View Full Version : Confess your AT sins
Pedaling Fool
12-20-2007, 22:13
Anyone have any hiking sins they want to get off their chest?
I’ll start:
During my hike this year in April, I was NOBO coming down to Dick’s Creek Gap, US76, it had been raining very hard and the winds were kicking up (that night - 4/15/07 - at Plumorchard Gap Shelter the winds were reportedly gusting to 60mph). I had already slipped and fell a couple times and was all muddy, wet and cold from the heavy winds and rain. Just before getting to US 76 I fell one last time, but this time some how my hiking pole was bent completely in half, beyond repair. I was infuriated to say the least, I started cursing out loud and kicking *****, cursing the AT and everything connected to it. Then I thought about LNT. I then looked at my broken pole and flung it as hard as I could yelling ****** LNT!
Am I forgiven for my transgression against the LNT commandment?
Jan LiteShoe
12-20-2007, 22:17
Not me, of course, but I had this friend once who mooned the cog ...
I camped at Cedar Cliffs this summer (a day's hike south of Waynesboro) knowing that it wasn't legal. Enjoyed one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen on the AT.
Perhaps the most egregious of all hiking sins...
Going on 2000 posts on WB without stepping one foot on the AT !
Skidsteer
12-20-2007, 22:27
Perhaps the most egregious of all hiking sins...
Going on 2000 posts on WB without stepping one foot on the AT !
Unforgivable!
Started a campfire during a fire ban. Ahem. More than once, actually. :rolleyes:
Well I wasn't actually on the AT.
Alligator
12-20-2007, 22:35
I set my tent up in shelters:p .
Alligator
12-20-2007, 22:37
I set my hammock up inside one once too:mad: .
thecaptain
12-20-2007, 22:49
My biggest sin on the At was while in lay warm and relaxed listening to the sounds of the night I thought I might maybe vote for a Republican. Then I awoke and realized it was only a dream. Therefore; it was almost a sin but really only a nightmare.
whitefoot_hp
12-20-2007, 22:53
when i stole this hiker's pack while he was in a privy. just kidding.
Lone Wolf
12-20-2007, 22:54
Anyone have any hiking sins they want to get off their chest?
I’ll start:
During my hike this year in April, I was NOBO coming down to Dick’s Creek Gap, US76, it had been raining very hard and the winds were kicking up (that night - 4/15/07 - at Plumorchard Gap Shelter the winds were reportedly gusting to 60mph). I had already slipped and fell a couple times and was all muddy, wet and cold from the heavy winds and rain. Just before getting to US 76 I fell one last time, but this time some how my hiking pole was bent completely in half, beyond repair. I was infuriated to say the least, I started cursing out loud and kicking *****, cursing the AT and everything connected to it. Then I thought about LNT. I then looked at my broken pole and flung it as hard as I could yelling ****** LNT!
Am I forgiven for my transgression against the LNT commandment?
LNT is a joke. you're forgiven for something you didn't do. hike on :)
Almost There
12-20-2007, 22:57
I don't put rubber tips on my hiking poles. It feels better without rubbers!!!:D
Footslogger
12-20-2007, 23:02
I wasn't paying attention and made a wrong turn near Lake of the Clouds Hut on my 2003 through. When I realized what I had done (saw other hikers on the correct trail) I bushwhacked over and got back on track.
I've felt terrible (NOT) about that ever since.
OK there ...I said it !!
'Slogger
LNT is a joke. you're forgiven for something you didn't do. hike on :)
So Katz is forgiven? Hey, you know I'm a big Bryson fan, but I don't think so...
Monkeyboy
12-20-2007, 23:38
LNT is a joke. you're forgiven for something you didn't do. hike on :)
I would have to disagree about LNT being a joke.....
It can be done, if you are only considerate and careful....
As to the hiking stick.....******* LNT!!!!
I'd have been just as pissed!!!
Lone Wolf
12-20-2007, 23:39
LNT is a joke
LNT is a joke.
In fact, LNT is a myth.
But the Trail is also a myth. :)
Fiver: I've had enough!
L.Wolf: Where are you going?
Fiver: Away, to the hills.
L.Wolf: By yourself, alone? You'll die.
Fiver: You're closer to death than I.
L.Wolf: Determined to ruin it for us, aren't you?
Fiver: No!
L.Wolf: Me, me, me. All the time. "But, I'm in a mist."
Fiver: Bigwig!
L.Wolf: "Everything's burnt!"
Fiver: No!
L.Wolf: "I've a funny feeling in my toe."
Fiver: No, no!
L.Wolf: I'm finished with you. What's more, I'm going to make sure everyone else is.
:D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9czkZiO-38&feature=related
Lone Wolf
12-20-2007, 23:55
LNT is a PC idea
More to the point, it is a flawed idea. Most PC ideas are.
It is flawed by the myth of man being apart from the nature.
It is flawed by the myth of infalibility of authority.
Mostly it is flawed as all generalizations are flawed, even the useful ones.
It is flawed by motive.
"Damn all motives. Ulterior ones, and others."
- Boris Pasternak
Lone Wolf
12-21-2007, 00:04
bloviation taints the point
But you really shouldn't blame the Progressive Conservatives anymore.
