Stoopid things we have done on the trail.

[Doctari]

Yes, I know it is spelled; Stupid :)

But I have to ask, what stoopid things have you done on the AT? (or any hike I guess)

I have: Forgot my hat. Quit a hike for no good reason. Taken an un-tested stove on a hike. Gotten hypothermia, , , twice (you would think I would have learned the first time). Forgotten gear at a shelter, important gear, had to go back & get it, , , each time. Continued to hike even though I felt a “hot spot” without stopping to fix / prevent the blister I knew was forming. Turned around (hiked an extra 2 miles) to go back to a shelter, just because I heard it MIGHT, maybe, could possibly, rain (I still can’t believe I did THAT).

So, what have you done?


Doctari.

[A-Train]

The stupidest thing I ever did on the Trail was to leave it when I hit Katahdin :) Should have known better.

[snuffleupagus]

1. I once hiked 7-8 miles south on the AT from Katahdin to reach Daicey Pond, where a well distinguished double white blaze marker on a tree with a sign that says “To At -à ” This trail leads you to a very nice scenic round trip trail, all the way around Daicey Pond, to Daicey Pond Campground and further on to the point to where there is a well distinguished double white blaze marker on a tree with a sign that says “To At -à ”

If you happen to reach this point on your hike. Look ten or twenty feet past that double white blaze trail marker and you will inherently find a single white blaze with a posting “To Big Niagara Falls” 1.0 miles.

Needless to say, all of Daicey Pond is beautiful but there is no need to circumnavigate the entire lake on your first day of hiking.

2. I once sat for two hours (in a lightning storm none the less), at the boat ramp opposite White House Landing before realizing that there was an air horn tied to a tree to notify camp owners. If another hiker hadn't happened along and blew that horn I may have been there for a whole week waiting for that darned boat.

[Blue Jay]

Yes, I know it is spelled; Stupid :)

But I have to ask, what stoopid things have you done on the AT? (or any hike I guess)

I have: Forgot my hat. Quit a hike for no good reason. Taken an un-tested stove on a hike. Gotten hypothermia, , , twice (you would think I would have learned the first time). Forgotten gear at a shelter, important gear, had to go back & get it, , , each time. Continued to hike even though I felt a “hot spot” without stopping to fix / prevent the blister I knew was forming. Turned around (hiked an extra 2 miles) to go back to a shelter, just because I heard it MIGHT, maybe, could possibly, rain (I still can’t believe I did THAT).

So, what have you done?


Doctari.

Oh no, those are stupid things. I do them all the time. I guess that means.....

[flyfisher]

Stupid act:

Paying $192 for me, my wife, and son to stay at a White Mountains hut, in a cramped room with 9 strangers, half of whom snored. All the while, we had hammocks and tarps and food with us that we had carried up Lincoln and Laffyette...

The only advantage of staying was being able to complain about it! ?#!

Within a half mile of the hut was a beautiful forest where hammock camping would have been perfectly legal and a lot quieter.

[Footslogger]

In 2003, based on "bad intel", I carried 4 liters of water over 2 miles to the evening campsite (which I found out later had an adequate water supply). Oh by the way ...it rained cats and dogs that night !!

'Slogger

[Skeemer]

Stoopid Thing #1: On my "shakedown" hike in '02 I stopped by a shelter to chat with some hikers. I walked out and hiked back two miles the way I came before I realized I was hiking the wrong direction! Man was I pissed at myself, ruined my day and practically the whole hike.

Stoopid Thing #2: Talking about it. :datz

[Footslogger]

Now I feel better (NOT) ...at least I carried all that darned water in the correct direction !!

'Slogger

[Moose2001]

Slogger...please tell me that was in New York around RPH Shelter. I want to know I wasn't the only idiot that got sucked into some moronic posts in the registers!

[Footslogger]

Nah Moose ...it was much earlier in the hike (Georgia, in fact) and the worst part of it all was that I had hiked the entire Georgia section many times before my thru last year. It was just one of those days when I let myself run low on water and decided to check Wingfoot's Handbook for upcoming "dependable" water sources. As we all know, water sources come and go and despite all the rain we had in 2003 I decided to error on the conservative side. Actually, I think it was my kidney stones that made me do it !!

All I can say in retrospect is ...that was a very long 2 miles !!

[Poster]

In 2000, I was hiking along that amazing stretch from Mcaffee Knob and tinker cliffs in VA. A couple others and myself were cooking dinner up on tinker cliffs and were planning on staying at the shelter a few miles north of there. Everyone left, but I stayed behind a bit to get some sweet shots of the sunset from up there. It was getting a bit dark so I packed up and headed down the trail. Inadvertently I took the Andy Layne trail at the Y instead of the AT. The blazes were yellow, but in the dark, even with my headlamp they looked white. After a while without seeing anything, a gave a couple loud hoots, but noone answered. I figured I must have missed the shelter or something. I walked a little while longer before throwing my tent up on a small patch next to the trail. When I woke up in the morning I noticed that the blazes were yellow. Luckily I heard some vehicles in the distance, so I hiked to the road. Looking at the map sign I realized I had gone like 3 miles away from the AT. It was a pretty boneheaded move, but luckily I was able to hitch into town and backtrack what I missed. Everyone thought I fell off the cliff or something. Live and learn I guess. I just know that on my next thru I'll keep an extra eye out for the Andy Layne Trail.

Poster

[Jaybird]

i've hiked the wrong way for a few miles...packed too much water....etc.,etc.etc., BUT i think i've got all of that beat....



At Fontana Dam, after a HOT shower....i walked up to the Fontana "HILTON" & apparently somewhere along the way....i lost my hiking pants, watch, camera, pocket knife, whistle & compass....all fell out of my lower compartment of my backpack (which i thought was well secured & zipped!) Luckily, i had some mesh-lined jogging shorts along for camp....or i woulda been called the "NEKKED as a JAYBIRD" hiker dude....hehehehehehehe :D

[hungryhowie]

There aren't many times that I remember wanting to beat myself in the head and mutter "stoopid...stoopid...stoopid" repeatedly... :datz

There are a few, however. Hey, how can you go 6 months without doing SOMETHING stoopid?

1) New York - Connetitcut line. In order to finally get out of NY, the trail wanders through the Schaghticoke reservation. At the time, there were rumors of the reservation closing off the trail in an attempt to become nationally recognized and therefore receive the rights to build casino's, etc. Anyway, I was walking down the roadwalk for a while, checking my map/databook occasionally to make sure that I didn't miss the turn off. It was only supposed to be ~2(?) miles but I knew that I had walked about 4, so I turned around and walked back. Sure enough, about 2 miles back, I found the trail. Apparently, I'd walked right passed it WHILE looking at my map to make sure that I wouldn't get lost. :-?

Oh, it gets worse. While I was climbing up the side of the mountain, I got hungry so I stopped to take a break and looked at my map again. Having some perspective on where I was, and where I'd been, I realized that had I kept going on the road, in about 2 more miles I would have walked smack into Kent. Damn.

This coming from a hiker who hadn't had a shower or a bed in over 2 weeks. Well, as it turned out, it was a few days more before I'd get a shower and a bed, because the only show in town was ~$100/night for a single.

2) This is the one that I really really really want to beat myself in the head over. It may not be so bad for you guys, but this one is just personal for me.

