dakwegmo.com » adventures

No life.

marcus — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 16:23:39 +0000

So, I got this quiz on myspace that said if you had seen more than 75 movies in my life then you didn’t have a life. I had seen about 80 of the movies on the list. Then I started to make a list of all the movies had seen. Apparently I really have no life, because I’m over ~~450~~ 500, and I know there are still many more that I haven’t listed yet. I’ll keep updating the list as a see new movies, or remember ones that I’ve seen, but so far here’s my list.

Sixth Sense
Unbreakable
Signs
The Village
Lady in the Water
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Star Wars — A new hope
Star Wars — Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars — Return of the Jedi
Star Wars — Phantom Menace
Star Wars — Attack of the Clones
Star Wars — Revenge of the Sith
Indiana Jones — Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones — Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones — Last Crusade
Pirates of the Caribbean — Curse of the Black Pearl
Pirates of the Caribbean — Dead Man’s Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean — At Worlds End
Back to the Future I
Back to the Future II
Back to the Future III
Oceans 11
Oceans 12
Oceans 13
Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
X Men
X2
X Men: The Last Stand
Spider-man
Spider-man 2
Spider-man 3
Superman Returns
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Monty Python the Life of Brian
Monty Python the Meaning of Life
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
It’s a Wonderful Life
The Muppet Christmas Carol
The Muppet Movie
The Muppet’s take Manhattan
The Great Muppet Caper
Labyrinth
Disney’s Robin Hood
Fight Club
Most of Mel Brook’s stuff
Shawshank Redemption
Dead Poet’s Society
Animal House
A River Runs Through it.
Schindler’s List
A Beautiful Life
Office Space
Lord of the Rings
The Usual Suspects
American History X
Toy Story I
Toy Story II
Monsters Inc.
The Incredibles
Cars
Gladiator
Glory
Almost Famous
Henry V
Dead Again
Groundhog Day
Breakfast Club
Say Anything
The Blues Brothers
Dances with Wolves
Labyrinth
Cable Guy
Amistad
Shrek
Shrek 2
Shrek the Third
Charlie’s Angels
Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle
Lost in Translation
Rushmore
Wild Things
Ed Wood
Groundhog Day
What about Bob?
The Man Who Knew Too Little
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters II
Scrooged
Stripes
Caddyshack
Sin City
Corpse Bride
Charlie and the Choclate Factory (Original)
Charlie and the Choclate Factory (Remake)
Sleepy Hollow
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Don Juan DeMarco
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
Benny and Joon
Edward Scissorhands
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Platoon
El Mariachi
Desperado
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Nacho Libre
King Arthur
Love Actually
Quills
Shakespeare in Love
Elizabeth
Les Misérables
Mystery Men
Meet the Parents
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Dodgeball
Zoolander
There’s Something About Mary
Keeping the Faith
Zero Effect
Happy Gilmore
Reality Bites
Reign Over Me
Click
The Longest Yard (Original)
The Longest Yard (Remake)
50 First Dates
Anger Management
Mr. Deeds
Punch Drunk Love
Big Daddy
The Waterboy
The Wedding Singer
Billy Madison
Spanglish
Tommy Boy
Pearl Harbor
Loser
Grosse Point Blank
My Girl
Sneakers
Spies Like Us
Trading Places
American Pie
American Pie 2
American Wedding
Saving Silverman
The Whole Nine Yards
The Whole Ten Yards
One Fine Day
Good Night, and Good Luck
The Perfect Storm
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Three Kings
The Big Lebowski
Fargo
The Hudsucker Proxy
Raising Arizona
Batman
Batman Returns
Batman Forever
Batman and Robin
Batman Begins
The Prestige
The Illusionist
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Kingdom of Heaven
The Italian Job
Death to Smoochy
Fight Club
The People vs. Larry Flynt
Primal Fear
Rounders
The Score
The Brothers Grimm
The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Supremacy
The Bourne Ultimatum
Finding Forrester
The Legend of Bagger Vance
The Majestic
Dogma
Saving Private Ryan
Good Will Hunting
Chasing Amy
Courage Under Fire
Field of Dreams
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Bruce Almighty
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Me, Myself & Irene
Man on the Moon
The Truman Show
Liar Liar
The Cable Guy
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
Dumb & Dumber
The Mask
Heavenly Creatures
Hideous Kinky
Titanic
Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh’s Version)
Harry Potter I
Harry Potter II
Harry Potter III
Harry Potter IV
Frakenstein
Much Ado About Nothing
Henry V
Swing Kids
Primary Colors
Sense and Sensibility
