woodsxc
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Was it late September? The ranger "strongly urged" us to not go above treeline but said that if we were determined to go, we should take Saddle instead of Cathedral (our original plan). I guess our boyish charm won him over.
Your best "Worst Trip"
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Was it late September? The ranger "strongly urged" us to not go above treeline but said that if we were determined to go, we should take Saddle instead of Cathedral (our original plan). I guess our boyish charm won him over.
chinooktrail
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Gosh, there have been so many, it is hard to narrow it down to just one...
I suppose right now I would go with a backpacking trip to the Osceolas. (This was the last backpacking trip I took with my now X husband.)
A few 'not really into it but have most of the gear' freinds had asked me to take them out for a backpacking trip. We planned it all out, and had enough extra gear to get eveyone equipped for an overnight in mid October. The crew consisted of 2 married couples, one single mom and 4 kids from 8-13.
The day started out perfect, crisp autumn air, beautiful leaves, perfect trail conditions. Unfortunately we were no where near the trail head. The 'crew' arrived at my house about 2 1/2 hours late. The drive to the trailhead, via Sandwich Notch Road was adventurious and filled with wrong turns and dead ends and narrowly escaped rollovers...
When we finally reached Waterville Valley the kids decided they would mutiny unless we fed them RIGHT THEN! So, we found a place for food. An interesting place where they take your order, cook one meal at a time, and serve it one at a time. Did I mention, there were 9 of us? Soooooo, about 2 hours later, now over 5 hours past our intended start time, we finally hit the trail.
Trail conditions were fine, blah blah blah, but hum, those clouds don't look so nice...
Once on the first Osceola summit we stopped, had a snack, looked around briefly, and figured out the the wind was a bit stronger than expected, and it was quite a bit darker than it sould be.
So, we went off on the trail in the direction of the next peak. As soon as we were off the summit, it started to sprinkle. 5 minutes later, it was raining. 10 minutes later it was pouring. Another 10 and it felt like we were in monsoon season. The X ran ahead to try to scout out a flat place to set up camp. I stayed behind to try to keep the troop moral up. Oddly enough, this was far more diffocult a task than I had thought.
We finally decided enough was enough, and picked a random spot. A flat place to set up a tent is sometimes a very over rated thing. Not having sticks and roots and rocks under your tent can also be over rated. Leaking tents? Well, it is part of the general character building for backpackers. Attempting to set up 5 tents where there isn't even a decent spot for one? Priceless. Doing this all in a monsoon with 7 very unhappy campers? Interesting.
Finally camp was set, stoves were cranking and Water was boiling. There truly is something about getting something warm and filling into your tummy to make you feel better. Once food and drinks were consumed, there wasn't much to do but say good evening and retire to our respective nylon dwellings for the evening.
It poured all night, sometimes it could easily be described as torrential, sometimes merely monsoon-like. At least the wind was above us, I could hear it all night attempting to make it down to our little slice of heaven, but it never really seemed to have had any luck. Unfortunately rain knows the laws of gravity and uses it to its full advantage.
I know for a fact that it poured all night for a good reason, I didn't sleep at all. While the X was warm and cozy and snoring ever so sligthly, I was wide awake, and listening for signs of the kids being swept down the side of the mountain in a huge mudslide. Not that I could have heard much of anything except the pitter patter, (well, really it sounded like we were on the inside of a snare drum being played by Animal from the Muppets) of rainfall. Oh, and the howling of the wind as it got more and more annoyed that it couldn't blow our tiny insignificant shelters off the mountian or shred them into tiny streamers. I had a lot on my mind on this trip. I was waiting for the results from my first biopsy for breast cancer. Only the X knew about this at this point, and I was waiting for some real news before I scared or upset anyone.
When you are laying in a tent, listening to the wind and the rain and certain that a moose will be crushing you at any second, you don't have a lot to laugh about. But that is what I kept doing, sort of chuckeling to myself at yet another situation I had gotten myself into. Thinking how hard I had tried over the years to get these people to try hiking more and even backpacking. And now here we were, at their request, enduring this natural disaster together. I just sort of layed there, with my tiny headlamp on, reading a bood and chuckeling to myself about the situation I was in. Well, at least I know for sure when I actually began losing my mind.