They are no longer a political party. :D
bloviation taints the pointYou're damn right it does. But we can't all be artists like yourself. So you must suffer, for your art, and my lack. :D
Lone Wolf
12-21-2007, 00:09
You're damn right it does. But we can't all be artists like yourself. So you must suffer, for your art, and my lack. :D
i'm a douchebag. no artist here
River Runner
12-21-2007, 00:29
Is it a sin to leave what you love? :-?
If so, I'm guilty of leaving the trail to go back to the dreary world of work. ;)
OregonHiker
12-21-2007, 00:36
Unforgivable!
Started a campfire during a fire ban. Ahem. More than once, actually. :rolleyes:
Well I wasn't actually on the AT.
Stupid is as stupid does:mad:
OregonHiker
12-21-2007, 00:38
i'm a douchebag.
So true!:)
If so, I'm guilty of leaving the trail to go back to the dreary world of work. ;)
Well, hell... someone's got to make the Liptons and the Ramen and the tuna in foil. That stuff doesn't grow on trees, you know.
OregonHiker
12-21-2007, 00:48
LNT is a joke. you're forgiven for something you didn't do. hike on :)
Please elaborate?:-?
paradoxb3
12-21-2007, 02:10
LNT may not be perfect but its still a good suggestion. When i was getting into hiking, on a trip on the GA Pinhoti, i left a pile of soup/spam cans in a fire ring. The next chance i got to hike that section again was nearly a year later, and when i found that fire ring, there were all my old rusty cans still sitting there. I crushed them flat and threw them in my garbage bag and packed them out this time. I've come to hate seeing garbage on trails now. What harm would it do to pack out things like a foil nutrigrain bar wrapper anyway? I saw plenty scattered on the trail near gooch mountain shelter last month.
Please elaborate?:-?All right. Jokes over.
Who let the Presbyterian Vicar into the Catholic's confession booth? :D
Last spring in Georgia I walked up to a shelter on the Trail and saw Frosty giving a Snickers bar to a young woman at the table there. I asked if there was enough to share, and the nice girl gave me a half. I didn't realize it until I read Frosty's journal that the poor girl was just about out of food and money and he was trying to help her out. Hey, I just wanted to satisfy my sweet tooth. I still feel bad about that.
Jim Adams
12-21-2007, 02:37
LW is correct about LNT.
My sin...I've stealthed above treeline several times...of course never on the tundra...
then again I've also had a few spicy conversations with God!
geek
warraghiyagey
12-21-2007, 02:38
Great thread.
OK (drawing in breath) here goes.
My first trip into Monson I was still learning and my Buddy Brit made me a pepsi can stove (as I had believed I would have this wonderful campfire every night the length of the trail) and I thought I'd give it a test spin on the upper porch at Shaw's.
Not to name names but there was a certain Wber that was also there. We'll just refer to him as Dawn T. No, no. . . make that D. Treader.
Anyway I put it on the porch floor, poured in some HEET and lit it.
I turbo-wussed and knocked it over pushing the gas across the floor with the flame following.
I jumped and went to stomp it out when the cooler el Duderino just said relax it'll be out in a few seconds - and it was.
I stayed at Shaw's again this year for a couple days and finally told Dawn. But I made sure she was out of arms reach when I told her.:) :p
So yup I did a dumb thing once, oh unless you count where the alpine vege. . . never mind.:D
warraghiyagey
12-21-2007, 02:39
...
then again I've also had a few spicy conversations with God!
geek
Africkinmen. I mean, yes, so have I.:rolleyes:
The General
12-21-2007, 04:49
Sins, I wouldn't know where to start!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
appalachian.jackson
12-21-2007, 05:56
Camped in the warming hut at Greylock, ranger couldn't see me cause the fire place was between me and the parking lot.
nitewalker
12-21-2007, 06:48
november of 06 my hiking partner and i camped under wesser bald fire tower for the evening..i belive this would be a sin under the stealth catergory....i burned some ugly looking trash in a fire pit provided at the a shelter... my worst sin has got to be the time i left my dunkin donuts cup on the bottom portion of a trail. i planned on returning to pick the eyesore up but when i got back it was already gone. that was the last time i ever did that. i called myself a jerk the whole way up the trail. when i got back and the cup was gone i thought of myself as a bigger jerk for allowing sum1 else to see it and pick it up...i confess my sins and i hope for acceptance.......peace out, nitewalker
P.S. i feel better already
earlyriser26
12-21-2007, 07:58
november of 06 my hiking partner and i camped under wesser bald fire tower for the evening..i belive this would be a sin under the stealth catergory....i burned some ugly looking trash in a fire pit provided at the a shelter... my worst sin has got to be the time i left my dunkin donuts cup on the bottom portion of a trail. i planned on returning to pick the eyesore up but when i got back it was already gone. that was the last time i ever did that. i called myself a jerk the whole way up the trail. when i got back and the cup was gone i thought of myself as a bigger jerk for allowing sum1 else to see it and pick it up...i confess my sins and i hope for acceptance.......peace out, nitewalker
P.S. i feel better already
You did commit a sin! You should have camped on the wesser bald fire tower platform. It has a much better view. I have a picture of my tent on that very platform from 3 years ago. It was one of the best nights on the trail.