I stayed at Upper Goose Pond in MA for 3-4 days. It was a fabulous experience. Todd (Wolf) and I met and hung with Mr. Clean, a southbounder who started on Jan. 1 at Abol Bridge and averaged about 4 mpd because he was trying to be as self-sustaining as possible. A year or two before, He'd done one of the fastest thru-hikes ever, and now he was out to do one of the longest ever...

Anyway, he was an absolutely fantastic person and taught us many things. Each day, we'd spend the day in the woods gathering edible plants and on the lake catching fish with dental floss and saftey pins. Every night we'd cook up a feast of wild food and enjoy the stars out on the lake. It was one of the most special events of my thruhike. True trail magic.

Anyway, One day while we were out on the lake, I decided to go for a swim. This wasn't a rare occurance, this time just kinda sucked for reasons as yet unknown. So I stand up in the canoe and leap into the water.

--Freeze frame--

I'm in mid air, the sun is shining and the water is glittering. I can feel the wind on my face and am anticipating the cold water. I'm as happy as I can get when I remember it. My camera! It's still in my pocket!

:datz

So I hit the water cursing, climb back into the canoe as quickly as possible, but alas...

As a result of this, I have no pictures from Mass or southern Vermont. That's a lesson that I only want to learn once!

-Howie

[walkin' wally]

:o
Getting my saw really pinched in a large poplar blowdown on the AT along Rainbow Lake and working nearly an hour to free it. All because I wasn't paying attention. It was early May and at least no hikers went by...
Walkin Wally

[Brushy Sage]

As I hiked out of the woods near Bland, VA, I caught glimpses of a big road and told myself that was the U.S. highway that would take me to Bland. Then I came to a smaller road with a country church on it. I didn't know which way to go, so I headed for the larger road, climbed down a steep embankment and began hitch hiking. Before long I became aware that traffic was moving VERY fast, and people were giving me strange looks. As it turned out, I was hitch hiking on I-77, and indeed on the wrong side as well (would have taken me to Bluefield, WV). I managed to find my way back to the US highway and caught a ride into Bland. I told the motel clerk what had happened, and he commented "That's illegal." As if I didn't know!

[Two Speed]

Carrying alcohol (the drinking kind) when hiking has become my #1 no-no.

First event.

We get a snow storm forecast in Atlanta, so I call up my favorite hiking buddy and we decide to load up and head out to Ellicott Rock Wilderness for an overnighter. Pack steaks, liquor and a few goodies and hit the road. Make camp, start a fire, :dance get the steaks started. As we eat and work on the liquor, the temp starts dropping, and I mean fast. We're alcohol fueled, no problems, right? 'Long about midnight, we call it a night. Having a ten dolllar drunk going, I ask my buddy "What are we going to do for coffee if the river freezes?" (as if we aren't going to have bigger problems if that frigging river freezes). Says I "I know, I'll get water now!" :datz I go down to the creek, lean over to fill the pot, and the current sucks the pot out of my hands, and I reach for it. By the time that I realize that I have reached too far, it's head first or feet first. Long story short, I shoot up the bank, strip, throw my clothes over a limb to drain (no, they didn't drain much before they froze) and get into a spare set of thermals and dive head first into my sleeping bag.

The river didn't freeze that night, but my clothes sure did. We had to light a fire in the morning to get 'em defrosted enough so that I could fold them to get them into my pack. Next, all that ice in my clothes weighed a ton. Last, my boots were right frosty.

Second event

Got a hall pass from my sweetie for a 5 day trip on the AT, and I decide to pack a pint of vodka along with everything else. First night out, I find a nice place on Granny Knob, set up camp and get a camp fire going. :dance The fog starts blowing in, the fire is really blasting and I'm bubbling that darn bottle. Shot of vodka, sip of water, throw a stick on the fire. Shot of vodka, sip of water . . . 'Long about midnight, I decide to call it a night. Wake up with about two sips of water left, a tongue that feels like it needs shaved and 1 1/2, maybe two miles to the next spring. And I got miles to make or I miss my rendezvous. Feeling like I've been run over by a truck. Pack, stumble to the spring, and start sucking water.

The bad part was I had about an inch or two of vodka left in the old flask. Couldn't bring myself to drink it and couldn't bring myself to ditch it either. Just cussed every time I saw that stinking flask in my pack. :datz

[Chip]

The first time I hiked the Georgia section we stopped at the Low Gap shelter and ate lunch. The night before was a dry camp and we did not cook so by lunch the next day I was really hungry. I decided do boil some water and make up some beef stroganoff from one of the dehydrated dinners I had. Well I was so darn hungry that I didn't let it sit long enough, I thought it was done. Gobbled it down and then 20 minutes later started to hike again. 2 big mistakes back to back !! About a mile up the trail I started to expand like a balloon. That dinner was still gathering moisture only this time in my stomach.
Started to feel really sick and turn green. Had to stop and take a break for an hour or more just to live through the the baking process. :o Anyhow I've
learned my leason when cooking those@#*^! dehydrated dinners."Wait until done!" :)

[steve hiker]

Two Speed your sig says "If I'd known then what I know now, I darn sure would have run away and lived in the woods." And I bet you'd leave that bottle at home before heading to the woods.

[Kerosene]

We had parked a car in the Dicks Creek Gap parking lot last week so we could get into Hiawassee regardless of when we arrived. I got there first, at least 3 hours before my partner, so I quickly changed into my town clothes, popped some Vitamin I (I needed it after two consecutive 18-mile days), threw my stuff in the trunk and took off for town and a shower.

After the shower I started to reorganize my pack and looked for my asthma and allergy meds which were in my toiletries bag. No toiletries bag in the pack, and I was pretty sure that I had left it somewhere back on the Trail. Fortunately, my medical condition is pretty tame, but I had also had my headlamp and backup light in the bag, as well as the DryGlide that had been so effective to date at eliminating chafing, and my small knife, etc. I wasn't so mad about losing the stuff as I was for leaving it somewhere.

I headed back up to the parking lot later that evening, still fuming about misplacing something from my pack. As I was sitting there waiting for my partner to reach the trailhead, I suddenly remembered that I had pulled the Ibuprofen from the very same bag just before I got in the car! I jumped out of the car, walked a few cars over to where I was parked, and lo and behold, there was the bag on the grass! I hurriedly opened it up and realized that some of the higher value items were missing. Oh well, I'm thinking, that's what I deserve for my stupidity, when this teenage kid walks by and sees me rooting around in the bag. It turns out that he had "sifted" through its contents to pull out the stuff he was interested in and then just tossed the bag on the grass. Fortunately, he gave me back all my stuff, although I think he was miffed that I didn't give him a reward or something.

[Patco]

I know I often underestimated the lowness and solidity of shelter roofs and ended up bumping my head a good many times.

Haw many can share stories of either bumping their heads, or rolling off the bunks during the night?

[Brushy Sage]

And how many hikers are awakened by their sons (such as Patco) putting hands on their shoulders to quieten the snoring or loud breathing?

[Pirate]

I hiked on the white blazes a couple of times. Boy was that stupid.

[rumbler]

I absent-mindedly moved a half buried rock I found off the trail in order to create a hole in which to poo. In retrospect I would have been wise to make sure that this particular rock wasn't serving as a family room to a nest of rather irritable wasps.