Remains of the Day
Howard’s End
The Crucible
The Last of the Mohicans
Girl Inerrupted
Dracula
Heathers
Beetle Juice
The Rock
Dragonheart
First Knight
Medicine Man
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Highlander
The Hunt for Red October
The Untouchables
Entrapment
Mission Impossible: I
Mission Impossible: II
Mission Impossible: III
Con Air
Rosewood
Striptease
Pulp Fiction
Dave
Lord of War
National Treasure
Windtalkers
The Family Man
Gone in 60 Seconds
Face/Off
Guarding Tess
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek: The Search for Spock
Star Trek: The Voyage Home
Star Trek: The Final Frontier
Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek: Generations
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: Insurrection
Star Trek: Nemesis
LA Story
Bringing Down the House
Father of the Bride
Father of the Bride Part II
Parenthood
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Roxanne
Little Shop of Horrors
Three Amigos
All of Me
The Jerk
The Man with Two Brains
Boogie Nights
License to Drive
Twins
Wayne’s World
Wayne’s World 2
So I Married an Axe Murderer
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
Austin Powers: Goldmember
Without a Paddle
American Beauty
While You Were Sleeping
Miss Congeniality
Murder by Numbers
Speed
The Net
Hope Floats
Crash
Garden State
The Grudge
The Ring
Lake Placid
Independence Day
Sleepless in Seattle
Spaceballs
The Pursuit of Happyness
Hitch
Bad Boys
Bad Boys II
Men in Black
Men in Black II
Enemy of the State
Rules of Engagement
Double Jeopardy
Volcano
The Fugitive
Under Siege
K-19: The Widowmaker
What Lies Beneath
Air Force One
Sabrina (The Remake)
Clear and Present Danger
Patriot Games
Little Miss Sunshine
We Were Soldiers
As Good as It Gets
Someone Like You…
Invincible
Planet of the Apes
Renaissance Man
Planet of the Apes (Remake)
What Women Want
The Patriot
Chicken Run
Payback
Lethal Weapon I
Lethal Weapon II
Lethal Weapon III
Lethal Weapon IV
Conspiracy Theory
Ransom
Braveheart
Pocohontas
Maverick
The Man Without a Face
Forever Young
Air America
Hamlet (Zeffirelli Version w/ Mel Gibson)
Mad Max
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Angels in the Outfield
War of the Worlds
The Last Samurai
Minority Report
Vanilla Sky
Jerry Maguire
The Firm
A Few Good Men
Far and Away
Days of Thunder
Rain Man
Top Gun
Cocktail
Risky Business
The Outsiders
The Karate Kid
The Karate Kid Part II
The Karate Kid Part III
My Cousin Vinny
Employee of the Month
Thank You for Smoking
Contact
Inventing the Abbots
Armageddon
Stealing Beauty
That Thing You Do
The Polar Express
Road to Perdition
Cast Away
The Green Mile
Apollo 13
Forrest Gump
Philadelphia
Big
The Money Pit
Bachelor Party
Splash
The Man in the Iron Mask
Romeo + Juliet
Igby Goes Down
Home for the Holidays
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Antitrust
Arlington Road
Nothing to Lose
IQ
Twister
Bull Durham
Mission to Mars
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Blades of Glory
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Wedding Crashers
Old School
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Clerks
Mall Rats
Daredevil
The Sum of All Fears
Changing Lanes
Boiler Room
School Ties
Basic
S.W.A.T.
The Red Violin
The Negotiator
Out of Sight
Sphere
The Long Kiss Goodnight
Coming to America
Pulp Fiction
Reservoir Dogs
Jurassic Park
Die Hard
Die Hard 2: Die Harder
Die Hard 3: Die Hard with a Vengence
Live Free Or Die Hard
The Fifth Element
The Jackal
Tears of the Sun
The Kid
Swordfish
The General’s Daughter
A Civil Action
Broken Arrow
Get Shorty
Phenomenon
Michael
Butterfly Effect
The Guardian
Dude, Where’s My Car?
For Love of The Game
The Postman
Waterworld
The Bodyguard
Pushing Tin
Runaway Jury
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Fat Man and Little Boy
Say Anything
Stand By Me
Better Off Dead
Sixteen Candles
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Weird Science
Election
Godzilla
The Lion King
Biloxi Blues
Ladyhawke
War Games
Project X
She’s Having a Baby
Hollow Man
The River Wild
Flatliners
Tremors
Footloose
Friday the 13th
Animal House
Accepted
BloodRayne
Annapolis
Ultraviolet
Crank
300
Knocked Up
The Devil Wears Prada
Ratatouille
Transformers
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
The Simpsons Movie
Stardust
Stranger Than Fiction
3:10 to Yuma
Good Luck Chuck
Dan in Real Life
Martian Child
I Am Legend
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
P.S. I Love You
Definitely, Maybe
Jumper
The Other Boleyn Girl
21
Stop-loss
Smart People
Iron Man
Son of Rambow
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The Happening
The Incredible Hulk
Wall-E
Wanted
Hancock
The Dark Knight
Tropic Thunder
Burn After Reading
No Country for Old Men
Slumdog Millionaire
Casino Royale
Quantum of Solace
Yes Man
Taken
Push
Happy Feet
We Are Marshall

