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PostWed Dec 13, 2006 1:21 pm 
Any member can edit this post What is the point of this post? For everyone to add an emoticon one edit at a time. biggrin.gif

Wiki summmary last edited by zimmertr on Tue May 14, 2019 6:34 pm (this post can be edited by any member)
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OwenT
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PostWed Jun 13, 2018 11:45 pm 
Today left a bad taste in my mouth and the lesson that I (re)learned today for myself is: Don't be so stupid! Also that you should always have a backup plan to fallback to if something is closed and to go with a partner, this wouldn't have happened otherwise becasue he would've talked some sense into me I hope. So today I tried to drive from Wenatchee to Blewett Pass via the Libery-Beehive Rd and do some prospecting in the end. The only info I had on the conditions was the webcam from Mission Ridge so I knew there wasn't snow. Well I went right on up in my 2008 Honda CRV and when I got to the sign off to the side of the road that said "road closed" "washed out 2.8 mi" and then some other assorted writings from other users I decided to go ahead until I couldn't. After all I had come all this way. Well I got to another sign, pushed off to the side of the road that said "road closed" "unsafe to travel" I ran ahead to see inspect the 4 seperate washed out parts of the road that others had crossed (in ORVs or jeeps clearly) and I convinced myself that I could make it with a little help from my trusty pick and shovel. Well I made some accommodations for my modest clearance/AWD vehicle and descended into the first washout. When I started to climb up out of it my wheels start to slide toward the abyss and I halt everything there, put the parking brake and to sum it all up I spent the next 4 or maybe 5 hours building a wall out of the ubiquitous chunks of basalt and tearing up the road to make it more passable. Obviously I wasn't about to do this 3 more times. Oh did I mention how I got the car turned around on that narrow stretch to go back? Well even when I had done everything I could I still was dubious that I would make it back up what I had come down so only by the grace of God (in all seriousness) am I back home now with my car intact. It was nice to feel sweet pavement again. Next time I will take the freeway or an ATV. Oh how is this hiking related. Well after all that I hiked up above the road a ways almost to the top of the ridge and it was a beautiful view.

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moonspots
Happy Curmudgeon



Joined: 03 Feb 2007
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Location: North Dakota
moonspots
Happy Curmudgeon
PostFri Jun 15, 2018 3:28 pm 
"...and the lesson that I (re)learned today for myself is: Don't be so stupid!" Ha! Welcome to my world! Glad you sorted it out ok. Good judgment often comes from living through a session of bad judgment...and boy, have I done some of that!

"Out, OUT you demons of Stupidity"! - St Dogbert, patron Saint of Technology
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JonnyQuest
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PostFri Jun 15, 2018 4:04 pm 
Did basically the same thing once trying to cross over the top between between the Satsop river and Vance Creek. Made it over a "one way" berm only to come to a washout. Frantically used our kayak paddles to re-grade the berm as it was getting dark so we could get my old Subie wagon back over it. God fun!

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OwenT
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Joined: 24 May 2014
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Location: Moses Lake
OwenT
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PostFri Jun 15, 2018 4:08 pm 
JonnyQuest wrote:
Made it over a "one way" berm only to come to a washout.
winksmile.gif And only then do we realize why the berms are there lol.gif

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Malachai Constant
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Malachai Constant
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PostFri Jun 07, 2019 4:44 pm 
Follow the whitewater prime directive, “scout first, then ride”.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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Euler
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Joined: 13 Oct 2008
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Location: Redmond, WA
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PostMon Aug 05, 2019 11:45 pm 
It's easy to walk off the side of the trail, especially when tired, distracted, weaker than your peak, or with a heavier pack than you're used to. I did it once last year near Mt. Defiance and again this year coming down from Mailbox on the new trail, a route I've done many times. On Mailbox I fell and rolled over completely once in the direction I was going and was able to then stop. It was very fast - it's a good thing the slope wasn't much steeper. Conditions were just about perfect. No snow. As I recall, last year there was a death near or on the PCT a bit south of the Kendall Katwalk. There was speculation about walking off the trail being the cause. I don't know if that's what happened, but in any case it's good to keep in mind, I'd say.

