View Full Version : Class 4 Days at Katahdin, 30-40 AT hikers waiting to climb.
TJ aka Teej
10-06-2008, 12:37
5 days of snow and ice on Katahdin in a row. Mountain remains closed at the trailheads. BSP ranger says '30-40' hikers, including Stumpknocker and Hammer&Nails, waiting to climb.
http://www.katahdincam.com/
Serial 07
10-06-2008, 13:13
if anybody's out at katahdin now, give Snackies a big hug for me!
ain't life on the trail great...
I hope they are prepared to wait. I'm sure it's been pointed out here, if hikers aren't prepared to wait, they should finish by September 30.
Seems to be quite a few for so late in the season. Any speculation as to why?
Lone Wolf
10-06-2008, 13:59
Seems to be quite a few for so late in the season. Any speculation as to why?
lotsa days off and partying
I was thinking that might have something to do with it.
Bearpaw88
10-06-2008, 14:21
For those waiting hang in there. I hope the weather turns around soon.
In many cases yah too many days off partying. :rolleyes:
In some though injury played a part in it as well.
If I would have kept hiking I am sure I'd be at the bottom of the mountian waiting to climb right now and I started in GA March 1st!
Good Luck hikers.
BSP is hoping to open the Hunt trail tommarrow.
I was going up for a couple days and wondered if I'd run into any hikers finishing. question answered. I guess Ill clean out all the crap in my car so I can stuff a few Bangor-bounders in.
lotsa days off and partying
Days off and partying this year especially (or, partially) due to the miserable heat of the summer in the middle states.
Good luck, thruhikers - I wish you good weather for your finish.
Chaco Taco
10-06-2008, 15:03
Just heard that Keychain, Snakies, Zen, Wildflowers, Hare, T-Bone, and others are still waiting to summit. May close the mtn indefenitely
RITBlake
10-06-2008, 16:13
That sucks, that's a dangerous roll of the dice cutting it that close.
Days off and partying this year especially (or, partially) due to the miserable heat of the summer in the middle states.
Wasn't a hot summer where I live.
Blissful
10-06-2008, 19:41
That's why I remember Baltimore Jack saying to summit by Oct 1st to be safe. Hope it works out for them.
lotsa days off and partying
Yep, too much dependence on the October 15th "cutoff". Too many of my PCT friends last year wished they'd taken one or two less zeros doin' nuthin'.
Anyway, I hope these folks get to summit soon.
The mountain is closed again today - just heard from one of the hikers on the ground. Sending warm weather wishes to the summit. Good luck all.
Lone Wolf
10-07-2008, 06:21
my azz would be on a greyhound heading south from bangor or i would just climb the thing. i wouldn't wait on no mouuntain to be "open" :rolleyes:
stumpknocker
10-07-2008, 07:18
my azz would be on a greyhound heading south from bangor or i would just climb the thing. i wouldn't wait on no mouuntain to be "open" :rolleyes:
No way would Lone Wolf be on a bus when the Blue Ox Saloon is open right here in Millinocket. :)
This is a great time to be up here...it's beautiful out right now. There ain't no bugs either. Ha!!
Lone Wolf
10-07-2008, 07:24
No way would Lone Wolf be on a bus when the Blue Ox Saloon is open right here in Millinocket. :)
maybe http://www.theblueoxsaloon.com/coupon.jpg
Jim Adams
10-07-2008, 08:40
warm weather and some rain is coming in 2 days. supposed to hit Pittsburgh tomorrow and travel notheast to New England. Pittsburgh area, High today: 62, low last night 30.
High tomorrow: 77, low tomorrow 50.
might be possible to climb on thursday or friday
geek
Chaco Taco
10-07-2008, 09:02
Looks good to me today. There will be a bunch of em going up today Ill bet.:)
Midway Sam
10-07-2008, 09:03
Anybody know if Tailgate and Aquamaria are among those who are waiting?
