View Full Version : Strangest day on the trail.
What is the strangest day that you have had on the trail?
Unexpected things happen all the time, and for me it was in Ma. hiking with my son. He said hey dad look an ostrich! I thought he was kidding, but there stood an Emu. It followed us right on our heels for three miles to Kay wood shelter. She was docile and allowed us to pet her. Found out later she escaped from town and was recaptured two days later.
Jack Tarlin
04-02-2005, 20:03
I once discovered something truly unfortunate while attempting to check into my room in the Doyle Hotel several years back. One would have thought it would have been noticed during the previous five days, but no....
The present owners are far more diligent in keeping the place running smoothly, and pay better attention to their guests, both living and otherwise.
saimyoji
04-02-2005, 20:07
"I once discovered something truly unfortunate while attempting to check into my room in the Doyle Hotel several years back. One would have thought it would have been noticed during the previous five days, but no...."
What was it you discovered?
Jack Tarlin
04-02-2005, 20:15
Read the last line of the post and you just might figure it out.
saimyoji
04-02-2005, 20:18
You mean you checked in, went to your room, found a dead body that had been there for five days?! :eek: You're a little late for April Fools jokes. :datz
Lone Wolf
04-02-2005, 20:22
When I met and hung out with Eric Rudolph and didn't know who he was. Till later. Nice guy.
Ahh, so that's what happened at the Doyle.
I hope they gave you a different room at no cost.
Jack Tarlin
04-02-2005, 20:43
Saim---
If you want to think I'm joking, Saim, feel free. Anyone out there wanna fill this guy in on this? Surely SOMEONE out there knows about this one.
But Saim, since you asked, well yeah. I discovered a profoundly dead guy who'd been lying in his room for five days. In July. I have never seen a deader guy in my life. Nor do I wish to. And that's no April foolin', either.
Oh, and no, they didn't comp me a free room, either.
I REALLY prefer the new owners!!
saimyoji
04-02-2005, 21:23
No Jack, I will take your word: based on your reputation if you say it happened I'm inclined to believe it. Now that I think of it, I do recall reading references to an incident associated with the Doyle Hotel, but the dead guy thing never came up. Poor guy. Do you know the background on the guy? Was he a hiker? Cause of death?
5 days dead in July? How could he not have stunk to high hell?
DMA, 2000
04-02-2005, 21:37
For what it's worth, Saim, I heard this story years ago. If Jack's making it up (and from what I saw of the old Doyle I'm inclined to give him the benefit) it's not for April Fools Day.
Saim---
If you want to think I'm joking, Saim, feel free. Anyone out there wanna fill this guy in on this? Surely SOMEONE out there knows about this one.
But Saim, since you asked, well yeah. I discovered a profoundly dead guy who'd been lying in his room for five days. In July. I have never seen a deader guy in my life. Nor do I wish to. And that's no April foolin', either.
Oh, and no, they didn't comp me a free room, either.
I REALLY prefer the new owners!!
But of course, you didn't conclude the story. Miss Janet filled me in on a little detail that you often omit Jack. Something about you getting a little sick afterwards??
Brushy Sage
04-02-2005, 22:07
On a lighter note: Once while I was eating my lunch at Annapolis Rock in Maryland, a butterfly came and settled on my backpack, and then crawled over and got on my hand. I thought this was cool, and welcomed the little critter. I could feel it sucking on my skin, so I'm guessing it was getting some salt. I continued eating, and it sat there while I moved my hands around, opening a sandwich bag, peeling a banana, getting water, etc. Then I got up, put on my pack, and stepped into the woods to pee. The butterfly stayed with me. By now I was thinking this is some kind of phenomenon. After I zipped up, I headed back up to the AT, with butterfly still attached. As I started south on the AT, I began wondering what I would do if the butterfly stayed with me all the way back into Frederick -- what would I do with a butterfly in my apartment. I saw a hiker ahead and thought I'd like to show the butterfly to him. As soon as that thought passed through my mind, the butterfly flew into the woods and disappeared. It had stayed with me a full forty-five minutes. It was a fascinating experience.
