View Full Version : Have you ever done something really stupid?
While I have done a number of stupid things in my life, this is one bad decision I have made, but fortunately it turned out alright.
The following is an excerpt from my journal.
September 11th 2010
"...I walked into Baxter State Park over several miles of sidewalk like trail, but was surprised to find two rather difficult fords that were not mentioned in my guidbook. I don't like to complain about maps or guidebooks, but I am baffled that something like this could be overlooked. The first ford was through swift, thigh deep water, and I was able to rock hop through the second one, but not without a scare. In my excitement I decided not to waste time by taking off my shoes. With over 700 miles on my shoes, the bottoms are becoming quite smooth. Mid-way across the torrent I found myself in a situation where going back was nearly impossible and the only way forward was to step on a submerged rock. I chose to step on the submergered rock, and as I stepped off, my foot slipped a few inches. I made it safely across the stream, but about a mile up the trail it hit me how bad my ford could have gone.. I realized that I had never unfastened my waist belt or sternum strap. Not only did I put myself in a bad situation by trying to rock hop across the stream, but if I did fall in, my pack could have carried me away in the current..."
I tried to date this friend of mine... Turned out she was crazy.
Oh... you meant backpacking? I got caught halfway up Coosa Bald by lightning. Didn't hit too near but it did scare the piss out of me. Also crossed a stream in the Smokies on this crappy narrow log bridge about ten feet over rocks with no guard rail.
Trailweaver
03-04-2011, 04:06
Left my tent poles at home once. . . just didn't check the tent bag. I just had to tie the tent out with cording I had and slept in a tent that was awfully saggy.
Also left home once with only matches - which turned out too soggy to strike. Luckily I found some other, different brand of matches that did strike so I was able to make dinner.
Trailweaver
03-04-2011, 04:06
Left my tent poles at home once. . . just didn't check the tent bag. I just had to tie the tent out with cording I had and slept in a tent that was awfully saggy.
Also left home once with only matches - which turned out too soggy to strike. Luckily I found some other, different brand of matches that did strike so I was able to make dinner.
Trailweaver
03-04-2011, 04:08
Oops. . . don't know how that double post happened.
Lone Wolf
03-04-2011, 04:08
never done nothin' really stupid
camojack
03-04-2011, 04:36
never done nothin' really stupid
Of course, since that's a double negative...no, never mind. ;)
earlyriser26
03-04-2011, 06:18
Hitched from Baxter to Millinocket by sitting on the hood of a car.
Took my older sister for a section hike on the AT - all was good until time for dinner. Opened the pot and took out the burner and found that I had forgotten the fuel cannister. had a small open fire to do dinner, but rain overnight prevented a morning fire for breakfast and coffee. stupid.
TallShark
03-04-2011, 08:00
I tried to date this friend of mine... Turned out she was crazy.
haha. you should've known that, words like "she" should have been a strong indicator.;) just kidding ladies.
Tipi Walter
03-04-2011, 08:25
I too pulled a dangerous creek crossing on Upper Bald River in flood conditions, and barely made it across with a full pack. The water was a rushing tumult up to my hipbelt and I nearly tumbled to my death. It's so much harder with a 65 lb pack. Afterwards I had that weird copper taste in my mouth of Panic. What was I thinking? But hey, I was impatient and wanted to get out, the usual result of Stupid Decisions.
waywardfool
03-04-2011, 10:54
Also left home once with only matches
Now *THAT* is UL.
Now *THAT* is UL.
Only if you cut them all in half to save excess match handle weight. :p
Feral Bill
03-04-2011, 11:50
It's a long list. How about walking across a glacier in Jasper NP with no protection whatever, and no abilty to use it if we had it? Using my food bag for a pillow in grizzle habitat with recent tracks around? Won't go in to things automotive.
TallShark
03-04-2011, 12:11
bill, you're crazy.
Forgot my down coat on a winter camping trip in NE Wisconsin. Three days in we woke up to -11 degrees F. and -40 wind chills.