Sixteen stings later, I can say that this was not one of my more lucid actions.

[Rain Man]

Last November I was finishing up Georgia. On day three of my hike I stopped at Deep Gap Shelter to take pictures and for lunch. No one was there, but while I was eating at the picnic table two guys showed up. One had a SIXTY pound pack. The other didn't say, but I'd guess 45 lbs at least.

They spread out all over for a huge, cooked lunch. Shall I say they had steel propane bottles?!

Anyway, when I gathered up my stuff to leave, I turned to "police the area," as I always do, but all I saw was their stuff all over. So, off I marched.

That night, I discovered I had no food bag! YIKES. Fortunately, I had met a hiking partner, who shared dinner with me and we hiked out to our vehicle the next night, so things weren't too bad. I just had a day with one Butterfinger candy bar and some snacks. Don't worry, I have enough fat reserves to carry me longer than a day! LOL

Nevertheless, stupid.

End of story is that Lil Red MG, who was following me by a day or two found my food bag at Deep Gap Shelter, recognized it, and hauled it out for me another couple of days and brought it back to Nashville!

She's a Trail Angel. :) I'm a Trail Dummy!

Just to prove I'm a Trail Dummy, I'll add another tidbit. Last August I took my daughter (Grass) and two teenage boys living with us at the time on a section hike from Springer to Neels Gap. Short story is that neither of the boys brought food (other than some snacks I had given them). Somehow they thought I was carrying all their food??? I don't know, but should have checked!

We didn't discover this till the USFS 43 parking lot on top of Springer. We decided to do the hike anyway and work something out. The first night at Hawk Mtn Shelter, a SOBO section hiker about to finish up gave them THREE Mountain House meals and refused payment. Then at Woody Gap Grass and one of the caught a ride into Suches and bought beanie weenies, pop tarts, and the like, for the next couple of days, and we all did fine.

So far, I seem food-cursed! Or, just stupid? LOL

Rain Man

.

[rickb]

I can think of a bunch of things, but leaving a a bag a marshmellows on backseat of our locked car while taking a day up to Sunfish Pond (DWG in NJ) ranks right up there.

Fortunatley, autoglass is always covered by insurance in my home state ;-).

Rick B

[sassy03]

One of my MANY stupid hiker tricks I've pulled was REACHING into my pack to check for baby mice rather than looking!!! I swear I had mice fluids caked into my hands for days!!!! :bse

[Red Hat]

Last summer I was hiking in Virginia from Damascus north for a section. About the second day, I stopped at Lost mountain shelter for lunch. My expensive Marmot goretex jacket was in the top of my pack. I sat it down and got out my food. After lunch, I packed up the food bag and hiked off. It was two days later before I even realize that I had left the jacket. (duh!!!) Needless to say it wasn't there when I returned.

This spring I bought a new jacket (albeit a less expensive, not goretex one, but still a good breathable one). I stopped at Unicoi Gap and was waiting for a shuttle into town. I took off my jacket as it was getting warm. About that time a couple of section hikers asked me to take their picture on the large rock with the plaque. So, I sat down the jacket to take the picture. Just as I did, my shuttle arrived. I handed the camera back to the hiker, picked up my pack and got in the van, totally oblivious to the fact that I had left another jacket lying there. Again, when I returned a couple of hours later, thanks to the generous owner of the Hiawassee Inn, no jacket...

I just bought a cheap jacket from REI for $15. If I lose this one it won't matter. Those expensive jackets just don't work for me!

[Caveman of Ohio]

Pinked Blazed for hundreds of miles.What was I thinking.

[Lone Wolf]

staying in shelters is pretty stupid. sticking solely to white blazes is stupid. hiking without maps is stupid

[NICKTHEGREEK]

Spent the night in the Manassas Gap Shelter.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Not on the AT, but close (Slickrock Wilderness). I made camp on an area that obviously had been extensive used by wild pigs for rooting during the period when the pigs were 'pink blazing'. I ended up having to climb a tree to avoid several rowdy young boars who were looking for loving and they trashed my tent. Luckily, I had bear bagged my entire pack. I had to use the bottom of my tent as a tarp shelter for the rest of that trip.

[mrc237]

Confusing pancake batter with corn starch and wondering why my chafing was not getting any relief. But I smelt like a cookie.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Confusing pancake batter with corn starch and wondering why my chafing was not getting any relief. But I smelt like a cookie.Thank goodness you weren't in grizzly country :eek:

[DAKS]

on one winter outing in colorado i did sumpin' really stoopid! after getting out of the car at the trail head i put my coffee mug in the top of my pack. i thought i had drank all of my coffee? as a result, i was walking down the trail when my friend noticed liquid running out of the bottom of said pack! only a goretex jacket got wet so i was okay. this just goes to show how important it is to put yer' sleeping bag in a good stuff sac or garbage bag! this could have otherwise been a tragic trip! man that was dumb!!

[DuctTape]

I was at Silent Cliff on the LT taking pictures. All the rocks were wet and slippery, but for some reason I thought nothing of climbing down near the edge to get some better shots. Of course I slip and fall, only about a foot from going ALL THE WAY down. Beyond stupidity, and quite a scare.

[Blissful]

We forgot eating utensils on a weekend hike. Thankfully we were able to get some plastic spoons from a hostel the next day.

[kayak karl]

Stoopidest thing! So not to get bleeped. Did #2 on my poncho (It was windy and raining). Stood up turned around. Needless to sat poncho, pants, boots and leave no trace?? My son bought me the book "HOW TO S*** IN THE WOODS" by Kathleen Meyers. It was not funny then but LMAO now.

[Lyle]

Honestly can't remember to many "Stooopid" things I've done, a few that I've witnessed others do come to mind :-). I'm sure this is the same principle as the miserable times on a trip - I just put them out of my memory. Hopefully the lessons learned stick!

One thing that I do remember occurred on my very first backpacking trip, back in the days of HEAVY, HIGH, FULL LEATHER hiking boots. I had bought a pair, broken them in somewhat in prep for our trip to the Smokeys. Somehow, during the trip from East Lansing to the Smokies, with three guys and all our gear stuffed into my Pinto, one of my boots disappeared. I had one hiking boot! Apparently, the other had fallen out of the overstuffed car at some point. Had to go to an outfitters, buy a new pair of even heavier boots, and start our week long hike in totally new boots. Learned a lot about blister care on that trip, also got totally hooked on backpacking!

What makes this even more memorable, after I got back, I contacted Vasque, explained the situation, and asked if there were some way to purchase just one replacement boot. They went one better, they sent out the replacement free of charge. This was my first experience with the fine customer service that is a hallmark of most outdoor manufacturers.

[SteveJ]

Hiking on the Chattooga River Trail, with a quart of Crown Royal in the front pocket of my Gregory Whitney pack, with the zippers pulled together at the top of the pocket. Got into camp, found that the zippers had slid down, and the Crown Royal was nothing but a memory.....my brother still gives me s**t about that one.....

[dessertrat]

Ditto on forgot a hat. It had some sentimental value for me, enough so that I lost an hour of time going back to get it. (I wasn't in a hurry, so I guess it didn't matter).

[CoyoteWhips]

I rationalize my own stoopidity as the humorous act of trickster gods blessing me with lessons.

