- Joined
- Mar 8, 2008
- Messages
- 25,769
The danger being slipping and falling off a fair height and getting severely injured or succumbing to exposure. Bad bad bad.
-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is $300 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
A Cautionary Tale or "Why not to hike mountains in early spring"
- Thread starter FortyTwoBlades
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2005
- Messages
- 2,823
Besides, the shop I work at in the summer has one of the largest in-store cutlery selections in the northeast so there's fun stuff to play with!
What shop would that happen to be? I venture down your way quite a bit and wonder if I've been there?
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2006
- Messages
- 7,020
Great pictures and thanks for sharing, FortyTwoBlades.
Doc
Doc
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2008
- Messages
- 25,769
Jekyll & Hyde in Bar Harbor. It's a small store that's been around about 40 years, give or take. A lot of stuff, ranging from the usual tourist garbage (hey,you have to compete, right?) to biker leather, nice jewelry, and cutlery/optics.
Everyone else: thanks for the comments! Honestly it's hard to describe how terrifying some sections were. The footing was really bad in some spots, and often times if we had slipped it could have been broken bones or a head injury. Take the worst pics and multiply it by five and that's what it was like. As previously mentioned, we couldn't take pics of the worst bits because we were too busy trying to stay alive and well!
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2007
- Messages
- 1,337
They're Corcoran jump boots an Air Force buddy sent me. They've been great in the woods, believe it or not. I know Nessmuk laughed at the style, but I've enjoyed them quite a bit. I was counting my lucky stars that I was wearing them by the end of the journey.
I really enjoy the support of a full upper. It makes my ankles feel much more secure. I usually just like them up over the ankle, though.
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2008
- Messages
- 25,769
Just about all of the pictures were taken by Lauren, not me, so thank her! She's just as handy as I am with a camera! 
It certainly was better than being stuck indoors, but we were sure grateful to have hot running water and a warm dry house once we were done!
It certainly was better than being stuck indoors, but we were sure grateful to have hot running water and a warm dry house once we were done!
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2003
- Messages
- 1,150
but we were sure grateful to have hot running water and a warm dry house once we were done!
Almost one of the beauties of it all, Im starting to think.
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2003
- Messages
- 1,150
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2008
- Messages
- 25,769
I dare say I won't be trying anything quite so hair-brained for a while. I don't want to scare the missus off, now.
Sounds like quite an adventure, I wish I had more of that in my life these days. My wife is more the "girly girl" sort, although she does have her moments here and there. For the most part though, she claims to not know how to pump gas in her car, she can't mow the lawn, etc. I really know she can do all of these things, but just like her spoiled and pampered kitty cat...these tasks are simply "below her". hah!
Seriously though, you're lucky to have someone to share the adventures with.
Seriously though, you're lucky to have someone to share the adventures with.
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2008
- Messages
- 25,769
You can see my RC-3 on my shoulder strap in the photos where I'm facing the camera. I was too busy hanging on to roots and boulders to stop for blade shots, but I did use it to chop through some obstructing branches in some critical situations. Having it at the ready on the strap made a huge difference! The sheath on the strap in back contains an Opinel No. 8 carbon, and there's a Boker wharcom clipped to the PALS webbing above the drop-pouch on the left side of the bag. There's also a blue-handled zdp-189 delica in my back right pocket, and an Izula and Case swayback in my right front pocket. Inside the bag is a Vic. Swiss Spirit multi-tool and a CS K4 neck knife. If you look carefully you can see most of them.
LMT66
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2008
- Messages
- 11,103
2 things are missing ... good hardwood hiking sticks to help cross small streams and steady your climb up the rocks.
This one is on my short list .. http://www.canemasters.com/highland-hiking-and-survival-staff-p-339.html
Looks like it would come in handy where your at in the pictures.
This one is on my short list .. http://www.canemasters.com/highland-hiking-and-survival-staff-p-339.html
Looks like it would come in handy where your at in the pictures.
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2009
- Messages
- 3,198
Well FTB, all I can say is that you are in good shape if your woman is still talking to you. A good sign. She didn't look too happy in a couple of the pics.
