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View Full Version : Taking a stone from Springer to Katahdin



ChinMusic
01-17-2013, 19:37
I know it is a tradition to take a small stone from Springer to Katahdin.

Does this violate LNT or because "everyone does it", it is OK?

Cookerhiker
01-17-2013, 19:40
Choose your stone carefully after becoming familiar with the rocks of Springer & Katahdin. You want to avoid packing a stone which some SOBOer lugged down from Katahdin.:D

JAK
01-17-2013, 19:40
As long as you take it back when you go SOBO your good.

johnnybgood
01-17-2013, 19:55
I know it is a tradition to take a small stone from Springer to Katahdin.

Does this violate LNT or because "everyone does it", it is OK?

No violation other than the obvious disqualification status as a UL hiker.;)

hikerboy57
01-17-2013, 19:56
No violation other than the obvious disqualification status as a UL hiker.
its a tradition dating back centuries. katahdin used to be 1000 ft high.

gizzy bear
01-17-2013, 20:09
I know it is a tradition to take a small stone from Springer to Katahdin.

Does this violate LNT or because "everyone does it", it is OK?

As long as it isn't a live rock...

atmilkman
01-17-2013, 20:10
Just don't carve your name in it.

Odd Man Out
01-17-2013, 20:14
I know in Hawaii they tell you that if you take a piece of lava off the island, Pele, the volcano goddess, will come and get you. I think she has a sister dwelling withing Springer, which certainly explains why such a large percentage of would-be thru hikers are not successful. Any recall if Bryson and Katz reported bringing a pebble north?

gizzy bear
01-17-2013, 20:19
Do they call the people who do this stoners?

Capt Nat
01-17-2013, 20:23
Once Springer and Katahdin are in the same place, we won't have to hike, we can just sit around in lawn chairs...

Papa D
01-17-2013, 20:28
Hiker in 08 named 5-Stones carried 5 stones (I think this has something to do with the number of stones David allegedly carried to kill Goliath - and maybe brothers) anyway, he started at Springer and made it to Bear Mtn Bridge, NY then went to Katahdin, and flip flopped back to somewhere in Connecticut - - where he stashed the stones and quit - - which is weird after doing about 2000 miles. Five Stones went back in '09, found the stone stash and finished at Bear Mtn Bridge - -which crosses the Hudson River - - the stones went off the bridge into the Hudson.

gizzy bear
01-17-2013, 20:37
Once Springer and Katahdin are in the same place, we won't have to hike, we can just sit around in lawn chairs...
I will set up a beer concession stand in the 100 inch wilderness ...

slow mind
01-17-2013, 20:41
It would be fun to hang out with the geologists out there in 18,000 years.

gizzy bear
01-17-2013, 20:51
It would be fun to hang out with the geologists out there in 18,000 years.

I just checked the calendar... In 18,000 years.. Katahdin will be located in Florida ... And will have hover round trails...

Wise Old Owl
01-17-2013, 21:07
Do they call the people who do this stoners?

Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh, what a stoner. He has the munchies constantly and can never to get too upset about anything. The bear loves honey and woddles around the 100 acre forest all day stoned out of his tree. Rabbit the republican can’t stand Pooh and his stoned buddy Piglet, who is so goofed he can’t string a sentence together without stuttering. His buddy Tigger is on crack so you only see him every now and then when he needs Pooh’s help to retrieve something he lost to his dealers, like his tail. Pooh’s dilemmas include standing up, and walking out his door for more honey. Sound familiar? I do find Piglet and Pooh’s relationship a little questionable at times…
“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. “Pooh,” he whispered.
“Yes, Piglet?”
“Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s paw, “I just wanted to be sure of you.””
-Pooh and Piglet



I just checked the calendar... In 18,000 years.. Katahdin will be located in Florida ... And will have hover round trails...

Will it be haunted or will Sasquatch be a domesticated?

Oh I forgot - will the Sasquatch finally stop being so gay and procreate.. and do they qualify for naturalization?

hikerboy57
01-17-2013, 21:13
I just checked the calendar... In 18,000 years.. Katahdin will be located in Florida ... And will have hover round trails...
you're brain will be kept in a jar hardwired to the appalachian holodeck

http://bestradioyouhaveneverheard.com/images/Abrn3.jpg

Wise Old Owl
01-17-2013, 21:21
yea that brain isn't fly - is that Woopie Goldberg?

hikerboy57
01-17-2013, 21:23
yea that brain isn't fly - is that Woopie Goldberg?


http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRchLuxSwircxTFuJG1LX19CDiqiqwU9 hFJiD0lmln4u5rGfD4jFPGeQ0a9Ig

Josh Calhoun
01-17-2013, 21:47
i guess technically it would violate LNT, but i am going to take one with me. "here comes the trail nazi's" DUN DUN DDDUUUUUHHHHNNNNN

Odd Man Out
01-17-2013, 23:22
i guess technically it would violate LNT, but i am going to take one with me. "here comes the trail nazi's" DUN DUN DDDUUUUUHHHHNNNNN

It's actually OK, just don't stack the stone when you get the Maine.

