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Dogwood
07-24-2013, 01:05
What are some of the most interesting, even off the wall, unrelated to hiking experiences you've had on a hike?

Watching Lion King attending a political speech and asking President Obama questions in Iowa on his ADT hike was interesting to me.

rocketsocks
07-24-2013, 01:34
Being asked to go skinny dipping by two naked crazy chicks at the Allenbury inn in PA, and then going to a killer cast party. I passed on the dip...but the party was cool.

Having a 1911 45cal. pulled on me and forced to do a line by a dude that thought I was a cop...Catskills, NY

Helping rescue a girl from a local creek who jumped off a bridge and hit her head on a rock...also in the Catskills, NY

Hill Ape
07-24-2013, 02:33
hiking in the nantahalas, came to a road crossing. a crowd of amateur astronomers were setting up telescopes, they called it a star party. i ending up hanging out all night for something called a messier (sp?) marathon. it was fascinating. i learned more about the cosmos that night than i ever had in school.

Dogwood
07-24-2013, 02:57
Well, you kicked off the thread right Rocketsocks. Hey, if you have a son that hikes have you considered trailnaming him Right Rocketsocks?

rocketsocks
07-24-2013, 06:53
Well, you kicked off the thread right Rocketsocks. Hey, if you have a son that hikes have you considered trailnaming him Right Rocketsocks?
He's the original rocketsocks...use to run everywhere!

SonrisaJo
07-24-2013, 07:10
Hitched about 50-miles (each way) to go to the midnight premier of a Harry Potter movie. Tough hitching too, even though it was in Maine. I had the most patient hiking buddy ever.

HikerMom58
07-24-2013, 07:36
I love this thread already.. I can't add anything to it but I'm enjoying reading it. SonrisaJo.. that long hitch to see Harry Potter = amazing. :D
Anytime RS posts, it's always entertaining. RS. I think you are def. one of the posters Marta was talking about, you truly create the FUN type of posts...

rocketsocks
07-24-2013, 07:46
I love this thread already.. I can't add anything to it but I'm enjoying reading it. SonrisaJo.. that long hitch to see Harry Potter = amazing. :D
Anytime RS posts, it's always entertaining. RS. I think you are def. one of the posters Marta was talking about, you truly create the FUN type of posts...Your like my biggest fan...don't stand to close though, might not be safe...:D I figure the odds be 50/50...maybe 70/30:-?

Tri-Pod Bob
07-24-2013, 08:32
Most of my time is spent off of the beaten path (i.e. bushwhacking). I carry more than an avg med kit (I'm a wilderness 1st responder) & on a few occasions, I've had to put my training into practice on some unfortunates who shouldn't have been where they were, due to lack of skills &/or prep. The best med experience out there, though, was tending to an injured fawn (4 or 5 months old) that had a very recent & large, deep laceration on it's hind quarters. Barbed wire? coyote? Don't know for sure. She was pretty scared as I approached, but she did let me (don't know what happened to her momma) & after binding the rear legs with a lg triangle bandage, was able to get some antibacterial ointment into the cut & suture her up. I set up a quick camp & stayed with her for 3 days. She was mobile at that point. A very rewarding experience, indeed!

gizzy bear
07-24-2013, 09:40
Being asked to go skinny dipping by two naked crazy chicks at the Allenbury inn in PA, and then going to a killer cast party. I passed on the dip...but the party was cool.

Having a 1911 45cal. pulled on me and forced to do a line by a dude that thought I was a cop...Catskills, NY

Helping rescue a girl from a local creek who jumped off a bridge and hit her head on a rock...also in the Catskills, NY


did the girls have "good personalities" ...lol!!! great story!!

atmilkman
07-24-2013, 09:48
Most of my time is spent off of the beaten path (i.e. bushwhacking). I carry more than an avg med kit (I'm a wilderness 1st responder) & on a few occasions, I've had to put my training into practice on some unfortunates who shouldn't have been where they were, due to lack of skills &/or prep. The best med experience out there, though, was tending to an injured fawn (4 or 5 months old) that had a very recent & large, deep laceration on it's hind quarters. Barbed wire? coyote? Don't know for sure. She was pretty scared as I approached, but she did let me (don't know what happened to her momma) & after binding the rear legs with a lg triangle bandage, was able to get some antibacterial ointment into the cut & suture her up. I set up a quick camp & stayed with her for 3 days. She was mobile at that point. A very rewarding experience, indeed!