You are lucky that you found someone that will be game enough to hit the trail with you (I noticed a distinct lack of high dollar technical gear on her back!!
) and not get mad when things go wrong.
A few years ago I went to a large park north of here and me and the LOML were out hitting the trail. I figured about 12 - 13 miles total for a couple of days, not a long trek. It was tough on me though, as I was the pack mule for the team.
I was really regretting loading up so much stuff to pack, and by the time we did a couple of steep (short) climbs the tent, both sleeping bags, some water and some food were really starting to get at me. She carried what she could in her little pack, but it wasn't much.
I knew we had a slight chance of rain, but having totally screwed myself before when being lazy at setting up camp, I pushed myself to set up the tent in an area that was slightly elevated (meant clearing away more debris and loose rock) with ground cover (my poncho) and even put on the rain fly. I put the gear outside on a pile of rocks (the debris) outside of the tent and covered it with her poncho lashed around it.
A few hikers came by trying to get to the camp area and laughed their ass off at me, teasing me I might as well build a house.
That night it rained about 3 - 4 inches over a period of several hours. For a short period of time, we got dime sized hail as well, and high winds off and on. I was nervous... did I stake the tent properly? Was the gear high enough off the ground? Would the rain fly leak? How in the hell was I going to get out in this to pee after drinking a gallon of campfire coffee?
On the other hand, she never woke up. She was so tired from hiking she slept through all of it except when we got a loud thunderclap or two, or when the wind was blowing hard enough it was moving the tent around. (She thought I was nudging her.)
We got up the next day, and only one corner of the tent was wet. We let things dry out a bit, we had our coffee, some hot cereal, and packed out stuff up and started out.
We saw the other hikers on the way out. I have never seen such a despondent group. They tried to tough it out in hammocks with ponchos or space blankets over them, some had no where to go and tried to sleep in the trees wrapped in a sleeping bag, and a couple just stayed on the ground and were soaked. None of them had set up a proper camp. Most of the guys were sitting in their underwear with their clothes and boots hanging in the trees to dry out. All they could say was "it was only 20% chance.... we got screwed.... this sucks...." etc. They told me that the hail felt like they were being stung by bees for about an hour.
I gave them the rest of my coffee and some waterproof matches. I told them to use one of their books for tinder and showed them how to hang their little pot off a branch. There were several of them, and they wanted me to stop and see if the Rangers would come get them as they weren't sure they could make it out. The Rangers laughed by the way, and said they would send someone up before sunset if they didn't see them come out.
My partner's only worry was that she was getting mud on her new hikers.
The thing that bothered me the most was that she trusted me to take care of her, and unlike camping/hiking with one of my buddies, she relies on me completely. I was afraid for her that night, not for me. It made me nervous to have her there in that storm, but she was just fine. She understands that camping means sleeping outside, but that's it. She can set up the tent, but she doesn't know how to stake it properly, or how to set the rainfly. She is puzzled at the poncho as a ground cloth; she can't light the MSR, and isn't sure how a compass relates to a map.
But after our trip (which would have traumatized pretty stout campers) when I asked her when she wanted to go camping again at the end of it all, she told me should would be ready when I was.
I always try to be triple prepared when I take my woman along. I know that one bad trip, and that could be it. She will never go again. It sounds to me like you handled things right, and if you and Lauren are going again you are a lucky one indeed.
But for me, when your woman is involved, you can't be too careful or too prepared. I read your post about climbing over the wet rocks, and the dangerous terrain conditions coupled with rain; I can relate. I don't take Kathy out on those any more because it bothered me a lot more than it did her. I don't ever want anything to happen to her, especially if I was pushing her. If inclement weather or trail conditions arise, I am fine. She is not. I work in construction and have for many years. I climb, carry, balance, walk, lift and stay out in the weather all day working most of the time. She works in an air conditioned office all day long.
Yours is a good report. You cannot be too careful, nor take anything for granted. You can over prepare sometimes, but I have never been in trouble for that. Extra consideration has to be made for those less experienced than you.
She still hikes with me after all these years, but really only likes to go when "it's pretty". I am glad to have her along from time to time as she really enjoys it.
In enjoyed the post and the pics!
