Wow, what a great day!!!!!!!

[Hikerhead]

It got up to 70 here in Roanoke. I did a 13 1/2 miler from the cement plant, thru Scorched Earth Gap and on to Daleville. A 70 year old gentleman was coming down from Tinker Cillfs. He did an up and back in 4 hours. I only hope I can hold up like him. Passed one hiker sitting in Lamberts Meadow waiting for his buddy to show up to camp out. Passed a hunter sitting 20 yards off the trail in his camo along with his 2 dogs. Must be bear hunting. I saw what I think was bear skat with a plug on the end. The plug is what happens when they hibernate and it the first thing that comes out when they come out and go poopy. I took a pic of it and I'll let you guys decide. I climbed to the top of Hayrock and talked to a hiker up there. Coming down from Tinker Mtn I ran into two groups, one with 2 dobermanns and the other group with a mutt. All dogs were on leashes.

It took me 7 hours, not my normal 10 or 12. I'm getting faster Uncle Wayne, you better look out.

Hammock Hanger will be glad to know I climbed all the ups without stopping.

Kerosene-I saw your post in the register at Lamberts Meadow about Monk and Dead Animal.

What a great day to get out.

[Streamweaver]

Sounds like a good day!!! It hit 70 or so here in Baltimore County MD Too. I hiked about 15 miles today but the elevation was something like 250'lol Started out hiking to a local river near me and fishing for a couple hours,Got skunked!!! Oh well ,started hiking some trails Saw alot of deer ,Some halfwitt mutt ate one of my baloney sandwiches while I was giving some guy directions.I think the goofy bugger ate it baggie and all LOL .Stopped to make a cup of tea with my newest alcohol stove and just before the water started boiling I realized Id forgotten my spoon! It was a pain in the butt using my lock back knife to scoop sugar out of a baggie!! Funny thing is ,this was a typical hiking day for me lol Cant beat that weather with a stick though!!!! Its 11pm now and its 61 degrees!!! Supposed to cool back down again soon though. Streamweaver

[Hikerhead]

It still 63 here at 11;40 PM. Something ain't right.

My screw up for the day...I iodined some water above Lambert's Shelter. I forgot my plastic scooper for water so I used an empty craker and cheese container. 45 minutes later I pulled out my plastic baggy I had my vitamin C pills and I found that I had put the wet plastic container in the baggy with my pills, which dissolved them. Why I did that...who knows. Anyway I added water back to baggy, swished it around a little, poured it in my water container and the brownish water went clear almost instantly.

What kind on alco stove are you using.

Better luck on fishing the next time we have another day like this, probably in April.

[MOWGLI]

...did a 13 1/2 miler from the cement plant, thru Scorched Earth Gap and on to Daleville. A 70 year old gentleman was coming down from Tinker Cillfs. He did an up and back in 4 hours.

I believe that I encountered the same fellow in 2000 as I descended into Daleville. I was running late on a Saturday, and had a mail drop in Troutdale (or was it Troutville) that I was probably going to miss. The guy offered to meet me at the trailhead in Daleville in 2 hours to take me to the PO. He said that was how long it took him to climb to the point where I met him. I practically ran the whole way, and was still late meeting him. Made the PO in time however.

I remember thinking over & over, "how the heck does that guy hike so fast?" As I recall, he had some health issues and started "walking" to get healthier. Seems to have worked.

[Uncle Wayne]

Hikerhead,

That was good time, We had above 70 degree temps in Alabama also but Tripper and I have had very bad colds and stayed inside. If we hadn't taken flu shots I'd say we had the flu but that can't be possible

But you see with the increase of your speed your brain power decreased, hence your screw up. Be careful hiking that fast.

[attroll]

Ok everyone why don't you just rub in in a little more. We got freezing rain yesterday and this morning we got sleet. I wish the snow would just get here already.

[Kerosene]

It's snowing in Ann Arbor with 4" projected and lows down to single digits. While I won't get out for a long distance hike, it'll be a hoot to walk my Golden Retriever puppy in her first big snowfall!

Hikerhead: I was wondering if anyone would ever read that journal entry! Perhaps B. Monk will join WhiteBlaze someday...it's probably the only chance I'll ever have to "meet" her! I got a kick out of reading that Sure Step had stepped in the creek that morning!

[Former Easy]

Yeah we got acumulated snow finally in Chicago Hopefully i'll get some snowmobling in this week up north.

Hope Appalachia gets lots of snow also this year, so as to provide good water sources for my upcoming hike in a few months.

[DebW]

I just came back from a 4 1/2 hour, 11 mile hike on the Mid-State Trail in Mass. 45 degrees and raining. Doesn't feel like January. But that should change soon.

[Streamweaver]

What kind on alco stove are you using?

Hikerhead ,I was testing out a pepsi can type stove I made with a tube of roof flashing in the center hole that acts as the pot support. It takes a little longer to heat up but it boils pretty fast.

They said something about snow showers Wed I think on the weather channel. As nice as yesterday was ,Im ready for some more snow!!! I likes me snow!!