Just heard from Certain, who is waiting to summit, that the trail will be open tomorrow! :banana
TJ aka Teej
10-07-2008, 19:18
I hear the ATers were respecting the Park rules, stayed off the closed trails, and are trying to drink up all the beer at Linda's store. An IAT hiker coming in from Katahdin Lake (the 'other side' of the mountain) was evacuated to the Millinocket hospital with facial injuries suffered in a fall trying to summit Sunday night.
TJ aka Teej
10-08-2008, 12:07
Got em in the face uh
Face plants aren't uncommon, even even perfect conditions. The injury was reported as being two hours from Sandy Stream, so that means they weren't far up on the Mountain. I do not know the cause or extent of the injury. Best wishes go out to the hiker.
Serial 07
10-08-2008, 12:13
yeah snackies! man, ME would be fun right now...hope all is well and the beer is cool...
Hope everyone waiting gets to summit.
LoneWolf I am in your camp. 20 years ago this coming Saturday when I summited the Mountain was "closed" above tree line according to the rangers. Three of us said okay and took off up the trail. Two of us summited the third decided to turn back at the Tablelands stating he had missed a couple hundred miles in the Smokey region so he would summit when he finished that section.
After 2,100 miles I was quite confident in my abilities and knowing if I was about to to get into something over my head.
Chaco Taco
10-08-2008, 15:54
Any word from Millinocket yet??
Readers not familiar with this system want to click here (http://www.baxterstateparkauthority.com/hiking/classification.html#here) to learn more.
Congrats to all who summited today. I heard from Certain about an hour ago. She was on her way down the mountain and said about 62 people summited today. Class I day!
Congrats to all who summited today. I heard from Certain about an hour ago. She was on her way down the mountain and said about 62 people summited today. Class I day!
That is awesome!!! I can't wait to see Certain's summit pic. I've been following along with her since the beginning--last year. Way to go!!!:banana
That is awesome!!! I can't wait to see Certain's summit pic. I've been following along with her since the beginning--last year. Way to go!!!:bananaBeen following Certain since last year as well. Way to go Certain, you gotta be on top of the world right now!
Lone Wolf
10-08-2008, 19:53
Hope everyone waiting gets to summit.
LoneWolf I am in your camp. 20 years ago this coming Saturday when I summited the Mountain was "closed" above tree line according to the rangers. Three of us said okay and took off up the trail. Two of us summited the third decided to turn back at the Tablelands stating he had missed a couple hundred miles in the Smokey region so he would summit when he finished that section.
After 2,100 miles I was quite confident in my abilities and knowing if I was about to to get into something over my head.
typical maine "danger hype" about their rivers and mountains
Blissful
10-08-2008, 19:55
Congrats to all who made it!
Fussymary
10-08-2008, 19:59
Any news on where VigilAuntie and Y are? Were they part of the group today?
congrats to Certain and Stumpknocker.
I have been following them both.
Withdrawals from my vicarious hiking will start in a day or so.
Tom/Grinder
Fussymary
10-08-2008, 20:22
A few more - did Fizz, Mountain Lion, Bogie & Bacall make it up?
Any news on where VigilAuntie and Y are? Were they part of the group today?
They flipped up from southern Maine and summited on 9/30, and then started walking south. They should be done very soon.
Smart people!
Jack Tarlin
10-08-2008, 20:40
I'm glad that folks got a chance to summit and finish their trips. But don't belittle the "mountain is closed" thing. This happens when the Rangers who work and live in the Park decide that the mountain is unsafe, period. This is not something they do lightly. They don't want anyone to get in a jam, and more to the point, they're the folks that have to put themselves in a jam, or even put their lives on the line when people hike on days when they shouldn't,
or on days when they are advised against hiking.
If a Baxter Ranger tells someone that they don't think it's a good day to hike, one should appreciate the experience and wisdom behind this pronouncement, and one should probably not hike. But for folks who've been to Baxter once or twice in their lives, or folks who haven't been there in years to make judgments on this, or for them to belittle or ridicule the attempts of the Baxter people to encourage people to be smart and to hike smart.....well, that's wrong.