Finally daybreak came, and with it came something even more pleasant. A cease to the rain, and a cease to the wind. The storm, having sensed how unwelcome it was, did the polite thing and left the tea party.
I got up to assess the damage. The two boys were in a tent and in about a foot of water. fortunately their tent was pitched on a nice slope, so they were bunched up on high ground and the water, following the rules and regulations of gravity was collecting and regrouping at the low ground. Another few inches and we would have needed a dingy to rescue them.
The single mom and son made it through the night, and this is when we discovered that they didn't have sleeping bags, but brought a few cotton quilts and sheets and pillows. The girl was in her own tent and made it through the night unscarred and able to remove herself from her dwelling without assistance. The other couple fared well through the evening, although the wife kept getting up to check on all of the kids.
We finally all were eating a hearty breakfast and telling tales of heroics. Off we went, packless and daredevil like to the second peak. We milled around, ate some gorp, took a few pix anad headed back to pack up camp. By the time we got back to the first summit again, the people who had decided to camp out on the summit were stirring. They looked windblown and sleepless and a little more than worn around the edges. We din't dilly dally too long, and finally decided to make our way back to the vehicle.
I completely expected to hear that none of these people would ever go on a hiking trip with me again, and really, I couldn't or wouldn't have blamed them. But to my complete shock and awe of the humans ability to block out unpleasant memories, they all said it was one of the best trips ever, and asked what I would plan for them next.
The very human ability to be able to laugh in the face of disaster will never cease to amaze me, and to inspire me to keep trying new thiings.
As I said in the begining, I have so many 'bad trips gone good' stories to tell.
Like that time we did a 4 day 3 night backpack trip where it rained straight through and I fell into a huge mud puddle not even 5 minutes into the trip...
Ah yes, good times.
I suppose right now I would go with a backpacking trip to the Osceolas. (This was the last backpacking trip I took with my now X husband.)
A few 'not really into it but have most of the gear' freinds had asked me to take them out for a backpacking trip. We planned it all out, and had enough extra gear to get eveyone equipped for an overnight in mid October. The crew consisted of 2 married couples, one single mom and 4 kids from 8-13.
The day started out perfect, crisp autumn air, beautiful leaves, perfect trail conditions. Unfortunately we were no where near the trail head. The 'crew' arrived at my house about 2 1/2 hours late. The drive to the trailhead, via Sandwich Notch Road was adventurious and filled with wrong turns and dead ends and narrowly escaped rollovers...
When we finally reached Waterville Valley the kids decided they would mutiny unless we fed them RIGHT THEN! So, we found a place for food. An interesting place where they take your order, cook one meal at a time, and serve it one at a time. Did I mention, there were 9 of us? Soooooo, about 2 hours later, now over 5 hours past our intended start time, we finally hit the trail.
Trail conditions were fine, blah blah blah, but hum, those clouds don't look so nice...
Once on the first Osceola summit we stopped, had a snack, looked around briefly, and figured out the the wind was a bit stronger than expected, and it was quite a bit darker than it sould be.
So, we went off on the trail in the direction of the next peak. As soon as we were off the summit, it started to sprinkle. 5 minutes later, it was raining. 10 minutes later it was pouring. Another 10 and it felt like we were in monsoon season. The X ran ahead to try to scout out a flat place to set up camp. I stayed behind to try to keep the troop moral up. Oddly enough, this was far more diffocult a task than I had thought.
We finally decided enough was enough, and picked a random spot. A flat place to set up a tent is sometimes a very over rated thing. Not having sticks and roots and rocks under your tent can also be over rated. Leaking tents? Well, it is part of the general character building for backpackers. Attempting to set up 5 tents where there isn't even a decent spot for one? Priceless. Doing this all in a monsoon with 7 very unhappy campers? Interesting.
Finally camp was set, stoves were cranking and Water was boiling. There truly is something about getting something warm and filling into your tummy to make you feel better. Once food and drinks were consumed, there wasn't much to do but say good evening and retire to our respective nylon dwellings for the evening.
