Will a little ol' hurricane slow you down?

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Poptarts have been more then once voted worst food you could put into your body. Hard to believe when you take your brown sugar tart out of the toaster.:eek:

Personally, I don't eat them. However, love Wal-Mart or hate Wal-Mart (or fall somewhere in the middle), their computer systems have been tracking every item purchased at every store since the 70's. They really know what they're doing when it comes to inventory control.

Wal-Mart Way in Disaster Preparedness
 
Staying home Sunday... no need to go someplace where there's flying trees. Also, don't want to risk ending up as a story in the Union Leader! Can you imagine the comments section if one of us needed a rescue in a hurricane?!?! *phew*
Anyway, plenty to do indoors, and yeah, we'll be taking inventory around the house and making sure everything holds together and there's nothing that can turn into a projectile. Stay safe everybody!
 
We were supposed to drive 8 hours north to Baxter on Sunday, but methinks we'll delay that trip by a day...trying to drive in that mess probably isn't much smarter than trying to hike in that mess.
 
The weather channel is an embarrassment. They take information that has always been available from NWS, repackage it with drama and advertising, and resell it like it was something exclusive. The suggestion that Irene is a threat the "no one has yet experienced" borders on offensive - it offends common sense; after all, Fire Island was cut right in half by the 1938 hurricane - and it offends people in SC who went through Hugo in 1989, and others (Donna, Hazel, etc.) Just embarrassing.

The media certainly does hype things up quite a bit but I highly doubt anyone is offended. Better to take the necessary precautions earlier than to realize too late that you should've left town.

Talking about hype and panic...heard there was a fight in the local hardware store today over batteries. :eek:...pathetic.

Anyway...I'd say it's safe to get your hikes, bikes and "any of the outdoor things you like to do" in before noon tomorrow. I'm gonna try to get in 40 on the mountain bike before 11. Besides...isn't that what this thread is supposed to be about? Who's the pirate? ;)
 
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I'm keeping my head in the sand, as always. Haven't been watching the news, but I keep hearing something about a hurricane. What's going on? :)

What I'm more interested in than whether or not to go hiking sunday is how the hiking will be in the following week. I'm still hoping to get out on the Long Trail soon. That thing's wet enough without several extra inches of rain.
 
We store water from our well pre-storm in large Ball jars, nalgenes, etc.

Anyone who's been to Baxter should already have plenty o' big water containers that would come in handy for such a situation. :)
 
With Irene slowly approaching, I began wondering where some of you adventurists draw the line in regards to hitting the trails/rivers in extreme weather.

I know that in terms of temperature, the window is virtually wide open. I've never said no to a snowshoeing trip due to cold weather alone. In contrast, I generally won't hike if its over 90 degrees because I simply cannot find a way to stay comfortable.

In terms of wind, its much harder to gauge. Probably everyone who has been on the Presidentials has dealt with near hurricane force winds at one time or another. During the warmer months, I think I subconsciously want the wind to be brutal up there. It makes me reach deeper and push harder to accomplish my goal. But in the winter, a windy day will keep me home.

So I'd love to get some feedback as to where you all draw your line. Will you be out anywhere this Sunday, and what will you be doing? If not, what conditions are you willing to endure? What will finally tell you that its not worth the risk? I know there are some who will always play it safe, choosing to not invite such danger that the bad weather brings. But on the other hand, there are a lot of well seasoned, experienced adventurers here that must be itching to test themselves in the unusually extreme conditions. For those who do, where do you go/have been in violent weather?

I'll be staying out of the woods that day, but thats just me.

Went out today, got it done, moved on.

I suspect that following Irene, downed trees will be a major problem for the upcoming hikes.
 
Well I'm glad to see that you're all playing it safe this weekend. Thats interesting how much force you encounter in these high winds. I still wanna hear from those who venture out in dangerous weather, not necessarily a full on hurricane. Oh, some of you have pushed your luck, just admit it:)

A few of you did mentioned possibly the biggest factor that I forgot all about, too. It's one thing to do something insane and putting yourself in danger. But its simply not right for SAR to have to go out in those conditions after someone who really tempted their fate.

I will be looking forward to some trails immediately following the heavy wind, though. The heavily trodden trails on popular peaks that are so worn down that their isn't as much as a loose pebble to pose as an issue. They are so uninteresting regularly. The blowdown and debris give these trails the character that they lack.

Also, I work in a hardware store. According to my rough estimations from today, no more than 10% of the population own a working flashlight. No one in the region owns a gas tank. And lastly, it is absolutely vital to the survival of virtually all households that if they lose power, their generator is powerful enough to power their dishwasher. (All too serious about that last part, too)
 
I'd add 1-2 ppm iodine to the filtered water to kill any viruses.

I also agree with MichaelJ--chemical contamination might also be a significant hazard.

Doug

I also agree, also.

Out West there are a lot of beautiful rivers that caution use of filters because of pesticides which leach into the water. By contrast, rivers near urban areas frequently have traces of vitamins, prescriptions etc. What's in your water?

As for preparation for Irene, I believe in Semper Paratus (Coast Guard motto which means always prepared). Events like these are no time for machismo. As much as the media overblows these things for commercial advantage, you still have to take the weather models seriously, and more.

I'm near Boston which, according to this morning's projections, places us to the east of the center, known as the "dangerous semicircle". 40-60 mph winds are forecast but the slightest change of the storm's course could easily result in a doubling, if not worse, of that wind speed.
 
I've had just about my share of water crossings, so if for some reason I had felt the compilsion to hike Saturday, it would have been on a trail virtually stream free.

Wind depends on the reason, average conditions when the summits may be real windy but the woods below are rather benign, a summit where you poke your head out into the wind & then quickly back down is fun, a couple of miles above treeline though......

Had the pleasure :)eek:) of doing LeConte & Kephart during tropical storm Dennis which brought 50-70 MPH winds to the area. (It's a woods walk with virtually no streams along a well defined trail - the AT & the Boulevard from a trailhead above 5,000 ft.) A couple of spots I felt uncomfortable walking under/ past trees swaying in the wind.

Need to be able to get back home so any questionable day might need to start at a trailhead on a real busy road.

For Irene, no way would I planned an overnight anywhere. At best a quick in & out day hike & back on the road before she came in. may have taken my chances on 93 & 495, who knows they may have been safer with less people on them, afterall, the trip to the trailhead is usually the most dangerous.

For me that might have been Cannon with a start no later than 10:00 & a finsih time before 5:00. (assuming it got interesting up there well after dark)
 
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