For instance, falling down and leaving my wallet and map two miles behind on a remote trail has taught me to zip my valuables in an inside pocket of my pack.

If I see a neon yellow nylon wallet for a good price, I'm picking one up. That day I spent an hour shuffling through leaves at my camp, thinking I'd dropped it under my hammock. A brown leather wallet hides too easily.

[taildragger]

I was tired and had been bushwhackin on a death march day. My sleeping bag got ripped off my external by a thorn tree, setup camp, temps dropped below 20F and I had no bag, thankfully I had a hiking partner and a tent, or else that would have been a really crappy night

[Tipi Walter]

I'm trying to think of the stupidist things I've done backpacking, and other than taking a dump on my own boot laces, or bedroll camping in the pouring rain, or getting hypothermia 6 or 7 times, or drinking tainted cow water and puking all night, or impatiently bushwacking off a high-gorge trail and clinging to a rock face with a heavy pack on my back(having an Epic survival situation), or thinking that a particular patch of woods would be safe from logging(I'm at my stupidist when I think my fellow man will have respect and compassion for the natural world), I guess the biggest mistake I made was:

Thinking loneliness could be alleviated by temporarily leaving the woods and hooking up with a series of girlfriends . . .

[Pennsylvania Rose]

Bought a pocket rocket the day before I left for a trip. DUMB! Didn't test it out. DUMBER! Found out that the small canister just doesn't cut it for four people, five days, cooking twice a day in windy, below freezing temps. That was OK, though, I couldn't have used the stove anymore anyway, because my lighter ran out of butane and I left the backup in the car. Found that out when we went to start a fire. Can we say COMPLETE IDIOT??? Thankfully the kids (yes, my KIDS were with me!) brought along their magnesium firestarters. Same trip, the batteries died in three of our headlamps, one of the tent poles broke, the hip belt on my son's pack fell off, and the tent leaked during a night-long, driving downpour. The whole trip was a comedy of errors. Luckily none of us was ever in danger, and we didn't leave our sense of humor at home.

[taildragger]

Bought a pocket rocket the day before I left for a trip. DUMB! Didn't test it out. DUMBER! Found out that the small canister just doesn't cut it for four people, six days, cooking twice a day in below freezing temps. That was OK, though, because my lighter ran out of butane and I left the backup in the car. Can we say COMPLETE

After reading another thread on strangest things that people have said to you on the trail, I initially took this post very differently, anyways, the realization that I took it the wrong way made it hard to contain the laughter.

[Bob S]

:-? It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one that does stupid things when out enjoying nature. But I am smart enough to not let everyone know how stupid I was/ am…

[TOW]

So, what have you done?


Doctari.
I hiked out of Damascus in July 2001 with two nalgene bottles full of <bleep> which I happily took use of til I got to Tinker Cliffs north of Atkins, Va.

Hadn't it have been for a couple of hikers who were helping me get rid of the stuff I would have fell off of one of the cliffs in a very drunken and stoned state of mind.

So I asked them boys that night if they wanted the rest of what I had and we all decided it was best to just leave it there in the shelter for the next hiker.

Later on up the trail I heard that a hiker was bragging about finding some <bleep> in a shelter............

[Hikerhead]

It must have been some real good stuff. Tinker Cliffs is like 200 miles north of Atkins.

[Johnny Thunder]

Believed a cheap Campmor key chain compass.

[Doctari]

A few months ago I went on a hike in RRG with my work partner & his nephew, both tenters. I ran out of gas on a ridge night #2, told them to go on as there was no place for them to set up. After a short nap, I decided to, , , fertalize a tree. Found a nice tree to lean against, kicked a hole in about 10" of duff, & assumed the position. Just as I was getting comfy, I felt a white hot 10 penny nail being driven into my right leg, lookde down to see a gound horned pulling out to have another go, while her sister was fixin to sting my left leg. Sorry for the following visual: I had my shirt off, & as I was being stung pulled off the kilt to flail at the hornets, so I'm running through the (thankfully deserted) woods wearing my hiking boots. :o Ended up with at least 8 stings, none in "vital areas".

Usually I check for such things before "getting comfy" but I was being stoopid.

On a happier note, during my nap I was having leg cramps due to stoopidly not drinking enough thru the day, after being stung NO cramps. Not that I'll make it a habit to get stung so as to avoid leg cramps, but the cramps did hurt worse than the stings.

[geckobunny]

I was going on a shake down hike with a buddy. My buddy was so proud of the fact that he had this wonderful Australian oil skin rain coat...full length too...that he brought it along. It weighs 8 lbs...my buddy was happy with it though, and told me that if it doesn't rain he could use it as a pillow.

So I'm thinking...you're carrying an EIGHT POUND pillow?!?!

[TOW]

It must have been some real good stuff. Tinker Cliffs is like 200 miles north of Atkins.
Well that's where it all happened at. I thought Tinker Cliffs was just north of Atkins and south of Daleville?

[TOW]

Well that's where it all happened at. I thought Tinker Cliffs was just north of Atkins and south of Daleville?
Now I remember, it was Catawba I was thinking about. It's been since '01 that I have hiked through there.

[CoyoteWhips]

Now I remember, it was Catawba I was thinking about. It's been since '01 that I have hiked through there.

I think it's understandable that your memory of the incident is somewhat mangled.

[sloopjonboswell]

1. one time, worm set his tarp up in human poop. i guess it was buried and maybe kinda old, but you could sure smell it in the morning

2. i took a 14 mile penalty where i ended up hiking over the knife edge in pennsylvania three times in 12 hours.

3. pink blazing, but it was still fun.

[TOW]

I think it's understandable that your memory of the incident is somewhat mangled.
thankyou for understanding...................:o

[pitdog]

One day while hikeng in Mass, I fell in the mud and there were so many mosquitos, they[the mosquitos] picked me up out of the mud.

[Farr Away]

Almost walked into a bear once. It was on the trail up from Fontana Dam - quite a lot of elevation gain over not much distance. I had my head down just concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other when my hiking partner quietly said, "hold up". Apparently the bear and I both gave him the same, "What?" look.

On the bright(?) side, he does love telling that story.

[clured]

1. Arrive at shelter on big mountain somewhere in VA.
2. Throw my stuff down, hop into bag.
3. Realize that I still have like five powerbar wrappers in my pocket, and that they are making an annoying crinkling sound whenever I roll around.
4. Take them out of pocket, put them two or three feet from head.
5. Awake to hear mice routing around in them, reach over and swat at them.
6. The mice scatter, one crawls onto my hand, up my arm, up my neck, and OVER MY FACE.

[soulrebel]

Left my wife in the woods somewhere in WV. Hiked drunk in 100% humidity, Friday night in a roadside ditch with people driving by at 80 and yelling, "HEY **#*#*" Man those drinks were strong. Passed out on the trail at 2am sans wife. Next morning get caught smoking a bowl by the ranger and my wife.

does that qualify?

[DawnTreader]

Left my wife in the woods somewhere in WV. Hiked drunk in 100% humidity, Friday night in a roadside ditch with people driving by at 80 and yelling, "HEY **#*#*" Man those drinks were strong. Passed out on the trail at 2am sans wife. Next morning get caught smoking a bowl by the ranger and my wife.

does that qualify?

ding ding ding.. We Have a Winner....