It poured all night, sometimes it could easily be described as torrential, sometimes merely monsoon-like. At least the wind was above us, I could hear it all night attempting to make it down to our little slice of heaven, but it never really seemed to have had any luck. Unfortunately rain knows the laws of gravity and uses it to its full advantage.
I know for a fact that it poured all night for a good reason, I didn't sleep at all. While the X was warm and cozy and snoring ever so sligthly, I was wide awake, and listening for signs of the kids being swept down the side of the mountain in a huge mudslide. Not that I could have heard much of anything except the pitter patter, (well, really it sounded like we were on the inside of a snare drum being played by Animal from the Muppets) of rainfall. Oh, and the howling of the wind as it got more and more annoyed that it couldn't blow our tiny insignificant shelters off the mountian or shred them into tiny streamers. I had a lot on my mind on this trip. I was waiting for the results from my first biopsy for breast cancer. Only the X knew about this at this point, and I was waiting for some real news before I scared or upset anyone.
When you are laying in a tent, listening to the wind and the rain and certain that a moose will be crushing you at any second, you don't have a lot to laugh about. But that is what I kept doing, sort of chuckeling to myself at yet another situation I had gotten myself into. Thinking how hard I had tried over the years to get these people to try hiking more and even backpacking. And now here we were, at their request, enduring this natural disaster together. I just sort of layed there, with my tiny headlamp on, reading a bood and chuckeling to myself about the situation I was in. Well, at least I know for sure when I actually began losing my mind.
Finally daybreak came, and with it came something even more pleasant. A cease to the rain, and a cease to the wind. The storm, having sensed how unwelcome it was, did the polite thing and left the tea party.
I got up to assess the damage. The two boys were in a tent and in about a foot of water. fortunately their tent was pitched on a nice slope, so they were bunched up on high ground and the water, following the rules and regulations of gravity was collecting and regrouping at the low ground. Another few inches and we would have needed a dingy to rescue them.
The single mom and son made it through the night, and this is when we discovered that they didn't have sleeping bags, but brought a few cotton quilts and sheets and pillows. The girl was in her own tent and made it through the night unscarred and able to remove herself from her dwelling without assistance. The other couple fared well through the evening, although the wife kept getting up to check on all of the kids.
We finally all were eating a hearty breakfast and telling tales of heroics. Off we went, packless and daredevil like to the second peak. We milled around, ate some gorp, took a few pix anad headed back to pack up camp. By the time we got back to the first summit again, the people who had decided to camp out on the summit were stirring. They looked windblown and sleepless and a little more than worn around the edges. We din't dilly dally too long, and finally decided to make our way back to the vehicle.
I completely expected to hear that none of these people would ever go on a hiking trip with me again, and really, I couldn't or wouldn't have blamed them. But to my complete shock and awe of the humans ability to block out unpleasant memories, they all said it was one of the best trips ever, and asked what I would plan for them next.
The very human ability to be able to laugh in the face of disaster will never cease to amaze me, and to inspire me to keep trying new thiings.
As I said in the begining, I have so many 'bad trips gone good' stories to tell.
Like that time we did a 4 day 3 night backpack trip where it rained straight through and I fell into a huge mud puddle not even 5 minutes into the trip...
Ah yes, good times.
Gris
New member
Maybe this one...? (worst and best)
southern Chile about 8 years ago. my brother, best friend and i decided we would rent a Nissan ext cab truck and do a 'day trip' to Queulat Nat'l Park. Told our hosts we would "run up there and be back in a day." Ran into town and got 'supplies' for our trip - two cases of beer,two bottles of wine, 2 loafs of French bread and a big hunk of goat's cheese. i had the flu but was talked into it never-the-less...
45 minutes after leavng Coyhaique early the next a.m. on a beautiful sunny 70F summer day, the nice smooth paved road ended, as we stared up at a mountain that looked strikingly like the paramount pictures movie start mountain. We noticed a gas station and filled up - wise move.
4 hours later we had gone maybe 1/5 of the way there. top speed 25 mph on the gravel/rock when no landslide blocking the road. as we approached yet another landslide being cleared by locals, we decided to fish in the river alongside the road. my already drunk brother took the wheel and barreled down the embankment and we parked on a rocky but dry part of the streambed. caught no fish but drank one case between the three of us. couldnt the truck back up the bank after 30 minutes of trying. finally my brother did it on two wheels, miraculously avoiding deah and loss of the truck rented in my name. his driving privileges were promptly revoked.