Now that's a good story.

Tri-Pod Bob
07-24-2013, 10:04
Now that's a good story.
One of the best patients I've dealt with in the woods.......IMHO humans are waaay toooo emotionally extreme in emergencies!!

HikerMom58
07-24-2013, 10:34
Your like my biggest fan...don't stand to close though, might not be safe...:D I figure the odds be 50/50...maybe 70/30:-?

You know it!! ;)


Now that's a good story.

That is!! Thanks for sharing it- TPB!!

Just Bill
07-24-2013, 10:37
I was invited into a home in (an undisclosed location) in Vermont via a phone call made on my behalf by a local owner of an outdoors store. I was told the address and walked over. The couples son (about 12) was the only one home, but he was instructed by his parents to let me in. The owner ordered a pizza and paid for it (from work) and his son helped me do laundry, get a shower, and then asked me to play video games with him and eat pizza until his parents came home. The father came home with 3 different types of craft beers, just to make sure he got one I liked. After junior went to bed they stayed up with me and had a few beers, set me up on their couch and showed me how to watch movies. About an hour after bedtime the wife came down in a nightie and told me she was there to "take care of the hiker". After (undisclosed activities) she returned to her husbands bed and proceeded to attempt to break it. In the morning I was served breakfast, (joined by another male who arrived at some point in the night and may or may not have been involved in the bed breaking attempt) and given a ride to the post office. The father patiently awaited for me to complete my mail drop, phoned his boss that he would be late, and drove me back to the trail. His house, his food, his beer, his wife, and a ride that made him late for work- that's hospitality!

Tri-Pod Bob
07-24-2013, 10:42
I was invited into a home in (an undisclosed location) in Vermont via a phone call made on my behalf by a local owner of an outdoors store. I was told the address and walked over. The couples son (about 12) was the only one home, but he was instructed by his parents to let me in. The owner ordered a pizza and paid for it (from work) and his son helped me do laundry, get a shower, and then asked me to play video games with him and eat pizza until his parents came home. The father came home with 3 different types of craft beers, just to make sure he got one I liked. After junior went to bed they stayed up with me and had a few beers, set me up on their couch and showed me how to watch movies. About an hour after bedtime the wife came down in a nightie and told me she was there to "take care of the hiker". After (undisclosed activities) she returned to her husbands bed and proceeded to attempt to break it. In the morning I was served breakfast, (joined by another male who arrived at some point in the night and may or may not have been involved in the bed breaking attempt) and given a ride to the post office. The father patiently awaited for me to complete my mail drop, phoned his boss that he would be late, and drove me back to the trail. His house, his food, his beer, his wife, and a ride that made him late for work- that's hospitality!

Now THAT is what I would call "Trail Magic"!!!!!!!

coach lou
07-24-2013, 10:50
I was invited into a home in (an undisclosed location) in Vermont via a phone call made on my behalf by a local owner of an outdoors store. I was told the address and walked over. The couples son (about 12) was the only one home, but he was instructed by his parents to let me in. The owner ordered a pizza and paid for it (from work) and his son helped me do laundry, get a shower, and then asked me to play video games with him and eat pizza until his parents came home. The father came home with 3 different types of craft beers, just to make sure he got one I liked. After junior went to bed they stayed up with me and had a few beers, set me up on their couch and showed me how to watch movies. About an hour after bedtime the wife came down in a nightie and told me she was there to "take care of the hiker". After (undisclosed activities) she returned to her husbands bed and proceeded to attempt to break it. In the morning I was served breakfast, (joined by another male who arrived at some point in the night and may or may not have been involved in the bed breaking attempt) and given a ride to the post office. The father patiently awaited for me to complete my mail drop, phoned his boss that he would be late, and drove me back to the trail. His house, his food, his beer, his wife, and a ride that made him late for work- that's hospitality!


Bill, that is some good dung your smoking!:rolleyes:

Just Bill
07-24-2013, 10:59
Bill, that is some good dung your smoking!:rolleyes:

Lol- very true story. Also stayed with an incredible 30 something Yoga instructor at one of the warming huts in VT. I can't recall the hut but I can recall the exact shade of her pale green eyes and the full 30 minute end of day routine she performed. Ben and Jerry's, Cabot Cheese, micro brews and lovely people- God Bless Vermont!

coach lou
07-24-2013, 11:01
It's the pig tails that got her!