This time of year can be dangerous in Baxter State Park. This isn't "danger hype." The folks who work and live in Baxter State Park are a helluva lot more cognizant of the risks and dangers of BSP at this time of year than the Internet warriors who try and minimize or ridicule their concerns.
Fussymary
10-08-2008, 20:44
Thanks!
Lone Wolf
10-08-2008, 20:45
you're welcome!
I set up Katahdin knowing there was a chance I would have to turn around if the $hit hit the fan, everything worked out well.
When I hear from the RR, I'll pass along a tally of how many went up today.
Kirby
I'm glad that folks got a chance to summit and finish their trips. But don't belittle the "mountain is closed" thing. This happens when the Rangers who work and live in the Park decide that the mountain is unsafe, period. This is not something they do lightly. They don't want anyone to get in a jam, and more to the point, they're the folks that have to put themselves in a jam, or even put their lives on the line when people hike on days when they shouldn't,
or on days when they are advised against hiking.
If a Baxter Ranger tells someone that they don't think it's a good day to hike, one should appreciate the experience and wisdom behind this pronouncement, and one should probably not hike. But for folks who've been to Baxter once or twice in their lives, or folks who haven't been there in years to make judgments on this, or for them to belittle or ridicule the attempts of the Baxter people to encourage people to be smart and to hike smart.....well, that's wrong.
This time of year can be dangerous in Baxter State Park. This isn't "danger hype." The folks who work and live in Baxter State Park are a helluva lot more cognizant of the risks and dangers of BSP at this time of year than the Internet warriors who try and minimize or ridicule their concerns.
Come on Jack. Katahdin is the most regulated mountain around. Several peaks in the Whites are more dangerous, but there are no "closed" trails there. Just sensible warnings.
Governor Baxter tried to create a "forever wild" park. Unfortunately he unwisely chose a lawyer and two bureaucrats to run his dream, and created a "nanny" preserve instead.
Weary
A few more - did Fizz, Mountain Lion, Bogie & Bacall make it up?
I summited with Vigil Auntie, Y, Bogie, and Bacall all on 9/30. About 25-30 simmited that day.
TJ aka Teej
10-09-2008, 09:09
This time of year can be dangerous in Baxter State Park. This isn't "danger hype."
Also factored in are considerations regarding the ability to rescue. BSP staffing in October is cut way back, and the few remaining personnel are dispersed throughout the Park readying for winter. There isn't a SAR stationed in the Park, and this year all the National Guard helos are deployed overseas. To compare remote Katahdin with the White Mountains is to ignore the reality of available services.
Chaco Taco
10-09-2008, 09:13
Any news on where VigilAuntie and Y are? Were they part of the group today?
They summited on the 30th with me and were heading south
Jack Tarlin
10-09-2008, 10:26
Thank you, Teej, for bringing some common sense to this thread.
And Weary, spare me your prattle about there being more dangerous mountains than Katahdin. Of course there are. But people get hurt there all the time. For example, five years ago today, on the last day of a thru-hike, I spent around 5 extra hours on the mountain with an injured hiker, and waited for the rescue people to arrive. I didn't get down mountain til dark. Teej is right....rescue services are stretched thin there. Don't get me wrong; the people who work in the Park are superb, but there aren't a lot of them, and I bet their budget and staffing is a lot tighter than it was 5 years ago. The public safety rules and regulations in the Park are there for very good reason. These rules, and the people who enforce them, deserve our thanks and our respect, and not our scorn.
dessertrat
10-09-2008, 10:48
Come on Jack. Katahdin is the most regulated mountain around. Several peaks in the Whites are more dangerous, but there are no "closed" trails there. Just sensible warnings.
Governor Baxter tried to create a "forever wild" park. Unfortunately he unwisely chose a lawyer and two bureaucrats to run his dream, and created a "nanny" preserve instead.
