TFP Trekking Club 2011
 

I know some of you have shown interest in doing some trekking in the past, so im putting this out there to see if anyone is interested in a TFP get together to go trekking somewhere. international? national? im open for suggestions.

Ideally id love to go somewhere where it's a bit challenging. Its got to be a few days long, and must reach at least 3000m altitude (9000ft for you american folks).

im happy to hear reccomendations, countries, sites, fees, costs etc, and i think something like this will be great for the community.

i know some of you dont have the means to travel overseas, so im willing to look at the US as place. Mt Ranier comes to mind, but im sure there are other places that may be suitable. The only thing is that this will NOT require technical climbing (i.e. trekking using climbing ropes, clampons etc not required so that this event stays open and accesible to everyone here).

so what do you guys think? anyone up for some TFP trekking 2011?

I'm definitely up and open, and it would just be making sure I have the adequate physical preparation for it.

Whats your definition of challenging?

Pfft. Just try to do parts of the Appalachian Trail in Virginia. That's tough enough for most.

I like this idea, though. I'm down. This coming summer I'm trying to kill myself outdoors.

I dunno, I don't see dlish as someone who would hike the Appalachian Trail. ;)

Well played. I dunno, American girls are into the freaky stuff Dlish needs. He's a lot of man for women those thin, attractive, educated women.

...

You're just Crompastompin', Smeth.

Yes, definitely open to the idea, especially if it's in my own backyard or in a nearby state. Lots of summits in Oregon are nontechnical climbs; they're not as big and impressive as Rainier but for a beginner, they're much more practical :)

I've always wanted to hike around Grand Teton, Yosemite, and even do the Grand Caynon Bright Angel Trail.That doesn't meet your summit requirement but still involves dealing with difficulties and steepness of the canyon.

9000' is challenging? I sleep at 8600'.


I'm an avid day hiker; but my days of carrying 40# packs and sleeping on the ground have pretty much ended.

The logistics of dog sitting and flying are difficult when it is just the wife and myself. It's not likely that I'd travel far; but if you find yourself in Colorado, I know where the non-touristy areas are.

a friend of mine recommended Yosemite today too.

ive always been fond of CO too, so im down with that. StanT, 9000ft isnt challenging for me. It may be for others. But something above 9000 and a few days long is a start for most. This is about TFP bonding( bondage?) in the wilderness for a few days more than anything else, just chilling and doing something enjoyable and shooting the shit.

the appalachian trail sounds enticing. im guessing its open season all year round? ;) how many days do we need?

i take it that no one wants to travel to Mt Kenya for a 4 day trek im looking at next year?

how many days and what time of year is best for those places you guys mentioned?

Maybe a better way to organize this might be to make a running list of the places that interest folks in the first post with a time window frame underneath them.

Then it might help for folks who are really only available at a certain time, as well as those who are more about the location than the time of the actual visit.

I can scrounge up the best times for the places I mentioned and edit the travel windows into your post if you want.

When I saw the title I feared it was a Star Trek thing.

Now that I know there will be no Trekkies, I would like to be involved.

Would anyone be open to other outdoor things that don't neccessarily only involve going up?

I have always wanted to do a backpacking trip that was tied to part kayak/canoe, or a water related excursion.

The Appalacian Trail (AT) is 2175 miles (~3500km) from end to end. You can spend as much time as you would like on it. I'm not aware of any sections that are closed for the winter, but it can get pretty nasty this time of year in the northern latitudes, If I recall correctly most through hikers looking to complete the trail start at the trail head in Georgia in late march/early April and hike north with the warming weather.

As far as other outdoor activities, I kayak (Pennsylvania has several decent 'water trails' & rock climb(I know a few areas in south central/central PA (there is also Seneca Rocks in WV and the Gunks in NY which I gather are both well worth the trip).

When I saw the title I hoped it was a Star Trek thing.

Now that I know there will be no Trekkies, I don't want to get involved. :(

...

On a more serious note, I might be interested... depends on where, when, and if I manage to get back into relatively decent shape by then.

I'd be more worried about the AT murders. If it's a large group, it should be good though. Unless Eden is going. He has an awfully purdy mouth.


I'm sure there will be SOME Trekkies. You can talk about the force or whatever it is y'all talk about all while hiking and avoiding serial killers.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. The Force is Star WARS, not Star TREK. :mad:






This sounds like a cool idea, but I've been a pretty softcore camper up to this point. I'd also like to bring Benjen, if he's far enough into training that he can expected to behave...is that feasible for a trip like this?