D'Artagnan
12-21-2007, 09:42
I peed in a privy even though the sign asked me not to. Sorry.:o
Lone Wolf
12-21-2007, 09:49
I peed in a privy even though the sign asked me not to. Sorry.:o
when i sit in a privy to poo the pee just comes naturally. i make no attempt to stop. sign, sign everywhere a sign :rolleyes:
hopefulhiker
12-21-2007, 09:49
One time in Maine in October I was crossing a fast flowing creek and my gatoraid bottle fell into the creek and was quickly swept away... i watched it go without making an attempt to retrieve it. It went on out of sight.. I still feel bad about that... It was a good bottle..
I am completely without sin. :sun
Now duck before I start chuckin' rocks, you sinners!! :p :banana
Lone Wolf
12-21-2007, 09:53
I am completely without sin. :sun
Now duck before I start chuckin' rocks, you sinners!! :p :banana
me too. sin is for religious whack jobs that fear god. what a way to live. if i was to choose a religion it would be catholic. ****** up all week then confess to a screwed up priest then PARTY:banana !
me too. sin is for religious whack jobs that fear god.
S'truth. Heaven and hell are figments of the religious imagination. Some child-like, primitive notion that you'll be rewarded or punished for your earthly behavior in the afterlife. Uh-huh....:rolleyes: Not that there aren't times when the idea isn't terribly appealing... as just punishment for flagrant aholes... none of whom will be named in this post, of course...
sin is for religious whack jobs that fear god.
She's gonna be pissed!
Javasanctum
12-21-2007, 10:03
Came upon a shelter that had been used by (obviously) Non-hikers. They left cigarette butts, plastic cups and silverwear, paperplates and plastic soda bottles. I did not feel like packing all of it out so I burned it all in the fire pit. That was alot of plastic!
I never sin on the trail, but when i get to town..............
Lone Wolf
12-21-2007, 10:04
d i l l i g a f?
Lone Wolf
12-21-2007, 10:05
Came upon a shelter that had been used by (obviously) Non-hikers. They left cigarette butts, plastic cups and silverwear, paperplates and plastic soda bottles. I did not feel like packing all of it out so I burned it all in the fire pit. That was alot of plastic!
shoulda just burned the shelter with all the crap in it
me too. sin is for religious whack jobs that fear god. what a way to live. if i was to choose a religion it would be catholic. ****** up all week then confess to a screwed up priest then PARTY:banana !Ya know L.Wolf, its not all the fun and games you make it out to be.
There's also the whole lot of standing up sitting down standing up sitting down while trying to get some sleep.
Trust me. ;)
the_iceman
12-21-2007, 10:17
I hiked 2 miles of my hike with no pack because I was under the influence of alcohol and I simply forgot to put it on.
Hey, it was almost dark and it was a last minute urge to do 2 more miles and get a ride back to camp.
I hiked 2 miles of my hike with no pack because I was under the influence of alcohol and I simply forgot to put it on.
Hey, it was almost dark and it was a last minute urge to do 2 more miles and get a ride back to camp.
You need one of those strings, like they put on little kids' mittens.
You need one of those strings, like they put on little kids' mittens.
Ah.. things lost on the trail... Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most.
I was carrying my little girl through the Maury River and she spit her binkie into it, she looked shocked then cried as it floated away towards the A.T.
bigmac_in
12-21-2007, 10:46
I started to post my sin - but decided I really didn't feel guilty about it. How could that be a sin? Besides, why should I confess to all of you?
What I feel most guilty about is not being on the trail enough, and spending too much time at work. Hope my boss doesn't catch me typing this.....
dessertrat
12-21-2007, 10:51
One time in Maine in October I was crossing a fast flowing creek and my gatoraid bottle fell into the creek and was quickly swept away... i watched it go without making an attempt to retrieve it. It went on out of sight.. I still feel bad about that... It was a good bottle..
I also lost a gatorade bottle in a stream. Sure, it's litter, but I wasn't about to run after it-- it was at the top of a waterfall where I dropped it. I am selfish-- I more regretted my lost water carrying capacity than the bottle being in the stream.
Flush2wice
12-21-2007, 10:53
I peed on the Washington Monument.
Lone Wolf
12-21-2007, 10:53
i sit next to the creek here in town, drink six packs and throw the plastic rings in the water
i sit next to the creek here in town, drink six packs and throw the plastic rings in the water
You A$$hole, what about the dolphins???
4eyedbuzzard
12-21-2007, 11:04
You A$$hole, what about the dolphins???
Let 'em buy their own f***in' beer.
Jim Adams
12-21-2007, 11:04
You A$$hole, what about the dolphins???
been there....there ain't no dolphins in that creek!:D
geek
Jim Adams
12-21-2007, 11:06
just remembered....slept on the tower on Clingman's in 1990.
geek
Skipped a white blaze or three. I'm sure I'll burn in hell for that! :rolleyes:
taildragger
12-21-2007, 11:09
Never sinned on the AT, but I have sinned within 100' of it, thats LNT right?
And Wolf, that whole Catholic Mass thing is a work out, 900 squats and running 8 miles whilst singing, I'll talk my protestant religion, sit and stare...
Lone Wolf
12-21-2007, 11:09
You A$$hole, what about the dolphins???
F Flipper!
