Hi, My name's Shaggy and I hike

[Shaggy Hiker]

Just got back from a few weeks strolling through Colorado. Pretty nice, though the air was a bit thin.

Seems like I missed a few things. I see that moonman has gone on a psychotic rampage, though I don't see why. If he come near me, I'll give him a sock...in fact, I can give him a pair of them, though just one has proven to be enough to cause elk to spontaneously shed their antlers, bears to climb backwards up trees, and a pair of them were enough to put half the dairy cows in the state off milk for the last week. Frankly, I had to come back, as TSA was after me for transporting WMD.

Sorry for the air quality alerts on the eastern half of the country, I'll try to wash more frequently next year.

Nothing fun and exciting this year. No bears to chase through the woods as I had last year, nor did I have moose snorting and pawing around the tent. In fact, about the only wildlife I encountered (aside from the gal in the super tight black shorts the first day) was a squirrel with a touch of excitability.

On the positive side, I expect to soon have a large toenail that will no longer be attached to my foot, in case anybody would like one.

[abhijit]

pictures?

[Shaggy Hiker]

I haven't gotten them off the camera, yet. If I have anything good, I'll post it, but I didn't take many. After a time, all the pictures of mountains in the west kind of run together. The only real distinction between mountains of Idaho and Colorado is the altitude, which is the kind of thing that doesn't come across well in photos.

[mendhak]

GPS Log?

[Hack]

If you claimed that toenail belonged to Elvis you could make a fortune on eBay.

[TheBigB]

Seems like I missed a few things. I see that moonman has gone on a psychotic rampage, though I don't see why. If he come near me, I'll give him a sock...in fact, I can give him a pair of them, though just one has proven to be enough to cause elk to spontaneously shed their antlers, bears to climb backwards up trees, and a pair of them were enough to put half the dairy cows in the state off milk for the last week.

I think because we made fun of a fiery red-haired 14 year old ladies man.
(also the poor choice of title got him some puns)
thread

[Shaggy Hiker]

I saw that thread. Doesn't seem enough, but then again, he IS a redhead.


Here are three lame pictures from a selection of lame pictures. The problem is that they could have been taken pretty nearly anywhere at pretty nearly any altitude. In fact, two of them are over 12,000'. The scenery was good to be in, but it wasn't so strikingly photogenic that I could get interesting pictures. Even the few animals I took pictures of could have been taken pretty much anywhere.

[chris128]

pictures?

of the toe nail

[Shaggy Hiker]

It isn't actually very colorful. Nothing about this hike was so unusual that it makes for a good story, and the toenail is no exception. I'm pretty sure it will fall off one of these days, but not just yet.

[MaximilianMayrhofer]

Hey Shaggy, i'm a ridiculous hiking/trekking buff as well. May I suggest you take a look at tackling the Via Ferratas. The site isn't much to look at (the new one is coming online soon), but Via Ferrata (Iron Road) offers some of the most beautiful/challenging hikes and treks in the world.

The climbs come in three classes: Easy, Difficult and Extreme, which essentially measure the proportion of rock climbing to walking. My mother enjoys even the Difficult hikes though, so it's a pretty generous measure.

The majority of Via Ferrata routes are in Europe (Italy, Switzerland and France), but there are three relatively close to you, two in Canada and one in West Virginia: http://www.viaferrata.org/Map_Via_Ferrata_America.html

I trek in Europe every summer, so if you have the money, think about joining in May or June!

[Shaggy Hiker]

I'm no rock climber, just a long distance hiker. You're lucky to be able to get hiking in May and June. Out here, there would be a whole lot of snow on everything in June (and May is avalanche weather). My next year is already set, as I hiked only 230 miles of the Colorado Trail this year. Next year I have to finish the other 250 miles. A few side trips will boost the total distance for the two years to about 500 miles. I am also planning another 100 mile loop in ID this fall to see some really remote areas.

My overall goal is to average 100 miles/year for every year of my life only counting those trips that are greater than 100 miles. At this point, I don't have to hike again for another 17 years. Of course, I do need to run that count up a bit, as I expect that there will be a few years where I can't hike.

[abhijit]

There's no need to travel to Europe.

There is one one in West Virginia. Look up Nelson's Rocks.

Hey Shaggy, i'm a ridiculous hiking/trekking buff as well. May I suggest you take a look at tackling the Via Ferratas. The site isn't much to look at (the new one is coming online soon), but Via Ferrata (Iron Road) offers some of the most beautiful/challenging hikes and treks in the world.

The climbs come in three classes: Easy, Difficult and Extreme, which essentially measure the proportion of rock climbing to walking. My mother enjoys even the Difficult hikes though, so it's a pretty generous measure.

