Another 10 item trip but this time was run out by the weather. :o

W

Woods Walker

Joined
Jun 3, 2010
Messages
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This was my second 10 item trip. Here are the items

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1. Kifaru Paratipi.
2. Kifaru Parastove.
3. Wiggy’s Poncho liner.
4. 70 oz Platy bag.
5. HL20 headlamp with camo PT headband.
6. Mora 746G knife.
7. Ridgerest closed cell pad,
8. Bic lighter.
9. FAK.
10. GSI Aluminum kettle.

For the first time in maybe 10 years I to leave the woods because of weather conditions. :( It all started out ok and there wasn’t supposed to be any snow until dark but things went bad in a hurry. I used my Eagle A 3, which despite not having the internal frame was rather comfortable. Guessing not packing food or water helped keep the weight low.

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Once the snow started falling I decided against any foraging. I would find a sheltered spot and gather wood and water for the night. Maybe some Pine needle tea but that was the extent of the plans. I was already a bit behind the 8 ball as should have been setup before the weather turned but it moved in harder and faster than expected. Lots of people are now without power.

Many of the trees still have their leaves and with heavy wet snow falling I didn’t like the way this was turning out. The canopy slowly started to bend over all around me.

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I could hear trees crashing all around me with small stuff falling in every direction.

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Just as I took the photo of that little branch larger ones started to rain down. I was able to take this video of some potential widow maker action. It was enough for me to head out in a hurry.

Click on photo to view video.

[video=youtube;Urmre8mfNnA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Urmre8mfNnA[/video]

As always I told people my plans and just a few minutes later I got a call. They said a warning was issued to stay away from trees and expect power outages. I had to park near the top of the driveway.

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Guessing maybe 6-8 inches of heavy wet snow in the yard and it’s still snowing.

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I believed the risk became too great so this trip was called off early. Darn shame as I like hiking and camping in the snow. Widow makers on the other hand, not so much. Has anyone here ever decided to call a trip early?
 
damn. I think you made a great decision lol. that video of the tree falling was nuts. at least you made it back in one piece
 
Sometimes descretion is the better part of valor. Yes, many times I've bailed on a trip when things went awry. And a few times I failed to bail when I should have. It is great to have stories to tell your buds and grandkids, but living is a prerequesit. Now... what is all that white stuff? :D
 
Where in New England are you? I'm sitting here in bed listening to parts of trees break off every five minutes and praying a bit.
 
Wow, that looks hectic! I agree with your decison ...if it was life and death, maybe worth the risk but for recreation, you made the right choice. Live to fight another day!!

Regards from Africa

Aubrey
 
I heard on the news that a severe snowstorm was going to hit the north-east coast. Good call getting out of there.
 
Woods Walker said:
I believed the risk became too great so this trip was called off early. Darn shame as I like hiking and camping in the snow. Widow makers on the other hand, not so much. Has anyone here ever decided to call a trip early?
Click to expand...

Yeah, that was a good call. Foregoing safety turns a "survival-testing" situation into a stupid situation. My son and I called off our last night of a backpacking trip as I could hear some extreme thunder and winds/clouds were starting to whip up. We had cell-phone coverage and my wife said there was a tornado watch...I'm glad we decided to pack out vice stay that last night as several trees were blown down in the area we were camped.

ROCK6
 
Marcelo Cantu said:
Where in New England are you? I'm sitting here in bed listening to parts of trees break off every five minutes and praying a bit.
Click to expand...

I am in CT as well. They don't expect the power on for 1-2 weeks. This is worse in some areas than Irene. We had a warm wet fall and many of the leaves are still green. The heavy wet early snow and wind was nasty fast turn of the weather. I have camped in many storms including Nor’easters but there was just something different about this one that made me very uneasy beyond just the falling trees all around. I took my 5-year nephew to my parent's house which has power because it will get down into then 20's overnight. I needed a chain saw just to get out of the driveway and then for some reason the truck wouldn't start so also had to call for a ride. The generator is still dead from the last storm when the darn thing failed. If I was forced to remain at the house there is always the heated tipi shelter plus have tons of food and water. The BOB has headlamps etc.
 
I don't blame you, I'd have turned back too if the only knife I had was a Mora :D

But seriously, from all I am hearing from up there you made a good call on turning back. My wife, oldest daughter and I went on a camping trip we had planned for a couple of months. The remnants of Katrina were moving through the area and we were out on a point on the side of signal mountain. It had been a not-too-heavy but steady rain for hours so I tried to talk Sarah (daughter) out of it but she really wanted to go. It was like a Tolkien-esque adventure getting to the point, a five mile hike through ravines and around crags and up slippery trails to the tiny cabin. At the point the winds were pretty stiff and we listened to large trees falling all around us all night. The next morning there were a couple dozen pine trees down in the area, some of them 2 feet in diameter. It made for a long disconcerting night, but it was one of those family bonding adventures and now it's a fond memory. It could have turned out quite the opposite.
 
Sorry to hear you had to cut your trip short, but that was definately the right move.

As night fell over here in Bethel, You could not stand outside for more than 2 minutes with out hearing and seeing a large branch or tree snap off. We went over 5 days with out power, with 11% of the town still with out power today.

I would have had to change my shorts if I was in the forest that night... Glad you're safe!
 
Just the video alone was enough to tell me you made the right call. Widowmakers were named that for a reason.
 
My motto is, you can do anything you want to, you just cant be stupid about it. Nothing wrong with calling it.
 
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