Rocky Mountain (National Park) High

“sounds good. what time?”

“went and did all my shopping last nite. took about 3 hours. spent 147 dollars at galyans on food, new pants, new sandals, and odds and ends, picked up more food at the grocery, went to best buy and bought a camera and film, then finally stopped at barnes and noble for a new book. unfortuneately, its such a fast read i fear i may have it done before the trip starts and ill have to get another book. maybe the second harry potter book.”

“OK - thinking this through. Stove arrives at approx 2pm.
30 mins to get rental car.
1 hour (?) to get to outdoor supplies store and buy fuel.
2.5 hours to drive to RMNP.
30 mins to check in etc.
10 mins to get to dinner venue.

6:30-7:00-ish ? If we say 6:30 you may just have to have a drink or two while waiting for us.”

“aussie - You may have time to hit REI or some other outfitter before my plane comes in. I won't need to hit REI for fuel (alcohol). I can pick up a bottle of HEET at just about any Wal-Mart, gas station, auto parts store, ect..
I will have a checked bag so there will be that time added to my airport visit.
Thinking about carry on of backpack (GoLite Breeze), sleeping bag, coat, hat. I'll have to check my stove, pot, trekking poles, food, clothing, ect. in a suitcase.”

“That's a good idea. But we'll need to change our meeting place : I guess I'll just drive up to the arrivals, say around 2:15, and hopefully see you waiting at the curb......?

What colour is your backpack and how tall are you ?”

“aussie - Continental Arrivals around 2:15 Local time.
I'm 5' 8", 48 yo, very short brown graying hair, eyeglasses, green GoLite Breeze Backpack, and a suitcase, wearing a big smile.

I'll wear my thebackpacker.com T-Shirt too.”

“FYI - I'm out in the mountains in Washington from Friday morning to Saturday night so won't be able to check e-mail.”

“"I'll wear my thebackpacker.com T-Shirt too"

DORK!”

“I just sent everyone an email stating the meeting time and place of 7pm at sagebrush bbq. cool?”

“he may be only 48, but he look like he's 68. He is an old looking man...I wouldn't pick him up, if his life depended on it.

Dang hippie leftover.

sorry, I couldn't resist telling the truth. hehehe

HAGT!!!!!!”

“Who ya gonna believe?
Sticky, the guy that tries to canoe dry river beds, or the young at heart, StoveStomper? LOL.”

“Email me your cell phone number.”

“ok im back first! i just want to say that driving thru st louis SUCKS! would it hurt to have just one major interchange open or semi-clear detour signgs? would it?”

“So how did you do above 14,000 ft dude?????


8)”

“we didnt go that high? highest point was just over 12k.”

“So how did you react to it????I bet you guys had a blast!

8)”

“stove had a time for awhile dealing with the altitude. had a headache for a couple of days. i was there a day earlier than the others, and took tylenol pm, and so had no adverse effects from the altitude. my fitness level, however, was not up to snuff, and i really struggled on the uphills. before i go to baxter next year, i will have that corrected.

lots of wildlife.....moose, elk, marmots, pikas, bighorn sheep, mule deer, o my.....”

“full report coming tomorrow.......
stove and auss will have to supply the pics until i get a new pc....

i would just like to take this opportunity to apologize to auss, stove, and stoned (if he reads this) for leaving camp rather abruptly friday morning. i realized later that mighta been kinda rude, but i was just thinking about the long drive home and was just kind of in "go" mode.”

“No worries on your getting on the road promptly on Friday - I probably would have done the same.

BTW - don't hold your breath re seeing my photos - I still haven't published any of mine from Sierrapalooza in early July.....”

“SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!!”

“Those were some wierd people I hiked with. ;) (not really)

Ha, I see stonedhiker posted so I can claim him as a "Who have you met" TTer! This dude is a giant ex marine and a damn fine hiker and person. Hi, Grant!

Just back and all I can say is Woo Hoo! I want to go back.
Ol' 2scoops-o-poop put together a kicka$$ trip with some super people.

Had a touch of altitude headache for the first four days out of 5 but still did ok. I kicked those switchback's a$$.

I took about 200 pictures but don't look for them for a few days.

What can I say about aussie? Good lady (and very good looking) and by far the most fit of the bunch. I do think she could outhike CMB or the 'dude. She was so nice to shuttle me around before and after this trip. Thank you so much aussie! You are a peach!

2scoops - Did you leave anything in the parking lot? Hee Hee.
Aussie spotted your trekking poles in the dirt after you drove off. I have them, so I quess you'll HAVE to make the N. Georgia trip if you want them back.
Thanks for setting up a super trip! Stikmon will be proud! ;)”

“Details, details, details. I want em'!!!!!! Did it rain? Did you see Elvis? Did SS have to rescue anybody from a stove?”

