View Full Version : How was every ones Memorial Weekend Hike?
Josh Calhoun
05-29-2012, 11:44
I did winding stair gap to NOC. weather was great. had a encounter with a hungry bear at cold springs shelter sat night and a timber rattler "3rd one that week" whike taking lunch at wesser bald shelter. Finish'd the hike in 1 and a half days and spent sunday evening drinking beer and laying around in the water at the NOC. Ran into daddytwosticks, very nice guy and enjoyed talking with him. another great weekend. how was every yalls?
JaxHiker
05-29-2012, 12:04
Awesome. Postponed due to Beryl. Now I'm hiking next week.
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coach lou
05-29-2012, 12:15
Had a very good time taking the step-kids out on their 1st pack trip. Met Sarcasm the Elf at Stony Brook camp.All smiles in my gallery!
I did my first solo backpacking hike, 3 days on the Standing Indian loop in NC (I hike slow), sort of a shake-down hike to see if the gear that I thought might work in theory would actually be a good fit. I had an awesome time, and learned some good lessons (I need to lighten my load by about 5 pounds to hit a good balance between comfortable hiking and comfortable eating/sleeping, and I think I know exactly how to do that). One hard lesson-- my boots that work well for day hikes do not quite fit properly, and my feet were shredded with blisters. REI already let me return them, and sold me a different (lighter) pair with more room for my toes.
But I had a blast! Only complaint-- the weather was perfect, so I didn't get to see how I manage rain. :)
Whack-a-mole
05-29-2012, 12:55
Josh-I left a great big "Hey Josh" scratched in the trail near Silers bald on Fri, but there was so much traffic, it was probably trampled by the time you got there. There was also one less big rattler by the time you got to the shelter at Wessers, the boys in the group ahead of us took care of him, and he was on the grill when we got to the shelter. We had 27 people at the campsite that night. Very interesting to meet so many different families, friends, solo hikers etc... I had a good weekend. I was hoping to meet you, but I knew I'd be just ahead of you. We left NOC about 1pm.
Had a ball hiking Mt. Lafayette, there-and-back, Saturday via Old Bridle Path and Greenleaf, my first 5000-footer. Breathtaking views. Speaking of breathtaking, I also noticed above the hut that it took me a bit more time to catch my breath - the thinner air does make a difference.
Odd Man Out
05-29-2012, 14:00
Just did some day hikes in northern LP, MI. Posted pics here
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?84454-Where-are-you-headed-this-weekend&p=1293225&highlight=#post1293225
Josh Calhoun
05-29-2012, 14:06
@wackamole i did see the writing in the dirt. i took a picture of it haha. i tried like hell to catch you. i did 17 miles sat and stayed at cold springs sat night. took a lunch at wesser to wait on my girlfriend to come south bound and meet me. you probably saw her. blonde hiking by herself with a blue pack. probably looked like she was about to pass out haha. we got to NOC about 230. hate i missed you. i have caught 3 rattlesnakes in the last week up there. there out and about for sure.
Took my grandson on his first backpacking trip. Went from Gathland State Park to Wolfsville Rd just to give him a taste. He said he enjoyed it. He interacted with several thruhikers (the team of Sharing Insanity, Waker, Easy Turtle, Beacon) to name a few. what a great experience for a 14 year old. Ran into Blissful at Rocky Run. She was completing 10 days as a ridgerunner. The only misfortune for my grandson was leaving his hat at Pine knob Shelter. A lesson in inventortying your gear before you leave a spot. He wants to go back out the next time I go.
Only down side to a great weekend was when we arrived at the Wolfsville Road parking lot. My car, which was parked parallel to Wolfsville Road was nowfacing the road and the left side was damaged from the front fender to the rear bumper. the Sheriff's Deputy told me that evidently, sometime between 2:30 PM and 11:30 PM Sunday a vehicle went off the road, hit my vehicle along with two others. It was a hit and run and the is no suspect vehicle.
But, the time spent with my grandson on the trail erased any anger and rage I had at the time.
johnnybgood
05-29-2012, 16:49
Saw this guy yesterday while hiking in Shenandoah Nat'l Park. This rattler was the first one that I had ever encountered .16162
Energizer Bunny
05-29-2012, 17:26
I was hiking with a group behind you. I only know that we were behind you because we saw "hi josh" everywhere. :-). Too bad we didn't catch up with you. It was very entertaining though!!
JaxHiker
05-29-2012, 18:13
That's too funny.
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Pringles
05-29-2012, 18:20
Didn't hike. I played taps at a ceremony on Mackinac Island. Thanks veterans! (Sort of sorry this is off topic, but not really.).
