Gathering 8.0 -- Wet and Wild!!!

[bubba]

Great time, and like Vegas... I have nothing to say.

Well, maybe some highlights -- I hiked a second VT 4K (Camel's Hump) on Friday (tell me it wasn't that easy...) with TeeJay, Coldfeet, Mad Townie and John S On the way up we met a soon to be member (possible lurker) Marilyn from Maryland and Coldfeet quickly hailed her trailname as "M-squared" or however she depicts it. We hope to see her post soon...

Friday nite The Shed -- Sherpa, just had the hardest time finding it from across the street... and then expected Window Service... Friday evening at the campground -- The Dr. visited for a quiet little evening of gatherers... and stayed late!! Too late... Nice weather, too...

Saturday off to an early start with TeeJay brew-pub (coffee that is...) Overcast day but not holding back many... The rain never "really" got us bad (other things, maybe). I happened to be in some of the best long, hot showers a campground could offer when the real downpour came Saturday late afternnon/evening just before dinner. Of course, that was important because I felt terrible about getting dirty in the wods with Carmel... oops, the Vegas thing, nevermind...

I'll let others post on their individual and group hikes. Note that MichealJ completed his NE67th on Mansfield Saturday with a good group to help celebrate!!

Saturday evening was excellent food and low-keyed campfire, good guitar, jazz flute [and quite smaching side of tampourine] with the best of cozy VFTT company... Pay attention kids... the '49 and older group' stayed to watch the fire turn to embers... TeeJay had some great "door prizes" for us to win. A couple of very fun ones and a very special one -- a pick of VFTT Photo (compliments of Darren) - won by Pete Hickey!!

Many hikes in many different directions and people from all points. Good to see old faces and meet new ones. "Stan" is possibly the only breathing member of VFTT to have attended *EVERY* gathering!! Good stuff...

Thanks to TeeJay for leading up the group effort. More Vegas on that one... AND, I happen to know that TeeJay got ripped off for electric when he checked out (Like $130 or more $$$) for full hook-up for three days, I guess... I'm sending him a check for $10.00 and would encourage others who attended. TeeJay: post an address or PayPal listing so we can get some back to you...

Breakfasts every AM - Sunday Dave cooks 'em at the camp...

I'm going to HEAD out and get some sleep -- to much driving... and still luggin' around a dang leather apron [drat...]

 

[Artex]

Glad you guys had fun and congrats to Michael J for finishing the 67!

 

[Carmel]

First of all, I wanted to thank Teejay for all the hard work that he did organizing the weekend. I do think that he could do a little better job planning the weather! How about NO rain next year!

Friday Darren and I hiked Mansfield, it was a really nice hike even, the views from the woods were what made it NOT the views from the top! By the time we summitted, the wind was so strong and we couldn't see more than a few feet in front of us because it was sooooo foggy! Luckily, we made it down before it started to downpour!

Fri night...ummm...yes, there was a late night visit from the dr.

Saturday, Bubba and I had a great time mountain biking! WHAt a workout! I think we did enough uphill to make a 4,000 footer by the end of the ride! It was gorgeous, we felt like we went thru five states by the end of the ride! the ride started uphill on a fireroad type road forever passing little streams and bridges...then we went flying downhill on some singletrack for quite a while thru mud and puddles, and i think bubba only fell twice! After the singletrack we were in a pine forest for about a mile and the ride ended thru tall (sea) grass and merigolds by the river...so yes...bubba and i did get a little dirty in the woods!!!!!!!! it was MUCH fun!

Darren and I had to head back early, however, I was NOT disapointed in the post hurricane waves at the beach on Sunday morning and we had a GREAT time body boarding all morning!

It was nice to see you all! See you soon!

 

[teejay]

Campground's revenge

Actually what bubba mentions is true, and then some. She charged me ~$140 for electric service, I guess electric is more in VT. Maybe the initial estimate I gave her for attendance didn't live up to her expectation, so she needed to recoup something from the electric deposit. (My monthly home electric is ~$100.) So, I will shamelessly post my address and PayPal account here in case anyone would like to help out.