Weary
If not for the nanny preserve and winter restrictions, people would have the privilege of dying there every year, as they do on Mt. Washington. I'm not saying that makes you wrong, but it's something to consider.
Thank you, Teej, for bringing some common sense to this thread.
And Weary, spare me your prattle about there being more dangerous mountains than Katahdin. Of course there are. But people get hurt there all the time. For example, five years ago today, on the last day of a thru-hike, I spent around 5 extra hours on the mountain with an injured hiker, and waited for the rescue people to arrive. I didn't get down mountain til dark. Teej is right....rescue services are stretched thin there. Don't get me wrong; the people who work in the Park are superb, but there aren't a lot of them, and I bet their budget and staffing is a lot tighter than it was 5 years ago. The public safety rules and regulations in the Park are there for very good reason. These rules, and the people who enforce them, deserve our thanks and our respect, and not our scorn.
I guess Jack, that its a matter of philosophy. Regulations for a "forever wild" park should protect the park in my opinion, not the users of that park. As someone has pointed out in another thread, we have become a "nanny" society. We expect someone to always protect us from our choices.
That increasingly has been the philosophy of the lawyer and two bureaucrats Governor Baxter made the mistake of naming as his park's decision makers.
He deliberately kept his gift out of the hands of the state park system in hopes it would in fact remain forever wild. Sadly, his intentions have been subverted by those he chose. That's why snowmobiles zip up and down the park roads every winter, and why there are pages and pages of regulations dealing with what users can and cannot do, most of which are designed to protect the user from himself.
Baxter wrote that he envisioned his park as a place where a father and son could camp along a stream and enjoy pancakes. Try that outside the handful of campgrounds and you can expect to be arrested and taken to jail.
I was once threatened with arrest for taking a five-year-old to the summit. The ranger who failed to arrest me was almost fired for his failure.
One winter I was refused entrance to the park because I lacked a doctors certificate certifying my health, though I had climbed in the park in winter a dozen times before.
Weary
Jack Tarlin
10-09-2008, 11:40
Speak for yourself.
I'd say it makes him wrong. :D
trailangelmary
10-09-2008, 13:14
Awesome! Congrats to all!
Congrats to all who summited today. I heard from Certain about an hour ago. She was on her way down the mountain and said about 62 people summited today. Class I day!
trailangelmary
10-09-2008, 13:15
P.S. Is that a new record for number of thrus summitting on the same day?
Bigglesworth
10-09-2008, 14:43
I'm glad that folks got a chance to summit and finish their trips. But don't belittle the "mountain is closed" thing. This happens when the Rangers who work and live in the Park decide that the mountain is unsafe, period. This is not something they do lightly. They don't want anyone to get in a jam, and more to the point, they're the folks that have to put themselves in a jam, or even put their lives on the line when people hike on days when they shouldn't,
or on days when they are advised against hiking.
If a Baxter Ranger tells someone that they don't think it's a good day to hike, one should appreciate the experience and wisdom behind this pronouncement, and one should probably not hike. But for folks who've been to Baxter once or twice in their lives, or folks who haven't been there in years to make judgments on this, or for them to belittle or ridicule the attempts of the Baxter people to encourage people to be smart and to hike smart.....well, that's wrong.
This time of year can be dangerous in Baxter State Park. This isn't "danger hype." The folks who work and live in Baxter State Park are a helluva lot more cognizant of the risks and dangers of BSP at this time of year than the Internet warriors who try and minimize or ridicule their concerns.
I have to agree with this. I summitted on the 3rd, the first day it was closed (posted a couple hours after eight of us started up on what we thought would be class II). It was unsafe, especially if you were solo. Had I known it was so bad, I would have never attempted it. Although it makes for a "cool story" now, since nobody got hurt, it really wasn't cool at all. It would be irresponsible to encourage anyone to defy a class IV posting. Sometimes rules actually have a purpose...