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80skeys
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PostMon Aug 19, 2019 8:17 am 
Was in the River of No Return wilderness (Idaho) last week. Had a close encounter with a small mother black bear and her two cubs. I was walking on the trail, didn't see anything but suddenly heard a very large crashing sound in the bushes to my left. I shouted out (thinking it was a deer). The face of a black bear popped out and stared at me, at the same time her two little cubs went up the tree behind her. I stopped to see what she would do. She was about 30 feet away. We stared at each other for a bit, then I slowly backed up along the trail. My nephew arrived behind me and the mother bear got further scared and went up the tree about 10 feet up. We could see she was freaked out - she was real scared, panting hard, staring at us. We waited a couple minutes then I said let's walk past her slowly. We did that. Then i figured maybe I could take a photo, so we stopped walking, about 50-60 feet from the tree. She didn't like that, she started grunting and waving her claws at us, so I said let's leave her in peace and we started walking. This was the closest potentially problematic wildlife encounter I've had. The main thing that impressed me about it was that there would have been virtually no time for me to react had she chosen to run at me from the bushes. A very slim chance I would have been able to have the bear spray in hand and ready.

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DundelionPie
Streethopper



Joined: 04 Nov 2019
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Location: Kansas
DundelionPie
Streethopper
PostTue Nov 05, 2019 2:55 am 
Once I picked a hakcing long trail, pity I understood that It's too long for me only half the way. I prepared everything, starting from additional pants and finishing with hiking sticks, though personally, I (my body) wasn't ready. My friend and me have been delayed for one and half a day, ate more than planned so came back starved and tired like overrun dogs so we didn't wanted to go out of home after this for nearly a month. My lesson there was that I have to work out a bit and don't try to bite a pie that's bigger than my mouth. dizzy.gif

One step forward, two steps back.
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OwenT
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PostTue Nov 12, 2019 7:16 pm 
Not a personal experience, but I just saw this close call with a tree well. Frighteningly impressive how that tree gobbled him right up. Luckily, he was skiing with a team and they were able to get him out quickly. Even so, it's apparent how if you aren't completely prepared with your gear and as a team that a rescue situation doesn't go as smoothly as one would imagine. I think every skier needs to see this.

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zephyr
aka friendly hiker



Joined: 21 Jun 2009
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Location: West Seattle
zephyr
aka friendly hiker
PostTue Nov 12, 2019 8:15 pm 
Thanks for posting that OwenT. Whoa. Even with a team of people working on him it wasn't easy getting out of there. ~z

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Triciaann777
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PostSat Nov 16, 2019 11:18 pm 
("I was smart enough to mark some key spots with orange flagging on my way up.") I don't know you, but I enjoyed the trip report, and I am glad your alive! Flags have saved my bacon more than once. The Garmin gps screen is too small for me to appreciate. i'm a stay on the trail or FS road kind of hiker. ( even a fishermans trail or boot path works for me.)

Tricia's Mantra You were made to move,
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longhair27
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PostSat Apr 18, 2020 9:56 pm 
Team? What a joke none of these people were a "Team" Several were just standing around doing nothing. Several minutes of the one guy screaming to others to get his Shovel out of his Pack, and another idiot saying he doesn't know how to put it together. And one ONE person actually digging with his shovel.

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80skeys
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PostSun Apr 19, 2020 3:46 pm 
Triciaann777 wrote:
The Garmin gps screen is too small for me to appreciate. i'm a stay on the trail or FS road kind of hiker. ( even a fishermans trail or boot path works for me.)
If you can make the effort to get comfortable with GPS's, it's well worth it.

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zimmertr
TJ Zimmerman



Joined: 24 Jun 2018
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Location: Issaquah
zimmertr
TJ Zimmerman
PostSun Apr 19, 2020 4:00 pm 
I don't like the GPS on my Garmin Inreach either. But when I'm out and about I usually pre-download topographical and satellite maps of the area with Gaia GPS for Android. Which I do often use. Being able to keep track of the distance you've traveled, your current pace, etc is very valuable. And it's especially nice because you can use their web application from a computer to build routes and set waypoints and them sync them to your phone via your account. I've planned a couple off trail excursions this way using Google Earth and Strava data.

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80skeys
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PostMon Apr 20, 2020 9:41 am 
I don't do much with my GPS other than to set a waypoint of where I park my car, an occasional waypoint along the hike, and to look occasionally at how far I've hiked to gauge how far remains to my destination.

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