[Kerosene]

Spent the night in the Manassas Gap Shelter.Did you meet the resident wood rat that night, like I did? I barely got any sleep that night.

[sweetpeastu]

stupid things I've done on the trail: wore gore tex boots with side vents to Dolly Sods in snow melt, hiked 9 miles with tonsilitis and wet feet in 20 degree weather wearing only a lightweight wool shirt and a wind breaker; hiked 9 miles with a new, never been tested pack, which was poorly adjusted; went on a trip in December and remembered my stove and fuel, but forgot the fuel pump; fell asleep (where I knew there were bears) with food in my tent (I couldn't believe I was so negligent); burned uneaten food in an area known for bears (again, stupid for several reasons...I know); hiked with wet feet and as a result, hot spots; put a snow covered pot on a buddies hot pocket rocket and ended up putting out the fire and making id VERY difficult to light afterwards; walked several miles in the wrong direction before consulting someone elses map (my map didn't show the location I was trying to reach); left a bag of sugar outside on a rock one early morning on Mt. Rogers (woke up to a pony standing over it...same pony almost crushed my stove, which was also left outside near the sugar);...I'm sure I've done some other doosies, but have forgotten them for the moment.

[sweetpeastu]

oh yeah...got ....horribly drunk on the trail and had to hike out 8 miles the next day with an unforgettably bad hangover...

That was one experience to ....forget.

[envirodiver]

[

I had my shirt off, & as I was being stung pulled off the kilt to flail at the hornets, so I'm running through the (thankfully deserted) woods wearing my hiking boots. :o



LMAO, I did get the visual and it is hilarious. Sorry, I'm laughing with you and not at you.

[whitefoot_hp]

stupid things I've done on the trail: wore gore tex boots with side vents to Dolly Sods in snow melt, hiked 9 miles with tonsilitis and wet feet in 20 degree weather wearing only a lightweight wool shirt and a wind breaker; hiked 9 miles with a new, never been tested pack, which was poorly adjusted; went on a trip in December and remembered my stove and fuel, but forgot the fuel pump; fell asleep (where I knew there were bears) with food in my tent (I couldn't believe I was so negligent); burned uneaten food in an area known for bears (again, stupid for several reasons...I know); hiked with wet feet and as a result, hot spots; put a snow covered pot on a buddies hot pocket rocket and ended up putting out the fire and making id VERY difficult to light afterwards; walked several miles in the wrong direction before consulting someone elses map (my map didn't show the location I was trying to reach); left a bag of sugar outside on a rock one early morning on Mt. Rogers (woke up to a pony standing over it...same pony almost crushed my stove, which was also left outside near the sugar);...I'm sure I've done some other doosies, but have forgotten them for the moment.

whats so bad about bears?

[whitefoot_hp]

1. Arrive at shelter on big mountain somewhere in VA.
2. Throw my stuff down, hop into bag.
3. Realize that I still have like five powerbar wrappers in my pocket, and that they are making an annoying crinkling sound whenever I roll around.
4. Take them out of pocket, put them two or three feet from head.
5. Awake to hear mice routing around in them, reach over and swat at them.
6. The mice scatter, one crawls onto my hand, up my arm, up my neck, and OVER MY FACE.

yep, step one was pretty stupid.

[ozt42]

Many moons ago I decided to do a short over-night up mount Caribou. I arrive at the shelter (since torn down) late afternoon, spread out and take a nap. I wake up wonderfully refreshed in that beautiful morning light have a quick breakfast and set off down the mountain. Turns out I had only slept about 45 minutes and that beautiful sunrise I was experiencing was exactly 180 degrees in the wrong direction. Hiked out in the dark due to pure bloody mindedness but resolved to at least bring a watch along when I hike.

[envirodiver]

Many moons ago I decided to do a short over-night up mount Caribou. I arrive at the shelter (since torn down) late afternoon, spread out and take a nap. I wake up wonderfully refreshed in that beautiful morning light have a quick breakfast and set off down the mountain. Turns out I had only slept about 45 minutes and that beautiful sunrise I was experiencing was exactly 180 degrees in the wrong direction. Hiked out in the dark due to pure bloody mindedness but resolved to at least bring a watch along when I hike.

By any chance were you hiking with "the only Wanderer" or "soulrebel"(who I would imagine is now divorced).

[Smile]

How about on trail gear lost off trail.

last weekend in Atlanta, I left my Montbell UL jacket on the back of a door in the ladies room at the mall.

stoopid. REAL stoopid.

[saimyoji]

How about on trail gear lost off trail.

last weekend in Atlanta, I left my Montbell UL jacket on the back of a door in the ladies room at the mall.

stoopid. REAL stoopid.

Nah, what were you doing in a mall in the first place? :rolleyes:

[Alligator]

Many moons ago I decided to do a short over-night up mount Caribou. I arrive at the shelter (since torn down) late afternoon, spread out and take a nap. I wake up wonderfully refreshed in that beautiful morning light have a quick breakfast and set off down the mountain. Turns out I had only slept about 45 minutes and that beautiful sunrise I was experiencing was exactly 180 degrees in the wrong direction. Hiked out in the dark due to pure bloody mindedness but resolved to at least bring a watch along when I hike.That's hilarious:jump .

[burger]

In PA, the soles starting coming off my boots, so I wrapped them with duct tape. This turned out to be so stupid that I paid for it twice.

The first time was on the Knife’s Edge. It had rained all morning as I got up there, and as I started climbing the rocks, I found myself slipping. A lot. Apparently, the duct tape and the wet mud had turned the soles of my boots into a frictionless surface. I slipped once and ended up banging my knee badly, but I decided to just keep going. Right near the top of the Knife’s Edge, I slipped again, caught myself briefly, and then lost it altogether. Suddenly, I was falling backwards into space, with who knows what behind me. I ended up falling 6’ off the top of the rocks and landing upside down. Amazingly, the only damage was a few cuts and scrapes, a jammed finger (which still doesn’t bend properly), and my hiking pole—which snapped in half.

A day or two later, I paid for my stupidity again. Each time I wrapped my shoe, the duct tape came within 24 hours or so. Once, the tape slipped towards the front of my shoe so that a big loop of tape was hanging off the front of my foot. I was too lazy (and stupid) to stop and cut it off, so I just hiked on. Sure enough, within an hour or so, that loop caught on a rock, and I face-planted on the trail.

Suffice to say, the next time my soles start to get loose, I’m just going to cut the suckers off my shoes.

[berninbush]

Many moons ago I decided to do a short over-night up mount Caribou. I arrive at the shelter (since torn down) late afternoon, spread out and take a nap. I wake up wonderfully refreshed in that beautiful morning light have a quick breakfast and set off down the mountain. Turns out I had only slept about 45 minutes and that beautiful sunrise I was experiencing was exactly 180 degrees in the wrong direction. Hiked out in the dark due to pure bloody mindedness but resolved to at least bring a watch along when I hike.

Make sure that watch has "AM" and "PM" on it, or you might mistake 6am for 6pm. ;)

Must've been pretty disorienting.

[CoyoteWhips]

Hiked out in the dark due to pure bloody mindedness but resolved to at least bring a watch along when I hike.

...or a compass.

[mudhead]

Hell, that ain't stoopid, that's determined nighthiking.

[sweetpeastu]

the ducktaped shoe thing was pretty funny. I'm sorry for your pain, but thank ya for the laugh.