Bigglesworth
10-09-2008, 14:51
Oh, someone asked about Fizz and Mountain Lion. Fizz summitted on the 23rd, I pretty sure that is the correct date, under clear skies...I saw Mountain Lion in the 100 mile wilderness; he had flipped and summited already, but I don't know the date.
If not for the nanny preserve and winter restrictions, people would have the privilege of dying there every year, as they do on Mt. Washington. I'm not saying that makes you wrong, but it's something to consider.
I don't object to people heeding warnings about dangerous conditions. I do question the wisdom of making the warnings a matter of law. We all have individual skills and experiences -- and gear for that matter. What is dangerous for some, is not necessarily dangerous for all.
I've hiked extensively on snow and ice. I've been on the Katahdin summit on a Feb. 4. I've been on the summit ridge a dozen times. I've climbed the "Chimney" from the pond in January. I've roped up and slid down the side of the Cathedral under mid winter conditions.
Age has taken its toll. But I am quite confident that when I was doing winter trips 5 times a winter, I could have safely hiked in whatever conditions existed over the past few days.
I'm also confident I could judge trail conditions and back off when conditions warranted. That's how come I was within a few minutes of the summit on several occasions, but only reach the top once. Other times white out conditions, and high wind made retreat the wise choice.
I don't object to warnings being issued by experienced rangers. I do object to making the warnings a subject for arrest, court summonses, and potentially jail.
Weary
Did anyone meet Trevor Thomas this year? I just heard a radio interview with him. He's from Charlotte, legally blind, summited yesterday, is in the EconoLodge in Millinocket now. He hiked without a guide dog.
Interestingly he said that the way the Trail has changed him most is by so often encountering the kindness of strangers.
Chaco Taco
10-09-2008, 18:22
Did anyone meet Trevor Thomas this year? I just heard a radio interview with him. He's from Charlotte, legally blind, summited yesterday, is in the EconoLodge in Millinocket now. He hiked without a guide dog.
Interestingly he said that the way the Trail has changed him most is by so often encountering the kindness of strangers.
Is that Double Zero?
Is that Double Zero?
I didn't hear the whole piece. The part I heard didn't mention his trail name.
Bearpaw88
10-10-2008, 10:39
Did anyone meet Trevor Thomas this year? I just heard a radio interview with him. He's from Charlotte, legally blind, summited yesterday, is in the EconoLodge in Millinocket now. He hiked without a guide dog.
Interestingly he said that the way the Trail has changed him most is by so often encountering the kindness of strangers.
Yes I met him in Glencliff. He was very nice. He was hiking around Yazi I think. He used a cane to find his way around.
Congrats to him for finishing!!!
:banana
TJ aka Teej
10-10-2008, 10:48
Is that Double Zero?
Yup, that's him! :banana Zero/Zero (instead of 20/20, get it?)
Congrats!
max patch
10-10-2008, 10:51
I have to agree with this. I summitted on the 3rd, the first day it was closed (posted a couple hours after eight of us started up on what we thought would be class II). It was unsafe, especially if you were solo. Had I known it was so bad, I would have never attempted it. Although it makes for a "cool story" now, since nobody got hurt, it really wasn't cool at all. It would be irresponsible to encourage anyone to defy a class IV posting. Sometimes rules actually have a purpose...
Me and one other thru also summitted on a closed day with the permission of the ranger after he checked our gear. We were required to take our full packs with tent and sleeping bags as "if we fell and broke a leg or something and had to spend the night on K we would perish without it."
Kinda cool being the only one up there, isn't it.
TJ aka Teej
10-10-2008, 10:53
I do question the wisdom of making the warnings a matter of law. We all have individual skills and experiences -- and gear for that matter. What is dangerous for some, is not necessarily dangerous for all. Weary
Weary, let me have directions to that local land you've helped protect. My brother-in-law has an ATV, doesn't give a crap about rules, and is always looking for a new place to tear up. He's a wicked good judge of his skills and trail conditions, so I doubt he'd think its dangerous or would want a rescue if he gets hurt. How's the foliage out there on the coast?
