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Back on the trail!
#13339 04/27/11 05:19 PM
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Well it isn't much, but another scout leader and I are heading out at 0600 to hit about five miles of the PCT south of the 74. We are reconing it for a ten mile merit badge hike next month (out and back).

I'm so out of shape and it looks like we may hit nearly a 1000 feet of gain over the ten mile day. Sure beats going to work though.

After the ten mile portion is over next month three boys and a couple leaders will then go north on the PCT to make a twenty mile day, completing their badge requirements. You would think that every scout gets the hiking badge, but sadly it's around three percent. Well, except in my troop it might be higher for some reason.

I'm really excited for this little hike because it is the start to a great season. Hope to see a lot of you on the trail this year...............................DUG

Re: Back on the trail!
DUG #13342 04/27/11 06:27 PM
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DUG 'Is back in the saddle again" Glad to "hear your voice."

Re: Back on the trail!
DUG #13369 04/28/11 07:50 AM
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Sounds like a fun trip.
Glad to see you back, DUG.

CaT


If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracle of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it.
- Lyndon Johnson, on signing the Wilderness Act into law (1964)
Re: Back on the trail!
CaT #13375 04/28/11 12:01 PM
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Thanks Rod/CaT. Feels good to get out and DO something. Ten easy miles on the PCT - five south and then five back to the car. Easy rolling hills, nothing that will be too much for our younger boys. The leader that went with me today was the leader who got his azz handed to him on our Meysan Lake backpack trip last year. I had to pretty much demand he give up his pack to a stronger hiker so we could all reach camp. Well, I guess he felt really humbled by that and has since dropped over 40 pounds and been doing some gym/cardio. He breezed through today's hike. I knew he had been getting in shape, but he told me during a break today that it was that hike that convinced him he needed to change. Scouting does make a difference.

So WHEN did it become kewl for guys to wear skirts on the trail? Saw two different PCT through hikers wearing a plaid skirt thing. I detected no Scottish accent. Fashion statement? Low maintenance? Chafing? Call me old fashioned, but I'll stay with my Under Armour pants/briefs.

Great day to be on the trail..............................DUG

Re: Back on the trail!
DUG #13376 04/28/11 12:31 PM
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A few years back, as I was waiting on the cables on Half Dome (for about 3 hours while someone was having a panic attack), a guy breezed past us on the outside of the cables. He was wearing a kilt. He looked like he could have kicked any soccer hooligan's hiney without any trouble, so no one there questioned his fashion sense.

Re: Back on the trail!
Brent N #13377 04/28/11 12:47 PM
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If you've watched Braveheart, you know a kilt makes it very easy to express your admiration for your enemy - or something like that.
DUG - So very good to see you back here.



Verum audaces non gerunt indusia alba. - Ipsi dixit MCMLXXII
Re: Back on the trail!
wagga #13379 04/28/11 02:01 PM
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Are they doing the kilt club again? Here's a better kilt shot -- taken on the JMT in '08




DUG wrote:
> I had to pretty much demand he give up his pack to a stronger hiker so we could all reach camp.

That's something I'd recommend for any group: If one person is hiking considerably slower than the rest, others need to lighten that person's load. It really helps keep the group together. There is nothing gained by allowing the faster hikers to move on ahead which splits up the group, and causes potentially more problems for the group.

And good for that fellow working hard to lose the extra pounds and get in shape. He'll definitely notice the difference when he's hiking.

Last edited by Steve C; 04/28/11 02:05 PM.
Re: Back on the trail!
wagga #13380 04/28/11 02:10 PM
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One of the Scout Leaders that I went through Powder Horn training with last fall wore a utili-kilt throughout both weekends... for everything from class work to trail maintenance... he swore by it...

Now, just to throw my two cents worth in.. as a female who, occasionally, has been known to wear a skirt... I'd be worried about stray winds exposing that which I'd rather not have exposed....

Re: Back on the trail!
Steve C #13382 04/28/11 02:17 PM
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Originally Posted By: Steve C
That's something I'd recommend for any group: If one person is hiking considerably slower than the rest, others need to lighten that person's load. It really helps keep the group together. There is nothing gained by allowing the faster hikers to move on ahead which splits up the group, and causes potentially more problems for the group.


As someone who naturally hikes slower then almost everyone over the age of 5 and under the age of 100, I'd have to say that there are exceptions to this statement Steve. I have considerably lightened my own load by learning better methods of packing over the last several years.. and it doesn't make me any faster of a hiker... and it doesn't reduce the irritation of my Scouts (or others) when I make them wait for me to catch up to them. It doesn't do the morale of my group any good what-so-ever to tell them that, since Mrs. Sistrunk is so slow, they have to either walk with me (causing them to vastly reduce their speed and hold themselves back).. or they have to stop and wait at certain points in the trail until I catch up.

Sometimes you just have a slow hiker... period... which is one of the reasons I have chosen to be so selective about whom I hike wiht these days...

