View Full Version : What's the weirdest thing that you......
avalonmorn
01-01-2013, 20:30
Currently reading "Trail ways, Path wise" by John Illig. He started Springer with a chess set, a book on learning German, an ABs machine, and snowshoes strapped to his backpack. What's the weirdest thing you have seen on someone else's pack?
brian039
01-01-2013, 21:48
An iguana.
coolness
01-01-2013, 21:53
I heard about a lady that carried a cat on a thru-hike.......:confused:
I saw an electric hair dryer and a set of curlers in a hiker box this summer in Glencliff, NH - - Fat Chap (the manager) told me that a Southbounder left it there which means that (presumably) she carried it almost 400 miles - - somehow, it's so incredibly stubborn and pig headed to carry it that far my guess is that she made it.
Maddoxsjohnston
01-01-2013, 22:47
a plastic gallon jug full to the rim with brown liquor
atmilkman
01-01-2013, 22:50
a plastic gallon jug full to the rim with brown liquor
Must have been a ULer to put it in plastic.
MuddyWaters
01-01-2013, 23:03
Winton Porters book has a few good ones they have seen at Mountain Crossings, thats a far as a lot made it:
People rolling luggage instead of backpacks
A guy that carried /rolled a large wooden cross, you can guess his trail name
Golites founder attempted to hike it with a several month food supply , close to 150 lbs
Laptop computers left on the trail
Strangest thing I seen was a guy that kept all his food in tupperware containers.
Watched him make a seasoned hamburger, fry it up in a skillet, slice onion and tomato, add a leaf of lettuce, and put it on perfect bread . The loaf of bread was in a long rectangular container to keep it from being crushed.
And he had a guitar in a case.
I also saw a cat riding on top of a pack. Another cool thing was a Connect 4 game carried by a girl who, obviously had the trail name Connect 4, became shortened to C-4.
Tipi Walter
01-01-2013, 23:37
** Humped in a full watermelon on top of an external frame pack.
** Humped in a canvas cover to a 16 foot tipi---twice.
** Humped in 3 backpacks lashed together---one on my back and two others on top---for friends going into a Rainbow gathering.
** Humped in a 120 lb iron woodstove up a thousand feet on a one mile trail.
** Backpacking buddy carried in a iron dutch oven on top of his pack. Tripped and the pot swung over his pack and hit him in the face.
** Carried a B-flat clarinet the whole way thru the Shenandoahs.
** Carried a half gallon of ice cream into Lost Valley and it all melted and had to be drunk in one sitting.
Old Hiker
01-01-2013, 23:48
Never saw it 2012, but someone was carrying a Chuckie doll head sticking out of his pack. Claimed it was "the observer".
Sarcasm the elf
01-01-2013, 23:53
This guy wasn't on the A.T. but the one that sticks in my mind was the guy I saw on a local trail in a state park.
I was early February on a snow covered trail a couple years ago. I hadn't seen anyone else in at least an hour, when suddenly a guy comes hauling up the trail in the opposite direction wearing a P-coat, clean white khakis, gelled hair and best of all a steaming cup of coffee from Starbucks. To this day I have no idea how he got that far up the trail with clean cloths and hot coffee!
twilight
01-01-2013, 23:55
How 'bout a full size cabin. Think of the ones you find at Walmart.
Twilight
avalonmorn
01-02-2013, 00:36
** Humped in a full watermelon on top of an external frame pack.
** Humped in a canvas cover to a 16 foot tipi---twice.
** Humped in 3 backpacks lashed together---one on my back and two others on top---for friends going into a Rainbow gathering.
** Humped in a 120 lb iron woodstove up a thousand feet on a one mile trail.
** Backpacking buddy carried in a iron dutch oven on top of his pack. Tripped and the pot swung over his pack and hit him in the face.
** Carried a B-flat clarinet the whole way thru the Shenandoahs.
** Carried a half gallon of ice cream into Lost Valley and it all melted and had to be drunk in one sitting.
I am actually sitting here with tears running down my face!
This guy wasn't on the A.T. but the one that sticks in my mind was the guy I saw on a local trail in a state park.
I was early February on a snow covered trail a couple years ago. I hadn't seen anyone else in at least an hour, when suddenly a guy comes hauling up the trail in the opposite direction wearing a P-coat, clean white khakis, gelled hair and best of all a steaming cup of coffee from Starbucks. To this day I have no idea how he got that far up the trail with clean cloths and hot coffee!