stomparound85
04-02-2005, 23:21
this past summer on a 50 mile week from laurel fork gorge to Damascus on our last day on the trail we went probably 5-7 mile day. we stopped at the shelter 10 miles before Damascus ( I forget the name of the shelter) So we arrived at the shelter early so we were all just chillin in the sun and resting up. then out of the clear blue this dude pops out and says Any of yall Christian around here. "well yeah we're a christian group going to Damascus where are you heading" " ahh i got dropped off on the trail im heading to Bristol." This dude might of been a little cookkoo we dont know for sure. first of all he had on army coveralls and was carrying a army pack. heres the thing the man had no water. heres what he had in his bag. a huge flash light stuffed animal, more army clothes, and (we're hoping he didnt have a gun" the guy was friendly but he scared a couple of guys in our group. They just didnt have good feelings about the man. He was Christian and would talk about his faith but the weird thing was he didnt come with any food or water. So we fed him and gave hime some food. he was the kind of man that could have gotten really angry fast and we didnt know how he would use his anger or what else he had in his bag. so everyone that night was pretty muched freaked out. we all slept in out tents and let him sleep in the shelter he keep waking up and shining is big flashlight on one of our guys that has a hammack set up. So we left that morning made it through the night, he told us hey at the TN VA I spelled JESUS out with rocks across the trail lo and behold and was there. Has anyone seen this rock formation spelled out across the trail. right before you get to Damascus at the TN/Va line?:banana
I don't believe in woo-woo, occult, ESP, etc. but the day I came to Upper Goose Pond in Mass was really strange. The caretaker of the AMC cabin had placed a trail sign on the far side of the pond that read "AMC Cabin 1 mile" but had neglected to put in an arrow, and further, had oriented the sign in a really ambiguous way. Well, I had no maps or guidebooks and was just following the white blazes and this sign really confused me.
I was having a bad day to start with, and now began thinking that maybe I had missed the side trail to the cabin, so I turned around retraced my steps in a pissed off kind of mood and began walking south on the AT. My hiking buddies came up, gave me a strange look, and said, "Hog, what are you doing hiking south on the Trail???" They got a good laugh out of this and turned me around again and set me straight.
By now I was fuming, and decided to give this caretaker a piece of my mind, so I stomped around the pond, stepped into the cabin and asked for the caretaker. "She's on the porch," someone answered. She? I was expecting a He for some reason.
Anyway, here's where it got weird. As I opened the screen door to the porch, there was the caretaker, an attractive redhead, truly a sight to behold, and suddenly time slowed to a crawl, and this voice inside my head says, "If you yell at her, you're going to mess up your future."
Not surprising, except that it WASN'T MY VOICE. Actually, it wasn't a voice at all, there was no sound, and yet the message was very clear. "If you yell at her, you're going to mess up your future."
Stunned, I decided in a nanosecond to obey the voice, and toned down my planned tirade drastically. And it was a good thing I did, too, because if I hadn't, I probably wouldn't have had the chance to marry this lovely caretaker on the summit of Mt. Mansfield in Vermont 3 years later!
oldfivetango
04-03-2005, 16:50
Saim---
If you want to think I'm joking, Saim, feel free. Anyone out there wanna fill this guy in on this? Surely SOMEONE out there knows about this one.
But Saim, since you asked, well yeah. I discovered a profoundly dead guy who'd been lying in his room for five days. In July. I have never seen a deader guy in my life. Nor do I wish to. And that's no April foolin', either.
Oh, and no, they didn't comp me a free room, either.
I REALLY prefer the new owners!! It goes to show that ALOT of motels don't change the sheets everyday
like they used to in the "old days" or this guy would have been found right away.Makes one wonder if they even change the sheets between guests anymore?Might be better to sleep in your own bag on top of the bed sometimes-i had a room that the bedspread smelled so foul in once that
nothing really surprises me anymore.Bottom line- you get what you pay for
and what you don't pay for.
