trail mascot

[Pickleodeon]

This may seem like a silly question, especially for the UL crowd, but I've heard of some people carrying a little trail mascot, like a rubber duck or something with them on the trail. I'm just curious does anyone really do this? When I was about 14, I went on a summer camp canoe trip and the counselors took a little beanie duck and made a life vest out of closed cell foam. Has anyone taken or seen other hikers with a little critter , or even take a little stone from Springer with them the whole way?

[shelterbuilder]

This may seem like a silly question, especially for the UL crowd, but I've heard of some people carrying a little trail mascot, like a rubber duck or something with them on the trail. I'm just curious does anyone really do this? When I was about 14, I went on a summer camp canoe trip and the counselors took a little beanie duck and made a life vest out of closed cell foam. Has anyone taken or seen other hikers with a little critter , or even take a little stone from Springer with them the whole way?

If it's important to you to carry a mascot, then by all means, carry one. HYOH, Ashley...then come back to Berks Co. and give us the details!

[Bearpaw]

I carried a little beanie baby bear with me the whole way on my thru-hike. "Dumptruck" got his trailname because a young relative gave him a little Tonka dumptruck to take on his hike.

It happens more than you might think.

Nowadays, I often carry a larger teddy bear named Dewey on many of my shorter trips. But he's not a mascot. He's a cult of personality!

Just ask Hooch.

[Pedaling Fool]

Anyone lose their mascot on the trail? I found it.

[Bearpaw]

Anyone lose their mascot on the trail? I found it.

I bet he was tickled to see you!

[Frick Frack]

Anyone lose their mascot on the trail? I found it.

I saw that thing, or one like it, on that little boy's gravesite in VA somewhere (he wandered off from school and was found up on the mountain...I don't recall where it was?)

I carried a small stone from Katahdin to Springer. A friend we met along the way carried a pigeon decoy named "Bob"...we called these items "frivilous objects". They made no sense.

We also carried buckeyes (don't remember where we found them?) for good luck...its a southern thing...

[Manwich]

I guess I would carve totems into Trees and Supports in Shelters wherever I go.

[Pedaling Fool]

I saw that thing, or one like it, on that little boy's gravesite in VA somewhere (he wandered off from school and was found up on the mountain...I don't recall where it was?)...

I saw Elmo somewhere in Pennsylvania (Some where between Birch Run and Toms Run Shelters).

The little boy's (Ottie Powell) gravesite in on Bluff Mountain ~780 miles north of Springer. http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/show...imageuser=6936

[Pedaling Fool]

I saw Elmo somewhere in Pennsylvania (Some where between Birch Run and Toms Run Shelters).

The little boy's (Ottie Powell) gravesite in on Bluff Mountain ~780 miles north of Springer. http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/show...imageuser=6936

Correction: It's not his gravesite, it's a memorial.

[garlic08]

The frivolous items are pretty common, I think. When I summitted Katahdin, three out of four of us there had something frivolous, and we were all grown men (so to speak). One guy even had a mask and snorkel, which almost made sense given the weather conditions.

[Kirby]

The frivolous items are pretty common, I think. When I summitted Katahdin, three out of four of us there had something frivolous, and we were all grown men (so to speak). One guy even had a mask and snorkel, which almost made sense given the weather conditions.

Affirmed.

[Pickleodeon]

I'm thinking about taking this guy:

http://tinyurl.com/45752h

The little blue..mouse? Piddles. My boyfriend got the set for me, and Piddles is tiny, like two inches tall. I think it'd be cool to take pictures of Piddles, and me, along the trail. Like Piddles at the approach trail, Piddles at Springer..

[Pickleodeon]

you have to click on the picture at the bottom left of the grid of pictures.

By the way, I'm glad I'm not the only goofy one out there.

[Blissful]

Saw hikers out there with various items.

I personally did the tradition of carrying the pebble from Springer to Katahdin.

[ATWillow]

I carried my little teddie bear "Hindsight" on the back on my pack on my 97 thruhike. I just put him under anesthesia to take out some stuffing to lighten him up an ounce or so for my 2009 thruhike. I wouldn't even think of doing it without him!

[Doctari]

Last year "Privy Monster" carried assorted sizes of rubber chickens. They started as one on the front of the pack, carried "in case I'm in a hunters sights, he will see the chicken & not shoot me" & slowly grew to, last time I saw him: 5, with one about 2" long.

I suppose that at least the first one technically isn't frivolous, being used as a "safety device".

[Gaiter]

in a mail drop my mom sent a bunch of old easter candy that she had found, and one piece had a egg wearing pants and a top hat, making a really ****ed up face, he's been on my pack ever since

[peanuts]

in a mail drop my mom sent a bunch of old easter candy that she had found, and one piece had a egg wearing pants and a top hat, making a really ****ed up face, he's been on my pack ever since

yes he is a cute little bugger!

[Pony]

I saw several rubber chickens, and a plastic samurai sword. But the one that really made me laugh was this guy who was going pretty light except for the full sized machette, and cricket bat that were strapped to his pack. Oh yeah, and his "pebble" from springer weighed 7 pounds! Those three items probably doubled his pack weight.

[TJ aka Teej]

Who was it carried that life-sized cardboard cutout of Cindy Crawford?