Last edited by SoCalGirl; 04/28/11 02:17 PM.
Re: Back on the trail!
SoCalGirl #13383 04/28/11 02:25 PM
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Chris: Ah, but you DO follow what I was trying to recommend: That the group not split up too much. Requiring everyone to stop and wait at specific points effectively keeps the group together, too.

Re: Back on the trail!
Steve C #13384 04/28/11 02:33 PM
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Originally Posted By: Steve C
Chris: Ah, but you DO follow what I was trying to recommend: That the group not split up too much. Requiring everyone to stop and wait at specific points effectively keeps the group together, too.


Oh of course Steve.. I totally get what your saying.. and practice it as much as possible. I try to group my hikers by ability with leadership when necessary and 99% of the time I pull drag (No one falls behind Mrs. Sistrunk. However... I also know that if you have vastly different speeds in your group then making the "rabbits" stop to wait for the "turtles" doesn't work very well. The faster group being forced to sit and wait and get "cold" while waiting isn't very good for them....

Re: Back on the trail!
SoCalGirl #13385 04/28/11 02:40 PM
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The group had already "split" by the time I took the pack. My son and I were the rabbits carrying the group supplies (tents and cooking gear). Behind us was the assigned "leader". We also had a leader in the rear. We all had radios. The plan was for the rabbits to dump a load at camp and return to assist the weaker hikers. By the time we returned the rear, the leader and some stronger hikers had made it to camp. I radioed them to dump their loads and return. The rabbits met up with them and gave them the loads we pulled off of two slow boys. We returned to the rear again (at some point I got to meet RichardP for the first time) and grabbed two more packs. Another leader (who had been carrying a lot of group gear) showed up and I tasked him to take the slow leaders pack. He initially refused, wanting to save some pride. We chatted for a minute or so until the boys were out of earshot and then I "insisted" in my own special way. The pack was exchanged and we all made it to camp safely.

I took a calculated risk by including younger, weaker boys in the group. I knew from the start we would need to help shuttle loads. It was either that or leave them at our base camp. I made it work by bringing along six Venture Scouts who were only day hiking to our campsite. We only had 10 permits so they couldn't stay the night anyway. They were older and stronger and made it work. My son and I gave our all that day. Others set up the tents and once I hauled that last load to camp I was destroyed. I spent 45 minutes in my tent cramping and dry heaving. I would do it again tomorrow.

The leader in question struggled all the way but I had to take care of the boys first. Out of 12 who spent the night, 5 needed help.

I wanted more practice hikes, but it didn't happen. In the end I formed a plan and made it work safely. No one was ever in the slightest bit of danger...........................DUG

Last edited by DUG; 04/28/11 03:02 PM.
Re: Back on the trail!
DUG #13386 04/28/11 02:48 PM
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Originally Posted By: DUG
I wanted more practice hikes, but it didn't happen. In the end I formed a plan and made it work safely. No one was ever in the slightest bit of danger...........................DUG


I've never seen you do anything to endanger anyone you've hiked with... you know your group.. who the strong hikers are.. who the weak ones are... and you plan accordingly. As do I when hiking with my Scouts. I am the weak link in the hiking (whether with the Scouts or with a different group)... even more so then some of the smaller, less experienced Scouts (they at least have the energy of youth on their side)... Plan accordingly and be prepared...

Re: Back on the trail!
SoCalGirl #13387 04/28/11 03:06 PM
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Oh I know you know Chris. And most everyone else does, but this board has grown a lot so I just wanted my story to be clear for anyone who might not know me yet.

I was floored today when we were taking a break and he told me his motivation to get back into shape (this guy is a former FMF Corpsman) was that hike.

Now we are looking forward to lots of local PCT miles and Sanny J summits - he's retired now and I will be soon. Might as well put some miles on during the week.................DUG

Re: Back on the trail!
DUG #13397 04/28/11 07:21 PM
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I'll tag as many of those summits and miles with you guys as I can!!! I need to work some fat off my body too...

Re: Back on the trail!
SoCalGirl #13400 04/28/11 08:21 PM
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I have got to get in shape so I can join you on a hike DUG.

Re: Back on the trail!
Rod #13407 04/29/11 03:58 AM
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Chris/Rod, let's make this the year we quit talking about it and DO it. I'll hike anywhere. It doesn't have to be insane if it's with good friends...............................DUG

Re: Back on the trail!
DUG #13414 04/29/11 06:17 AM
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Originally Posted By: DUG
Chris/Rod, let's make this the year we quit talking about it and DO it. I'll hike anywhere. It doesn't have to be insane if it's with good friends...............................DUG


I've already started... and like I said.. let me know when and where and I'll be there if I don't already have Scouting obligations... no more excuses... right?

Re: Back on the trail!
DUG #13416 04/29/11 06:38 AM
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Originally Posted By: DUG
this guy is a former FMF Corpsman


What is "FMF"?

Re: Back on the trail!
KevinR #13435 04/29/11 10:38 AM
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Originally Posted By: KevinR
Originally Posted By: DUG
this guy is a former FMF Corpsman


What is "FMF"?


Fleet Marine Force. He was a corpsman assigned to the Marines...................................DUG


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