Subtitle: Scout Awards
Today we're having the end of the year award ceremony. I wish I could say that I spend lots of time reflecting on how wonderful the girls are in philosophical and eloquent ways, but I don't. I'm usually busy packing or unpacking gear, running after folks with paperwork, writing emails that may or may not be read, thumbing through the badge book and generally testing the limits of my memory and patience. This is not to say that I don't think the girls are the coolest kids on the planet. Obviously I enjoy what I do, or I wouldn't put in the (probably) 300+ hours a year to help make Troop 48 the rockin'est troop in the area. I love hanging out with them and watching them try new things or pull of something especially challenging is really rewarding. And they're funny, hilarious even (when they're not screaming).
Maybe I should hire a speech writer.
In other news:
275 days until March 12, 2012. I've lost my lexan cup. I couldn't find it when I was packing for the O'Leno trip a few weeks ago. I'm really bummed out about that--not because it's a valuable cup or especially fancy or anything but I liked it. My dad bought it for me before he took me on my first ever backpacking trip in 1995. So-long lexan cup, you'll be missed. At least we can say you were durable. Guess this means I have a reason to stop by REI next week!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Where'd we go???
Ok, so Virginia Skyline Council is organizing this thing called the Great Girl Scout Hike, it's basically the Eaglet Express.
They have a website at www.gshike.org. Check them out there, they're going into it with the ATC and lots of other higher up support.
I'll still be hiking, I'll still be starting March 12, but if you want more official info on the GS Appalachian Trail thru for the centenary contact the GS hike folks.
They have a website at www.gshike.org. Check them out there, they're going into it with the ATC and lots of other higher up support.
I'll still be hiking, I'll still be starting March 12, but if you want more official info on the GS Appalachian Trail thru for the centenary contact the GS hike folks.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Tents or Tarps?
Out on Dingle I used the Eureka Backcounty1 tent. My Scouts gave me this tent as an end of the year gift last year. It weighs 3 lbs 14 oz, which is relatively heavy for me, but it's sturdy, holds up well in wind and rain and is free standing--unlike my Spitfire solo--2lbs 14 oz + all the patching I did after the encounter with the cat so probably like 3 lbs even.
Lately, I've been thinking about tarps. This isn't a very attractive option for me in Florida--due to tick-carpeting and mosquito clouds--but I'm thinking that once I'm out of this (God-forsaken) state that tarp-ing will be more of an option.
If a tarp weighs 9.2 oz plus say 3.2 oz for stakes (GoLite aluminum V stakes), 3.2 oz for a tyvek ground sheet and another say 6 oz for a rope that puts us at 21.7 oz, or about a pound and a third--way less than half of the Spitfire's weight. If bugs really were a problem I could throw in a bug bivy for another 14 oz. For a total of 35 oz or 2 lbs 3 oz I could have it all.
Lately, I've been thinking about tarps. This isn't a very attractive option for me in Florida--due to tick-carpeting and mosquito clouds--but I'm thinking that once I'm out of this (God-forsaken) state that tarp-ing will be more of an option.
If a tarp weighs 9.2 oz plus say 3.2 oz for stakes (GoLite aluminum V stakes), 3.2 oz for a tyvek ground sheet and another say 6 oz for a rope that puts us at 21.7 oz, or about a pound and a third--way less than half of the Spitfire's weight. If bugs really were a problem I could throw in a bug bivy for another 14 oz. For a total of 35 oz or 2 lbs 3 oz I could have it all.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Home away from Home
I worked here for a few summers, some of those young staff were my campers. Le sigh...
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Trail Tales Thursday, Dingle #4
Dingle Way, Day 4
5 July 2010
Fred and I got up early and humped our gear down to the dining room. While I was writing postcards, drinking a cup of coffee out of an awesome Batman mug I found in the dish cupboard and worrying about the retired Belgian Army beating us out onto the trail Fred was using band-aids and moleskin in some ingenious combination that I wouldn't have dreamed of in a thousand years.
It was a drier morning than the other two and we were in good spirits as we headed up the road from the hostel. We had planned to do 17 miles and we were both nervous about the distance--neither of us had done such a long day before. But, we had all day and nothing else to do but walk.
Shortly after leaving the hostel we passed a famous pottery shop (Louis Mulcahy Pottery). The guide book promised coffee in the cafe, but we were passing by an hour before opening and didn't feel like taking a break yet. We dropped down over some dunes and passed the beach where Tom Cruise once stood--they filmed Far and Away on Dingle. Fred and I took a picture, but neither of us had ever seen the movie, so we weren't too impressed.
We walked over some beautiful cliffs, located Skelator's Island and crossed some fields with the Three sisters in the background. We started a race with the Belgian Army when we spotted them on the beach. It rained on us earnestly and we ducked under someone's overgrown garden wall to pull on raingear. Fred draped his overgrown self with his brittle blaze orange boyscout poncho. I was embarrassed to be seen with him thus attired but we pressed on. It stopped raining precisely when we'd left our garden wall shelter. It warmed up quickly but the damage was done. My feet were wet and I didn't stop to change my socks. Trench foot had begun.
We ambled over beaches and fields for the rest of the day. Around the town of Ballynagall, after we'd walked the square of Smerwick Harbor we crossed a few creeks headed to the bay that were full of giant scallop shells. I tossed a couple into my backpack for souvenirs. In town we stopped at the Post to buy some Cokes and candy bars. Fred was looking for more moleskin, he'd already gone through my whole supply. Irish Posts have pretty much anything you could want (including fresh baked bread) but sadly no moleskin. The Belgian Army was there when we pulled up.