Cheers,
Oldfivetango
oldfivetango
04-03-2005, 16:59
Hey Hog,
I would chalk this one up as a predestined event,fate,divine intervention,or
was it just your good luck.In any event-what exactly did you say to her?And has she
been pointing you in the right direction ever since?What a great story.
Inquiring minds want to know.
Cheers,
Oldfivetango
Jack Tarlin
04-03-2005, 17:05
Yes, they change the sheets! The new owners are conscientious and wonderful folks.
I was camping just North of the flint Mt shelter. At about 3:00 AM I was wakend by EXTREMLY brilliant flashes of light, along the lines of about 200 strobes on steroids. NO SOUND! No thunder, no whine of a strobe re-charging, even the Animals were silent. I got out of my tent, Lights flashed about 4 more times, still dead silent & no aparrent source, just the entire sky light up. Along the trail the next day, most I met asked if we were abducted by aliens, I said: "No, WE don't do that anymore" :D I am still puzzled by that light show. Some have suggested heat lightning, I have seen Heat lightning, didn't look like that. I have been in the mountains during many thunder & lightning storms, the light is always somewhat yellow to me, this was pure white. Maybe it were aliens.
That day plus the one where a tornado bounced over the Mt Collins shelter the year before were my "strangest" experiences.
Doctari.
RagingHampster
04-04-2005, 01:50
AND THERE I WAS! Creeping out of my tent to the sound of a thumping, I stared through the murky blackness of night at the nearby shelter. Suddenly a scream ripped through the night and a woman burst from the cabin, arms flailing and eyes wild with TERROR!... right into an old hemlock. I could see she was breathing, so I proceeded to the shelters entrance. Slowly opening the door I discovered...
THE WORST THING... I EVER SEEN!
http://mysite.verizon.net/nicholasmosher/lm.gif
:bse :bse :bse
:p
To pick up the caretaker story above, I introduced myself, then calmly explained the problem with the sign, and mentioned that I had pencilled in an arrow, removing any ambiguity. She was very gracious about it, but to this day, she still doesn't think there was any problem with the sign (no one else complained about it, I was the only one).
She mentioned that she was headed to Switzerland to hike in the Fall, and my eyes lit up at that, since I had done some day hiking in Grindelwald and Zermatt. I proceeded to give her some recommendations on where to hike, and slyly added at the end, "And here's my address, let me know how it works out."
She took my address and said she would indeed write me. I then went for a swim, saw a canoe on the bank, and started deluding myself that maybe I could ask her to go paddling with me, with the further delusion that I might be able to steal a kiss out on the water (recall that I had spent the last four months in the woods, mind you, so my libido was pretty out of control).
But it starting raining hard, so the canoe idea fizzled. I left the next morning, unsure if the caretaker would write me back or use my address for fire starter.
But she did write, months later, the beginning of a correspondence that led to visits, then to romance, marriage, and children.
I still have no explanation for "the voice."
Footslogger
04-04-2005, 11:21
For me it was probably that day coming out of North Woodstock when experienced hypothermia on the way up to Franconia. There are a couple hours from that day that got permanently erased from my memory. All worked out well and after descending and returning to N. Woodstock for a day's rest I was back on the trail like nothing happened.
Funny too because on the way back down to the road crossing I saw my first and only owl on the AT during my thru.
'Slogger
AT 2003
oldfivetango
04-05-2005, 08:24
Yes, they change the sheets! The new owners are conscientious and wonderful folks. Sorry,Jack-Did not mean to sound as if I was impuning the new owners-
the old owners obviously did not do a room inspection daily.One of the great thing about capitalism is that DARWIN RULES in the market place too.
I wish the new owners great success.
Cheers,
Oldfivetango
I've posted this before, but the Hog has just inspired me to add some details. My story is similar, in its own way.