A day on (in) the lake

marcus — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 03:37:54 +0000

My friend Matt, who you first met in my non-bear adventure, was in a car totaling accident a few months ago. Now you may be thinking, that must must have been some serious accident, but in reality it wasn’t much more than a fender bender. The car he was driving wasn’t worth a lot, and as insurance companies are wont to do, they paid him to replace it rather than spend a lot of money repairing a 1994 PoS. Matt also has some back problems, that were exacerbated by the rear ending, so the insurance company decided to offer him a substantial chunk of money to cover his chiropractic visits, in exchange for him signing a release saying he wouldn’t come after them for more money. Matt agreed to these terms and walked away smiling.

With this windfall Matt decided to sponsor an adventure that he and I have talked about taking for the longest time. But after giving it some thought, he decided the costs for such an excursion were too steep even with his newfound wealth. He decided it would be prudent if we test our sea legs before making a significant investment in such an adventure. So he rented us a couple of flat-water kayaks and we spent a weekend on a nearby lake learning the ropes and determining whether we were cut out for the open waters.

It rained all night, and a light drizzle was still coming down Saturday morning when we reached the lake. The rain had driven off most other boaters, so, with the exception of the occasional bass rig, we had the lake to ourselves. We had rented two different style kayaks, expecting to trade off to get a feel for which style we preferred. We picked out boats and in a few minutes had donned all the necessary gear and put in.

The boat that I had picked was long and narrow. I fully expected this boat to be fast and maneuverable, but what I did not expect was the constant adjustments necessary just to keep the boat from rocking with each passing ripple. It felt as though any time someone skipped a rock across the lake I was having to perform a hip-hop dance routine to move my hips enough to steady the boat. All the shimmying and shaking made my legs fall asleep in just a few minutes. This was not the boat for me and from the way Matt laughed I’ll assume it showed on my face, he offered to switch with me. I quickly accepted the offered.

The second boat we rented was much easier on my sense of well being, not to mention my abs. Essentially sit-on-top kayak, modified to allow you to sit in rather than on it, this boat was shorter and wider than the first one I tried. The width seemed to provide a great deal more stability which made for a much more relaxed experience on the water. Matt seemed to be ok in the boat I had such trouble with, so we set out to tour the lake.

We paddled out of the little cove where we had put in, and once out in the main body of the lake the traffic had picked up. The rain had stopped, and while it was still overcast, and threatening more rain, people were making their way onto the water. With all the traffic we decided it would be best to stay close to shore, so we decided to make our way around one of the big islands in the lake.