The funny thing about the fishing is ,on a nice day like yesterday I get skunked but last winter on a day that was 18 degrees and windy I was catching trout left and right!! Them fish dont like ups and downs as far as temps go!!
Streamweaver

[Rain Man]

It's snowing in Ann Arbor with 4" projected and lows down to single digits.

My oldest leaves early in the morning to return to law school in Ann Arbor. I shared with her your post... and she was NOT amused!!! LOL Today in Nashville it was 72 degrees and balmy!!! Tomorrow's high is to be 38 and two nights from now the prediction is 15 degrees. I'll be tenting in the backyard checking out my Roadster and down bag.

Rain Man

.

[Streamweaver]

Oh what a diference a few days make!! It be 29 degrees and windy here in Bawlmer today!! The say we have a couple of weak systems coming through here tommorow and friday ,one of which droped 4-5 inches of snow on Mich yesterday I guess.Lets all pray fer snow!!! Must be a tad frigid on the trail today! Streamweaver

[max patch]

13 degrees in beautiful Sky Valley, GA tonight (border of GA and NC).

And on Sunday I heard the ski resort was closed because of the heat.

[Rain Man]

My oldest leaves early in the morning to return to law school in Ann Arbor. I shared with her your post... and she was NOT amused!!! LOL Today in Nashville it was 72 degrees and balmy!!!

My middle one arrived back in Colorado Springs this evening after a two-day drive. But I think it might be colder here. Is around 20 right now and supposed to be 10 tonight in Nashville and single digits in outlying areas. I'll be out lying in my back yard tonight in my REI Roadster tent and old Holubar down bag, seeing if I can figure out what it's rated, since I have no idea. But it was toasty last night in 25 degrees!

BTW, last night I tried out the Nalgene full of boiling water in a sock, in the foot of my sleeping bag. It was still warm this morning to the touch! GREAT hint I learned on WhiteBlaze!!!

Rain Man

.

[Streamweaver]

[QUOTE=Rain Man]My middle one arrived back in Colorado Springs this evening after a two-day drive. But I think it might be colder here. Is around 20 right now and supposed to be 10 tonight in Nashville and single digits in outlying areas. I'll be out lying in my back yard tonight in my REI Roadster tent and old Holubar down bag, seeing if I can figure out what it's rated, since I have no idea. But it was toasty last night in 25 degrees!

BTW, last night I tried out the Nalgene full of boiling water in a sock, in the foot of my sleeping bag. It was still warm this morning to the touch! GREAT hint I learned on WhiteBlaze!!!

Rain Man

.[/QUOTE

I dont think its a good idea to put boiling water in the nalgene just hot water.I think boiling water can weaken the seal or something and cause a leak. Streamweaver

[Big Guy]

Like Hikerheas had the opportunity to hike the AT on Saturday 1/03/04. Went from Hot Springs NC to Allen Gap, 14.7 miles. Had great weather, cool in the morning and mid 60's latter in the day with no rain. We had lunch at the Rich Mountain fire tower. The views from the tower to the Smokies' were outstanding. Hope to post some pictures once they are developed. Everyone should have been as blesssed as me to be on the AT with good weather and good friends.

[eldwayno]

Ummmm yeah.... I'm up here in Syracuse, Ny with a wonderfully high temperature of 10 degrees.... with a wonderully warm windchill of -15 woo hoo!!!!!

[TedB]

I saw what I think was bear skat with a plug on the end. The plug is what happens when they hibernate and it the first thing that comes out when they come out and go poopy. I took a pic of it and I'll let you guys decide.

Did you smell it? Supposedly bear scat has a sweet smell.

Also, any measurements or did you take it apart to see what it might have been eating?

"Animal Tracks" by Olaus Murie (Peterson Field Guide Series) describes the scat of most animals including bears. To determine if it is bear scat you will need to rule out other animals that might have similiar size scats, common ones would be feral dogs and wild boars.

(*Raccoon scat can have parasites that make it unsafe to smell, so smell mystery scat at your own risk.)

P.S. Mr. Hankey says "Howdy Ho!".

[Rain Man]

I dont think its a good idea to put boiling water in the nalgene just hot water.I think boiling water can weaken the seal or something and cause a leak. Streamweaver

Hey Streamweaver... I thought it was okay for the hard Lexan Nalgene bottles. Anyway, it seemed to work just fine. And it was still warm to the touch this morning. I'll ask the next time I'm in REI. Thanks for the warning.

Also, got down to at least 10 degrees and I was toasty warm, so I guess this must be a 0 bag. I wish Holubar was still in business and could tell me. Anyway, it's paid for! LOL

Rain Man

.

[max patch]

Hey Streamweaver... I thought it was okay for the hard Lexan Nalgene bottles. Anyway, it seemed to work just fine. And it was still warm to the touch this morning. I'll ask the next time I'm in REI. Thanks for the warning.

OK to put boiling water in the hard lexan nalgenes.