Robert
You are lucky that you found someone that will be game enough to hit the trail with you (I noticed a distinct lack of high dollar technical gear on her back!!
) and not get mad when things go wrong.A few years ago I went to a large park north of here and me and the LOML were out hitting the trail. I figured about 12 - 13 miles total for a couple of days, not a long trek. It was tough on me though, as I was the pack mule for the team.
I was really regretting loading up so much stuff to pack, and by the time we did a couple of steep (short) climbs the tent, both sleeping bags, some water and some food were really starting to get at me. She carried what she could in her little pack, but it wasn't much.
I knew we had a slight chance of rain, but having totally screwed myself before when being lazy at setting up camp, I pushed myself to set up the tent in an area that was slightly elevated (meant clearing away more debris and loose rock) with ground cover (my poncho) and even put on the rain fly. I put the gear outside on a pile of rocks (the debris) outside of the tent and covered it with her poncho lashed around it.
A few hikers came by trying to get to the camp area and laughed their ass off at me, teasing me I might as well build a house.
That night it rained about 3 - 4 inches over a period of several hours. For a short period of time, we got dime sized hail as well, and high winds off and on. I was nervous... did I stake the tent properly? Was the gear high enough off the ground? Would the rain fly leak? How in the hell was I going to get out in this to pee after drinking a gallon of campfire coffee?
On the other hand, she never woke up. She was so tired from hiking she slept through all of it except when we got a loud thunderclap or two, or when the wind was blowing hard enough it was moving the tent around. (She thought I was nudging her.)
We got up the next day, and only one corner of the tent was wet. We let things dry out a bit, we had our coffee, some hot cereal, and packed out stuff up and started out.
We saw the other hikers on the way out. I have never seen such a despondent group. They tried to tough it out in hammocks with ponchos or space blankets over them, some had no where to go and tried to sleep in the trees wrapped in a sleeping bag, and a couple just stayed on the ground and were soaked. None of them had set up a proper camp. Most of the guys were sitting in their underwear with their clothes and boots hanging in the trees to dry out. All they could say was "it was only 20% chance.... we got screwed.... this sucks...." etc. They told me that the hail felt like they were being stung by bees for about an hour.
I gave them the rest of my coffee and some waterproof matches. I told them to use one of their books for tinder and showed them how to hang their little pot off a branch. There were several of them, and they wanted me to stop and see if the Rangers would come get them as they weren't sure they could make it out. The Rangers laughed by the way, and said they would send someone up before sunset if they didn't see them come out.
My partner's only worry was that she was getting mud on her new hikers.
The thing that bothered me the most was that she trusted me to take care of her, and unlike camping/hiking with one of my buddies, she relies on me completely. I was afraid for her that night, not for me. It made me nervous to have her there in that storm, but she was just fine. She understands that camping means sleeping outside, but that's it. She can set up the tent, but she doesn't know how to stake it properly, or how to set the rainfly. She is puzzled at the poncho as a ground cloth; she can't light the MSR, and isn't sure how a compass relates to a map.
But after our trip (which would have traumatized pretty stout campers) when I asked her when she wanted to go camping again at the end of it all, she told me should would be ready when I was.
I always try to be triple prepared when I take my woman along. I know that one bad trip, and that could be it. She will never go again. It sounds to me like you handled things right, and if you and Lauren are going again you are a lucky one indeed.
But for me, when your woman is involved, you can't be too careful or too prepared. I read your post about climbing over the wet rocks, and the dangerous terrain conditions coupled with rain; I can relate. I don't take Kathy out on those any more because it bothered me a lot more than it did her. I don't ever want anything to happen to her, especially if I was pushing her. If inclement weather or trail conditions arise, I am fine. She is not. I work in construction and have for many years. I climb, carry, balance, walk, lift and stay out in the weather all day working most of the time. She works in an air conditioned office all day long.
Yours is a good report. You cannot be too careful, nor take anything for granted. You can over prepare sometimes, but I have never been in trouble for that. Extra consideration has to be made for those less experienced than you.
She still hikes with me after all these years, but really only likes to go when "it's pretty". I am glad to have her along from time to time as she really enjoys it.
In enjoyed the post and the pics!
Robert