Then are you just using the shoulder straps attached like the originals and leaving the rest of the Molle straps loose?
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Then are you just using the shoulder straps attached like the originals and leaving the rest of the Molle straps loose?
Quote:
Originally Posted by LostOutrider
I'm jealous. That's just a few hours up the road, and I'll be busy until this time 2050. :(
Oh man, that's a shame. It'd be cool to meet up on a trail somewhere.
Planning update:
We've had two drop-outs - the 10-yr-old hurt his foot so Dad is going to stay home with him. That's a dedicated Dad for ya. Still waiting to hear from the elder of the group. He's mumbling about having to keep up with young whipper-snappers or something like that (though, personally, I think it is more the rain chance he's looking at). Might be just two of us on the trail.
I added a fleece blanket and pulled out the extra T-shirt. Considered thinning out the grub sack since, well, we've lost half our men . . . . but food is good and, like warmth, better to have too much than too little. Rain chance is less now, but not gone enough for me to leave the wet gear at home. Replaced my mini-mag with a new, smaller keychain-sized LED one. Gave the old one to my 4 yr-old.
The overnight lows have climbed some - and I briefly considered leaving the fleece sleepgear at home . . . but back in June I was on the Butterfield Trail around Devil's Den when a thunderstorm blew in and couldn't sleep for more than an hour at a time because I was so cold in that hammock. Warmth is worth the weight. I kept the fleece.
I guess your chances of winning the dessert making contest have improved dramatically. Stay safe and have fun.
What Crash said. I hope your week-end is great!!
Looks like the weekend will have to wait. Had a friend and co-worker lose her 10 year fight with cancer today. Looks like there's other stuff needs taking care of more this weekend. I'll re-bump this thread again when we reschedule.
Sorry to hear about your loss.
Sorry about your loss.
My condolences.
My condolences LostOutrider.
Bumping the thread back up because it looks like we're going for attempt #2 - same trail. The conditions have changed somewhat. Old Man Gustav has been dumping water down on Arkansas and Missouri for a few days now and doesn't look like he's going to let up until late Thursday, maybe Friday morning.
We're planning to head out Friday after work. Forecast says there won't be a cloud in the sky - sunny with a high in the low 80's low in the 60's.
I'm packing basically the same kit as above with a few exceptions:
1. Losing the bulky hooded wind/waterproof jacket. Since there is no chance of rain, I'll rely on the emergency poncho and my lightweight tarp for staying dry in case of unexpected downpour. (I may throw it in the truck as a last-minute grab, though. Depends on Ol' Gustav.)
2. Paring down my sleep gear some. Replacing the bulkier pull-over with a thermal underwear top. Keeping the fleece pants and knit cap, though.
3. Minor food changes because I've snacked on some of my goodies. I'm still planning on feasting, though.
Going out with one other guy for certain - and we're still trying to talk the elder of our crew into tossing on a pack. I think we've just about exhausted his excuses.
On a side note, I actually ended up losing two friends that week in the above posts - within seven days of each other. Both of them teachers in my school, both of them young. Crazy, horrible, heartbreaking thing to happen. I'm too young and just don't have enough friends to be losing them at that kind of rate. Point of this is, though, that I have a little thing planned for the hike. One friend was an Art teacher and was working on a waterfall mural in her room. The other was an English teacher who was passionate about poetry, especially 'found' poetry. With the rains we've had, there should be three or four pretty nice waterfalls on the hike. I'm going to see if I can't leave a bit of found poetry by one of the waterfalls. I'm pretty serious about not leaving any trace, but I think that maybe this one time I can leave just a bit. I'm sure I'll hump out enough rusted beer cans and dirt-packed bottles to balance it out.
So sorry about your losses lostoutrider.
Be safe on your trip. Have fun. I'm sure your friends will be smiling down on you.
That will be a fine memorial for your friends sir... Good luck and safe trip.
Back. Got some pictures to share . . . but there's enough of them that I may just make an album instead of have them as attachments.
Overall, it was a great trip. Just two of us this time. We did about a mile and a half before dark on Friday and made camp after dark in a small hollow off the trail. Saturday, we hiked about six miles with the last two being a constant ascent along the Ozark Highlands Trail. The OHT was the worst maintained trail I have ever seen. The climb was bad enough, but made worse by the amount of crap we had to climb over or under. At times, the trail was completely obscured by thick summer growth and we just blazed up and kept an eye out for white blazes. There is a certain amount of overgrowth to be expected during a late summer hike, but this was just neglect.
Climbed up a break in the bluff line on White Rock Mountain Saturday afternoon and walked past three cabins and a lodge (all occupied). Found a 6-site campsite in the middle of the plateau with running water and a bathroom. Secured one of the sites, dropped off the packs, and then did the White Rock Rim Loop trail (about 2.5 miles) before dinner. After dinner, joined the drop-campers and cabin-renters to watch the sun set over an amazing view of the river valley.
Nice cool evening, good sleep. Woke up and coasted the last 6 miles along the western side of the Shores Lake trail. Downhill all the way. At about mile 3 we found the waterfall we were looking for and took a break for lunch. Had a fun time jumping off the waterfall and swimming in the frigid water. The last 3 miles just flew by after that. Missed the second waterfall by not paying attention to trail markings, but we'll catch it the next time we do the trail.
For anyone considering the Shores Lake trail, I say skip the eastern trail entirely and take the western loop going and coming. By far, it was the prettiest part of the trail.
Oh, and be prepared to fight your way through every foot of the Ozark Highlands Trail right now.
Pictures soon.
Glad you had a good time. Looking forward to the pictures.
Welcome back,did you leave the memorial you took,or was that for the other waterfall?
I did. It wasn't much, but they would have approved. I did make certain that I took in the full enjoyment of what was around me. There's time for being sad; this time it wasn't allowed.
I'm glad you were able to.
I'm glad you had a good time. The bad part of the trail makes the good parts that much better. Look forward to the pics.