D'Artagnan
12-21-2007, 11:11
i sit next to the creek here in town, drink six packs and throw the plastic rings in the water
Well at least that keeps the fish busy (for awhile anyway).
Lone Wolf
12-21-2007, 11:16
How about the can?
i recycle it
I was carrying my little girl through the Maury River and she spit her binkie into it, she looked shocked then cried as it floated away towards the A.T.Definitely a case of original sin. For sure. ;)
Yeah, she may have looked shock and cried, but we all know what she was thinking. :D
Toolshed
12-21-2007, 11:16
Note: I don't really feel bad about any of these things!!!!
- Slept in Smarts Mtn Fire Tower.
- I don't step off the trail more than 3 feet to pee (sometimes stand in the
trail and pee to the side) Pee is good for trails :sun
- Left lunch scraps for the friendly chippies on an overlook Just N of the
MidPoint in PGF - Then felt incriminated when I passed a hiking couple
heading to the very spot 10 minutes later.
- Spilled Gold Bond powder all over a rock I was sitting on, leaving a huge
white spot all over the rock (and myself) at least 14"x14" in size and didn't
want to waste the water to wash it off.
- Was doing TM one Day and had an ice cold Coke left, but said I was all out,
as I wanted to save it for myself. (Not exactly a lie.) :eek:
I seen two plastic rings at wright's farm.
- I don't step off the trail more than 3 feet to pee (sometimes stand in the
trail and pee to the side) Pee is good for trails :sun
- Spilled Gold Bond powder all over a rock I was sitting on, leaving a huge
white spot all over the rock (and myself) at least 14"x14" in size and didn't
want to waste the water to wash it off.
Could have pissed it off! :banana
I peed on the Washington Monument.
My new mission in life. I figure dipping in the mall pool is pushing it.
what about the dolphins???
Let them like Tuna.
Flush2wice
12-21-2007, 12:42
My new mission in life. I figure dipping in the mall pool is pushing it.
The one on the trail. I forget where it is.
Left a ring in the swimming pool at a motel (?) in Port Jervis.
Lion King
12-21-2007, 12:49
Ive blue blazed
yellow blazed
aqua blazed
pink blazed
Random Bushwhack blazed where no blazes would even tread
Camped on the tops of the Whites and Presidentials and other places--but never left trash or a mess or **** unburied
Burnt a pair of wool socks (That burnt quite nicely and worked great as fire starters actually) in a fire pit cuz A) They were far past spent and B) even further past smelling like bad meat or good cheese
Flaws and Vices make me what I am.
warraghiyagey
12-21-2007, 12:50
Left a ring in the swimming pool at a motel (?) in Port Jervis.
Wow, you must have been reeeally dirty.
:)
Morning Glory
12-21-2007, 13:57
Well...here's mine. It was the middle of August and the temps were in the mid 90s. Towards the end of the day, the trail came right up next to a campground that was close to a river. A certain hostel owner in this area had told us that there was a nice camping are in this area close to the river. We strolled into the campground to ask about directions to this campsite. The people didn't know where it was...so we were heading on down the trail because we had no interest in staying at the campground. On the way out, the owner of the campground chased us down and told us that we would not be allowed to stay anywhere within 1/4 mile of his campground. He complained that all the hikers were polluting his campgrounds water supply. I knew this had to be untrue because this spot was within 1/2 mile from a town with 2 popular hostels...I knew that there were very few hikers that camped in this vacinity. Well, we walked on up the trail about another 1/2 mile and found a beautiful campsite next to the creek that runs right into this guys campsite. Well, I'm ashamed to say we did the unthinkable....we jumped in and took a nice cool relaxing bath. I figured if he was going to accuse the hikers of polluting his water source, then we were going to make sure he wasn't lying. I've left the name of the town, river and campground out of this story because this place may now be under new management and I wouldn't want to unfairly ruin their reputation.
LIhikers
12-21-2007, 14:07
This past summer my wife and I camped on Straton Mountain, in VT, even though we knew you aren't supposed to :(
It was just so nice there and, well, ................
SunnyWalker
12-21-2007, 14:10
Oh, I must confess: one night on top of a mtn on the AT I had a campfire. It got out of control and one thing led to another and it burned off the top of the hill, or mtn. Well, I finally had it out and . . . well, everything was burnt up. It is now known as a "baldy" and thats where that baldy came from. :-) -SunnyWalker
nitewalker
12-21-2007, 14:38
listen to all this whiteblaze propaganda, i love it. let the true siners rise to the top......
dessertrat
12-21-2007, 14:40
I almost forgot. . . one time I got the TP stuck when I was coming out of the privy pulling my pants up near Rockfish Gap. By the time I figured it out, I had left a trail of toilet paper all the way to the White Mountains.
I almost forgot. . . one time I got the TP stuck when I was coming out of the privy pulling my pants up near Rockfish Gap. By the time I figured it out, I had left a trail of toilet paper all the way to the White Mountains.I once walked into the lounge of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club with a trail of toilet paper hanging our my pants somehow. With some blood. Now that was embarrassing.
Left a ring in the swimming pool at a motel (?) in Port Jervis.
Knowing Port Jervis as I do, the ring was probably already there! Gene Espy would agree!
The Doctor
12-21-2007, 15:25
Define Sin because I have way to many stories about tomfoolery on the AT
Where have you been? Most likely they are ALL sins.