Pringles
Josh I was at Cold springs saturday night on the hill , we had 3 hammocks hanging, and heard someone walking through the woods with a light calling "bear" around 11 pm. The tone of the voice made me think it was just somebody looking for a person named bear. Regardless I went back to sleep we left out at 630 am. We missed the rattler also thank god. It was a beautiful weekend. My son heard coyotes howling , I missed that also.
Did not hike that weekend.
On Sunday my family & I went to the coke 600 nascar race in Charlotte
We live 30 minuets from the track and go to most of the races there.
We got there around 2 or so, as we wanted to go browse the souvenir area.
On our way there we walked up on an actual Swearing In Ceremony into
the United States Air Force for around 20 young Women and Men!
I have been blessed to see a lot of cool unexpected stuff in my life, but
I think I may have to alter my top ten.
Anyway, that's what we will remember about this Memorial weekend.
I hiked the Shenandoah section of the AT. It was hot as Hades but a rather easy section. I did run into our very own Bamboo Bob and his wife on Monday and another highlight was loading four through hikers into the car and taking them into Front Royal. You could see the stench behind us. It was very cool to see the same group of hikers that I ran into when I was trail running the AT in GA this spring. Three different people recognized me, I guess I need nose and glasses. But it was amazing to see how lean and mean the thru hikers were and how effortless they powered up the hills, a bit different than Georgia. It was also very cool because this trip was almost identical to my last three days on the PCT as far as hiking style and mileage. It really felt like a three day resupply leg on a thru and I went back to work this morning a very calm and relaxed me!
HikerMom58
05-29-2012, 20:21
Cool stuff ...... thanks for starting the thread Josh! :)
Great. Hiked a 30 mile loop in the Adirondacks.
AegisIII
05-29-2012, 21:28
It was good, though quite humid, and on the hot side, but not as hot as I was expecting. Did a short (for me) day hike of about six miles at Sideling Hill in Pennsylvania on Sunday. Saw no one, which is not a surprise for that area. Plenty of wildlife, deer, woods turtle, frogs, black rat snake. Clearing at the top of the final climb was an oven. There was a view from the edge of a logged area, but rather hazy given the weather. (And to think I've passed maybe 50 feet from that area a few times without knowing it was there!) And of course, the wonderful but wet Roaring Run ravine.
Sarcasm the elf
05-29-2012, 21:34
Had a very good time taking the step-kids out on their 1st pack trip. Met Sarcasm the Elf at Stony Brook camp.All smiles in my gallery!
Good times! Hey I forgot to tell you, when I got back to West Cornwall road, there was a brand new Aston-Martin convertible parked directly in front of the trail head, probably the first time it was ever park off of the pavement ;).
squirrel1
05-29-2012, 21:36
Only down side to a great weekend was when we arrived at the Wolfsville Road parking lot. My car, which was parked parallel to Wolfsville Road was nowfacing the road and the left side was damaged from the front fender to the rear bumper. the Sheriff's Deputy told me that evidently, sometime between 2:30 PM and 11:30 PM Sunday a vehicle went off the road, hit my vehicle along with two others. It was a hit and run and the is no suspect vehicle.
Sorry to hear about your car. I left Wolfsville Rd. Saturday morning at 8am and there were only 2 or 3 cars there. Headed south to Harpers Ferry. It was hot, hot hot. Hiked, napped in the shade, hiked some more. It's nice to know that people in parks walking by a guy fast asleep on a backpack think nothing of it beyond whispering to their kids "look.. a hiker" in the same tone they would a use to point out a chipmunk.
coach lou
05-29-2012, 21:41
Good times! Hey I forgot to tell you, when I got back to West Cornwall road, there was a brand new Aston-Martin convertible parked directly in front of the trail head, probably the first time it was ever park off of the pavement ;).
That may have been Marshas car, we didn't see her at the ice cream store/ outfitters. Mac & Cliff really enjoyed the walk up the side of Silver Hill.
schnikel
05-29-2012, 21:41
My wife and I did about a 28 mile loop at Otter Creek in Monongahalea National Forest, WV. It was hot and humid but cooler down by the creek. Ran into some stinging nettle in the northern section, but no real complaints here. It is a beautiful area, not a ton of people either, saw about 20 or so.
Schnikel
Sorry to hear about your car. I left Wolfsville Rd. Saturday morning at 8am and there were only 2 or 3 cars there. Headed south to Harpers Ferry. It was hot, hot hot. Hiked, napped in the shade, hiked some more. It's nice to know that people in parks walking by a guy fast asleep on a backpack think nothing of it beyond whispering to their kids "look.. a hiker" in the same tone they would a use to point out a chipmunk.
I parked there around 8:30 and there were 3 cars parked in the grass and 2 parked at the bottom next to the private drive. My wife then drove me to Gathland where I started. We probably passed each other.