7-8 hours and many adventures later we arrived at the 'park' as the sun disappeared (LONG days down there). ALL the supplies were gone. the 'park' was deserted, no facilities, nothing, just a few rough hewn signs. otherwise nothing had changed from the wilderness we had been passing thru the last 10 hours. we pitched my three man tent on some soft lichen-like stuff. it promptly began to mist, clouds i suppose. i found some OLD freeze dried dinners in my pack and cooked them. also found a half bottle of moonshine in there.
bedded down with my two sleeping bags and a wool blanket we borrowed from the lodge in town. i took the 35 bag, my friend the 15 bag, my brother the blanket (as he had sleeping pills, LOL). woke up 2 hours later to the sound of my brother's teeth chattering. looked outside, a thick layer of wet snow on everything. we had nothing more than fleece pullovers and thin summer hiking pants. put my brother in my bag then went outside but quickly returned after hearing what sounded like a puma call. stayed up ALL night listening to many strange animal noises, none of which I'd ever heard before. HuGE thundering avalanche sounds every 2-3 hours...
no breakfast next a.m. we went on a hike to find viewpoint of the famous hanging glacier. we had some stream water, nothing else. no time flat sun was high and baking felt like we were in steamy Amazon jungle. WEIRD animals here and there, STRANGE noises. very muddy. took us hours to get there. no breakfast, no sleep, flu virus kicking my *ss, covered in mud. no spare clothes really. i had fever attack, collapsed face down in mud, got chills, sweated it out and felt better, eventually caught up to the guys (who of course had abandoned me). got to viewpoint, waited 5 minutes, clouds parted, witnessed huge avalanche. got many photos. returned to base camp
NO food. were ravenous. decided to attempt to return even though knew wouldnt make it before dark. we were already a day late... saw that the gas gauge was les than 1/2 tank from last station a day away... everyone was miserable, mud covered, alternatively hotor cold, famished, tired, yet stoked we saw the 1000+ ft frozen waterfall up close and a rocking avalanche to boot.
down by the coast an hour later we saw another primitive sign at a side road (path) at the edge of a fjord. we debated whether we had the gas to see if it would lead to human presence and food. decided we had no choice as we had not seen another human for 24+ hours, did not have enough gas to get 'home,' and were so starved we were shaking. through the bushes, turned a corner and the grassy road skirted incrediby beautiful lagoon with huge snow/glacial capped mountains looming overhead. sun came out. sublime. handpainted caribbean colored fishing boat at anchor. few log cabin like structures scattered about. friendy border collie and kittens greeted us...
an hour later after the little old german man returned in his boat with fresh KING CRABS we feasted on the best meal we all ever had - prepared by his native cook - at least five different meats, fresh veggies, home made bread, the best imported micro brews. we all fell sleep in the sun in the high green grass with the dog and kittens climbing on us...
next a.m. German man had just enough petrol in a can in his tool shed to get us to the station next to 'Paramount mtn'
of course, we told our hosts back in town when we arrived the next night we were still starved, and they did a spread for us too, MNY pisco sours and much red wine was consumed
southern Chile about 8 years ago. my brother, best friend and i decided we would rent a Nissan ext cab truck and do a 'day trip' to Queulat Nat'l Park. Told our hosts we would "run up there and be back in a day." Ran into town and got 'supplies' for our trip - two cases of beer,two bottles of wine, 2 loafs of French bread and a big hunk of goat's cheese. i had the flu but was talked into it never-the-less...
45 minutes after leavng Coyhaique early the next a.m. on a beautiful sunny 70F summer day, the nice smooth paved road ended, as we stared up at a mountain that looked strikingly like the paramount pictures movie start mountain. We noticed a gas station and filled up - wise move.