You really shouldn't go so long between confessions. :D
I rarely get a permit to camp in the Smoky Mountains and have had a campfire during a campfire ban... I sincerely apologize to all whom I may have offended by this raucus and rowdy behavior...
The one on the trail. I forget where it is.
Bummer. I thought you went to town on the big one.
Still might be a new mission.
First time I saw the Pacific, I might have been on a mission.
Alligator
12-21-2007, 16:11
I left wet ass prints on the shelter floor. Sorry:o . I do try to stand now.
OregonHiker
12-21-2007, 16:12
I seen two plastic rings at wright's farm.
Great place to eat
The Doctor
12-21-2007, 16:16
Let's see, post newbie I have had fires in a fireban area, I've gone off-trail hiking (unintentionally), I've had my dog off leash way too many times to count, I've walked in a shelter with muddy boots (got yelled at for that one), i've snored very loudly while sleeping in a shleter (kept some folks up), i've burned quite a few down while hiking (<-----does that qualify as a sin?), I've certainly used lots of profanity while drinking with underagers, I've brought illegal moonshine onto them thar hills. All this but I think I make up for it with a cheerful attitude and dedicated trail maintenance volunteering.
The Doctor
12-21-2007, 16:17
I've also washed my feet in restaurant sinks after smelling up the place with hiker B.O.<---------probably me at my worst
The Doctor
12-21-2007, 16:45
Then there was that time Whitefoot_HP and I flagged down two cars of old fogies (and convinced them) to give us a thirty minute ride off the mountain when it got way (WAY) too cold for our liking.
OK I knew this thread about sin would go someplace interesting. Back it up a bit.
Tell me more about this moonshine. Nothing too specific. Just tell me what to look for in a good moonshine, how it tastes compared to other stuff, and how I might go about making some more inquiries if I ever happen to be passing through.
The Doctor
12-21-2007, 16:53
This moonshine comes out of Johnson City tennessee and is called apple brandy. It tastes like a cinnamon apple smacks your lips when you drink it. It's hard to come by, but damn well worth the $20 per jar.
Just wondering? If Warren Doyle joins this thread and admits to some minor transgression will all hell break loose? :-? :D
max patch
12-21-2007, 17:15
I bet he's taking notes as to who's done what.
leeki pole
12-21-2007, 17:40
This moonshine comes out of Johnson City tennessee and is called apple brandy. It tastes like a cinnamon apple smacks your lips when you drink it. It's hard to come by, but damn well worth the $20 per jar.
Good shine beats the heck out of anything else you'd ever drink. It can be hard to find, though. Not that I'd ever buy it. :cool: But it sure tastes good after a loooong day on the Trail, my friends tell me.;)
Lone Wolf
12-21-2007, 17:44
Just wondering? If Warren Doyle joins this thread and admits to some minor transgression will all hell break loose? :-? :D
no sht. the hypocricy on this site is awesome
Lone Wolf
12-21-2007, 17:45
Good shine beats the heck out of anything else you'd ever drink. It can be hard to find, though. Not that I'd ever buy it. :cool: But it sure tastes good after a loooong day on the Trail, my friends tell me.;)
i ain't got no problem finding it
In Canada the most notorious province for making what they call moonshine is Prince Edward Island. Traditionally they used potatoe skins. Today they are more apt to start with mollasses or some such thing. Newfoundland is probably more famous for smuggling than brewing, though they do both. Most folks in Canada today stop short of distilling. I would most Canadians involved in this noble art are old ladies. Young kids seem too interested in grow ops. Damn shame. We should show more respect for our elders. :D
IIRC, in the Rodale (James Hare) anthology, Eric Ryback describes being held hostage briefly, at gunpoint, by some moonshiners.
canerunner
12-21-2007, 18:19
S'truth. Heaven and hell are figments of the religious imagination. Some child-like, primitive notion that you'll be rewarded or punished for your earthly behavior in the afterlife. Uh-huh....:rolleyes: Not that there aren't times when the idea isn't terribly appealing... as just punishment for flagrant aholes... none of whom will be named in this post, of course...
I figure that I'd rather live my life in the best way I can, following what I understand as being the right way to treat others and the place we live.
I'd rather do that and then discover that there is no God, than to live a life of what some would call sin, and discover that there is a God, and he's really pissed at me.
warraghiyagey
12-21-2007, 19:30
"Well the Sherriff came around in the middle of the night,
Heard momma cryin somethin isn't right,
They were headed down to Knoxvill with the weekly load
You could smell the whisky burnin down Copperhead Road."
-Steve Earl
Anyone have any hiking sins they want to get off their chest?
I’ll start:
During my hike this year in April, I was NOBO coming down to Dick’s Creek Gap, US76, it had been raining very hard and the winds were kicking up (that night - 4/15/07 - at Plumorchard Gap Shelter the winds were reportedly gusting to 60mph). I had already slipped and fell a couple times and was all muddy, wet and cold from the heavy winds and rain. Just before getting to US 76 I fell one last time, but this time some how my hiking pole was bent completely in half, beyond repair. I was infuriated to say the least, I started cursing out loud and kicking *****, cursing the AT and everything connected to it. Then I thought about LNT. I then looked at my broken pole and flung it as hard as I could yelling ****** LNT!