Tom Jenks
P. O. Box 114
Elbridge, NY 13060-0114

PayPal: tjinks at twcny dot rr dot com

We had a wonderful time on Camel's Hump. The Monroe trail is in superb condition. JohnS and I had an opportunity on the way down to talk with a trail maintainer and we gushed with praise for the work she was doing. I made it a point to stop at GMC headquarters on Sunday and told them too.

As has been mentioned, conditions on the summit were somewhat less than ideal. I've uploaded a short, crude video which did a good job of capturing the wind. It was a "might airy" up there.

http://media.putfile.com/s-Hump-Summit-Video

(Edit: I just tried to view the video and it is broken. If anyone wants it, I can email.)

The items left at the campground that I rescued were a cooler (bubba's), a bottle of Yellow Tail Chardonnay (Audrey's??), an empty growler from the Shed (??), some breakfast pastries (eaten and all gone), a Beemer (skimom's) and tent (also skimom's). Since she has now been found, I guess she can have her car and tent back. Darn, I probably could have gotten my deposit back just selling the tent on eBay. If anyone wants to claim the growler, it's yours. The wine, well, you'd better act fast. Ms. teejay loves chardonnay. Brian and Seema also have a few things, plates, etc.

teejay

 

[Seeker]

I do regret not having seen my VFTT friends, despite the rain, but given how fast the weekend went by and how much I still have left to do--staying home was the right decision por moi.

Sounds like you folks made all the best of it, as expected! Hope to see some folks out on the trails soon!


bc

 

[Double Bow]

Very glad that I went against my better judgement and came up Saturday night after my wet 'whack (TR to come)! It was very cool to get to meet some of my friends from NY and Canada. Pete and Neil should take their show on the road! Next year, I'm gonna try to make sure I can spend more time at the gathering. It was so great to meet you all.

Oh, and to all of you self-proclaimed "water wusses"...

 

[Neil]

So far my (two) gatherings have been last minute affairs due to pre-empted hiking plans and on each occasion I come away thinking I was lucky to have missed out on the planned hikes.
I was sorry that so many people I was expecting to meet weren't there but the fine ones I did meet or get to know better made up for that.

 

[darren]

Uh....I was in Vermont? Oh yah, I seem to remember Carmel and I going up and down Mansfield in 3 hours flat, but the next thing I remember was waking up at home Sunday morning. The doctor is no longer the official drink of VFTT....

Anyway, Mt. Mansfield was cool as usual, but the post hurricane surf on Sunday AM was awesome. We had a great time body boarding nice clean sets.

- darren

 

[Periwinkle]

Nicely "edited", Bubba!

Thanks to all, especially TJ for putting this all together. Most especially for finding the one campground on planet Earth that wouldn't evict us! Ah, I can't forget the coffee, too...bless you!

Speaking of food, thanks to ColdFeet & Chomp for feeding me breakfast. Why did I say I don't eat breakfast?????? And to everyone for all the post-hike grub Saturday night.... Yeehaw! I grazed like a cow!

I really enjoyed myself...well, maybe a little too much Friday night. I think I may be all for retiring the good ol' Dr. That prescription does absolutely nothing to supress whatever medical condition causes my uncontrollable bursts of inappropriate comments! Maybe that's why I'm "infamous".

I didn't miss the fact that I was the first wild child to bail Saturday night. Can I plead the fact that I'm barely under the "kid" age cut-off???? Must say tho, I really appreciated Pete and Neil serenading me to sleep.

All in all, it was a great trip. Well worth the drama of getting there! Hey, TJ, where's my freakin' oven mitt!!!!!!????????? <should be a kissy face icon!> Oh, and the check is in the mail.

Til' we meet again, so glad to see so many old friends (the pleasure was all mine!), meet so many new, and so thrilled to be out there and hiking again (see addition to Mt. Mansfield reports for more endless Peri blatherings )!

 

[Gris]

So, who got the leather sans a Gris...?