About half-way around the island Matt was having the same legs-falling-asleep problem I had with that boat, so we headed for a nearby beach to stretch our legs. I have been told that the island we stopped on was called Billy Goat Island. I have no idea why anyone would name it that, because there was a noticeable absence of goats. A more fitting name for this place would have been duck poop Island, but some places like to be named for what they aspire to. Like New Jersey, it’s called the Garden State, even though it would be more appropriately nick named, the Armpit State. This island aspired to move beyond duck droppings, to something more pleasant, like goats. We didn’t stay for long. Just long enough to get circulation back in Matt’s legs. Then we set off again.

We had almost completed a lap around Billy Goat Island when Matt expressed to me quite urgently, that he needed to stop again. So, we stopped a second time so to stretch our legs. Matt legs are apparently so far gone, he is doing windsprints to get the circulation flowing. I offered to swap boats with him but he insists that he’ll be fine in the one he’s got.

We shove off and the last thing Matt says to me as we do is, “Don’t get too far ahead of me.” So we start back toward the cove where we put in. I paddle for a couple of minutes and check my GPS to make sure the visual landmarks I’ve picked out will in fact lead me back to where I wanted to go. I look back to make sure I haven’t gotten too far ahead and notice that Matt, for some reason, has paddled several hundred yards in the completely opposite direction from me. At that very moment I also happen to notice that Matt was yelling something like “ahhhh!” or “aaaaaaahh!” which stopped suddenly, then followed with the typical splash noise one makes when capsizing a boat that rides very low in the water.

I immediately turned my boat, and started heading in his direction. Now, if he had just been patient and stayed put, I would have paddled right up next to him and helped roll his boat back up right. (Well, probably not, because I forgot about that trick until later in the day). Matt apparently didn’t feel like sitting around underwater waiting for me to come to his aid with some cool trick that would have him paddling again in just seconds. No, he bailed out of his boat, a technique kayakers call a “wet exit”, in the middle of the lake. It wasn’t exactly the middle. He was, in fact, fairly close to one shore, so he pushed his boat to the nearest dock hoping to use it to help us get on our way again.

The owner of said dock, happened to own a dog, that when he saw us, decided to let his owners know that someone was about to use their dock without permission. Fortunately, the man who owned the dock was a kayaker himself, and was more than happy to help out a fellow boater in need, and welcomed us to make ourselves at home. Fortunately, we were able to get Matt back in and, on the right course, back to our starting point.

We were doing fairly well, until we got to about the very middle of the lake. Not like the middle I talked about before, but really the middle, in the area where all of the ski boats and jet skis were playing because it allowed them the room to open up and enjoy all of the horse power their engines offered. As it turns out the clouds had started to break and the skies had begun to clear, and the aforementioned powered watercraft were now swarming the lake. These boats with all their horsepower, create wakes that wreak havoc on small one-man power boats such as the ones Matt and I were in. With Matt being in a boat that had already proven unsteady, and a quick succession of waves from the skiers, his boat went under again. This time though, it sounded more like, “Shi” *plunk*. I’m pretty sure he said what you think he said, but his face went under before he could complete the thought.

I was much closer when the boat went over this time, but as before, I still had not remembered my trick about righting an upside down kayaker. Matt performed another wet exit. Because we were really in the middle of the lake this time, it would have been just as easy to go to the shore we had been headed toward in the first place as it would have been to return to the dock that had been so handy before. Either way was going to be inconvenient and getting back in the boat would be difficult.

We tried various tricks to try to head back to shore. First, Matt tied his boat to the back of mine, and I paddled for a minute while he swam. I apparently got to far ahead of him, because he screamed, “Stop paddling!” I looked back and maybe 50 yards separated us, but swimming while wearing a PFD is tough work. Paddling a kayak, while another boat is tied to the back of yours, and a swimmer hangs on to the other boat is even tougher. After Matt had screamed at me to stop, I sat back and floated, while he made his way toward me. As soon as he got close, he said that it was ok to paddle. I made several strokes, and realized that the two landmarks I had identified on either side of me, had not moved. I made a couple more strokes, this time with a little more gusto than the last, and realized that I wasn’t moving at all. The landmarks hadn’t moved a bit.

I yelled back to Matt, “Are you hanging on?!?!”

Sheepishly, “Uhh, yeah.”

Frustrated banshee scream from me, “Aaaahhhhh!!”

Then I explained that no matter how hard I paddled with him hanging on we didn’t seem to move forward at all.