Am I forgiven for my transgression against the LNT commandment?
Nay. Next time use a simple wooden (alder is strongest per ounce) hiking pole. It will never "bend" in half. It might break, though mine never have. But best of all, when you fling it into the woods in anger, it is biodegradable.
Oh, you want to know my sins. Well, like Lone Wolf, I've been known, when a long ways from a trail head, to burn out an iron can and bury it in the woods rather than carrying it out, on the theory that once burnt, it will quickly degrade into rust.
Weary
Oh, I must confess: one night on top of a mtn on the AT I had a campfire. It got out of control and one thing led to another and it burned off the top of the hill, or mtn. Well, I finally had it out and . . . well, everything was burnt up. It is now known as a "baldy" and thats where that baldy came from. :-) -SunnyWalker
And future guide book editors for evermore will repeat the old canard that "no one knows" what causes these mysterious balds -- though somehow they never notice that as soon as folks stop the burnings or pasturing of sheep and goats, the tree saplings and brambles return within a year or so.
Weary
More to the point, it is a flawed idea. Most PC ideas are.
It is flawed by the myth of man being apart from the nature.
It is flawed by the myth of infalibility of authority.
Mostly it is flawed as all generalizations are flawed, even the useful ones.
It is flawed by motive.
Not only that, but Paul Pentzoldt (sp?) who invented the idea repented towards the end of a long life, but his disciples live on, creating a vast, money grubbing "nonprofit," that will never end, since it's goal is an impossibility.
Weary
Not sure if it counts as a sin, but I have almost killed several varmint.
Kirby
Lone Wolf
12-21-2007, 20:22
Not sure if it counts as a sin, but I have almost killed several varmint.
Kirby
that's your duty. then burn the shelter
Skidsteer
12-21-2007, 20:22
Not sure if it counts as a sin, but I have almost killed several varmint.
Kirby
Mice and rats?
More of a sin not to kill them. Go and sin no more.:)
warraghiyagey
12-21-2007, 20:26
that's your duty. then burn the shelter
Burn privvies too?
Lone Wolf
12-21-2007, 20:28
Burn privvies too?
yeah. i hate them too. they won't let you pee in them. plus bees sometimes sting your balls
warraghiyagey
12-21-2007, 20:31
yeah. i hate them too. they won't let you pee in them. plus bees sometimes sting your balls
You kill me. :p I haven't had that one happen to yet.
BTW - I pee in them too, like you say, it can't be helped. (don't tell anyone though, it's a secret).
I've been known, when a long ways from a trail head, to burn out an iron can and bury it in the woods rather than carrying it out, on the theory that once burnt, it will quickly degrade into rust.
Thats not a theory, its fact.
yeah. i hate them too. they won't let you pee in them. plus bees sometimes sting your balls
That bee thing could be a problem for me. I would hate to drop my epipen in the privy. I guess it is a good thing I get the urge to go when I am approximately half way between privies. :)
warraghiyagey
12-21-2007, 20:39
. . . I would hate to drop my epipen in the privy. . .
You should never get your drinking water from the privvy.
:D
You should never get your drinking water from the privvy.
:D
Um, epipen is for allergic reactions. I carry one in case I get stung by a bee. But, you know what an epipen is, right?
Lone Wolf
12-21-2007, 20:48
the boy was thinkin' steripen
warraghiyagey
12-21-2007, 20:48
Um, epipen is for allergic reactions. I carry one in case I get stung by a bee. But, you know what an epipen is, right?
Oops. I was thinking steripen. My B. But it's still good advice.:o :rolleyes:
Oops. I was thinking steripen. My B. But it's still good advice.:o :rolleyes:
Good advice, but now I absolutely cannot go near a privy now that you painted that image! ;)
warraghiyagey
12-21-2007, 20:52
Good advice, but now I absolutely cannot go near a privy now that you painted that image! ;)
Sweet!!!
Of course that leads to a logical question.
Which would be worse, gettin stung in the junk by a bee or getting your water from there?
Sweet!!!
Of course that leads to a logical question.
Which would be worse, gettin stung in the junk by a bee or getting your water from there?
Burn the privies and listen to the bees die.
Burn the shelters and listen to the mice cry.
Burn baby burn.
Anyone have a match?
warraghiyagey
12-21-2007, 20:57
. . .
Anyone have a match?
Bad question to ask a bunch of smartasses.:p
Thats not a theory, its fact.
I know. I just didn't want to destroy the illusions of all the innocent White Blazers with one post. If you tell 'em that leaving an iron can in the woods is harmless, they will never believe any thing you say again. Yet they think leaving polluting plastics to be half burned in a fire is wise; but burying a tin can is villainy.
As we learned in kindergarten, learning things is a long process.
Weary
Patrickjd9
12-22-2007, 01:06
Came upon a shelter that had been used by (obviously) Non-hikers. They left cigarette butts, plastic cups and silverwear, paperplates and plastic soda bottles. I did not feel like packing all of it out so I burned it all in the fire pit. That was alot of plastic!
I've done this at a shelter as well. Some of the plastics, but not all, stunk like hell when burned.
I know. I just didn't want to destroy the illusions of all the innocent White Blazers with one post. If you tell 'em that leaving an iron can in the woods is harmless, they will never believe any thing you say again. Yet they think leaving polluting plastics to be half burned in a fire is wise; but burying a tin can is villainy.