4 hours later we had gone maybe 1/5 of the way there. top speed 25 mph on the gravel/rock when no landslide blocking the road. as we approached yet another landslide being cleared by locals, we decided to fish in the river alongside the road. my already drunk brother took the wheel and barreled down the embankment and we parked on a rocky but dry part of the streambed. caught no fish but drank one case between the three of us. couldnt the truck back up the bank after 30 minutes of trying. finally my brother did it on two wheels, miraculously avoiding deah and loss of the truck rented in my name. his driving privileges were promptly revoked.
7-8 hours and many adventures later we arrived at the 'park' as the sun disappeared (LONG days down there). ALL the supplies were gone. the 'park' was deserted, no facilities, nothing, just a few rough hewn signs. otherwise nothing had changed from the wilderness we had been passing thru the last 10 hours. we pitched my three man tent on some soft lichen-like stuff. it promptly began to mist, clouds i suppose. i found some OLD freeze dried dinners in my pack and cooked them. also found a half bottle of moonshine in there.
bedded down with my two sleeping bags and a wool blanket we borrowed from the lodge in town. i took the 35 bag, my friend the 15 bag, my brother the blanket (as he had sleeping pills, LOL). woke up 2 hours later to the sound of my brother's teeth chattering. looked outside, a thick layer of wet snow on everything. we had nothing more than fleece pullovers and thin summer hiking pants. put my brother in my bag then went outside but quickly returned after hearing what sounded like a puma call. stayed up ALL night listening to many strange animal noises, none of which I'd ever heard before. HuGE thundering avalanche sounds every 2-3 hours...
no breakfast next a.m. we went on a hike to find viewpoint of the famous hanging glacier. we had some stream water, nothing else. no time flat sun was high and baking felt like we were in steamy Amazon jungle. WEIRD animals here and there, STRANGE noises. very muddy. took us hours to get there. no breakfast, no sleep, flu virus kicking my *ss, covered in mud. no spare clothes really. i had fever attack, collapsed face down in mud, got chills, sweated it out and felt better, eventually caught up to the guys (who of course had abandoned me). got to viewpoint, waited 5 minutes, clouds parted, witnessed huge avalanche. got many photos. returned to base camp
NO food. were ravenous. decided to attempt to return even though knew wouldnt make it before dark. we were already a day late... saw that the gas gauge was les than 1/2 tank from last station a day away... everyone was miserable, mud covered, alternatively hotor cold, famished, tired, yet stoked we saw the 1000+ ft frozen waterfall up close and a rocking avalanche to boot.
down by the coast an hour later we saw another primitive sign at a side road (path) at the edge of a fjord. we debated whether we had the gas to see if it would lead to human presence and food. decided we had no choice as we had not seen another human for 24+ hours, did not have enough gas to get 'home,' and were so starved we were shaking. through the bushes, turned a corner and the grassy road skirted incrediby beautiful lagoon with huge snow/glacial capped mountains looming overhead. sun came out. sublime. handpainted caribbean colored fishing boat at anchor. few log cabin like structures scattered about. friendy border collie and kittens greeted us...
an hour later after the little old german man returned in his boat with fresh KING CRABS we feasted on the best meal we all ever had - prepared by his native cook - at least five different meats, fresh veggies, home made bread, the best imported micro brews. we all fell sleep in the sun in the high green grass with the dog and kittens climbing on us...
next a.m. German man had just enough petrol in a can in his tool shed to get us to the station next to 'Paramount mtn'
of course, we told our hosts back in town when we arrived the next night we were still starved, and they did a spread for us too, MNY pisco sours and much red wine was consumed
hikes-with-him
New member
Was it late September? The ranger "strongly urged" us to not go above treeline but said that if we were determined to go, we should take Saddle instead of Cathedral (our original plan). I guess our boyish charm won him over.
WHAT...yes it was...we were told on Sunday am that it had been closed. GRRRRRRR.
But wait...my hubby was with me. His boyish charm should have worked
Mike P.
Well-known member
Too many to really remember them all but some brief tales:
1st Mt. Hike - Greylock on a humid Memorial Day - jeans & a flannal shirt because it's colder in the mountains. - back when you could park at the At crossing on Notch Rd. 100 yards from the car, start running back, trip over low blowdown - lesson, layers, hike cool & just like car accidents, most occurr close to home, once you believe your almost there & you think the worst is over...