The rest of the day was a blur of wet feet and road walking. We missed a crucial turn around Feonagh and accidentally headed east up a road off the Dingle Way. By the time we figured out our mistake and made our way back to the Dingle Way we'd added a few extra miles onto our trip. Around 5pm we were nearing our critical exhaustion point and passed a Bed and Breakfast. Rooms were 80 euros a night, way beyond our budget so we pressed on.
When we reached what looked like the last house on earth, right at the base of Brandon Mountain we hollered over a high wall into a paddock where a man was working on a tractor. Fred asked him if we could camp in his yard. He seemed a bit put off--maybe by our forward desperation, but he offered us a small private corral for ourselves and even showed us where the spigot was.
I hung my socks on the fence, spent some time lamenting my sore feet and discussing nutrition with Fred. Based on his calculations and the assumption of 10% efficiency of human metabolism coupled with the force it takes to move our weight a certain vertical distance (not accounting for horizontal distance) he figured we needed only 97 calories to power us over the mountain in the morning. I scoffed and had a second helping of our gourmet trail dinner--rice and cheese.
We kicked the sheep droppings out of the way, dodged the 3 foot high thistles and settled down for the night after watching some tv on the ipad. Luxury camping.
5 July 2010
Fred and I got up early and humped our gear down to the dining room. While I was writing postcards, drinking a cup of coffee out of an awesome Batman mug I found in the dish cupboard and worrying about the retired Belgian Army beating us out onto the trail Fred was using band-aids and moleskin in some ingenious combination that I wouldn't have dreamed of in a thousand years.
It was a drier morning than the other two and we were in good spirits as we headed up the road from the hostel. We had planned to do 17 miles and we were both nervous about the distance--neither of us had done such a long day before. But, we had all day and nothing else to do but walk.
Shortly after leaving the hostel we passed a famous pottery shop (Louis Mulcahy Pottery). The guide book promised coffee in the cafe, but we were passing by an hour before opening and didn't feel like taking a break yet. We dropped down over some dunes and passed the beach where Tom Cruise once stood--they filmed Far and Away on Dingle. Fred and I took a picture, but neither of us had ever seen the movie, so we weren't too impressed.
 |
| Three Sisters |
We ambled over beaches and fields for the rest of the day. Around the town of Ballynagall, after we'd walked the square of Smerwick Harbor we crossed a few creeks headed to the bay that were full of giant scallop shells. I tossed a couple into my backpack for souvenirs. In town we stopped at the Post to buy some Cokes and candy bars. Fred was looking for more moleskin, he'd already gone through my whole supply. Irish Posts have pretty much anything you could want (including fresh baked bread) but sadly no moleskin. The Belgian Army was there when we pulled up.
The rest of the day was a blur of wet feet and road walking. We missed a crucial turn around Feonagh and accidentally headed east up a road off the Dingle Way. By the time we figured out our mistake and made our way back to the Dingle Way we'd added a few extra miles onto our trip. Around 5pm we were nearing our critical exhaustion point and passed a Bed and Breakfast. Rooms were 80 euros a night, way beyond our budget so we pressed on.
When we reached what looked like the last house on earth, right at the base of Brandon Mountain we hollered over a high wall into a paddock where a man was working on a tractor. Fred asked him if we could camp in his yard. He seemed a bit put off--maybe by our forward desperation, but he offered us a small private corral for ourselves and even showed us where the spigot was.
I hung my socks on the fence, spent some time lamenting my sore feet and discussing nutrition with Fred. Based on his calculations and the assumption of 10% efficiency of human metabolism coupled with the force it takes to move our weight a certain vertical distance (not accounting for horizontal distance) he figured we needed only 97 calories to power us over the mountain in the morning. I scoffed and had a second helping of our gourmet trail dinner--rice and cheese.
We kicked the sheep droppings out of the way, dodged the 3 foot high thistles and settled down for the night after watching some tv on the ipad. Luxury camping.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Bears
 |
| Bear Safety by the USDA |
In a nutshell: Bears? How do we feel about bears? Do we take bears seriously, or not? The question is whether or not bear canisters are overkill on the AT.The answers range from "No, a bear canister saved my cache" (including a picture of a well gnawed but not comprised canister) to "Don't be silly, bears don't exist on the AT/aren't real on the AT (compared to the Real Bears Out West)/aren't anything compared to the mice on the AT". Not a small proportion of responders claimed to sleep in their tents with their food. What? Folks, c'mon, really?
Bears do get bags down from time to time. If bears become adept at retrieving food bags they can become habituated to an area and become a nuisance--which puts them at risk for being shot. (I hear they're pretty fond of the Spring thru hike season in GA) So, in that way one could argue that hanging bear bags is actually a bad thing to do and therefore sleeping with a bag of food between your legs, or near your head in your tent at night is good.
But, bears are smart and have an amazing sense of smell. How long before they decide that it's easier to pluck the bag from the tent you're in? A layer or two of nylon certainly isn't as difficult to get through as a minivan door.Besides the risk of losing your food, there's the risk of loosing limbs or worse. People do get grabbed from tents--it's not common--but it happens.
It seems to me that a bear can is the safest bet, but if the choice is between hanging a bag or keeping a sack of bear bait next to my head, I'm going to hang a bag. After all, hanging a bear bag seems like common sense, and it's free.
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