Mountain Mike
01-17-2013, 23:25
Probably best not to post a pic of you standing on Springer with the stone you are going to take to ME.

hikerboy57
01-17-2013, 23:25
Probably best not to post a pic of you standing on Springer with the stone you are going to take to ME.
especially if youve carved your name on it

Sarcasm the elf
01-17-2013, 23:29
Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh, what a stoner. He has the munchies constantly and can never to get too upset about anything. The bear loves honey and woddles around the 100 acre forest all day stoned out of his tree. Rabbit the republican can’t stand Pooh and his stoned buddy Piglet, who is so goofed he can’t string a sentence together without stuttering. His buddy Tigger is on crack so you only see him every now and then when he needs Pooh’s help to retrieve something he lost to his dealers, like his tail. Pooh’s dilemmas include standing up, and walking out his door for more honey. Sound familiar? I do find Piglet and Pooh’s relationship a little questionable at times…
“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. “Pooh,” he whispered.
“Yes, Piglet?”
“Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s paw, “I just wanted to be sure of you.””
-Pooh and Piglet


Oh bother...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl8AK5Ht65Y&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Slo-go'en
01-18-2013, 00:13
Rocks from Georgia are an invasive species by the time it gets to Maine. Could ruin the ecosystem, so is best left where it originates.

BirdBrain
01-18-2013, 00:16
its a tradition dating back centuries. katahdin used to be 1000 ft high.

I ain't messing with any north bound AT hiker. Those are big stones they lugged up there.

ChinMusic
01-18-2013, 01:17
Probably best not to post a pic of you standing on Springer with the stone you are going to take to ME.

Should I risk having my guest book blown up?

Coffee Rules!
01-18-2013, 02:36
I do find Piglet and Pooh’s relationship a little questionable at times…
“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. “Pooh,” he whispered.
“Yes, Piglet?”
“Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s paw, “I just wanted to be sure of you.””
-Pooh and Piglet

^^ Brokeback Hundred Acres ^^

peakbagger
01-18-2013, 08:40
The qulity of stones at Springer are inferior to the Katahdin stones. Southbounders should definitely haul down a pack full to Springer :)

Katahdin (5269) is just short of one mile high (5280). There have been attempts over the years to build the cairn high enough so it meets the mile high mark, but I expect those attempts rapidly end up in the Chimney basis after some high winds.

OzJacko
01-18-2013, 08:49
Just to really mess things up I am bringing a stone from the Bibbulmun Track to Katahdin.
(Washed to ensure no intercontinental bugs)

mtnkngxt
01-18-2013, 09:21
I'm going to carry a 100lb stoner on my next section hike. Really blow people's minds.

Don H
01-18-2013, 09:34
All AT rocks belong in Pennsylvania.

I carried a dime sized stones from Springer to Katahdin.

Miner
01-18-2013, 16:56
The whole tradition of carrying a stone to Katadin was the brainchild of the Maine tourist comittee. They reasoned, that Katadin was one of Maine's biggest attractions and looked for a way to make it even bigger in order to compete with the larger mountains out west. So they came up with an ingenious method to grow Katadin at the expense of Springer and recruited NOBO thru-hikers to help in their plan. Georgia retaliated with a plan to bring back the rocks left at Katadin by using SOBOs, but the amount of foot traffic still favors Maine.

As a side note, all the rocks on the trail in Penn. were left there by thru-hikers who hiked before the current UL craze took hold in the 1990's. Since hikers use to like to brag about how much weight they were carrying (the opposite of now), they use to compete on who could carry the biggest rock. Usually after the half way point, with their spirits broken by the back breaking weight, they often tossed their rocks along the trail in Penn.

In conclusion, we need to save what little bit of Springer is left before it becomes just a foothill of the trail. So please leave the rocks where you found them.

:p

nitewalker
01-18-2013, 17:29
QUOTE=Odd Man Out;1396120]I know in Hawaii they tell you that if you take a piece of lava off the island, Pele, the volcano goddess, will come and get you. I think she has a sister dwelling withing Springer, which certainly explains why such a large percentage of would-be thru hikers are not successful. Any recall if Bryson and Katz reported bringing a pebble north?[/QUOTE]


this has got to be true. remember what hapened to the brady bunch when they were in hawaii.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEoUnpZShT0http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/QEoUnpZShT0/mqdefault.jpg

Odd Man Out
01-18-2013, 19:20
So if a NOBO and SOBO exchange stones half way, are they leaving a trace??? I'm so confused!

gizzy bear
01-19-2013, 00:53
So if a NOBO and SOBO exchange stones half way, are they leaving a trace??? I'm so confused!
Absolutely not... And I am the self appointed judge of this..

Coffee Rules!
01-19-2013, 04:13
Absolutely not... And I am the self appointed judge of this..

