View Full Version : Neem
the greatest hiker ever known to me, neem. i met him in georgia in 2002. the only other hiker i know that knows him is geek (the guy who hiked with his cat in 1992). has anyone ever heard of him? he has hiked the triple crown three times and that was when i met him in 2002. another great thing about him is that he is unheard of or doesn't flaunt his success on the trails he has hiked. if you know him, i would love to get his info and contact him. i hope he doesn't mind me posting this.
Mountain Dew
07-29-2004, 05:20
You almost got his trail name right. It is NEAN as in mean. I to have had the chance to meet him. He's the only person to my knowledge that has hiked the triple crown three times. All legit thru-hikes as well...no skipping miles. He keeps a low profile like Zeiko does. When you met him was he with his dog Cooler, his girlfriend, and her dog Anou ? He's from Garland, Texas near my house. He's a member of ALDHA-west. Maybe you could look him up through ALDHA-west. If that doesn't work you could call Miss Janet. She might have his number as I know they are friends. If none of that works let me know.
Lone Wolf
07-29-2004, 08:40
Y'all are talking about Naime(sp) aka Let It Be. Geek hiked in 89 with his cat. And SEIKO, like the watch, lives in Hampton, Tn.
Mountain Dew
07-29-2004, 23:55
Naime ? hhhmmmm I thought Nean was the only person to hike the triple crown three times. Ohwell.... I don't know a Naime
Naime ? hhhmmmm I thought Nean was the only person to hike the triple crown three times.
I believe a fellow named Skid has too, although you'd never get that from him directly. Met him in 2000 in Damascus. I'm sure Lone Wolf knows him. A very friendly & humble fellow. Helpful too.
Who other than Ed Talone has hiked all 8 National Scenic Trails? A number of them more than once. BTW, he's the fellow who pushed the issue on the Boy Scouts to the ATC & ALDHA. He's also a good friend.
Alligator
11-15-2004, 11:29
I believe that more hikers will have the opportunity to meet him in the near future. I thought it was spelled Neam, but it could have been Nean. THANKS FOR THE SODA!
Lone Wolf
11-15-2004, 12:43
I just spoke to NEAN, his new trail name, formerly Let It Be, at MRO here in Damascus. He and his lady bought a place close to the AT in N.C.
minnesotasmith
11-15-2004, 17:53
"BTW, he's the fellow who pushed the issue on the Boy Scouts to the ATC & ALDHA. "
Uh, what are you referring to here?
minnesotasmith
11-15-2004, 17:57
I can't find a journal at www.trailjournals.com (http://www.trailjournals.com) about that story under trail name = "geek". Does anyone know of a link to any version of it anywhere? It sounds like a heck of a hiking story.
Lone Wolf
11-15-2004, 18:03
trailjournals.com didn't exist when Geek & Ziggy did thier thru-hike back in 89.
minnesotasmith
11-15-2004, 20:30
Is the story about the through-hiker who carried a cat with him written up anywhere on the WWW that you know about? It sounds like it would be an entertaining story, even though I'm not much on cats.
Lone Wolf
11-15-2004, 20:37
Don't know much about the WWW. His real name is Jim Adams. He canoed down the Mississippi, where he got the cat somewhere, then hiked Ga. to Me., the bicycled back down south somewhere.
Got the cat near Cincinnati.
minnesotasmith
11-16-2004, 08:42
The kind of stuff I'd like to know about that guy's hike is:
1) How was he perceived by other hikers while on the Trail? Was he less welcome in shelters, having an animal (albeit presumably small and nonbarking) along?
2) How did he handle hiking in &%#ty weather, with an animal along that wouldn't handle being wet and/or cold very well (but that still needed air to breathe and could get claustrophobic)? That would be a lot different situation than hikers bringing outdoorsy dogs like Malamutes/Huskies along.
3) How did his resupply needs change? Obviously, he could get cat food MOST resupply places, though some campground-type spots (e.g., Fontana) might not carry it.
4) Was it easier or harder for him to get rides, having a cat along? (Drivers might not see the cat before they stopped, but they'd sure become aware of it before they let him climb in.)
5) How was the animal carried, exactly? Did he have to collar-and-leash it to keep it atop his pack, or not? Was it "packbroken", where it only excreted when let off his pack for breaks, or did he, uh, have to clean off the top of his pack from the daily cascade of cat excreta onto it?
6) When he slept in and out of shelters, how did the animal's sleeping situation work out, exactly? Likewise, was the cat "shelterbroken", only doing its business outside the shelter? If not, it would have been REAL unpopular with other hikers, really fast.
7) OTOH, his cat would probably have made the shelter mice REAL unhappy, if it had any "get-up-and-go" at all. I have, however, seen cats that were so lazy that they would have ignored any mouse not coming up to them and touching them. How did that part work out, exactly? If his cat was any kind of mouser, bet that increased its acceptability for being inside shelters to other hikers in a big way.
8) So, he DID take the cat all the way from Springer to Katahdin, right? Excepting places like the GSMP where you can't take animals such as dogs, natch. Or, was he allowed to bring it through those areas, too, the prohibition being against other animals such as dogs and pack animals?
I heard that the cat eliminated all mice problems. The mice lay low with the cat around. He evidently didn't sleep on the job.
Miss Janet
11-19-2004, 12:13
this is nean, aka namie bacile, formally known as LETITBE. as far as i know, i'm the only person to hike a triple crown more than once. i consider skid a friend and hiked with him on the cdt in 98. last time i saw him was at the 2000 trail days and as of then he had done one triple. to me it doesn't matter if you have done 25,000 or 25 mile; it's all about why you are out there. me?, because i love it, hope thats why yall are out there too!!
The Solemates
11-19-2004, 12:20
rock on man!
To Minnesota Smith: I don't recall a lot of the story about Geek and Ziggy. I do remember where he got his cat since it's not too far from here. The whole story is in Larry Luxenberg's book "Walking the Appalachian Trail". The book has a lot of interesting information and should be available from the ATC store.