Cemetery near by?
slow mind
01-02-2013, 00:57
Not on the AT but on Isle Royale: Two guys carrying a 60 qt. cooler lashed to two logs, stretcher style) over 10 miles from the nearest ferry point.
** Humped in a 120 lb iron woodstove up a thousand feet on a one mile trail.
** Backpacking buddy carried in a iron dutch oven on top of his pack. Tripped and the pot swung over his pack and hit him in the face.
And all this time I thought the dutch oven was hyperbole :-)
SCRUB HIKER
01-02-2013, 04:36
A NOBO hiking with an electric cello and an amp in 2011. You can't properly say they were on his pack, as he was carrying one in each hand. I would still include it in any base weight calculations, however. Not sure how far he made it, but I heard he gave a performance at Mountain Crossings with Balloonatic, a thru-hiker who was a former balloon-art world champion. I missed this performance by one night--one of my biggest regrets of the trail.
Also one of the Hut kids packboarded a 150lb keg down from the Washington summit to Lake of the Clouds Hut in 2010. I've heard about that one a few different times. Hut Croos get very proud about that sort of thing.
What's the weirdest thing you have seen on someone else's pack?
Fake bloody arms and legs sticking out of a backpack. Cats(actually some cats can be kinda cool), little snippy yappy dogs(UGH, usually the owners are hoity toity snippy yappy dogs too), birds(parrot, Macaw(those big white ones with a yellow feather crest on top of their head like Baretta had, cool looking bird but later found out it could snip your finger off like a twig)), watermelon by a Darmouth Hiking Club member(later at a NH AT Fire Lookout Tower I came across the club, they hauled that watermelon some 20+ miles and weren't going to eat it all, they offered it to me, I gladly took it, climbed up to the top of the tower with it and proceeded to spit the seeds into cups they placed on the ground, we all had a ball, ate the whole watermelon), Betty Crocker Easy Bake Oven(?, didn't stop to ask why, strapped on back of pack which made him, and it was a him, seem wider than taller, what the ?), hatchet and long handled axe by the same person(Paul bunyan, ?), two folding camp chairs(I asked why, I assumed he was hauling one up the mouintain for a buddy, one to sit on and one to rest his feet on was the reply, ?), two sleeping bags during summer(?, guess he was a NOLS member wanting to be prepared for ALL ocassions), two prs of shoes plus the ones he was wearing(?, maybe he got a good deal on three prs at a garage sale ?), case of beer(several times), beer ball(how many gallons is that?), two liter, maybe 1.5 L each, bottles(glass) of JD(at least had good taste), carton of smokes, large pizza still in the box(saw him at a shelter later, you know I yogied a slice), bag of oranges, bag of avocados, bag of potatoes(no shart, he was trail named Tater, you might have heard of him, dangled from the back of his pack, if you got too close to him like when trying to hike by you had to be careful the potato sack didn't swing around and hit you in the face). Of course, iron skillets(some large and heavy enough to cook a meal for the entire Clampett Clan and then knock them all out with it. A few trout. A few Largemouth Bass and two tiny Bluegill sunfish(both times in bear country, and humans talk about bear problerms). Umbrellas. Wrapped presents for far away relatives(?, I assume she was trying to save postage and wanted to hand deliver them herself, restrained myself from inquiring further, obviously, when she asked where I was intending to camp for the night I didn't exactly tell her where, ?). Ferret, twice(they don't sit still, once in camp it gets worse, they are curious about everything, if you leave an untended pack open they'll nose around inside and possibly take a dump in it which leads to a Jeopardy Bonus Round later trying to determine exactly what the crap is and how it got into your pack, and they have an OHDOOR that they leave on things, keep one away from your sleeping bag, trying to keep a straight face when others are asking, "what's that smell?" is worthy of the best poker player when they are bluffing). A tall fuzzy red/white striped Dr Seuss hat. A shaggy white stuffed monkey. A brown shaggy motorized monkey with symbols that when turned on played music( maybe he was looking for tips to fund his hike, sometimes it's just best not to ask, ?). Ukes, guitars. Although stored in his pack this one guy had a small toy piano that he felt he needed to pound away at when at a shelter like like Schroeder from the Peanuts. I think, best of all was a live hissing 3 ft alligator(?, I was stupid enough to try and touch the thing because I ddin't think it was real at first. Snapped at me almost catching my fingers. I don't think folks would have believed me if I said I had to abandon my AT hike because I got bit by an alligator). I'm sure I'm forgetting a few. I heard about someone hiking with an iguana but personally missed out on that. Most of this is on the AT. Lots of DIVERSE people on the AT. You'll love it. It's a sociable trail.