“My son and I just got back from RMNP and Boulder, CO. Last Sunday afternoon we hit the trailhead at Long's Peak Ranger Station and hiked up to Battleground Group site to set up camp. The altitude really hit both of us. Headache, etc. We spent the night there and the next morning left to climb Long's peak at 7 AM.

It was a great hike and climb and we reached the summit ( 14255') around noon. It was totally fogged in and the weather was threatening so after some quick pix and a call to his mom we started down. There was a marmot up there begging food.

On the way down we got hit with a thunderstorm while in the trough. It hailed heavily for about 20 minutes. AFter that we hiked back to basecamp and slept deeply for 12 hours. Lots of wildlife was seen including a marten in the trough at 13000 feet.

We were going to hike over to Bear lake but decided to cut it short and head back home.

We don't have a digital cam so we can't post pix. RMNP is a great place and we would definitely go back. The forest is so different from what I'm used to here in the Appalachians or in Mt Rainier NP where we were last summer. Very dry. Plenty of rain while we were there though.

The drive across the midwest was long but beautiful. I got a glimpse of the Sand Hills in Nebraska and would love to explore that area some day. The prairie was beautiful in Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. Now we're back in the humid east.”

“JO, glad to hear you had a good trip. and also great to hear from someone who can appreciate the Midwest's beauty! :-)

Wow, so you're telling me 2scoops pulled off a trip and pissed no one off???! COOOOL!!! lol ;-)”

“Thanks for the compliments Stove - you made me blush. And thank you for dropping me off at the hotel - it was really nice not to have to mess around with shuttles.

2scoops - now you have a successful Rockies trip under your belt !! Thanks so much for all the organising.”

“I FORGOT MY POLES!?! F@CK!”

“goddammit. first my fuel, then my poles. i was all set to post a trip report, now im too bummed.”

“Sounds like you all had a good time.

I am always up for a good fast paced hike dude!

Scott!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!My God not again!

8)”

“I did too, but I'm glad no one else was with me...It was frightening even for ME!!!. I did a friday off trail 8 mile day hike, up to Trio Falls in the Wild Basin area, then sat climbed Mertensia Falls in the footsteps of a big black bear, he never spotted me, and neither did I see it, but there was plenty of soft squishy skat on my trailess path...but, this is your trip page, I'll get to my own trip report in a bit later. Glad you all enjoyed yourself...and got out safely and alive.

Nice job 2scoops!!! pics...we need photos.”

“I'll try and load my 180 pics tomorrow at lunch into Webshots (fast work connection, 56K at home will not get it).
Lots and lots of animal pics (deer, moose, elk, big horn sheep, mule deer) and a few cool people pics!
This trip was mind blowing!
I'm making plans for a return trip!”

“My Rocky's Pics are loaded into Webshots.
Titles will be added later.....”

“Great pics, SS!”

“Why....thank you, bit.”

“You're welcome!


I'm envious, dammit...”

“Very nice pics SS! Some of that looks familiar!”

“SS. It looks like you all had some great kritter sightings. I'm envious of that. The only sheep or goat that was sighted on my trip, was ME!”

“Glad everyone had a great trip!

Great photo's SS . . . the pic of the July campsite looks just like I left it 2 yrs. ago! :) Now who's going to post the trip report . . . or do I have to start asking questions????”

“2scoops was the trip "leader".
The trip report is his to type up.
I just take the pics. ;)”

“where's the report???”

“so glad you could take the time to write up a report. I'm sure the group you led are pleased with your remberances. Your a class act.”

“o go fuk yourself. what do you care?”

“gosh i guess i didnt know it was EXPECTED of me. didnt know it was my RESPONSIBILITY. any one of us could have written a trip report. we were all there. where is it written that the trip organizer HAS to write the trip report, and if he doesnt, is a heel and is subject to harsh criticism for those who didnt even go?”

“and by all accounts...this was a great trip you did,,,so share the details...you seem to think Im some kind of jackass, well, im not, you were the trip leader, you have the responsibility...if not to your group, then to your fans. sheesh...you seem to forget, I like trip reports and I was inthe same place that you were, just after you all...so shut up and WRITE!!!! We've all seen the photos, now the story...please.”

“"2scoops was the trip "leader".
The trip report is his to type up.
I just take the pics. ;)"
StoveStomper
09:39:07 PM
08/05/03”

“ok then you put it like that then im more bound to comply. its late and your tone in your first post really rubbed me the wrong way. trip report coming, i promise. the reason (excuse) i havent done it yet is because ive wanted to have pics beside me when doing it, but the first week my pics were at work while i showed them off to everybody. now the pics are home, i have no excuse, other than procrastination.”

“damn that stovestomper”

“hehehe...ain't I a stinker...peer pressure works all the time.”

“WE want a trip report!



8|”

“Yea, ya slacker!
Where is that trip report? Hee hee.
The responsibility of leadership is heavy. ;)”

“Stikmon - Lay off of ol' 2scoops-o-poop. He did a good job on the Rocky's trip.
No one was killed and all had a good time. ;)”