Tri-Pod Bob
07-24-2013, 11:03
Bill, that is some good dung your smoking!:rolleyes:

There are some things which happen in real life, that just can't be made up......no matter how much one inhales!! Some of my experiences,especially in the western Pacific while putting in due time with Uncle Sam back in the mid 70's, could be construed as 'head spinning' to someone who doesn't get out to often!!

Just Bill
07-24-2013, 11:03
You mean my love handles?

atmilkman
07-24-2013, 11:03
Bill, that is some good dung your smoking!:rolleyes:

Give me a hit of that stuff.

HikerMom58
07-25-2013, 08:40
Ok soooo.... anyone else have some interesting stories to share??:eek: :D Just enjoyin my morning coffee on WB!! :cool:

atmilkman
07-25-2013, 08:47
Ok soooo.... anyone else have some interesting stories to share??:eek: :D Just enjoyin my morning coffee on WB!! :cool:

Did I ever tell you about the time I was hiking with the all female, all nude, just turned 18 Swedish Short Distance Backpacking Team on the shores of Waikiki Beach. Yep, we got the state to close down the beach from public access for a 1 mile stretch for a week while we had the whole thing to ourselves.

HikerMom58
07-25-2013, 09:10
Did I ever tell you about the time I was hiking with the all female, all nude, just turned 18 Swedish Short Distance Backpacking Team on the shores of Waikiki Beach. Yep, we got the state to close down the beach from public access for a 1 mile stretch for a week while we had the whole thing to ourselves.

No ATM.. you never did share this B4... interesting!! ;) Just checking... this is a humor thread, right?? lol!

max patch
07-25-2013, 09:18
My stories, while true, would be boring after what has already been written. So I'm out.

HikerMom58
07-25-2013, 09:22
My stories, while true, would be boring after what has already been written. So I'm out.

I know the feeling.. me too!! :p

WingedMonkey
07-25-2013, 09:33
Some of these stories are about as believable as someone that has never done an honest thru-hike setting a speed record.

:eek:

Different Socks
07-25-2013, 09:49
O the PCT during one of my last days on the trail I had an out of body experience for a period of 10-15 min as I walked down the trail.

Different Socks
07-25-2013, 09:51
O the PCT during one of my last days on the trail I had an out of body experience for a period of 10-15 min as I walked down the trail.

BTW, this really did happen, I even wrote about it in my journal. It was posted on WB some years ago.

Just Bill
07-25-2013, 09:54
Some of these stories are about as believable as someone that has never done an honest thru-hike setting a speed record.

:eek: LOL- well done WM- Sorry HikerMom- meant to warn you to look the other way. Unfortunately SPOT (Solid Proof of Tale) devices were not available at the time of my story. As Handsome as I currently am, I was even more handsomer as a young man. With even longer pig tails, perhaps one reason I attracted a particular type of Trail Magic. Did I ever tell you about a visit to Pagosa Springs, CO....

illabelle
07-25-2013, 10:41
my story is closer to tripod-bob's fawn story. not at all like just bill's ..ahem.."adventure!"
copy-n-paste from my one-and-only journal entry titled Found a peahen, found a peahen!:

In Sept of 2009 I did a dayhike from Newfound Gap to Charlie's Bunyan (8 miles round trip). As I passed Icewater Spring Shelter 3-miles in, I saw a large bird walking around in the clearing. I didn't try to get close, and I was in a hurry to finish my hike before it got dark, so I went on. On the way back, I stopped for a few minutes, got much closer and identified it as a peahen. Nope, not a wild turkey or a grouse, but a peahen, a domesticated animal who had no business in the middle of the Smokies. I returned with my daughter the next day and some gear and we attempted to lure her into a net. We weren't successful. Returned the following weekend with different gear, set up a 3-sided mesh fence with a net roof, and very patiently (in a light rain) fed her some grain I had brought. She was pretty hungry, and had apparently been surviving off of hiker handouts. It took quite a while, but I finally lured her inside the fence and under the net. I quickly threw something across the entrance to herd her further inside, then a couple guys from the shelter came over and helped me get her secured in a mesh sack I had brought to carry her in. Somebody held her while we packed up our gear, then the two of us carried her in the dark 3 miles back to the car. (If I include the initial trip, I walked 20 miles for that bird!)
Brought her home and put her in with my chickens for three weeks. Named her Indira, or Indy for short. When I was sure she understood where home was, I started letting her out to free-range with the chickens for a while each day. Didn't take long before she disappeared. Asked a few neighbors. Somebody said they saw her hanging out with the wild turkey flock that roams in our area. Somebody else mentioned neighbors with a peacock, so I went to see them. There she was!! She had a boyfriend! :banana That summer they hatched a few chicks, and I still see her now and then.
Just to be clear, except for shelter mice and mosquitoes, I do not harass wild animals, and I would never even think about trapping a wild animal and taking it out of its natural habitat. She would have died without our intervention.

HikerMom58
07-25-2013, 10:44
LOL- well done WM- Sorry HikerMom- meant to warn you to look the other way. Unfortunately SPOT (Solid Proof of Tale) devices were not available at the time of my story. As Handsome as I currently am, I was even more handsomer as a young man. With even longer pig tails, perhaps one reason I attracted a particular type of Trail Magic. Did I ever tell you about a visit to Pagosa Springs, CO....

Ha Ha JB... you are really funny!! I was really afraid, when I read your story, that WM would believe you, too. He's made comments about this type of "trail magic" B4. ;)

I can see what you are saying about being handsome, JB. I agree! ;) WM is "cute" too! THAT is true!! He has long hair too.. I'm tellin ya.. there's something about that. :D I really wish I could remember where that Boy Scout pic of him is posted. Maybe he will find it and post it for us again!! Whatta you say WM???

fishfeet
07-25-2013, 11:12
we got multiple hitches to get into blacksburg VA to watch game 7 of the nba eastern conference finals this year. and while at the bar watching the game we were offered a place to stay nearby. in the morning the guy who owned the house took us to the place where he works to cook us breakfast and then drove us ( like 6 of us) back to the trail like 30 miles away

Just Bill
07-25-2013, 11:13
[QUOTE=HikerMomKD;1506635]Ha Ha JB... you are really funny!! I was really afraid, when I read your story, that WM would believe you, too.
QUOTE]
Uh oh- we have some miscommunication- pull over the bus. I was commenting on WM's very cleverly done, subtle, and I assume in good fun jab at me, regarding my nobody status and dreams of record setting hikes. While I don't think WM believes my story or my plans- I can appreciate a cleverly done jab. That story (including the polite omissions) is 100% true. Somewhere in Mid Vermont lives a swinger couple who was friends with the owner of a local Outfitter. Some sort of arrangement must have been made with said owner that when a "likely" looking hiker came though looking for a place to stay, they would be directed to said couple. I came into the town because I lost my headlamp and needed a replacement, nothing else in the town and a bit after lunchtime so I asked the owner of the store if there was a place to stay not listed in the guidebook- lo and behold there was indeed! I thought he was debating my trustworthiness as he looked me up and down while making the call, but it must have been my pigtails he was goggling. It's over 12 years, the couple was probably in their late 30s at the time, so perhaps retired from the swinging game, but perhaps not.

greenmtnboy
07-25-2013, 17:09
Before I started the hike in Georgia, I was fortunate enough to be in Dahlonega for an exhibit weekend with clubs centered around gold mining, home brewed liquor, and other old crafts and livlihoods. When I was in Monson, I was fortunate enough to be there for country music played by the locals. Lots of local color on the AT, I'm sure much more so 50 years ago!

HikerMom58
07-25-2013, 18:07
[QUOTE=HikerMomKD;1506635]Ha Ha JB... you are really funny!! I was really afraid, when I read your story, that WM would believe you, too.
QUOTE]
Uh oh- we have some miscommunication- pull over the bus. I was commenting on WM's very cleverly done, subtle, and I assume in good fun jab at me, regarding my nobody status and dreams of record setting hikes. While I don't think WM believes my story or my plans- I can appreciate a cleverly done jab. That story (including the polite omissions) is 100% true. Somewhere in Mid Vermont lives a swinger couple who was friends with the owner of a local Outfitter. Some sort of arrangement must have been made with said owner that when a "likely" looking hiker came though looking for a place to stay, they would be directed to said couple. I came into the town because I lost my headlamp and needed a replacement, nothing else in the town and a bit after lunchtime so I asked the owner of the store if there was a place to stay not listed in the guidebook- lo and behold there was indeed! I thought he was debating my trustworthiness as he looked me up and down while making the call, but it must have been my pigtails he was goggling. It's over 12 years, the couple was probably in their late 30s at the time, so perhaps retired from the swinging game, but perhaps not.