Wise Old Owl
01-02-2013, 06:19
A pressure cooker, (the norm in England) odd to see it here, and this ...18756 Yep that's a surgical glove on a stick in the middle of the trail north of the Pinnacle after Sandy.
Thirsty DPD
01-02-2013, 08:54
In August, we passed two middle age guys, one; black tee w/camo trousers & military boots, not unusual. His side kick, Gestapo; German uniform head to toe. Colonel Klink (Clink) hat, wool jacket, w/ badges & medals, & armband, belt, holster, wool spats, high german boots, sweatin' like a pig. Both had period canteens, no packs. It was the 1st time in 30+ yrs of backpacking, that I caught myself looking over my shoulder.
ATMountainTime
01-02-2013, 10:50
I carried a Iron 12 quart dutch oven 12 miles when i was in scouts. the pack weighed almost what i did at that time.
bigcranky
01-02-2013, 12:23
A Bible. Now, I realize that's not unusual -- plenty of hikers carry a little Bible. But this was a beautiful full-size copy, the kind of thing you'd keep on its own table in the family room and pass down through the generations. Must have weighed a ton. I think it was the same guy who had a mesh bag with a month's worth of food. Enough to get him from Springer to Hot Springs, if I remember his plan correctly.
Miami Joe
01-02-2013, 13:30
** Humped in a 120 lb iron woodstove up a thousand feet on a one mile trail.
Man's gotta eat.
turtle fast
01-02-2013, 13:44
I ran into an Englishman who had a cricket bat. I ran into a guy who was holding two metal dumbells and walking on the trail (for fitness I assume)...but then he talked to us about the end of the world that was going to happen later that month..crazy stuff. Cases of beer, a small keg of Heinekin beer, a construction workers hard hat (with the name Torrence Bean on it) that had fallen off a truck presumably and then adopted and carried by the hiker with the intent of making it to Mt Katahdin taking a picture with it and finding the owner presumably in Virginia to return it with the story and pictures in tow.
This was in northern Michigan years ago.
Hiking in pictured rocks. Just at dark as the sun was dropping, I saw a large group of people walking toward me all wearing dark hooded robes with rope belts, all carrying lit candles. A pretty spooky sight all alone in the middle of no where, in the dark.
In hind sight I figured they were probably frat kids from NMU, but at the time all I could think of was Rosemary's Baby :)
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An iguana.
Was this with a male moving SOBO in 2010? If so I met that guy in Mass. Likely the weirdest single item I saw.
Though I enjoyed the guy with a double burner coleman stove two fuel tanks 5lbs bacon and 2 ounces of weed was entertaining. Met a guy starting a SOBO carrying 3 Ka-Bars (I guess he was gonna juggle if a bear came).
One of those portable DVD TV combo's, also i meet a german guy this year that had a lawn chair and in NH i saw a guy that had a bunch of Fire works he was going to set them off on Katahdan but i think the ranger's in BSP put a stop to his plans, in 2006 me and a friend shared a bowling ball, and a stuffed monkey. RED-DOG
[QUOTE=Donde;1383900}...Though I enjoyed the guy with a double burner coleman stove two fuel tanks 5lbs bacon and 2 ounces of weed was entertaining...[/QUOTE]
I think, I met that same guy, possibly in VA, because that describes who I met to a tee. He also had a large iron skillet and large flask of ? I saw him taking a rest stop at a shelter where he proceeded to break out the Coleman Double Burner and fry up a steak AND bacon. He slathered the bacon with Helmann's mayonaisse he had taken from a glass jar. Then he pulled out two ozs of weed in separate baggies for dessert. I hung around for a while amazed at what he was carrying. He said he had in access of 80 lbs on his back but was only going 30 miles or so. This is the same guy I mentioned in my previous post who had both a hatchet and long handled axe attached to the outside of his pack. Can't understand why but he complained about knee problems and had a brace on one knee!