“Matt, untie the boats. I’ve got an idea.” For some reason this is the moment I chose to remember the trick I had learned from my little brother. “Do you think you can get in the boat while it’s upside down?”

“I don’t know, I could try.”

I think he thought I said on the boat while it’s upside down because we rolled his kayak back over and he tried to get on it. “No, I meant in the boat. Like when you first flipped over.” I then explained that this is usually done just after the boat goes over. If the paddler can’t roll the boat upright by himself, then he lets his buddy know he needs assistance, the individual that’s underwater then grabs the boat of the right side up paddler and flips himself and his boat up right.

Matt understood and set about getting back in the upside down boat. He executed the maneuver flawlessly on his first attempt, then asked, “Why the hell didn’t you think of the sooner?!” Good question. I’d been asking myself the same thing. With Matt back in his boat, we headed back to the boat ramp and the truck, for some lunch.

Our return to the water after lunch was short lived. The sun was out, the wind had picked up considerably, and our cove was bustling highway for all of the lake people trying to salvage the rest of the day. The combination of steady winds and heavy traffic through the cove had created a significant steady chop. I was in the “Nervous” boat as we had dubbed it this time around and found it even harder than my first attempt to keep the boat from rocking.

Eventually, I tipped over. Sitting underwater while in a boat, is not nearly as panic inducing as one might expect. I suppose it could have been had I lost my hat or my sunglasses, but those remained almost magically attached. As I sat there for a moment I realized that part of the calm was that I was no longer having to dance with the boat to keep it steady. Upside down, with me acting as a rudder, this boat was as steady as a rock. If I hadn’t let go of my paddle as I was dunked, I might have tried to paddle this way. As I sat there underwater, it occurred to me that I hadn’t had any air for far longer than any animal with lungs ought to. So I bailed out of the kayak.

After getting some air I looked around and noticed the wind seemed to have pushed me several hundred feet from the dock we had been playing around. The water was quite deep, so I had to swim myself and the boat back towards it so I could get out. With the PFD, the boat, and the wind working against me I made no progress as I swam. Matt finally got to me and towed my boat back to the dock, but I was still swimming. I’m sure rip tides are a much more power force than what I was fighting on the lake, but it was all I could do to make any progress towards my goal. Having taken at least a half an hour to make it 100 to 200 yard against that current, I decided that you won’t find me anywhere near the water when the red flags are flying at the beach.

As I sat on the shore, Matt and I decided we really enjoyed the experience. With a little practice, and maybe some boats that are better suited for novices like us we would definitely be back for more adventures like this one, sans the unnecessary swimming.

Exhausted and feeling abused Matt and I decided that we were going to call it a day.

Welcome to Bear Country

marcus — Wed, 10 May 2006 22:03:11 +0000

“Welcome to Bear Country” that’s what the sign at the trailhead said. Along with copious warnings about bear/human encounters, and proper instructions for hanging a bear bag, the rangers in this area seemed to be implying that there was a black bear infestation in the Cohuttas. Undaunted by such warnings my hiking partner and I set out on an overnight hike to get away from the stresses of corporate America, relax, and enjoy nature. A bear encounter would be a welcome adventure compared to the mind numbing tedium of tending to the health of computers on a daily basis.

This adventure got started last week I got a call from my buddy Matt wanting to know when we could go backpacking. I had been complaining to my wife that I needed to get away so his call came at just the right time. With school out last week, and my weekends booked for the next month we decided to drive to the trailhead after I got off work Saturday night. We’d camp Saturday night, hike in Sunday, and hike out Monday. While this wasn’t an ideal trip, two days in the woods can do wonders for my emotional well being.

We were planning up until the very last minute. While I was working Saturday Matt was still trying to convince me that we should hike the Jack’s River Trail in the Cohutta Wilderness. This particular trail is 17 miles long and involves fording the Jack’s River 42 times. (A magic number to be sure) but certainly not an easy feat in two days. Maybe if we were both in excellent shape, but as you will see from the photos of the trip. Neither Matt, nor I are in what one might call ‘peak form’ (pun intended). It had also been more than a year since I’d done any backpacking. The closest I get most of the time is hauling my laptop across campus a couple of times a week. Nevertheless, Matt was determined to see Jack’s River Falls. I told him to keep looking and he eventually came across Beech Bottom Trail, a 4 mile hike, rated easy to moderate that culminates at Jack’s River Falls, and is the only trail in the cohutta that can get you to the falls without ever having to ford Jack’s River. Our plans were now set, this was the trail for us.