Nerd

I have a canoe. I'm down with that.

And monkie, we are so doing Bright Angel someday.

I'm sure we can get 9er to supply us with a truckload of Desert Eagles...

^^ HA!

Sorry.....thread derailed.

Has this now morphed into an outdoor adventure thread? What would everyone be interested in doing?

Red River Gorge in Kentucky is fun too. There are easy trails for people with low ambitions and areas to climb for people with higher ambitions.

If people are interested in water recreation would anyone like to do white water rafting? The New River out in Virginia/West VA is fun.

There are plenty of places out here in the Pac NW, but I don't know them as well anymore.

I'd have to re-gear. I lost a lot of stuff in the "divorce" and then moving out West I got rid of stuff. All I have left is a pack and a crappy sleeping bag.

if it means a bigger crowd and an enjoyable time, im happy to open it up for suggestions.

i'll let TFP morph it.

I know very little about these places, so local knowledge would be great. but a BBQ in a suburban area wont get me out there, so an adventurous/fun/challeging gig is needed. maybe camping with different day hikes for a few days is an idea.



monkey, im ok with you doing the editing to the OP.

I'm all for Trekking and big deal hiking. I need to get some more experience under my belt before I get too adventurous. I have to see how I handle high altitudes, but I am in a good place for that.

I'll admit my big travels overseas won't be too trekk heavy until I get my experience mastered. Rugby matches and drunken debauchery is what is in store for the passport stamping. (If I hadn't moved to Oregon to start a new life, I would be going to NZ in Sept. 2011)

But yeah, we should plan BIG trips here that are enticing.

trekking doesnt need a lot of fitness. sure it helps a lot, but slow enjoyable walks can be as fun as a hard slog.

as far as altitude is concerned, the most important thing is acclimitisation. climbing 1000m in altitude in a day is ok for most people. anything more than that and you might start showing signs of altitude sickness. Doing day treks from a base where you return to the same night is ideal for people who have never been at altitude. People like StanT would probably do marathons at altitude, while most of us would be catching our breath after tying our shoelaces. The key is acclimitisation and being sensible with altitude. Altitude sickness doesnt discriminate between sex, race, fitness levels or names. I know people who have conquered everest (8848m) who have altitude trouble at 3000m.

There are drugs like Diamox that work well that you can take if you want to be sure, but have some temporary side effects such as regular peeing and tingly fingers. ideally, we'd want to see everyone happy and enjoying themselves, so this thread is open for any suggestions.

if this does become an outdoor adventure thread, i hear CO is the place to be? how about an adventure race?

What about a stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail with a few summits thrown in for fun?

The PCT goes right by South and Middle Sister, both of which are (supposed to be) fairly easy summits. Don't skimp on water, though (ugh), or you'll only make it 3/4ths of the way. North Sister is a short technical climb.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Sisters_(Oregon)

Other worthy peaks for beginners in the PacNW include:

Mount Hood - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Adams_(Washington)

and the famous volcano Mount St. Helens - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

OK.. I'll start getting this whole list of suggestions and put into the first post.

I'll try to add this info for each location:

1) Location and distance
2) Activity type - climb (height to summit), hike, water, combo, etc
3) Difficulty level (i know this is subjective but I'll try to find a consistent rating guide to use)
4) Peak Times to visit for best conditions
5) ? Anything else people feel they would want to know to know what would accomodate your interests, budget, and time constraints?

I should add that the region south of the Sisters is known as the Cascade Lakes, and there are some wonderful places to canoe in that neck of the woods, so it could be a combo PCT/backpacking/summits/canoes thing.

You said this to get me to respond, didn't you.

Assuming my health gets back up to par before the big day(s), and I can get time away from the research, I'm totally in on this one. I can't think of a more appealing get-together.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Does Tully know of any good peaks in the Yucatan? Now that could be a lot of fun. I don't see any on this list of ultra-high peaks of Mexico: List of Ultras of Mexico - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia , but maybe there would still be something fun.

I don't think it's as high as dlish might prefer, but a few of my botanist friends recently climbed Mt. Washington, I hear it's a beast if you take the trail (the guys who did it weren't in the best physical shape), though those who are less-enthusiastic could always meet us at the top in their cars. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_W...(New_Hampshire)

The Yucutan is as flat as a pancake - if there are any peaks there, I'd check your map!

Hmmm.. yeah. I was just hoping for an excuse to visit Tully.

Well, there are some pyramids to climb there...