Aww..I totally get it now-get the bus back on the rode!! :D Yeah, that def. is a WM type jab!! lol. He's so good at them, you're right!! I never took them in such good humor as you do, at first. I know I can handle it now but he hasn't thrown one my way, lately. *whew* Haha!!

My first gut reaction was to believe your story. Then, I doubted it. I believe you now!! It's interesting to say the least!! :p

Different Socks
07-25-2013, 20:17
This happened in Yosemite while I was doing the PCT in 1996:

As I made my way down to Yosemite Valley to pick up my next food supply, I was briefed by several other hikers that a huge slab of rock had fallen from Glacier Point, high above the valley floor. As luck would have it, my exit point from the trails was at ground zero of the impact zone of the arch of rock. As I walked towards the main part of the village I passed a campground that was completely empty. People had run for their lives so quickly that they had left everything behind. I walked past RV's, picnic tables covered with plates, utensils, cups, campers, coolers, bikes--and it was all covered in a film of grey dust that had exploded from the pulverizing impact of the arch hitting the ground after falling 2400 feet. There was no other colors of green leaves, brown bark, white campers or RV's, or anything else. Everything was grey. It looked like a modern day version off Pompeii, minus the mummified bodies. Because of my exit point I was one of the few people that were not rescue personnel to see the devastation and destruction that was wrought by this natural event.
Later it was discovered that the arch was massive in size: 95ft long, 130 ft high, 20ft thick and weighed 60,000 tons!! The impact upon the ground was equivalent to 100 tons of TNT!!!
Andit fell less than 24 hours before I had hiked down to the valley. Incredible!!

Datto
07-25-2013, 20:50
On the PCT near the town of Weed, California, Pearson and I doddled into a nudist camp. We had no idea. There was a foot bridge and as we were crossing it to see of there were viddles , a lady came out and told us to stay on the footbridge and the diner would open at 11:00am.

We'll me, being a law abiding citizen, I stayed on the footbridge and waited.

Next thing you know, nudists show up. I actually did a double-take. Ha. Must be a diner theater with entertainment.

Went down to the diner after it opened. Wow, got an eyeful. After chasing mountain lions, a hawk attacking me, getting burnt to a crisp in the desert, having to shoo off a black bear eating berries from the trail and having an elk land on top of my tent in the middle of the night -- I can say with decided authority, nothing beats a bunch of nudists.

Told them all about the PCT while I ate my California sandwich.


Datto

Datto
07-25-2013, 21:59
One other thing...weird.

Just north of the nudists I arrived at Seiad Valley, CA which was pretty much on-trail for a resupply. Stayed down at a place called "Happy Camp", CA which was a great place to stay (a lady named Dina picked up Pearson and I and took us to her motel). Lots of Bigfoot statues around town in Happy Camp.

When it was time to come back to the PCT, I instead decided to just camp at some RV Park in Seiad Valley, CA and go up the hill to the PCT the next day.

Inside that RV Park there was a community room and inside the community room was a TV. I used the remote to flip on the TV and after a couple of channel flips, the Pastor of a religious TV show came on -- it was the same Pastor that I'd heard on the radio as I was just finishing my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in Maine seven years prior.

The same Pastor where I was the architect for his church decades before.

All on this little TV in some kind of teeny, tiny RV Park in northern California on the PCT. Same guy I'd heard when I was finishing my AT thru-hike.

Same guy I'd done a church for back in Indiana.

Weird.


Datto

Just Bill
07-25-2013, 22:24
[QUOTE=Just Bill;1506658]

Aww..I totally get it now-get the bus back on the rode!! :D Yeah, that def. is a WM type jab!! lol. He's so good at them, you're right!! I never took them in such good humor as you do, at first. I know I can handle it now but he hasn't thrown one my way, lately. *whew* Haha!!