As we learned in kindergarten, learning things is a long process.
Weary
So if you burn a tin can it will rust away pretty quickly? I knew that iron did that, but I'm not sure if you are talking about cans. The type that potted meat, tuna, and Campbells soup comes in? I'm not gonna just go and do this to all of my tin cans. If I can carry them out I will, just curious.
Flush2wice
12-22-2007, 12:29
I possessed alcohol at Fontana Dam. I also picked a flower in Harrimon SP.
So if you burn a tin can it will rust away pretty quickly? I knew that iron did that, but I'm not sure if you are talking about cans. The type that potted meat, tuna, and Campbells soup comes in? I'm not gonna just go and do this to all of my tin cans. If I can carry them out I will, just curious.
Aluminum is forever. Tin is coated steel. Burn them and they rust away quite quickly. If it moves the needle of your compass it is iron and in emergencies can be buried. Don't bury them anywhere near a campsite. Quickly, in this context means five years. So walk a mile down the trail and deposit them under big rocks -- one rock per can.
Actually even aluminum can be reduced to a powder if the fire is not enough. But a fire that hot should only be used when drinking beer with congenial companions on a real cold night.
Weary
Flush2wice
12-22-2007, 12:45
Actually even aluminum can be reduced to a powder if the fire is not enough. But a fire that hot should only be used when drinking beer with congenial companions on a real cold night.
Weary
They should be crushed on your head before burning. Also 1 full unopened beer should be thrown into the fire in honor of your dead homeys.
Aluminum is forever.
Say what? Aluminum's an active metal. I've seen aluminum foil eaten away by spaghetti sauce in my fridge!
Kerosene
12-22-2007, 13:07
March 25, 1975: 8th day of my third section hike SOBO from US-20 in central Massachusetts. We reached the road to Kent, CT at the end of a very wet day, looking for someplace to stay, as the shelter we were planning to stay in for the night had burnt down. From my journal:
We soon reached an overlook on Kent and a little later saw the large, roofed Kent School Hockey Rink. I was thinking that the rink would be a great place to stay for the night.
We stowed our packs by the rink out of sight and walked into town. Since there were no motels and we could not ask to stay in a church on Easter Saturday, we returned to the rink where we ate dinner, obtaining water from a piped spring on top of a nearby knoll.
Shortly thereafter we saw two hikers who had tented on Kent School grounds evicted by campus police. We stayed low as the police vehicle slowly cruised by the rink several times that evening. The bleachers gave excellent protection for the night.
not a sinner yet,but in the spring when i`m gonna be on the trail,every time i live a town i will have whit me some stake,pork chops,sausages or chicken breasts and when i stop at a shelter or camp site i will start cooking it in my MSR fry pan over my whisperlite int. stove, sizzle it whit spices,garlic and onion. then cutting it whit my knife and eat it whit my titanium spork and not even thinking of sharing a byte. oh,and maybe a side of sweet corn or mashed potatoes to it. :banana:banana bananas for you (dehydrated of course)
warraghiyagey
12-22-2007, 13:38
not a sinner yet,but in the spring when i`m gonna be on the trail,every time i live a town i will have whit me some stake,pork chops,sausages or chicken breasts and when i stop at a shelter or camp site i will start cooking it in my MSR fry pan over my whisperlite int. stove, sizzle it whit spices,garlic and onion. then cutting it whit my knife and eat it whit my titanium spork and not even thinking of sharing a byte. oh,and maybe a side of sweet corn or mashed potatoes to it. :banana:banana bananas for you (dehydrated of course)
I've always been taught sin is the worst thing. I think you've just created an even more sinister category.
:p :mad:
atraildreamer
12-22-2007, 15:48
...I was infuriated to say the least, I started cursing out loud and kicking *****, cursing the AT and everything connected to it. Then I thought about LNT. I then looked at my broken pole and flung it as hard as I could yelling ****** LNT!
Am I forgiven for my transgression against the LNT commandment?
Don't feel too bad...Colin Fletcher (may he R.I.P.) mentions this type of behavior in his Complete Walker books. He calls it the "Cougar scream":mad:, the result of utter frustration/aggravation with either a defective prioduct, or something dumb that he did. :D
Programbo
12-22-2007, 20:15
I was infuriated to say the least, I started cursing out loud and kicking *****, cursing the AT and everything connected to it. Then I thought about LNT. I then looked at my broken pole and flung it as hard as I could yelling ****** LNT!
Those are odd numbers of *'s..I`m curious what words are being bleeped out here :p
As for me my biggest AT sins are/were..I use to live in the Pine Knob Shelter for like weeks at a time and after they rerouted the AT off the hardtop road going up to High Rock I would still go that way..And the side trail leaving Crampton Gap Shelter also...I never go all the way back up to the AT and then down into Gathland State Park (SOBO) I just take that side trail and avoid the hill
IdahoDavid
12-22-2007, 20:24
My sin is that I have never been further east than Kansas City. Wow, that's a load of guilt off my chest.
warraghiyagey
12-22-2007, 22:37
My sin is that I have never been further east than Kansas City. Wow, that's a load of guilt off my chest.