I remembered another one. This LT section hiker carried a boom box sized radio/TV screen combination electronics piece that I had never seen and have never seen again. He would listen to it as he hiked. He stopped alot and watched the small TV screen. He also felt the need to watch and listen to baseball games into the late night at shelters.
avalonmorn
01-02-2013, 16:34
One of those portable DVD TV combo's, also i meet a german guy this year that had a lawn chair and in NH i saw a guy that had a bunch of Fire works he was going to set them off on Katahdan but i think the ranger's in BSP put a stop to his plans, in 2006 me and a friend shared a bowling ball, and a stuffed monkey. RED-DOG
RED-DOG, if he carried the stuffed monkey, and he "let" you carry the bowling ball, he was not your friend......
Wise Old Owl
01-02-2013, 16:44
In August, we passed two middle age guys, one; black tee w/camo trousers & military boots, not unusual. His side kick, Gestapo; German uniform head to toe. Colonel Klink (Clink) hat, wool jacket, w/ badges & medals, & armband, belt, holster, wool spats, high german boots, sweatin' like a pig. Both had period canteens, no packs. It was the 1st time in 30+ yrs of backpacking, that I caught myself looking over my shoulder.
Was ist Los? wo ist Ihre Kamera? Wir, die Bild was oder wir Sie schießen!
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vmpSO2BbYCE/S5Mq1VjDmWI/AAAAAAAALVA/Wzg0qt1zT1E/s400/ColonelKlink_hindenbuerg.jpg
Thirsty DPD
01-02-2013, 17:28
Was ist Los? wo ist Ihre Kamera? Wir, die Bild was oder wir Sie schießen!
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vmpSO2BbYCE/S5Mq1VjDmWI/AAAAAAAALVA/Wzg0qt1zT1E/s400/ColonelKlink_hindenbuerg.jpg
They could have been brothers, no monocle as I remember.
Omaha_Ace
01-02-2013, 17:48
In the Buffalo National Wilderness in Arkansas I saw a guy with what appeared to be an empty 25 liter daypack strapped to a 75 liter pack. That one confused me.
FarmerChef
01-02-2013, 17:52
Names omitted to protect the...well, you know...
Was hiking last spring in southern VA and stopped at a shelter south of McAfee Knob. As it was hiker midnight, I crawled into my bag to join my family alone in the shelter that night. Around the edge of the shelter wall I see a light and hear giant "clonking" noises getting closer. Suddenly, around the side a bright light shines in my face and a thru (not sure I believed that) introduces himself to me, inquires about some other hikers and the spring, then decides to press on to find them. Just before he leaves he asks if I need anything. Well, I had to stifle a laugh since it looked like he was carrying everything you could need to summit Everest, including what looked like 200 feet of rope coiled around his head - in the dark it looked like he had giant dreadlocks. Oh and those clonking noises? Two wooden poles that reached up to his head. Probably could have used them as stilts. I later thought how funny it would have been to ask for a few feet of rope just because...
On another hike through the Shennies, met a guy who pulled an accordion out of his pack. Must have weighed 5 pounds. He didn't know how to play but was "figuring it out" as he went along.
twilight
01-02-2013, 21:03
How 'bout a full size cabin. Think of the ones you find at Walmart.
Twilight
That was suppose to be full size cabin tent.
Another Kevin
01-02-2013, 21:19
In the Buffalo National Wilderness in Arkansas I saw a guy with what appeared to be an empty 25 liter daypack strapped to a 75 liter pack. That one confused me.
I don't know what the Buffalo National Wilderness is like, but it sounds flat?
That sort of thing is common in the Adirondack High Peaks. People carry crazy loads a few miles into a lean-to or campsite, make a base camp, and then do day hikes from their base camp to bag the peaks. Seeing someone carry a daypack strapped to a big pack isn't remarkable there.
avalonmorn
01-02-2013, 21:53
That was suppose to be full size cabin tent.
Twilight, I was wondering about that, however, you DID say Walmart, so I thought it was another heavy camping item that they sell. When I decided to start hiking, I bought a headlamp from them, and I swear it was so heavy that it gave me whiplash. I scared a lot of buffalo on the wildlife reservation at Ft. Sill Oklahoma. I still do dumb things, BUT I don't buy much gear from Walmart now.
avalonmorn
01-02-2013, 21:59
I don't know what the Buffalo National Wilderness is like, but it sounds flat?