The short version goes something like this. After doing almost no hiking post thru-hike, I did a solo up to Guyot and back over a labor day weekend. On my last night (at Ethan Pond), I met Jennifer. She made quite an impression, but I didn't get her number, and forgot her name. I am to cynical to believe in love at first sight, but this came real, real close. For me, this was strange in and of itself.
Anyway, I was cursing the fact that I didn't get her name and number as I walked out to my car the next day. But she did say whe was from Massachusetts and drove an eco-friendly sub compact. OK, at least I could put a note on her windshield in case she wanted to call me. As if. ;-)
No small car with Mass plates at the Trailhead! Dang. None up at Dolly Copp either. Ouch. What to do now? Well, I had a few clues from our conversation, but they didn't get me all that far. Even though I tried. Among these clues was that she just got a job in the English Dept of a Metrowest Boston Community College. Not much, but something to go on-- but not enough.
Fast forward to Saturday Night when I litteraly prayed for a second chance. I'm not religious in the conventional sense, but I did get an immediate feeling of calm. For me this was a unique experience and one that I usually don't include in my little story.
Next day, there was a Ford Festiva in my parking lot some 200 Miles away from the Trail. It had a MCC parking sticker, and I had a business card in my pocket. What the heck, right? I wrote someting to the effect that if this car belonged to the White Mountain hiker/scuba diver, that I'd love to hear from you. (this was the only time/car I ever did this to, BTW).
A few minutes later Jen knocked on the door and a few minutes later we went for a walk around the local reservoir. She lived in the same building one floor up and two doors down. That was in 1990. A year later were were engaged and a year after that married.
I guess you could say that the AT had an influnce on my life.
Rick B
Great story, Rick! What are the odds?!!
Ah, trail love, you gotta love it...
To those guys who actually managed to find their sweethearts on the trail, I offer the following quote from my IAT journal of last summer. I will not tell exactly where it occured, other than to say it was somewhere in rural Maine.
Really rural Maine!
- Some sweaty miles further along the romantic road I realized I had contrived to give myself a wedgie of sorts, no doubt from the constant shifting and readjustment of my pack load. So I reached down in the usual fashion, to tug things out of the way.
" Hey boy, - you got something worth adjusting down there?"
The shock was considerable. I spun around to see a ratty looking old trailer a little ways in to my left, with two women sitting out on the deck, drinking beer from cans, and leering at me. Marshalling all the wit and intelligence at my disposal, I croaked, "What?"
They repeated the question, and this time around I managed a laugh and replied, "I dunno, on a good day, I guess." There was some further cackling, and then, "Well why don't you come up, and we'll see if it's a good day?" So I did, though they didn't get to see anything, I swear.
It had been years since any woman, other than my wife, had subjected me to such frank and speculative appraisal, and I would dearly love to report that these were sweet and nubile young things. But no. This was a pair of hard old girls in their late fifties at best - frizzy haired and saggy boobed, the both of them. They were friendly though, with a very good glow on for eleven thirty in the morning. I had one, two, and then three Bud Lites - hardly my favourite brew, and certainly not the wisest thing to do considering my plans for the day. I diplomatically avoided entering the trailer with them, though by the third beer I desperately needed the toilet. No guts. -
How's that for romance?
Cheers,
PKH
hikerjohnd
04-05-2005, 19:49
Yes, they change the sheets! The new owners are conscientious and wonderful folks.
Ok - after the discovery, you still stayed at the hotel? You are a better man than I. At the hospital where I worked I was unfortunate enough to discover a patient and that was within an hour or so. That room always gave me the creeps after that...
SavageLlama
04-05-2005, 23:40
Funny too because on the way back down to the road crossing I saw my first and only owl on the AT during my thru.
Did you take a picture? I think i remember seeing it on TJ or somewhere. That was one big ass owl (if i'm thinking of the right picture).