16163
My granddawg, Molly -a Sibe Husky, and I, went on her first packing trip up the northside of Mt Rogers and hung over on Brier Ridge Sat. night.
16166
When a pony came up for a sniff, Mollydawg went absolutely bonkers. I thought we were going to have an incident. But I kinda a brokered a "calm" interaction after about 5 minutes of talking them both through it.
16164
Hadn't been out on Brier Ridge, pretty nice.
16165
Next day, we hiked back on some of the Pine Mt Trail( rhodys are about 3 days until peak :) ) then down Lewis Fork on the Cliffside trail and yellowblazed back to the truck.
We had a blast.
abstract
05-29-2012, 22:57
Just finished The Georgia Loop! Recovering in a hotel in Dawsonville before the drive back to Florida tomorrow.
rocketsocks
05-29-2012, 23:31
Whatched a few classics on the idiot box.
Dambusters
MidWay
The one with John Wayne,and Robert Mitchum,Auhg,that's gonna bug me!where they storm the beaches.
Bridge on the river Kwai
Mrs Baggins
05-30-2012, 08:20
Hubby and I took the pop up trailer to Big Meadows Campground in SNP on Thursday. Did the easy but absolutely stunning 4 mile Rose River loop on Saturday and the grueling 9 mile Cedar Run-White Oak Canyon loop on Saturday. Only saw one little baby snake, probably a garter. That Saturday hike is one I've done before but it was in the Fall and the trail bed was dry, and there were very few people out. This time the springs were running full and fast, making long stretches of trail, including that long steep descent on Cedar Run, very treacherous. I have a tough time with the 4 water crossings - legs too short to make the jumps from rock to rock. :) And the falls were overrun with crowds - people who parked close to the White Oak trail and only had a short distance to walk to the falls and back. Saw far too many people coming down from the Lower Hawks Bill parking lot to the falls at the height of the heat of the day, not carrying any water, wearing completely inadequate footwear. We were often stopped as we ascended that section and asked "How far is it to the falls?" Guess maps are too hard to read? Got to our car at 2 pm and a young couple stopped us to ask 1) where did the Cedar Run trail start (again - can't read a map???) and 2) (as he waved empty water bottles in the air) "Any place to get water here?" I just said no, there's not, not til you get down to the stream. They took off down the trail anyway.
coach lou
05-30-2012, 08:35
Hubby and I took the pop up trailer to Big Meadows Campground in SNP on Thursday. Did the easy but absolutely stunning 4 mile Rose River loop on Saturday and the grueling 9 mile Cedar Run-White Oak Canyon loop on Saturday. Only saw one little baby snake, probably a garter. That Saturday hike is one I've done before but it was in the Fall and the trail bed was dry, and there were very few people out. This time the springs were running full and fast, making long stretches of trail, including that long steep descent on Cedar Run, very treacherous. I have a tough time with the 4 water crossings - legs too short to make the jumps from rock to rock. :) And the falls were overrun with crowds - people who parked close to the White Oak trail and only had a short distance to walk to the falls and back. Saw far too many people coming down from the Lower Hawks Bill parking lot to the falls at the height of the heat of the day, not carrying any water, wearing completely inadequate footwear. We were often stopped as we ascended that section and asked "How far is it to the falls?" Guess maps are too hard to read? Got to our car at 2 pm and a young couple stopped us to ask 1) where did the Cedar Run trail start (again - can't read a map???) and 2) (as he waved empty water bottles in the air) "Any place to get water here?" I just said no, there's not, not til you get down to the stream. They took off down the trail anyway.
I'm thinking of the same thing for my step childrens next walk. Take the big tent down to Big Meadows, day hikes, go down to Hoovers camp, fish maybe. Maybe bring the bikes. Step daughter is a Civil War buff, stop at Gettysburg. Or Maybe the Statton Pond/ Bourne Pond, Lye Brook Wilderness......They want to pack again, but I can't take them up Tuckermans or thru the Mahoosics......................................... ....yet!
Mrs Baggins
05-30-2012, 08:44
The "Hoover" hike (Laurel Run - Rapidan) is wonderful. So much history. I've done it a couple of times.
Quick correction on my initial post on this thread: We did the Rose River hike on Friday, not Saturday. :) One thing more - we decided we'd definitely not go up there again over Memorial Day weekend. By Friday evening the campground was packed with huge families - yelling adults, screaming little kids, barking dogs. We had an great site on the A loop (only because I reserved it 6 months ago) but still......we'll stick to going up there between holidays after this.
coach lou
05-30-2012, 08:46
The "Hoover" hike (Laurel Run - Rapidan) is wonderful. So much history. I've done it a couple of times.