Time to hike the AT?
I talk on my cell phone on mountaintops, in shelters, and whenever else I can get a signal.
paradoxb3
12-23-2007, 00:18
Burn the privies and listen to the bees die.
Burn the shelters and listen to the mice cry.
Burn baby burn.
Anyone have a match?
nope. fire ban. :D
Threw a lit match down the privy to see if it would explode! How stupit is that?
nitewalker
12-23-2007, 09:36
Threw a lit match down the privy to see if it would explode! How stupit is that?
your still here so i guess it didnt explode...thats just too bad......mythbusters did a peice on methane gasses inside of portajohns. they tried to fill them with the gas and blow one up, the myth was busted. the john did not blow up.. they did blow up an inclosed room using high levels of methane not found in a john........peace out, nitewalker
nitewalker
12-23-2007, 09:37
your still here so i guess it didnt explode...thats just too bad......mythbusters did a peice on methane gasses inside of portajohns. they tried to fill them with the gas and blow one up, the myth was busted. the john did not blow up.. they did blow up an inclosed room using high levels of methane not found in a john........peace out, nitewalker
oops, its too bad the privy is still here!!!!!!!:D
Furlough
12-23-2007, 09:53
Quote:
Originally Posted by A-Train
You A$$hole, what about the dolphins???
Let 'em buy their own f***in' beer.
I agree, maybe if they drank more beer they could win more than 1 game a season.
Aluminum is forever. Tin is coated steel <<Almost. Burn them and they rust away quite quickly. If it moves the needle of your compass it is iron and in emergencies can be buried. Don't bury them anywhere near a campsite. Quickly, in this context means five years. So walk a mile down the trail and deposit them under big rocks -- one rock per can.
Actually even aluminum can be reduced to a powder if the fire is not enough. But a fire that hot should only be used when drinking beer with congenial companions on a real cold night.
Weary
Tin is an element. Number 50: http://www.dayah.com/periodic/
BUT, you were right about the cans, they are steel (which by definition does not necessarily contain iron, but probably does in this case) coated in tin and likely a plastic coating on the inside. http://www.doitpoms.ac.uk/tlplib/recycling-metals/tin_cans.php?printable=1
SunnyWalker
12-27-2007, 00:44
For those confessing lighting fires in fire ban areas-bad idea. IF it gets away from you your liability will be real expensive and it might cost some lives. -SunnyWalker
warraghiyagey
12-27-2007, 04:10
For those confessing lighting fires in fire ban areas-bad idea. IF it gets away from you your liability will be real expensive and it might cost some lives. -SunnyWalker ).
'This has been a public service message from DAD (Department of Assinine Diatribes.'
Thanks Dad. We'll be real careful now.
Mr. Clean
12-27-2007, 04:50
Well, tis true. Fires in the wrong place are bad. The remoteness of the areas involved make it very difficult to get firefighting equipment to.
Me? Aside from the inevitable peeing in a privey, peeing off the side of the trail, and rinsing in streams and rivers (I am Mr. Clean...) I have commited no sins. Boy, that does feel good.
notorius tic
12-27-2007, 05:57
I gave away all my fuel an keep just enough rations to get me out of "Partnership shelter" Thought I was getting of the trail to work for awhile only to wake up an find my job gone? Still dont know? Hike the next 2 days on nuts that a hiker gave me on the journey....
CoyoteWhips
12-27-2007, 09:05
Burn privvies too?
I have an unnatural admiration for the technology employed in some privies and might use one just to contribute to the red worms. However, there are the special times when there's nothin' better than doing my business out in the woods, in the cool breeze with a scenic vista or under the stars.
Those days with the freezing rain or swarms of aggressive mosquitoes just makes those times more special.
On the Long Trail, in those nice composting privies they have, peeing in them more times than I care to remember before I remembered and caught myself. I didn't mean to, HONEST. It just sort of...happened...:(
And they have those nice signs politely asking you not to.
scout005
12-27-2007, 23:29
Okay, I confess. I don't purify water. I don't boil it, iodine it, pump it-nothin!! I can remember once in about 30 years of backpacking ever boiling water- just once and that was from a puddle with leaves in it up at Allentown shelter during a dry spell. I select my water sources carefully and just go to it. Never got sick. yeah, I'm a heretic but there it is. If the water is running fast and clear, I drink it.:sun
SunnyWalker
12-28-2007, 22:02
I drink it. -SunnyWalker
Okay, don't tell anyone, but back in 05, in the Smokies, everyone was having a hard day sloshing through the slush left from the blizzard of April 2nd. After Clingman's dome, with about a mile left to the gap, I came to an area where I could see a parking lot off to my right. I walked through the woods to the parking lot and hitched a ride to Gatlinburg with the ranger instead of finishing. No one knew I did it, but they couldn't figure out how I got to town so fast. I've always felt guilty about skipping that mile...
ridgewalker777
12-29-2007, 17:51
Hiking with unresolved tax issues, perhaps using the hiking system as an escape from reality. A conscience issue, sometimes we overcompensate in doing bad by escape or charity...
I'm guilty of taking my phone with me on a few section hikes. Also, this isn't a sin as far as I'm concerned but I've been known to find that higher state of mind while on trail.
Cold night, Booze, Fire, Compatible zippers on sleeping bags