 

[audrey]

Actually, by Saturday night, the mood was mellow enough to recall some of the past Gatherings, such as #2 when Darren showed us slides of Alberta and we sang "What a Wonderful World," dampening a few eyes. Thanks for the music and the company, everyone, and teejay for the planning you put in.

Bigmoose, Pat, and I hiked the Worcester Range as we'd planned, on Friday. I can recommend it to anyone. About 4K vertical when you count all the bumps along the way, and a bit over 14 miles. Only a good topo will reveal the ups and downs, especially between Mt. Hunger and the Stowe Pinnacle Trail. Do not believe the mileage on the trail signs! Use the Day Hiker's Guide, and even that confuses Mt. Worcester and Worcester Mountain: those Vermonters have no imagination in the naming of their peaks. The rock is slippery when wet, and the entire ridge is gorgeously green. It would make a fabulous foliage hike. Open vistas along the way reveal views (not that we got to see any) to the east and the west, and both ends of the range are bare and rocky. Perfect.

Also, if anyone's looking for another place to mt bike in Stowe, the network of cross country ski trails at the Mt. Mansfield Resort is excellent. Pat and I went for a walk on Saturday, and there was an adventure race going on. The parking lot is on the left just before you get to the Toll House lift.
Once you get off the main loop, there's a lot of good steep terrain.

 

[Mad Townie]

... Pay attention kids... the '49 and older group' stayed to watch the fire turn to embers...

You think maybe it had something to do with the fact that those who were up Saturday night were in bed Friday????


Oh, and for those who may not know, skimom is alive and well!

Teejay, thanks for everything, including especially your company on Camel's Hump, your organization, your screen house and your COFFEE!!!!!

The check will be forthcoming. That was kind of nasty, seeing how we probably used about 25 cents worth of electricity. Hey, maybe if we turn in those doctor bottles for the deposits!!

 

[Periwinkle]

I almost forgot! Who was it that I gave the secret sign to on 89S Sunday morning? Just to clarify in cause there's any question that was a "V", not a lone finger, with that little horn tootin' All I saw was a green (?) vehicle sporting a VFTT sticker as I passed. (I know,shocking that I passed anyone, driving or hiking!) I hope you saw BOTH fingers in the "V" as I passed in the unmarked little silver rental terror, aka, Christine, the Rental Car from H@ll!

 

[bunchberry]

teejay, thanks again for your organization this past weekend! i already put a check in the mail to help out with the heinous "electrical" fees.

I'm really happy that i made it to my first VFTT gathering and met all of you...never a dull moment.

Neil and Pete, your music around the campfire was a perfect end to my perfect hike up Mansfield earlier that day--thanks for sharing your talent with us!

everyone else I met...you made the weekend the best! I came home raving to my husband Kevin that he really needs to meet and hike with you all too!

fun "door prizes," great food (thanks audrey and pat!), but I never heard anything about a leather apron.....??

 

[SherpaKroto]

You think maybe it had something to do with the fact that those who were up Saturday night were in bed Friday????

Not all of us. SherpaK-NA was still awake with the 49 and over crew. Quiet, subdued, but awake. The Dr will likely hibernate until winter.

Fun time, despite the rain. Funny how Chomp and I both pulled a "shizzy" (the new term for a "no hike weekend")

Bring on Maine!
SK

 

[bigmoose]

Yeah, what's with that electricity charge, Teejay???! I know! Must be power surcharges because of Hurricane Katrina and those toppled drilling platforms. (Uh oh, wait, that might fuel a Darren-AJTIV high volume "discussion"....) (No wait, the infamous TeeJay coffee pot must be a HUGE energy drain....)
Anyway, kudos to TeeJay for all the work and organization. No way you should eat this ridiculous bill for bogus electricity. Check is in the mail, pal. Hope the other 25 Gatherers chip in, too.

Other post-Gathering observations:

-TeeJay - "door prizes" was an instant classic. Only the 20 or so of us at the drawing can really appreciate "Smittens!" Chomp, you're some lucky dude!

- Pat - your sauce and meatballs/sausage were superb. And what a post'r boy for Spaulding Rehab you are, you hikin' machine!