Had wife shuttle me,keystone, and cheesewhiz to Connecticut to hike for a week and when we were getting dropped off I realized I had my camp shoes on and forgot my hikers at home. Went to k-mart and got cheap boots that fell apart in a couple days. By the time I hit Mass, my feet felt like someone took a baseball bat to them.
Feral Bill
03-04-2011, 15:52
bill, you're crazy.
Really? You're the first to notice.
If you don't do something stupid once in a while, you aren't trying hard enough.
Hey, if it makes the OP feel any better, not everyone believes you should unclip your pack straps. Some people think that since we have quick-release clips these days, you are better off keeping the clips secure so the pack doesn't throw you off balance. I have swum on my back with a pack on fully clipped in and it worked pretty well. I also wasn't having too much trouble on my front before I flipped over. I only flipped over because that's what you are supposed to do when you're in the water.
If you don't do something stupid once in a while, you aren't trying hard enough.
Hey, if it makes the OP feel any better, not everyone believes you should unclip your pack straps. Some people think that since we have quick-release clips these days, you are better off keeping the clips secure so the pack doesn't throw you off balance. I have swum on my back with a pack on fully clipped in and it worked pretty well. I also wasn't having too much trouble on my front before I flipped over. I only flipped over because that's what you are supposed to do when you're in the water.
Learn something new everyday! Didn't know bout that flip over to swim with pack on bit. Thanks!
left my cook pot at the shelter made it a lil over a mile and realized i didnt hear tht clink sound it always mkes with my stove inside it and stopd to check ha sure enough it wasnt in there i dropd the pack and ran back to the shelter felt rather dumb rest of the day.
Cookerhiker
03-04-2011, 16:56
Got turned around and hiked the wrong way - happened twice (NY near Brien Shelter and Maine atop Little Boardman Mountain).
Wore cotton socks for years and wondered why I always had blisters.:rolleyes: That's real embarassing.:o
Hiked all day in steady pouring rain with my brand-new Sierra Designs jacket while believing the label that it was waterproof and breatheable - not! Maps in the inside pocket were rendered useless. That's when I realized that a California-based company knew squat about rain.
Last summer in Vermont, first night of a week-long section, while trying to hang a food bag via the PCT method I tied a clove hitch around my finger (instead of the stick, I was trying to keep the clove hitch loop open for the stick) . I had 8 days of food in the bag so it was heavy, and standing on my tip-toes in order to raise the bag as high as possible, I couldn't ease the weight of the bag off of the line. For a few minutes I thought I was gonna lose the tip of my finger. It was painful, and I was very grateful to the people at the shelter who helped me get my finger out. My finger was purple and misshapen but ended up being fine after that. And I felt really, really stupid. But I had a good hike after that.
ChinMusic
03-04-2011, 22:29
After a long, rainy day just above freezing, I didn't think my shirt was THAT wet and wore it to bed, thinking I'd dry it out in my bag.
WRONG.
It must have been pretty saturated as it delofted my bag making for a long, cold night.
thought I left my eye glasses one early morning at Wise Shelter in VA - hiked about 8 miles - not there, turned around, hiked 8 more, hiked back, 8 more back, glasses with me all the time, caught up with my friend "Walker" - only 25 miles of stupidity - it was fun - plenty of other stupid stuff - that one stands out - that was 25 years ago!
The Counselor
03-04-2011, 22:56
I made a post about the Pinhoti Trail potentially becoming part of an extended AT once. Still licking my wounds......
Freedom Walker
03-05-2011, 00:47
I went backpacking four months out from a major surgery. Only had planned to carry pack for 1 mile to camp and day hike second day. We had to move van to another location because chance of rain would make road impassable. this meant carring pack two miles to van Sunday morning. The heavy rain that came Saturday night meant four hazardous creek crossings with packs to get to van. Below is a picture of me and my stupidity. I am the one with a hat on. Thank God for my friends, who helped me get across the 4th creek. They are stupid too.
