't have all the details but it's on the Atlanta TV news. Does anyone know if the fires are near the AT?
I knew I wasn't imagining things.
NW Georgia Wildfire Burning Out
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A fire of more than 930 acres burned on Monday in Gilmer and Murray counties in northwest Georgia.
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The wildfire in Northwest Georgia was still burning itself out Tuesday morning, and firefighters expect to be in “mop up” mode by Wednesday morning, according to Michele Jones of the U.S. Forestry Service.
“It’s [still] 100 percent contained,” Jones told 11Alive News Tuesday, saying that, overnight, firefighters in Gilmer and Murray Counties had kept the fire from breaking through lines and spreading.
Jones said only two, relatively small parcels were getting the attention of firefighters Tuesday: a 120-acre piece of land and a 40-acre piece of land, at opposite sides of the fire. Firefighters were going to burn those parcels on Tuesday, and continue to monitor the main fire as it burns itself out.
Hundreds of acres have burned in the Chattahoochee National Forest. The woods are full of dry tinder underbrush that burns easily.
"It's a fairly steep slope. It's rough terrain," said firefighter Alan McKnight.
Homeowner David Ellis knows that he will need more than his garden hose if the fire jumps the firebreak and heads for his house.
"I've been here 14 years, and I've never seen anything like this," Ellis said. "Yesterday [Sunday] was worse than it is today. Because yesterday, I couldn't even see the ridge line up there."
Investigators said they are certain the fire started after a lightning strike. Mitch Cohen of the USDA Forest Service said on Monday, "We're going to watch it for the next several days, keeping an eye on it, making sure it doesn't flare up again. And it's going to be that way until we get some rain."
Dozens of fresh firefighters were arriving on Tuesday morning -- even though the fire is under control. Dry conditions continue to impose a threat. The outdoor burn ban remains in effect: no outdoor campfires.
BigwaveDave
05-18-2007, 15:44
Not to make light of this but we should all be as fortunate to go that way, my dad died of throut cancer and my mom due to alzheimers, neither one of those is the way to go.
smokymtnsteve
05-18-2007, 16:17
Sad news... at least he got out there one last time.
-Mark
not at all...
Please Stand for the gospel of Abbey!
"The rebel is doomed to a violent death. The rest of us can look forward to sedated expiration in a coma inside an oxygen tent, with tubes inserted in every bodily orifice."
Thanks be to Abbey!
smokymtnsteve
05-18-2007, 16:19
PLEASE STAND FOR THE GOSPEL OF ABBEY!
"Those who fear death most are those who enjoy life least."
THANKS BE TO ABBEY!
leeki pole
05-18-2007, 17:01
PLEASE STAND FOR THE GOSPEL OF ABBEY!
"Those who fear death most are those who enjoy life least."
THANKS BE TO ABBEY!
ditto that. :)
Nightwalker
05-21-2007, 02:10
No, the TV news said Lumpkin and Gilmer counties.
I thought that you were talking about the monsters down South. Sorry.
I hope when it's my time to go that I am on my beloved trail.............
AbeHikes
05-21-2007, 10:44
I want to go that way. Holding a hiking stick heading up a beautiful mountain.
MN
Ah, MN... Leave it to you to turn that into something inspirational. :)
What a way to start a day. My prayers are with the family and those who discovered him.
How tragic for Mother Nature and her group came upon the fallen hiker. How tragic for him to go out for a stroll and suddenly suffer a heart attack that takes his life. Equally tragic is the sense of denial we express in attempting to protect teens from the reality of life. Why do we do that? It would have been a good experience for them to discover how fragile our lives are, especially, teens who are "troubled." The teens who joked about death would have been treated to a lesson in reality. My prayers are for the hiker, the young people who came upon him, and the adults who were afraid to be truthful.
You give all of us other JD's in the world a good name. Couldn't have expressed it better myself.