-Little Bear - a Portsmouth-Bangor-Stowe route to The Gathering shows you earned that 2nd apron for sure. Great quesidillas! Never change the recipe.

-Pete - you better publish those lyrics. Someone's bound to make some money off one of your works - probably the Spam song! A special thanks for the insight as to Spam's derivation in the computer realm.

-Neil - flute accompaniment to Hickey's bizarro stuff just cracks me up.

-Michael J - wished I'd had sense enough to be on Mansfield for your #67.
I'll catch you for #115 or #100, which ever way you're goin'! BTW, do you think you brought enough chips?

-Stan - what an ambassador, apologizing for the wee hours howling to all the annoyed neighbors at the campgrounds. Congrats on #8, keeping the string alive!

-Coldfeet - pancake chef feeding the masses breakfast despite 2 nights with no sleep. (I think he's learned the first thing on a Gathering packing list is earplugs)

-Audrey- Nice work coordinating The Woostah Range!

-Sherpa- time to switch to Dr. Feelgood?

-Arm- stopped by en route to Toronto! (sure, it's right on the way.)

And Gathering 9.0 will be held in New York's Allegheny State Park...the only way we'll ever wrest the apron away from Bubba!

Was it just the weather that kept attendance down? I think representation was something like this: Massachusetts 14, NY 4, NH 4, Quebec 2, Ct 1, Maine 1?? Kinda weak.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

First of all.... what can I say? TJ? Thanks just isn't enough.

I only arrived Sat evening, but had a great time meeting everyone.

Hmmmmm... In spite of being over 49, I retired kind of early as well.... And I have no Friday night excuse!

Bigmoose. Like the spam song? You can find it here:

http://newmud.comm.uottawa.ca/~pete/songs.html


In a way, I kind of liked the smaller size of this. With less people there, it was more intimate. A very nice feeling prevailed.

Thanks again, TJ.

 

[chomp]

Well, Gathering 10.0 is going to be in the Canadian Rockies, so since bubba lives so far west, there is no way he is keeping the apron for that one.

It was a great time, thanks TJ for putting everything together. SherpaK and I did indeed pull a "shizzy", but it was a perfect weekend to do just that. Hiking in the rain is about as much fun as standing in a line under three tarps so nobody gets wet! ("Hey, can someone pass back the salsa?")

Saturday night was great - its amazing how good it feels to sit outside by a fire after its been raining hard for a couple of hours. Pete's performance was great, he had everyone either laughing or singing along. And Neil - I never knew that a flute could sound so good.

Finally, the Smittens were fantastic, excellent idea, TJ. I think for future gatherings, we should all try to bring something goofy like that. BTW - I showed them to VSA and she was very exctied, so as soon as it gets a little colder, I'll have photos.

chomp

 

[LittleBear]

I kinda liked the mellow atmosphere of Saturday night. It was nice having a small group around the campfire - I felt that I was really able to visit with everyone.

But I was a bit disappointed more people didn't make it. I drove all the way from BANGOR, Maine, and if you count the miles from Portsmouth to Bangor to Stowe to Portsmouth, I drove a total of 650 miles just to see all you wonderful people. I toyed with the idea of driving back to Portsmouth from Bangor on Saturday, after all, it was raining, but I'm glad I decided to continue on to Stowe.

I'm not sure what went on Friday night (although I did hear some stories ), but when I arrived at the campground office to check in, the woman there wasn't very happy that I announced I was with the VFTT group. She practically threw the registration papers at me!!

This was my fourth Gathering and the first one where I arrived so late in the weekend and didn't hike anything. Oh well.... It was still great seeing all of you wonderful folks again.

Last year it was leather envy, this year it's smittens envy.

 

[MichaelJ]

BTW, do you think you brought enough chips?

Hey - I packed the car Wednesday night, planning on several nights worth of snack food to share around (since I would have no way to keep a potluck dish fresh all that time), and I certainly didn't want them coming back home with me, so I put them all out to enjoy. Thwwpt.

Teejay - I'll get a check to you, too.