Weary, let me have directions to that local land you've helped protect. My brother-in-law has an ATV, doesn't give a crap about rules, and is always looking for a new place to tear up. He's a wicked good judge of his skills and trail conditions, so I doubt he'd think its dangerous or would want a rescue if he gets hurt. How's the foliage out there on the coast?
TJ. There's a difference in my mind between rules designed to protect the trails from being damaged, and rules designed to protect the hiker.
As for midcoast Maine foliage, it's pretty and getting prettier, as usual when we approach mid October. There's a brilliantly red, red maple on the shore to the south of me. The dozen maples I planted 30 years ago to mark my north line as usual have chosen different times to turn. Two are at their peak of color, a sparkling bright red. Several are beginning to do so. One is still totally green.
Most I bought as tiny sapling red maples back when the state sold such things for a few pennies each. My one sugar maple, which I dug from my folks place a few miles up the road, is a delightful 100 percent bright orange.
The salt marsh to the east is a medley of yellows, browns and reds. The wild popples and red oaks that frame the marsh are mostly still green.
The crab apples that form a hedge along the road are mostly a dull yellow, though their ripening fruits provide highlights of red. I planted their parent tree along the shore many years ago. That died, and its wood heated my house one winter. But the birds roosted on the power lines, and planted its progeny, so life continues.
People sometimes question my judgment about Baxter Park rules, but I did make a wise decision when I bought my two and a half acres on the shore 46 years ago -- back when the estuary was a stinking open sewer and the house, that had never been modernized and was badly deteriorated. The price was $2,950 -- marked down from $3,000 because the former owner wanted to keep the kitchen sink, which had never been connected up to either running water or a drainage system.
People then wondered why I bought "that piece of junk." Now they suggest, "aren't you lucky to have a beautiful place on the water."
Weary
You can hear the interview with Zero-Zero here:
http://www.wfae.org/wfae/1_87_115.cfm?action=display&id=4329. It's well worth listening to.
Kinda cool being the only one up there, isn't it.
Very, very cool. And very rare. Especially on a warm, mild day.
TJ aka Teej
10-11-2008, 09:55
TJ. There's a difference in my mind between rules designed to protect the trails from being damaged, and rules designed to protect the hiker.
Weary. You know a prime reason BSP closes trails is to protect fragile alpine habitat from the boots and poles of hikers wandering off snow covered trails. You also know that the rules closing trails are also to protect rescue crews from having to place their lives on the line to save the inconsiderate and selfish. So, directions please? He has Columbus Day off.
TJ aka Teej
10-11-2008, 09:57
You can hear the interview with Zero-Zero here:
http://www.wfae.org/wfae/1_87_115.cfm?action=display&id=4329. It's well worth listening to.
Hey! My computer is talking! Thanks, tiptoe!
Weary. You know a prime reason BSP closes trails is to protect fragile alpine habitat from the boots and poles of hikers wandering off snow covered trails. You also know that the rules closing trails are also to protect rescue crews from having to place their lives on the line to save the inconsiderate and selfish. So, directions please? He has Columbus Day off.
Are you saying, TJ, that when I was refused entrance one winter when I didn't have a medical certificate, it was to protect the trails from damage? Or when a ranger was almost fired for not arresting me for taking my five-year-old son to the summit one July three decades ago it was to protect the trail from damage? He weighed 45 pounds and was accompanied by two adults, me and my wife.
The rules were mostly put in place many years ago after a poorly trained, and poorly equipped ranger died about this time year on the Knife Edge. He was trying to rescue a woman. The three people who run the park -- one elected by the Legislature, two appointed directly or indirectly by the governor -- keep the rules extra stringent, mostly to protect themselves from criticism as near as I can tell.