One question though, did your boots appear to be in fairly bad shape before you left for that hike? Just wondering. lol. I used to think I was hard on shoes....you win.

[burger]

the ducktaped shoe thing was pretty funny. I'm sorry for your pain, but thank ya for the laugh.

One question though, did your boots appear to be in fairly bad shape before you left for that hike? Just wondering. lol. I used to think I was hard on shoes....you win.

They were Lowa Renegades with about 400 miles on them. My replacement pair also lost their soles at 400 miles, but those went straight into the trash.

And I'm glad someone got some enjoyment out of my pain.

[maxNcathy]

Going right, not left off Cowrock Mountain.
When I got back up top I was so peeved at poor signage I scratched arrows into the bare rock with my pole tips so others would be better guided.
Makes me wonder if we should all carry some white paint to add a few more blazes here and there where helpful.
Sandalwood

[Skidsteer]

Hiking on the Chattooga River Trail, with a quart of Crown Royal in the front pocket of my Gregory Whitney pack, with the zippers pulled together at the top of the pocket. Got into camp, found that the zippers had slid down, and the Crown Royal was nothing but a memory.....my brother still gives me s**t about that one.....

That's not stupid, that's a tragedy.


Going right, not left off Cowrock Mountain.
When I got back up top I was so peeved at poor signage I scratched arrows into the bare rock with my pole tips so others would be better guided.
Makes me wonder if we should all carry some white paint to add a few more blazes here and there where helpful.
Sandalwood

The first time we went thru there my wife had to pee really bad. I was enjoying the view and not paying attention. She thought the trail went right as well so she stepped off to the left and dropped trow. Fifteen seconds later she came hustling back, pulling her pants up and followed by two grinning day-hikers.

[Hikerhead]

Going right, not left off Cowrock Mountain.
When I got back up top I was so peeved at poor signage I scratched arrows into the bare rock with my pole tips so others would be better guided.
Makes me wonder if we should all carry some white paint to add a few more blazes here and there where helpful.
Sandalwood

Doggiebag had a REAL bad time there also if my memory serves me right.

[Tin Man]

Hell, that ain't stoopid, that's determined nighthiking.

or stubborness. I think once I realized my error I would have set up camp again in a new spot.

[Jack Tarlin]

*I went three miles in the wrong direction in the Smokies a few years ago.
Still can't figure THAT one out.

*I mistook denatured alcohol for Sprite one fine day in Duncannon. Not a
happy moment.

*I told Bob Peoples that I'd LOVE to take a drive in the coutryside and visit
my favorite spot on the Trail, Overmountain Shelter. Eight hours later, we
were still digging the outhouse pit!

*I did 26 miles once from Winturri Shelter to Hanover cuz I wanted to hit
5-Olde for a beer and a cheeseburger. In retrospect, I shoulda waited a
day.

*And I sat on a rattlesnake one horrible July day. In central Pennsylvania,
the prudent hiker looks around before sitting on a rock.

*Oh, and I packed for nine days to get me from Gorham to Stratton once cuz
I had convinced myself that skipping Andover would save time and money.
This was a really dumb thing to do, and almost killed me.

That's allI can think of. There are probably plenty more.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

And I sat on a rattlesnake one horrible July day. In central Pennsylvania, the prudent hiker looks around before sitting on a rock.:eek: :eek: Did you get bitten? :eek: :eek:

[Dances with Mice]

I stopped on a steep sidehill trail coming down Rocky Mtn (above Unicoi Gap) waiting for someone behind me to catch up. I leaned back against a tree. A tree on the downhill side of the slope.

There was no tree.

[Jack Tarlin]

No bite, but I needed new pants.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

No bite, but I needed new pants.::: Dino buys Jack some new pants and thanks God he is OK :::

[Tin Man]

We cut a section hike short due to weather only to return to do the section another time in weather that turned out to be worse. We did this twice. :o Well, the second time we did not want to hike NOBO down the north side of Moosilauke when frost was called for the morning. So, we came back and did this section when there was both snow and ice. :eek: It was a slow climb down, but not as bad as we had feared.

[CoyoteWhips]

No bite, but I needed new pants.

Well, anyone would.

[Marta]

A couple of years ago, I was on the north end of the Foothills Trail, in the winter. I hiked until just before dark, then bushwhacked pretty far off the trail to set up my hammock. It was full dark by then. I was on a steep slope with a great view of the valley through the leafless trees. I congratulated myself on having a hammock, where steeply sloping ground was not an obstacle to a good night's sleep.

I was in a hurry and found a couple of trees the right distance apart. Well, maybe they were a little farther apart than ideal. And one of them was a bit too big around. But I thought I could make it work. I got one wrap around each tree, gave the straps a tug, and thought they seemed secure enough.

After dinner, I settled myself in the hammock and velcroed the Pea Pod closed. I wriggled around a bit to get comfortable.

All of a sudden I heard a WHIZZZZZPT as the straps untied. I was rolling briskly down the slope. I thrashed my way out of the Pea Pod and had a good laugh before I hung the hammock back up quite a bit more carefully.

[Skidsteer]

That was a funny story, Marta. :D

[Turtle2]

I lit my Vargo alcohol stove and started my dinner sitting at a shelter picnic table. Some one said something to make me turn and hit my pot which in turn upended my stove spilling flaming alcohol over the table and onto my lap. After beating the flames on the table I finally noticed my lap burning. No, it wouldn't pat out either so-o-o-o it was time for the 1st grade Stop, Drop and Roll. After rolling off the bench, extinguishing the fire I heard "Whatcha doin'? Burning the table?" My audience of 4 had just sat and watched then laughed.

Next day I noticed a few burns on my leg. No big deal. It happed quick enough that my Dri Clime shirt didn't even melt! Lesson learned put the stove farther from the edge of the table.

[earthbound]

1. Hiking in California with my friend, I really had to pee. We stood on the trail debating whether or not there was poison oak in the woods for at least a few minutes. I tromp off the trail a bit to pee. Two days later I have poison oak on my backside, on my thigh, on both legs... Two weeks later I have to go to a doctor because it wasn't healing. A month and half later it was basically gone. It scarred a bit though...

2. Hiking in Arkansas with same friend and my friend Jake. We start off into the woods our first day of a week long trip. A couple hours later we realize we don't know where we are on the map, but I insist that we are on the trail somewhere and should just keep walking. Four hours or so into the hike, Jake announces that the GPS says that we aren't even ON the map. I said, "The GPS is wrong". It wasn't. Won't live that one down...

[jzakhar]

About 10 years ago I was with a friend (just 2 of us) up in the whites in mid Jan. It was the 5th or the 6 day I don't remember, it had been snowing on and off the entire time we were up there. I nodded off in the mid afternoon with my boots a little too close to the fire and the soles peeled right off.

It was a real nice walk into Lincoln to buy a new pair at lahoots!

[CoyoteWhips]

I nodded off in the mid afternoon with my boots a little too close to the fire and the soles peeled right off.

Ha! That reminds me of the story of why Levi Strauss discontinued the rivet where the inseams meet. Apparently cowboys crouching in front of the camp fire discovered it conducted heat with distressing efficiency.