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/2/6/3/7/1/creek_crossing.jpg (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showimage.php?i=45582&original=1&c=member&orderby=dateline&direction=DESC&imageuser=26371&cutoffdate=-1)
Feral Bill
03-05-2011, 02:13
At this time, I think I'm still ahead.
elmotoots
03-05-2011, 02:55
Went for a hike with the wife and all four sons once..
Got a shuttle 8 hiking days away from vehicle.
Walked almost all the way to first campsite before I realized I was not hearing the pots and pans rattling on my backpack. ( small pack ) Wife thought we were going to starve to death.
Meet a guy from California that was on his last night out and bought his pots. What a nice guy, he had owned those pots for a decade.
yea the pots were laying in the back of the surburban when we got out.
I
t's a long list. How about walking across a glacier in Jasper NP with no protection whatever, and no abilty to use it if we had it?
Done that.
Using my food bag for a pillow in grizzle habitat with recent tracks around?
Haven't done that. You win.
Won't go in to things automotive.
Or motorcycles and steps.
Wise Old Owl
03-05-2011, 13:06
Underestimated the sucking power of mosquitoes in Canada.
haha. you should've known that, words like "she" should have been a strong indicator.;) just kidding ladies.
A-F'ing-Men
BigHodag
03-05-2011, 15:05
In the late 80's, I was part of a support team for some rock climbers climbing UP the famed Samarian Gorge (Mt Psiloritas) on Crete. The second night everyone was camped under a boulder along the trail and just across from a 300+ foot drop.
I had seen what looked like a cave entrance up the hill across some scree and went to explore before dark. On the way back, I set off a small rock fall that went over the cliff. Several folks thought I had been carried over, and likely should have been.
Another team member decided to do the same after dark and was injured. I and another ended up hiking back down to the parking area to the family car. I then got to drive the narrow winding mountain road down into Chania to a Greek military hospital and back to pick up the team in the dark.
Happy endings for all, but your sins do come back to you...
A couple of hikes ago I realized after I had started hiking that I forgot the coffee!!!!
Old Hiker
03-11-2011, 08:23
A couple of hikes ago I realized after I had started hiking that I forgot the coffee!!!!
Thant's not stupid -that's life threatening, esp. if you were carrying the coffee for a group!
earlyriser26
03-11-2011, 08:53
One morning in Maine I hiked about 5 miles before I felt my pack was too light. Left my sleeping bag at shelter. That was a long day.
One morning in Maine I hiked about 5 miles before I felt my pack was too light. Left my sleeping bag at shelter. That was a long day.
I left a packed Peck's Corner shelter in GSMNP during a sleet storm because I could not stand being a sardine (there was a full shelter, plus a party of 7 on spring break that showed up... too much for me and I decided to hike one shelter further figuring it couldn't be worse.)
Left, hiked 2.5 hours and realized I forgot my vest with phone, money, keys, credit card, ATM card and DL in it.
Hiked 2.5 hours back and spent a long, miserable night packed tighter than a full pack of cigarettes in a leaky shelter.
AeroGuyDC
03-11-2011, 10:16
Hitched from Baxter to Millinocket by sitting on the hood of a car.
Hilarious!
Bear Cables
03-11-2011, 14:51
Left my tent poles at home once. . . just didn't check the tent bag. I just had to tie the tent out with cording I had and slept in a tent that was awfully saggy.
Also left home once with only matches - which turned out too soggy to strike. Luckily I found some other, different brand of matches that did strike so I was able to make dinner.
My sister did that this past week when we hiked the Buffalo River Trial. She realized it right we we arrived at the trail head. Along the way the first morning when we were on the banks of the river she saw tall, thin, flexible bamboo growing, so she cut two long bamboo poles, bent them to fit over her pack and pitched her tent very well with the bamboo. if she hadn't found the bamboo we would have pitched her tarp for a shelter so we were never really too worried.
blackbird04217
03-11-2011, 17:10
Flew from Maine to Georgia just so I could walk back...
In hindsight, perhaps it wasn't so stupid... But I know _a_lot_ of people who thought it was!