I ran into them on Tray Mountain.Originally Posted by atmilkman
I'm not really a hiker, I just play one on White Blaze.
"Now if you're still not sure I can do another one."
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.
When you get to those unexpected situations in life where it’s difficult to figure something out, just ask yourself, “What would MacGyver do?”
See ya!
Rickles McPickles
That is exactly what happened...wait, that was you?pimp.gif
Ooops, double post
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?
I wish we could "like" posts. I like all of these posts!
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