Footslogger, Seeing as you were getting hypothermic,that owl was pobably waiting to call your name. Which (rembering a book from High School with that in its title) isn't a good thing. :-)
We had a humming bird take a great interest in us on Katahdin's Tableland one year. That was rather strange. While I was thinking that it had some deeper meaning, now that some time has passed I figure that it wa just my red hat. The again, who knows...
I have had a number of those kinds of experiences. Seeing a box turtle while lamenting my slow pace, for example. Pretty usual stuff, but sure seems strange at the time.
Rick B
Jack Tarlin
04-06-2005, 11:46
John---
Of course I still stay at the Doyle and so should you! It's one of my favorite town stops on the whole Trail.
However, you're right. On every visit, there is indeed one particular room I try and avoid!
Blue Jay
04-06-2005, 12:04
John---
Of course I still stay at the Doyle and so should you! It's one of my favorite town stops on the whole Trail.
However, you're right. On every visit, there is indeed one particular room I try and avoid!
Damn it, WHICH ROOM. If you tell me I promise you'll never get a harsh word from me again, or make me an offer.
Footslogger
04-06-2005, 12:12
Did you take a picture? I think i remember seeing it on TJ or somewhere. That was one big ass owl (if i'm thinking of the right picture).====================================
Darn right I got a pic (several, in fact) ...but haven't posted any on WB yet. It was a sizeable owl (horned variety) and as we hiked it would fly from tree to tree following until we got pretty close to the road. I figured it was a good omen, seeing as how the day started off.
'Slogger
Footslogger
04-06-2005, 12:17
[QUOTE=rickboudrie]Footslogger, Seeing as you were getting hypothermic,that owl was pobably waiting to call your name. Which (rembering a book from High School with that in its title) isn't a good thing. :-
=================================
Not sure if it was calling my name ...but I took is a good omen in light of the whole hypothermia incident
=================================
[QUOTE=rickboudrie]I have had a number of those kinds of experiences. Seeing a box turtle while lamenting my slow pace, for example. Pretty usual stuff, but sure seems strange at the time.
=================================
Ironic you should mention that Rick, because in 2003 my wife hiked with me for about 300 miles in Virginia. As we hiked out of Troutdale we came upon a rather large snapping turtle smack dab in the middle of a narrow section of the trail. It was moving rather slow but as we approached it seemed to take offense and lunged toward us. I had to brace its shell with my hiking pole to keep it at bay while we hiked past. Never have forgotten that day.
'Slogger
Jack Tarlin
04-06-2005, 12:21
Sweet dreams, Jay. On this matter, my lips are sealed.
But to tell you the truth, the building is a century old. Someone's probably checked out while lodged in half the rooms there! A friend of mine is in the hotel business and this sort of thing happens much more often than you'd think, tho in most places they probably find you before a week goes by.
In any case, the room number is a secret, tho I'll occasionally tell the occupant the morning AFTER they've over-nighted there, especially if they were particularly loud or obnoxious in the bar the night before.
RagingHampster
04-06-2005, 16:58
Sweet dreams, Jay. On this matter, my lips are sealed.
But to tell you the truth, the building is a century old. Someone's probably checked out while lodged in half the rooms there! A friend of mine is in the hotel business and this sort of thing happens much more often than you'd think, tho in most places they probably find you before a week goes by.
In any case, the room number is a secret, tho I'll occasionally tell the occupant the morning AFTER they've over-nighted there, especially if they were particularly loud or obnoxious in the bar the night before. :p :p :p
stomparound85
04-06-2005, 23:38
Sweet dreams, Jay. On this matter, my lips are sealed.
But to tell you the truth, the building is a century old. Someone's probably checked out while lodged in half the rooms there! A friend of mine is in the hotel business and this sort of thing happens much more often than you'd think, tho in most places they probably find you before a week goes by.
In any case, the room number is a secret, tho I'll occasionally tell the occupant the morning AFTER they've over-nighted there, especially if they were particularly loud or obnoxious in the bar the night before.
so what happened how did the man die:(