[gaga]

:rolleyes::rolleyes: I was camping in Nw. France in 1991 whit a bunch of friends,and when the time to make a fire came...i volunteered of course, i gathered a lot of long pieces of firewood and to brake them ( i wanted to impress the ladies whit my bush crafting skills) i put the firewood in a angle on a big piece of wood,and found a big and heavy rock and started trowing it at the firewood which broke easily, the impressing part was going good, and it was fun, but i was moving closer and closer to the firewood and trowing the rock at it, the last time i trow it at a piece of wood,it didn't broke and it launched the rock in the air which landed on my left foot and it just smashed my toe nail (which later fell of and grew back) and i started seeing stars and couldn't breathe for 10 seconds, i still call it an ` accident`:D

[Cuffs]

My only serious faux pas was to hike 1.5 miles on the wrong trail... I misread the poorly marked sign... In the rain...

These are all great lessons to learn from others mistakes, but I think it should be moved to the humor forum!!

[ozt42]

By any chance were you hiking with "the only Wanderer" or "soulrebel"(who I would imagine is now divorced).

Unfortunately I don't have that excuse :D I was sober the whole time

[ozt42]

...or a compass.


had a compass, never thought to take it out of my bag. I knew the area too well to get lost... 'Course there was that one time I got lost within 300 yards of my back yard in a fog (the airborne water-vapor type though I have been lost in an alchoholic haze several times) spent almost an hour and two miles of walking to find my way home.

[CoyoteWhips]

had a compass, never thought to take it out of my bag. I knew the area too well to get lost... 'Course there was that one time I got lost within 300 yards of my back yard in a fog (the airborne water-vapor type though I have been lost in an alchoholic haze several times) spent almost an hour and two miles of walking to find my way home.

Recently, somebody mocked me for using my blinking headlamp feature to make a beacon to find my hammock at night when I went out to see a tree.

Screw that, I'm not wandering around the woods in my boxers and flipflops for an hour because I don't want to look like a tenderfoot.

Ever see that commercial where a kayaker used his car remote to find his way out of a fog?

[mudhead]

I stopped on a steep sidehill trail coming down Rocky Mtn (above Unicoi Gap) waiting for someone behind me to catch up. I leaned back against a tree. A tree on the downhill side of the slope.

There was no tree.

Special prize of merit award winner, DWM, will now explain gravity and just how tight various body parts can feel while testing.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

I stopped on a steep sidehill trail coming down Rocky Mtn (above Unicoi Gap) waiting for someone behind me to catch up. I leaned back against a tree. A tree on the downhill side of the slope.

There was no tree.::: Dino hereby renames this poster Tumbles with Mice :::

[saimyoji]

Recently, somebody mocked me for using my blinking headlamp feature to make a beacon to find my hammock at night when I went out to see a tree.

Screw that, I'm not wandering around the woods in my boxers and flipflops for an hour because I don't want to look like a tenderfoot.

Excellent idea. I'm sure more than a few around here wish they had thought of that. :-?

(ok myself included)

[Pennsylvania Rose]

I stopped on a steep sidehill trail coming down Rocky Mtn (above Unicoi Gap) waiting for someone behind me to catch up. I leaned back against a tree. A tree on the downhill side of the slope.

There was no tree.

Coffee all over my computer! :)

[DawnTreader]

I guess this is slightly off trail... Myself and Warragiyagi were making alcohol stoves on the deck outside the large room at Shaw's. Combine the fact that neither of us knew what the heck we were doing with the all that wood, and one errant kick ignited a large circle of alcohol on the deck. Who knows, if not for that great dance Warragiyagi did trying to put the alcohol fire out, we could have burned down one of the most legendary institutions on the trail!! oops.. gonna have to be a bit more carefull..

[Marta]

Note to self...don't test alcohol stoves on flamable surfaces...

[Bare Bear]

How long a reply will this thing take?
On the AT I mised a turn and followed 'old white blazes' for four miles until they finally petered out. I then went half way back then decided I would just figure it out with the guide and map. A nice lady drove up, laughed that she picked up half a dozen AT hikers aweek there and drove me back to the right white blaze. Apparently when they changed the AT they did not remove the old blazes, just let them die a slow death. I found out later that at lest two others did the same thing as I did. As if the AT isn't long enough.........

[Tin Man]

How long a reply will this thing take?
On the AT I mised a turn and followed 'old white blazes' for four miles until they finally petered out. I then went half way back then decided I would just figure it out with the guide and map. A nice lady drove up, laughed that she picked up half a dozen AT hikers aweek there and drove me back to the right white blaze. Apparently when they changed the AT they did not remove the old blazes, just let them die a slow death. I found out later that at lest two others did the same thing as I did. As if the AT isn't long enough.........

Where was this?

[Kerby]

Does hiking about 5 miles in the wrong way because your holding the map upside down count?

The 1st Sgt seemed to think so...


How about wen me and my three frends all melted our boots trying to dry them out around the campfire after our first day in Dolly Sods?

[Gaiter]

ooh i don't have quite enough time to list the stupid things, i consider my self a comedy of errors, so enjoy the laugh, i certainly do

setting leg on fire, getting locked in a privy, loosing toliet paper to privy, unintentional backflip w/ pack while adjusting shoes, accidently mooning people at the washington monument, a wrong turn here and there, forgetting spork, forgetting windscreen, hiking w/ one gaiter, oh the list goes on and on

[freefall]

Stoopid Thing #1: On my "shakedown" hike in '02 I stopped by a shelter to chat with some hikers. I walked out and hiked back two miles the way I came before I realized I was hiking the wrong direction! Man was I pissed at myself, ruined my day and practically the whole hike.

Stoopid Thing #2: Talking about it. :datz

Yep- been there, done that, twice in the same week. Went about 4 miles before I ran into another hiker that spent 15 minutes convincing me I was heading in the wrong direction. Then did it again only about 2 miles the second time.

[Papa Razzi]

I was ready to leave Daleville on a cold, rainy morning, when a friend offered a nice proposal to the group I was hiking with. Rather than hike out into the mess, she offered to drop us off 20 miles up the trail and let us slackpack south back into town. A warm shower at the end of the day sounded great.

Two of us decided to make things interesting and trail run the stretch. I intentionally kept my weight to a minimum, and set off with only a water bottle, some water treatment, a bag of gorp, and a rain jacket. I also wrote down the shelter names I expected to see and the distances between them on a scrap of paper.

Despite the weather, the run felt great. The miles ticked by, and we saw the first two shelters exactly where we expected them. But the third one came about two miles too early. Scratching my head, I pulled out the scrap of paper, and realized with horror that although the shelter distances matched, the names of the shelters we had seen were completely wrong. We had run 16 miles in the wrong direction, and were now 36 miles away from town, totally unprepared for the weather conditions we were in.

Luckily my running partner had a cell phone, and by some miracle we were able to get a signal and call the friend who had dropped us off to beg her for a pickup. We ran another two miles to wait in the rain at a road crossing. Wearing shorts and thin rain jackets, we huddled behind a sign to stay out the wind that was now blowing in fifty mile per hour gusts. We finally saw her car approach... and drive right past, totally oblivious to the cold, wet hikers desperately waiting her arrival.

She quickly realized that she overshot the trail crossing, and circled back to successfully pick us up about 15 minutes later and save us from our utter stupidity. I consider ourselves incredibly lucky to have gotten out of that situation as readily as we did - it could have easily turned out much, much worse.