That sort of thing is common in the Adirondack High Peaks. People carry crazy loads a few miles into a lean-to or campsite, make a base camp, and then do day hikes from their base camp to bag the peaks. Seeing someone carry a daypack strapped to a big pack isn't remarkable there.
You are spot on....there are very active hiking clubs in Arkansas, and I believe that you are correct. They keep their trails as maintained as they can in the wilderness. The Buffalo Wilderness is a paradise for hikers, canoe people, campers, and people that like to blaze their own way to see hidden waterfalls and old homesteads, you would enjoy visiting.
brian039
01-02-2013, 22:50
Was this with a male moving SOBO in 2010? If so I met that guy in Mass. Likely the weirdest single item I saw.
It was a SOBO in 2010, I passed him in Shenandoah. I told him that I thought it would be nice if it ate those gnats that swarm around your eyes and ears, but he told me that it eats fruit.
Blue Mountain Edward
01-03-2013, 06:15
Seen a guy carrying a huge bible, 3 quart pot and 1.75 liters of whiskey in a glass bottle. Marcus was carrying a machete and a blowgun. He said the blowgun was for darting frogs to eat LOL. Met a weirdo who was carrying 3 pot pipes and was smoking hemp or horsemint seedlings he picked. This weirdo Wild,man was carrying a scooter. For a while he was carrying a 9 pound air rifle. He said he shot and ate a chimpmunk. Wild,man gave that air rifle away eventualy.
In the barefoot sisters book there's a guy toting a tuba around, and I've heard if this guy who had a battery powered tv with him so he could watch jeopardy.
fins1838
01-03-2013, 08:48
Aliens! They're everywhere. And they transform to look just like us. Watch out.
Omaha_Ace
01-03-2013, 10:21
You are spot on....there are very active hiking clubs in Arkansas, and I believe that you are correct. They keep their trails as maintained as they can in the wilderness. The Buffalo Wilderness is a paradise for hikers, canoe people, campers, and people that like to blaze their own way to see hidden waterfalls and old homesteads, you would enjoy visiting.
HIGHLY recommended for sure - it was remote, insanely beautiful, and relatively people-free. Hemmed-in-Hollow falls was like a religious experience. It's extremely primitive - minimally maintained trails and zero modern improvements - perfect. Prickly pear cactus to eat, loads of wildlife, and the water out of the Buffalo River was clean and tasty.
Oops, remembered another one. Female thru-hiker on the PCT 2008, who had strapped to her pack, several boxes, not individual packages, of Moon Pies. The boxes with the Moon Pie pictures. I don't know who makes Moon Pies, but she got the company to sponsor her thru-hike! CREATIVE! The "Moon Pie" company would mail her cases of Moon Pies at resupply pts. She would hand them all out to hikers and others before she got back on the trail but obviously, sometimes she wasn't able to give them all out. She was a sweetheart. Really nice. Really smart. A pleasure to hike and talk with. Her trailname, you guessed it, Moon Pie! She went the distance too!
IrishBASTARD
01-04-2013, 06:54
Never saw it 2012, but someone was carrying a Chuckie doll head sticking out of his pack. Claimed it was "the observer". Saw it talked to the owner, he would'nt say we said it was bride of chuckie, and so on and so forth. But he never came clean. Interesting guy though.
Cookerhiker
01-04-2013, 12:01
Oops, remembered another one. Female thru-hiker on the PCT 2008, who had strapped to her pack, several boxes, not individual packages, of Moon Pies. The boxes with the Moon Pie pictures. I don't know who makes Moon Pies, but she got the company to sponsor her thru-hike! CREATIVE! The "Moon Pie" company would mail her cases of Moon Pies at resupply pts. She would hand them all out to hikers and others before she got back on the trail but obviously, sometimes she wasn't able to give them all out. She was a sweetheart. Really nice. Really smart. A pleasure to hike and talk with. Her trailname, you guessed it, Moon Pie! She went the distance too!
Was she the same Moonpie who thruhiked the AT in '04? She was from Tennessee, I think Chattanooga.