1st Catskill hike high humidity, trail overgrown with stinging nettles, to avoid the itching, wore wind pants (only leg protection I had) on a 90 degree day!
Katahdin in a day from CT, luckily it has a happy ending but almost fell asleep on drive home after being up 35 hours. priceless expression at gate at 7:30 AM when I was asked where I started from & I said Manchester, she asked, NH & I said CT - No water, I filled the two liter Mt. Dew bottle I with water right from the stream wore old raquetball sneakers *& had a small gymbag (single strap) that had wind pants & a sweatshirt. - worst, no, DUMBEST YES. That bag & a few extras including gloes made my first Washington ascent the following month. Bought boots after Katahdin & learned about blisters & 2 liters of Mt. Dew will not keep you up forever - it did almost give me wings though.....
Hole in my radiator last year while in ADK's needed tow tuck after hiking Gothics & Sawteeth. Had to rent a car & go back to get mine. Worst - $$ for car, best, after getting my car, Did Street & Nye which i had thought would wait until this year
1/1/95 - Race in Cotton sweat pants. Lost the pants which I liked, wet cotton bad, frozen cotton oddly is pretty wind-proof though. (some lessons you can learn on short trips when you are not too far from the car)
Winter trip on Wildcats with Doublebow a few years ago. We went up 19 mile & down Polecat. We had one car so we had to road walk back to the trailhead. Had to, no not really, we knew this was the day that the VFTT crew was coming out after a great meals by Sli74. We passed a bunch of them including our moderator, Chicken Man. (had hiked with Dave previously also) An hour or two after passing the group, that was when I realized, we should have asked Dave to move my car up to Wildcat.
Hike good, company good, road walk with winter packs & plastic boots, bad. About 2/3's of the way I ditched my pack (read threw my pack) behind a snow bank figuring I would pick it up after we got the car. Part of me might of been happy had the pack got stolen!
Can't wait to see what happens this year!
1st Mt. Hike - Greylock on a humid Memorial Day - jeans & a flannal shirt because it's colder in the mountains. - back when you could park at the At crossing on Notch Rd. 100 yards from the car, start running back, trip over low blowdown - lesson, layers, hike cool & just like car accidents, most occurr close to home, once you believe your almost there & you think the worst is over...
1st Catskill hike high humidity, trail overgrown with stinging nettles, to avoid the itching, wore wind pants (only leg protection I had) on a 90 degree day!
Katahdin in a day from CT, luckily it has a happy ending but almost fell asleep on drive home after being up 35 hours. priceless expression at gate at 7:30 AM when I was asked where I started from & I said Manchester, she asked, NH & I said CT - No water, I filled the two liter Mt. Dew bottle I with water right from the stream wore old raquetball sneakers *& had a small gymbag (single strap) that had wind pants & a sweatshirt. - worst, no, DUMBEST YES. That bag & a few extras including gloes made my first Washington ascent the following month. Bought boots after Katahdin & learned about blisters & 2 liters of Mt. Dew will not keep you up forever - it did almost give me wings though.....
Hole in my radiator last year while in ADK's needed tow tuck after hiking Gothics & Sawteeth. Had to rent a car & go back to get mine. Worst - $$ for car, best, after getting my car, Did Street & Nye which i had thought would wait until this year
1/1/95 - Race in Cotton sweat pants. Lost the pants which I liked, wet cotton bad, frozen cotton oddly is pretty wind-proof though. (some lessons you can learn on short trips when you are not too far from the car)
Winter trip on Wildcats with Doublebow a few years ago. We went up 19 mile & down Polecat. We had one car so we had to road walk back to the trailhead. Had to, no not really, we knew this was the day that the VFTT crew was coming out after a great meals by Sli74. We passed a bunch of them including our moderator, Chicken Man. (had hiked with Dave previously also) An hour or two after passing the group, that was when I realized, we should have asked Dave to move my car up to Wildcat.
Hike good, company good, road walk with winter packs & plastic boots, bad. About 2/3's of the way I ditched my pack (read threw my pack) behind a snow bank figuring I would pick it up after we got the car. Part of me might of been happy had the pack got stolen!
Can't wait to see what happens this year!
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