November 19-24, 2010
Organized by: Emily Riddle
This Thanksgiving Break trip to the Great Smoky Mountains was a little more "intense" than the other trip that went out. The group average was 10 miles per day, but the work was worth it. The following is a recount of the events during the trip as told by Emily [when you see these I added a comment].
The very spooky night our last night in the backcountry. Extremely large amounts of mist/ fog that limited our visibility to approximately 10[!] feet. Felt like a scene from "The Mist'... seriously. We were all ready for a foreign animal [watch out for those immigrant bears] or zombie attack at any moment. Along with the mist, the extremely high winds blowing our tarps around all night made for about 10 hours with very little sleep.
Aside from the spooky night at Icewater shelter the trip was FABULOUS! Many great expansive vistas - Charlie's Bunion is just one. The 3rd day on the trail we hiked along the AT along the state line between TN and NC. We could see for miles and miles over the mountain ranges of both states - pretty awesome. Also, along the AT shelters, bear bag ropes, and outhouses are established in the backcountry.. yes it is very luxurious. [You needed Sherpas]
Oh.. and many many pudding packs were eaten during our short stint in the backcountry (8 by me alone... )[funny, considering you don't even eat cookies.].. delicious to say the least. [cookies everywhere are crying]
Use the bear bag ropes provided - bears are a known problem. [especially the foreign ones...]
Be prepared to hike with lots of elevation change - we were only hiking 8-11 mile days and were sufficiently tuckered out. One could easily hike for 3 to 8 hours.. uphill the entire time. However, the views and vistas are well well worth it.
Also, make sure you at least take a drive to the top of Clingman's Dome (6,643 ft). It is the 3rd highest peak east of the Mississippi River just short of Mount Mitchell (6,684 ft) and Mount Craig (6,647 ft).
One last thing.. Gatlinburg, TN is a crazy tourist town.. [I've been there] if anyone else does a similar trip, time budget for at least a bit of time to walk around the town.. it is filled with an upside-down house, a titanic replica thing [it's just as random as you'd think, considering TN is landlocked], castles, go carts, ski lifts over the town, Ripley's believe-it-or-not, hard rock cafe, and many more ridiculous attractions.
Get outside and explore!
Members in Attendance:
Greg Smith
Mike Collins
Catherine Hewlett
Emily Riddle
November 24, 2010
Neusiok Trail North Carolina-- Thanksgiving Break 2010
November 19-24, 2010
Organized by: Joe Moran
This relaxed trip to "the beach" took place over the 2010 Thanksgiving Break. The crew left a little later than expected due to a map confusion and a utter mistrust of GPS technology, however the group did eventually leave for the great Atlantic Ocean. Upon arrival the group decided to take a break and sleep for a few hours on the visitor center lawn. After the brief nap they spent the day on the beach, running around in the ocean, and playing with lacquered wood balls. The next few days were spent on the trial, or board walk, or road, or whatever the forest service calls the thing you hike on. Baring the occasional fly-over by Marine Harriers and the never-ending road, the group had an awesome time sleeping on the beach and in shelters. The super-chill nature of the trip provided adequate time for the group to bond, and friends were made all around. For more details ask one of the people who went, as the trip cannot be fully expressed in this trip report. Everyone had an awesome time and no one died, also Joe took great pictures.
Members in Attendance:
Joe Moran
Dan Trew
Dave Himes
Sean Meadows
Bethany Johns
Tom Johnston
Organized by: Joe Moran
This relaxed trip to "the beach" took place over the 2010 Thanksgiving Break. The crew left a little later than expected due to a map confusion and a utter mistrust of GPS technology, however the group did eventually leave for the great Atlantic Ocean. Upon arrival the group decided to take a break and sleep for a few hours on the visitor center lawn. After the brief nap they spent the day on the beach, running around in the ocean, and playing with lacquered wood balls. The next few days were spent on the trial, or board walk, or road, or whatever the forest service calls the thing you hike on. Baring the occasional fly-over by Marine Harriers and the never-ending road, the group had an awesome time sleeping on the beach and in shelters. The super-chill nature of the trip provided adequate time for the group to bond, and friends were made all around. For more details ask one of the people who went, as the trip cannot be fully expressed in this trip report. Everyone had an awesome time and no one died, also Joe took great pictures.
Members in Attendance:
Joe Moran
Dan Trew
Dave Himes
Sean Meadows
Bethany Johns
Tom Johnston
November 14, 2010
Allegheny Front Trail
November 12-14
Organized by: Dan Trew
The semi-annual trip to the Allegheny Front Trail this year went out under a little fairer conditions than the last year. This time there was nothing but stars when the group set out for the south-half of the AFT. The group managed to not get lost at all and spent most of the day hiking along and enjoying the scenery. Much fun was had by and no one died. Also: there was a stellar presentation given on this trip, if you missed it then you are living an incomplete life.
Members in Attendance:
Greg Lilik
Daniel Gonzalez
John Groh
Jasmine Smith
Nathan Stevens
Dan Trew
Organized by: Dan Trew
The semi-annual trip to the Allegheny Front Trail this year went out under a little fairer conditions than the last year. This time there was nothing but stars when the group set out for the south-half of the AFT. The group managed to not get lost at all and spent most of the day hiking along and enjoying the scenery. Much fun was had by and no one died. Also: there was a stellar presentation given on this trip, if you missed it then you are living an incomplete life.
Members in Attendance:
Greg Lilik
Daniel Gonzalez
John Groh
Jasmine Smith
Nathan Stevens
Dan Trew
November 6, 2010
SRU Fall Bouldering Bash
November 6, 2010
The Slippery Rock University Fall Bouldering Bash is one of the few actual competitions PSOC participates in. This year a number of patrons of PSOC went out and made us proud. This competition, and any other competition at Slippery Rock is highly recommended. The people are very nice, the wall is great (Nicros natural wall), the routes can challenge any level of climber, and they always have great door prizes that everyone gets at the end of the competition. Karen and Emily took second and third respectively in the women's division. Everyone had fun and no one died.
Members in Attendance:
Karen Bobkowski
Scott Campbell
Jackie Dougherty
Jason Gordon
John Groh
Dale McElhone
Ryan Mullins
Emily Riddle
The Slippery Rock University Fall Bouldering Bash is one of the few actual competitions PSOC participates in. This year a number of patrons of PSOC went out and made us proud. This competition, and any other competition at Slippery Rock is highly recommended. The people are very nice, the wall is great (Nicros natural wall), the routes can challenge any level of climber, and they always have great door prizes that everyone gets at the end of the competition. Karen and Emily took second and third respectively in the women's division. Everyone had fun and no one died.
Members in Attendance:
Karen Bobkowski
Scott Campbell
Jackie Dougherty
Jason Gordon
John Groh
Dale McElhone
Ryan Mullins
Emily Riddle
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