The majority of Via Ferrata routes are in Europe (Italy, Switzerland and France), but there are three relatively close to you, two in Canada and one in West Virginia: http://www.viaferrata.org/Map_Via_Ferrata_America.html

I trek in Europe every summer, so if you have the money, think about joining in May or June!

[Icyculyr]

Meh, hiking is pretty cool. I went on a trip with my dad through the Blue Mountains in Aus, best air I've ever breathed, feels like I got endless amounts of energy. Would be great to live somewhere with air like that, not all toxic like in the city.

[NeedSomeAnswers]

The problem is that they could have been taken pretty nearly anywhere at pretty nearly any altitude

Not in the UK they couldn't there are actually mountains in those pictures

as I hiked only 230 miles of the Colorado Trail this year

So do you take a tent with you or are there like hostels along the way ?, 230 miles is a fair amount of hiking Shaggy.

I am actually going out to France in a couple of weeks right in the countryside in the foothills of one of the mountain ranges the Tour de France goes through sometimes, so i hope to do a bit of walking about but nothing quite on your scale.

[InvisibleDuncan]

...and a pair of them were enough to put half the dairy cows in the state off milk for the last week.

I didn't know that cows drank milk. And me a country boy, too.

I am also planning another 100 mile loop in ID this fall to see some really remote areas.

I take it that would be somewhere in my large intestine?

[abhijit]

I didn't know that cows drank milk. And me a country boy, too.

I have seen calves drink milk all the time.

[FunkyDexter]

Not in the UK they couldn't there are actually mountains in those pictures

I beg to differ, I did Snowdon earlier in the year.

I'm a climber rather than a hiker but, strangely, I find the walk-in's and top offs ALOT scarier than climbing. There's something very comforting about a rope and bolts that have been rated to tonnes. Tottering along a crumbling cliff path with nothing to hold onto except my lunch, on the other hand, has been known to cause some involuntary digestive spasms.

[NeedSomeAnswers]

I beg to differ, I did Snowdon earlier in the year.

Ok mr pedantic , i will give you that Wales has got 1 mountain. and Scotland has maybe 2. but it is hardly the same thing now is it, in Shaggy's first 2 pictures i can see a number of the buggers !

[TheBigB]

Poor Holland has only one mountain and it is a pathetic one...

[Shaggy Hiker]

Not in the UK they couldn't there are actually mountains in those pictures

While there are some actual mountains in some of those pictures, I could also have included some sweeping vistas taken at high altitude that would have resembled some of the photos taken by people in Scotland and Ireland. They would have shown relatively low hills covered with grass. The fact that those hills were peaks above 12 and 13 thousand feet would not come through in the pictures.

So do you take a tent with you or are there like hostels along the way ?, 230 miles is a fair amount of hiking Shaggy.

There were no hostiles in the area, just some squirrels.

Most nights were quite intense...I mean...quiet in tents. Actually, since I camped near rushing streams most nights, they were certainly not quiet. I did spend four nights at Bed and Breakfast type places that were really nice, but being Colorado, they were also kind of pricey.

I am actually going out to France in a couple of weeks right in the countryside in the foothills of one of the mountain ranges the Tour de France goes through sometimes, so i hope to do a bit of walking about but nothing quite on your scale.

I only stand on my scale, myself, no walking at all. The country you will be in will be much more historic than where I was, though it may not actually feel that way. Colorado has a historic feel to it. There are the remains of lots of ancient activity...unitl you realize those ruins are only about 100 years old. It has the feel of a place that grew up hard and fast such that it has acquired an undue amount of history in a very short amount of time.

[Shaggy Hiker]

I didn't know that cows drank milk. And me a country boy, too.

Well it was straight Vodka after I passed, and in large quantities.

I take it that would be somewhere in my large intestine?

No, it will be a CODA to the hike, not a COLON.

[moonman239]

I see that moonman has gone on a psychotic rampage, though I don't see why. If he come near me, I'll give him a sock...in fact, I can give him a pair of them

You could, but I don't think they'll fit, unless you wear size 13 shoes. What!? Psychotic rampage? Grrrr.

[Shaggy Hiker]

Actually, the socks should fit pretty well. My boots are 14, though I wear some other shoes in size 13.

[wossname]

Do you write haiku when you hike? And if not, why not?

[Shaggy Hiker]

Cause I don't know how. I do have a nice poem about squirrels, though.

[MaximilianMayrhofer]

Squirrels.
They are nuts.

[FunkyDexter]

Squirrels in the wild
Hide their nuts from the smell of
Shaggy Hikers Socks

[abhijit]

Usually they are chasing nuts.

[wossname]

Cause I don't know how. I do have a nice poem about squirrels, though.

I love you.