As no one important with less trail time than anyone here, I second his self appointed judgeness.

Monkeywrench
01-19-2013, 08:31
i guess technically it would violate LNT, but i am going to take one with me. "here comes the trail nazi's" DUN DUN DDDUUUUUHHHHNNNNN

If you want to be a real thru-hiker you pick up your stone at the summit of Springer and carefully tuck it into your left shoe, right underneath your heel, and leave it there until you reach the summit sign atop Katahdin.

Deadeye
01-19-2013, 12:30
I'm bringing a kidney stone so I don't use up valuable pack space.

Karma13
01-19-2013, 12:46
But are you going to leave it on Katahdin? Now that would be an interesting summit photo!

Coffee Rules!
01-19-2013, 13:07
I'm bringing a kidney stone so I don't use up valuable pack space.


But are you going to leave it on Katahdin? Now that would be an interesting summit photo!

That might require a video to truly convey the experience.

Chaco Taco
01-21-2013, 18:42
My philosophy was getting stoned from Springer to Katahdin, besides in Damascus of course

weary
01-21-2013, 19:18
i guess technically it would violate LNT, but i am going to take one with me. "here comes the trail nazi's" DUN DUN DDDUUUUUHHHHNNNNN
Well, only if you want to. Maine already has multiple stones. But one more won't hurt.

T-Rx
01-21-2013, 19:53
My philosophy was getting stoned from Springer to Katahdin, besides in Damascus of course

I think this will be the philosophy I adopt for my thru also. After all, they do call it the long "green" tunnel. :D

CrumbSnatcher
01-21-2013, 20:16
My philosophy was getting stoned from Springer to Katahdin, besides in Damascus of course

you had many safety meetings:cool:

Chaco Taco
01-21-2013, 20:40
you had many safety meetings:cool:
Our ritual was ****, pancakes, coffee, ****, walk, ****, walk somemore, ****, **** while walking and then **** when we stopped.

Chaco Taco
01-21-2013, 20:41
you can say stoned but you cant say b o b e?

ChinMusic
01-21-2013, 20:43
you can say stoned but you cant say b o b e?

****? dang B O B E?

Bob Evans?

Someone PM me. I'm not hip enough.

CrumbSnatcher
01-21-2013, 20:53
Our ritual was ****, pancakes, coffee, ****, walk, ****, walk somemore, ****, **** while walking and then **** when we stopped.
i coined the phrase safety meetings along time ago on the AT(jobsite lingo) and i was the safety foreman a couple different years on trail ;)
hope you & WAK have a blast on the CT:cool:

Chaco Taco
01-21-2013, 20:54
i coined the phrase safety meetings along time ago(jobsite lingo) and i was the safety foreman a couple different years ;)
hope you & WAK have a blast on the CT:cool:
yea Colorado, b o b e is legal!!!

4shot
01-21-2013, 21:01
I'm going to carry a 100lb stoner on my next section hike. Really blow people's minds.

I hiked with a stoner that probably weighed close to 220 lbs. at the start, maybe 175 at the end. i didn't carry him one step of the way though.

T-Rx
01-21-2013, 22:42
i coined the phrase safety meetings along time ago on the AT(jobsite lingo) and i was the safety foreman a couple different years on trail ;)
hope you & WAK have a blast on the CT:cool:

we always called them security team meetings and it was necessary to do perimeter security checks on a routine basis each day. This was only for the safety of the group of course!

CrumbSnatcher
01-21-2013, 22:58
i found a orphaned 3 pound potatoe hitching a ride in my backpack once with a note attached to it saying "please help me get to katahdin"
and thats exactly what i did as soon as i found another hiker heading in the same direction:D i picked up a rock once coming off springer but lossed/tossed it out way before big-k

T-Rx
01-21-2013, 23:11
i found a orphaned 3 pound potatoe hitching a ride in my backpack once with a note attached to it saying "please help me get to katahdin"
and thats exactly what i did as soon as i found another hiker heading in the same direction:D i picked up a rock once coming off springer but lossed/tossed it out way before big-k

I bet there are quite a lot of "taters" that make it to Kathadin each year.

hauptman
02-02-2013, 04:54
This is the sort of thing which remains harmless until it catches on and becomes a common hiker tradition. After that you found a decade later that springers peak is strangely devoid of rocks.

rocketsocks
02-02-2013, 06:45
This is the sort of thing which remains harmless until it catches on and becomes a common hiker tradition. After that you found a decade later that springers peak is strangely devoid of rocks.

Mt. Katahdin~elevation...12,000' above sea level.....

Mt. Springer~elevation....342' feet below sea level......

Furlough
02-02-2013, 11:29
I know it is a tradition to take a small stone from Springer to Katahdin.

Does this violate LNT or because "everyone does it", it is OK?

Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.

WingedMonkey
02-02-2013, 12:06
Where do the 80% of failures (personally I believe it is higher) leave their stones from Springer? Do they take them home?