My first gut reaction was to believe your story. Then, I doubted it. I believe you now!! It's interesting to say the least!! :p

For the most part I just assume this is a big bar, we're all just drinking and screwing around with each other- sometimes somebody has one too many and tempers can flare- but the next day everyone is cool again. There's a few old farts ****tin on their stool to keep their butts warm who occasionally stink up the place, a few young punks being young punks, a few ego maniacs with pigtails: but for the most part it's a good bar and they always stock my favorite beer.

Gray Blazer
07-25-2013, 22:43
Did I ever tell you about the time I was hiking with the all female, all nude, just turned 18 Swedish Short Distance Backpacking Team on the shores of Waikiki Beach. Yep, we got the state to close down the beach from public access for a 1 mile stretch for a week while we had the whole thing to ourselves.

I ran into them on Tray Mountain.

Sly
07-25-2013, 22:49
Having a 1911 45cal. pulled on me and forced to do a line by a dude that thought I was a cop...Catskills, NY



"Now if you're still not sure I can do another one."

McPick
07-25-2013, 23:51
The Riverbend Festival, also called Riverbend, is a well-known annual music festival in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which was started in June 1982 as a five night festival. Over the years, the festival grew into the nine nights of its current run and presently ranks in the top 10% of all American festivals. The attendance for Riverbend has grown over the years and there are now regularly over 650,000 people that come over the course of the festival from all over Tennessee, the Southeast, the United States, and other countries. Individual nights can see some 80,000 people in attendance.

I was holed up at the church hostel in Pearisburg, VA nursing severe shin splints in 2006. I got an email from friends in Missouri who said they were attending this festival and that they had an extra ticket I could have if I could get there. I had met a young couple who lived in the neighborhood below the church and hired them to shuttle me to a bus stop somewhere on I-81. I got large bags of ice from a McDonalds and iced my legs all the way to Chattanooga. My friends also had a hotel room just up the street from the main festival. That first night I saw Trisha Yearwood.

The next day we saw about 6 more bands playing under the overpasses. The Allman Brothers band's 3rd bass player, Oteil Burbridge, was there with his band. As was Derek Trucks, (who joined the band when he was 14 years old) nephew of legendary drummer Butch Trucks, with his band. The evening culminated with The Allman Brothers Band taking center stage with all the players. Unfortunately, Dickey Betts was not there. However, the lead guitar playing by Derek Trucks (who never uses a pick) and Warren Haynes was absolutely unforgettable. (I've since seen Derek Trucks in concert in Chicago.) Even old Gregg got up from his organ and belted out "Melissa," solo.

I had taken my hiking poles with me to assist my walking with shin splints. The seats we had were about 1/2 way down the grandstands... Well below the stage which is two or three stories high. When we walked in the main gate, the crew directed us to special seating... I assume because of my "condition." Top row, center... Directly in line with the stage. Whoa!

The next morning my friends urged me to return home to Missouri with them... Free ride. "Heal and return to my hike another year." I gotta tell you I thought about it. In the end, my dream to hike the AT since I was 14 years old won out. (I was 54 in 2006.) I took the bus back north and had the kids pick me up. They shuttled me in and out of Pearisburg for a week so I could slack, testing and healing my shins. In 2006, I was the last man walking nobo.

When I returned to the AT in 2008, I was able to finish my AT hike... Burlington (where I'd flipped) to Monson was all that remained.

Nice thread... Thanks for the memory.

rocketsocks
07-26-2013, 02:01
"Now if you're still not sure I can do another one."

That is exactly what happened...wait, that was you?22973

rocketsocks
07-26-2013, 02:07
Ooops, double post

chief
07-26-2013, 12:31
There are some things which happen in real life, that just can't be made up......no matter how much one inhales!! Some of my experiences,especially in the western Pacific while putting in due time with Uncle Sam back in the mid 70's, could be construed as 'head spinning' to someone who doesn't get out to often!!Okay, since you're gonna make us guess - Let's see you're too young for Viet Nam, so W Pacific, mid 70's, military, head spinning possibilities - are we talking ROK or PI?

HikerMom58
07-26-2013, 12:43
I wish we could "like" posts. I like all of these posts!