Quick correction on my initial post on this thread: We did the Rose River hike on Friday, not Saturday. :) One thing more - we decided we'd definitely not go up there again over Memorial Day weekend. By Friday evening the campground was packed with huge families - yelling adults, screaming little kids, barking dogs. We had an great site on the A loop (only because I reserved it 6 months ago) but still......we'll stick to going up there between holidays after this.
I fished the upper Rapidan once in March.......I was the only Vehicle in Big Meadows Camp.
We did a 32 mile section hike in Va. It rained the 1st day and was nice the rest of the time
Josh Calhoun
05-30-2012, 09:12
that was me with the black buff and gators on. i walked up and talked with yall for a lil bit. i am pretty sure it was yall. i heard them hallering at 11. they were all messed up on indian pipe they found allong the trail. it could of been a big coon they saw lol. cool guys though. The bear come into camp later that night.
Windcatcher
05-30-2012, 12:37
Camped at the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge (Oklahoma), went into Medicine Park, OK on Friday & Saturday nights to their annual Memorial Day Festival for the bands, rode my bicycle at the local Tour de Meers cycling event, dayhiked on Saturday & Sunday in the Refuge....tons of wildflowers in bloom, buffalo, longhorn cattle, several tarantulas, lots of wildlife!
We car camped at Standing Indian Campground and hiked the short hike up to Albert Mtn to show the kids the view from the fire tower. My 4 yr. old was running the whole way, unfazed by the steep grade to the tower. There were tons of sections hikers out - the trail looked pretty crowded. As others have said, the weather was great all weekend.
I did a local round trip on Monday, my wife and i went from Gooch Gap to Woody Gap; she drove home and I returned to Gooch to the second vehicle. When we reached the halfway point at Woody Gap, I watched a young couple park and start walking SOBO. I followed a few minutes later and got excited that I was actually going to pass someone on the trail (I'm old and slow and a newbie). The young guy saw the snake first and freaked out. He thought it was a copperhead, but I counted six rattles, and from the color, and looking online my guess is timber rattler. The snake was interested in moving away, and we did the same. Otherwise, I'm glad not to be bothered by poison ivy or poison oak. It's everywhere.
:) Not bad...
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7220/7299090166_e062476fbb_z.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7097/7299092230_019a48ac37_z.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7235/7299101500_7fe8036e47_z.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7222/7299103368_bd34a79ef2_z.jpg
rocketsocks
05-31-2012, 01:17
Show Off....aways love em though! thanks Mags!
Mags,I just grabbed one of those pics as a screen saver,Is that ok?
i ran into thru hiker peanuteater in NY near hwy 52. Said he started March 21. Dude covered a lot of distance. Said he was doing some 20-25 mile days. On the other hand, met a mother and son from Ohio, who were doing about 1 mile per hour. Mom was 80, has done over 1800 miles in about 22 weeks of hiking days. Mom was ready to go. Some trail angels had left cokes on the trail near the parking area near NY 52. Only saw maybe 10 hikers in 24 mile section from NY 301 to NY 55. Great weekend to hike.
Show Off....aways love em though! thanks Mags!
Mags,I just grabbed one of those pics as a screen saver,Is that ok?
Absolutely. I am honored. :)
Mine's still going. I screwed up my knee this morning coming up Blue(?) Mountain so I came out at Unicoi Gap and am spending the night in Helen. This is an awesome little town, especially if you like German food (which I do, not to mention German beer). Crossed the 50 mile mark at about 10 this morning, and have 110 to go to Fontana. Loving every minute of it.
fredmugs
05-31-2012, 14:42
Finished up the 100 mile wilderness. Trail is nice and (relatively) dry. Nobody on the trail and had the shelters to myself.
ScoutDad
05-31-2012, 15:53
Great time hiking from Woody Gap to Springer Mt. 20.8 miles total. It was my 9 year olds first time out.
16171
ScoutDad
05-31-2012, 15:56
Camped at the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge (Oklahoma), went into Medicine Park, OK on Friday & Saturday nights to their annual Memorial Day Festival for the bands, rode my bicycle at the local Tour de Meers cycling event, dayhiked on Saturday & Sunday in the Refuge....tons of wildflowers in bloom, buffalo, longhorn cattle, several tarantulas, lots of wildlife!
I miss those burgers and steaks from Meers when I was stationed at Ft. Sill.
Did US321 to 19E in upper east Tennessee. Beautiful weather, nice waterfalls and vistas. We too saw several snakes, but no rattlers. This is a nice section.
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I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?12rr03
Plans changed as my GF had never backpacked before. Spent the first day hiking to the first shelter 5 miles south of Rockfish Gap, met some cool old thru hikers briefly and we talked a little about Shenadoah and the trail behind them. Spent the next two days hiking back out and hiking in Ramsey's Draft(beautiful place) wilderness area in VA. Her and our combined 3 dogs had a great time. As hot as it was, it never felt unpleasant. Great weekend!