Weary
I've read BSP sometimes closes Katahdin trails at this time of year when sleet and/or freezing rain is expected. Such conditions would ordinarily warrant use of crampons, yet insufficient ice develops to support their use. SAR personnel on the ground likely wouldn't fare any better than those they were sent in to rescue until conditions improve.
Ascending Hunt Spur under such conditions would have something in common with driving on roads covered with freezing rain. The main differences would be related to slope and protective armor. To reach The Tableland and complete one's hike only to find Hunt Spur covered with wet ice on the way down would not be a good ending to a through hike.
TJ aka Teej
10-12-2008, 09:49
a poorly trained, and poorly equipped ranger died
That's pretty low, Weary.
That's pretty low, Weary.
Well the story at the time was that he carried a rope too short to reach the woman and lacked the emergency gear and clothing needed to stay alive in an early season storm.
Come on Jack. Katahdin is the most regulated mountain around. Several peaks in the Whites are more dangerous, but there are no "closed" trails there. Just sensible warnings.
Governor Baxter tried to create a "forever wild" park. Unfortunately he unwisely chose a lawyer and two bureaucrats to run his dream, and created a "nanny" preserve instead.
Weary
True, but the White Mountain National Forest can't close the trails the way BSP can. About all anyone can do in the WMNF is advise people not to climb. As a result, there are always a couple of fatalities every year on some of the popular mountains.
kayak karl
10-12-2008, 11:15
Amazing!!! Congratulations Zero-Zero:banana
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Congrats to those who finished at the trails beginning!
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
For some, BSP regulations are never about specific details or the rational for them, but rather whenever the topic comes up it is an opportunity to generalize and express dissatisfaction with the very notion of being denied the opportunity to make one's own decisions in such instances.
Under the conditions I described in my last post (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showpost.php?p=709350&postcount=68), everyone except someone with a death wish would choose to wait for better conditions. Making one's own decisions requires having good information and good judgement.
Even armed with good information about conditions, some might think too highly of their own abilities having just walked 2000 miles. I am glad to know there are people who are there to protect Katahdin, those who come to climb it and that they have enough sense to protect their own interests including their families.
Are there many other mountains that are similarly closed?
Why would you think what people from away do should be of any concern to them?
Are there many other mountains that are similarly closed?
I don't know of any. But though I've hiked extensively in the East -- I've climbed only sporatically in the West.
The Himalayans are regulated -- but for political and economic reasons. The speaker at the Maine Chapter, AMC, annual 3 day meeting two weekends ago, told about a partially successful, very low budget assault on Everest.
The country involved -- I forget the name at the moment -- tried to charge them extra for completing their expedition and leaving two weeks early.
Though the weather report was dismal, 70 members showed up for the Maine Chapter, annual meeting. There was a Friday evening of potluck chilli con carne and a member slide show, and numerous hikes in and around Stoneham, Maine on Saturday and Sunday, as well as a great evening of speakers and awards for special member contributions.
I believe the Maine chapter is the only one of the dozen chapters that still plans its annual meeting around a weekend of hiking and speakers at a youth camp on the edge of the mountains. Most settle for a banquet at an expensive restaurant. We didn't really rough it. We slept in bunks in heated log cabins.
I like to think that the practice help Maine achieve the highest return sign up for first year members of all the chapters. Of course our newsletter might help -- the newsletter I ought to be working on instead of chatting on White Blaze.
Want to join the fun? Send me a personal message with an address and I'll send back a form for joining -- maybe even a copy of our latest newsletter -- if I get it done.
Note to moderators: This spam is hiking related:)
Weary
I had the greatest honor of being Trail Angel to Zero/Zero, K1 (K1YPP), and Walky-Talky when they came out at Kinsman Notch, NH. Hauled them into North Woodstock, making the necessary rounds of eat/resupply before they headed north again. I crossed paths with K1 again 10 days later in Gorham, and there met longwe tru and Willow. These were the first opportunities I've had to give back to the AT since my aborted SOBO of '01-'02, and I sure hit the jackpot!
anyone know where to find the giant group summit photo once they did let people up?