We successfully slackpacked the intended section the next day. I suspect we have the dubious honor to be one of the very few groups of hikers to ever stay in Daleville for 3 consecutive nights.

[ozt42]

[...]

Screw that, I'm not wandering around the woods in my boxers and flipflops for an hour because I don't want to look like a tenderfoot.




I think (hope) I've cured myself of the notion of doing dumb things to avoid looking stoopid...

And I thought blink was a useless feature, would have helped that time I crawled into the wrong tent next to the wrong girlfriend one drunken 3am.

[Egads]

Found this old thread worth a few laughs

Went car camping with the family in PA once. We had visited Gettysburg on a rainy day and were late getting to the campground. I set up camp in the dark among wet thigh high vegetation. I woke up the next morning to find out we were in the middle of a poison ivy patch. We were lucky the rain washed the oils off the plants and didn't get a rash.

One Friday night I was pacing the house when my wife told me to go hiking. So I gathered my gear and left the house in Atlanta at about 8:30. I drove up near Addis Gap and started hiking North around 11:00 pm. It was a dark night and I was having trouble seeing the trail, but I spotted a piece of hard pack and a fire ring on the side of the trail and decided to make camp. While setting my tent up when I noticed something buzzing in my head light. One insect quickly became a few before I realized it they were yellow jackets. I killed the light for a minute and waited for the stings, but none came. I dragged the tent and pack about 50 feet away and turned the light on to set up camp again. Those darn yellow jackets made a beeline to me and stung me twice before I could turn the light off again. I was outta there before sunrise.

Anyone see a pattern here?

[Doctari]

When I first posted this: I had never gotten lost or gone the wrong way while hiking.

Um, not anymore. I was dead sure I knew which way I had been going when I got off trail my previous section. NOPE! Sorry, that's not the stupid part. I was about 1 mile trail south, when some locals stopped me & set my on the trail NOBO. NOW is when I get stoopud: about 1/4 mile after they left me, I started to doubt, finally convinced myself that I had indeed been going the right way the first time, in fact my compass said I was actually heading south. SO back I went, thankfully another hiker said I was going trail south & turned me back around. The sad part is that I know that sometimes the AT NOBO is compass south. The funny thing is, I made it back Literally to within 12 feet of where I got turned around the first time. So about 4 miles the wrong way on my first day on the trail.
Miles from start point to 1st night camp 2, miles hiked that day 6.
Lesson learned that day: either don't carry a compass or also carry a compass AND a map.

2nd lesson (Re-learned) that trip, don't start a long hike with new shoes. They wern't truely new, but I had only worn them on a 1 night trip, , , , ,
Thankfully my wife was able to send my well broken in boots in a timely manner to Kincora & I got them by noon on a planned day off there. :p

[zoidfu]

Back when I was 13 a couple friends and myself were camping near the Peter's Mountain shelter. I brought a can of soup for dinner but didn't bring a can opener... so I decided the best way to open the can was to stab the top of it with my knife. Where I went wrong-

I decided to hold the can with my left hand while I was stabbing downwards with my right. I stabbed a little short of an inch into the meaty part between thumb and index finger on the left hand. It started bleeding profusely. Luckly, I had a small hotel(Hilton- thank you) sewing kit in my bag so I made 5 crude stitches and then put a couple of coffee filters(for getting the crap out of water) on it and then duct taped it. I got out of the woods 2 days later and went to the doctor's. He told me that I made some pretty good stitches considering I was 13 and was working with a normal needle and thread but told me that I was damn lucky it wasn't infected. He took my stitches out and put 2 new ones in. To this day, that patch of skin between my thumb and index is slightly deformed but still fully functional:cool:

[BitBucket]

My buddy Bill and I were hiking from Amicalola to Neel(s) Gap back in the fall of 2007. We came down off Springer and as we crossed the parking lot at USFS #42 there were a number of folks heading out for day hikes.

Two older couples in particular commented that they thought they would follow us for a while since we looked like hikers and that we should know where we were going. They followed behind us about a 100 yds until we got to Stover Creek Shelter where Bill and I had stopped for a snack. They came up and we struck up a conversation with them while we rested.

One of the guys was a retired Navy guy and the other a Marine. We talked to them about 15 minutes, and finally one of the wives asked "Well just how much farther were they going to have to walk to get to that Springer Mountain thing?"

Bill and I looked at each other and told them it was going to be about 2.5 mi. back the direction that they came.

I think the ladies were real PO'd that their battle tested hubbies had led them north instead of south out of the parking lot...

Not sure if they ever made it back to Springer or if they called it quits once they reached the parking lot at USFS Road 42...

When we made it to Blood Mountain several days later, we met this young guy that had started out at Neel(s) Gap to hike the entire trail. He said he planned to hike for at least 3-4 weeks asked us a couple of times how far we thought it was to the Smokies...I think he went south rather than north out of Neel(s). Last thing we saw of him he was headed south toward Springer....

I guess it's easy to get lost on the trail...I had to remind Bill several times during our hike which direction north was...

[Blue Jay]

Thank you Egads for bringing this one back, always one of my favorites. If you listen real hard while you're laying on your back in the mud or after putting your own foot out after setting it on fire or staring at a shelter with that look on on your face when you realize you slept there 4 miles ago, you can hear faint laughter. My theory is that we exist for comic relief. The Gods like to laugh and we are very good at slapstick.

[notorius tic]

Was hiking with laces 07 an he took the blueblaze str8 outa the gaite in the Sheenandos an hiked back to town. I sat around fore a hour waighting on him but NO show.

[joeboxer]

Me and two friends went to the south taconic range for an overnight that was supposed to be a 5 mile stroll to a cabin. There had been a blizzard the night before and the snow was deeper than we thought but didn't deter us from continuing. The stupidest part about this is that we didn't leave the car until about noon for some reason... So it started to get dark, and we decided to find a quicker route through a large campground, so in about 2 feet of snow in the pitch black night we walked for 3 HOURS turning around and zigzagging through this labrynthian campground desperately trying to find the next blaze. It was utterly miserable and extremely stupid...but a learning experience. My guess is only that the blaze must have been covered by the snow, but we ended up turning around and trudging, broken, back to the car. ugh, i still hate revisiting that night...

[hikingshoes]

LOL,thats funny right there,now,lol
ooh i don't have quite enough time to list the stupid things, i consider my self a comedy of errors, so enjoy the laugh, i certainly do

setting leg on fire, getting locked in a privy, loosing toliet paper to privy, unintentional backflip w/ pack while adjusting shoes, accidently mooning people at the washington monument, a wrong turn here and there, forgetting spork, forgetting windscreen, hiking w/ one gaiter, oh the list goes on and on

[Wise Old Owl]

Stupid act:

Paying $192 for me, my wife, and son to stay at a White Mountains hut, in a cramped room with 9 strangers, half of whom snored. All the while, we had hammocks and tarps and food with us that we had carried up Lincoln and Laffyette...

The only advantage of staying was being able to complain about it! ?#!

Within a half mile of the hut was a beautiful forest where hammock camping would have been perfectly legal and a lot quieter.

Wow an Epiphany.

Guess I will have to steath camp....afterall.

[Wise Old Owl]

......http://media.urbandictionary.com/image/large/poop-7447.jpg

Owl Poop ... Hit the wrong button....