We drove to the trailhead Saturday night. This was an adventure in itself, because Matt decided to navigate with his new GPS. Unfortunately, while the GPS did give us a fairly direct route, it was along windy mountain roads and took us 4.5 hours. This would have taken us 2.5 hours on the less direct route that traverses the Interstate Highways in Georgia, rather than back roads. Because it was so late, and raining, when we got the trailhead we opted to sleep there. We tossed a tarp over the bed of my truck and slept there for the night.

The next morning we were eager to hit the trail. We packed up all our rain soaked gear and pulled on our packs. After becoming intimately familiar with the aforementioned bear advisories, we made short order of the trail, hiking the four miles to the confluence of Beech Creek and Jack’s River in just a couple of hours. The trail was easy, as advertised, and mostly level with only a few short, steep up- or down-hill grades. One of the nice things about hiking an easy trail, with a light pack, is that you spend more time walking upright, able to look around and observe. On more strenuous trails, especially when you’re out of shape, you tend to hunch over and stare at your feet. Our upright posture, though, gave us ample opportunity to enjoy the scenery. We even had plenty of time for a couple of stops to photograph blooming mountain laurel, and what we believe to be wild azalea. And while the bear warnings were constantly in the back of our minds, we did not see any signs of bears on this trail.

Just upstream of Jack’s River Falls, we found a nice flat spot that we thought would be a good place to camp. The area was obviously well traveled. In an obvious affront to the natural beauty, the rest of the area was littered with trash, including a wheeled suitcase which contained used propane bottles. The kind that run Coleman lanterns or stoves. I can’t imagine why anyone would carry so much stuff so far. Perhaps they expected to use the high powered lights as a bear deterrent, or they thought by scattering enough food around the area, that any hungry bears would get full before ever reaching their camp. Either way, they seemed to feel that the equipment had served it’s purpose and abandoned it. I imagine they made a choice between carrying a cooler full of beer or hauling the suitcase back to their car, the beer won out.

It was also evident that someone who had camped here recently had packed in a hatchet or ax and had recently felled several small trees. Their intention was to use these trees for firewood, but the discarded branches around the large stone altar that served as a fire ring told a story of disappointment in that regard. Clearly these cretins had never learned that green wood doesn’t burn very well.

We found a place that was relatively unpolluted and ditched our packs. Then continued the short walk to the falls.

This was one incredible waterfall! There are two cascades, the upper cascade spills someone smoothly into an emerald green pool cut into a rock shelf. From here the water plunges over the shelf to another pool at the bottom of the canyon below. The roar of the falls as you stand over them is deafening. I had to be within three feet of my hiking partner in order to hear him.

We spent at least an hour soaking in the splendor of the falls. I took over 100 photos. Unfortunately, I didn’t have it in me to carry the added weight of a tripod, so only about three of the photos were worth showing. (Once I’ve finished processing them, I will make them available for viewing). We might have stayed longer, but it started raining, and we had left our rain gear back in our packs. So we scrambled back to our packs and setup a tarp to provide a community shelter, and hang out under, while it rained.

With nothing else to do we decided to cook a hot lunch, and fired up the stove. When backpacking food is fuel. When you’ve hiked all morning and it’s now cool and rainy a hot meal can really stoke the furnace. It’s usually nothing special. At home I can barely choke down some of the freeze dried meals that I devour handily on the trail. This was no different, but provided just the boost I needed to compensate for the rough nights sleep in the back of a pickup.

After lunch the rain slowed to a trickle. I setup my hammock, and while testing it found a nice nap inside. Upon waking, I crawled out of my hammock and slipped on my boots again, and nearly fell over. Apparently I had strained, sprained, or pulled something in my ankle and could barely walk. My first aid kit always contains a compression bandage for just such occaisions. I have never needed one before, but was glad that I had never removed it to shave a few more ounces. I wrapped my foot with the bandage, and hobbled around camp the rest of the afternoon and evening. I was fine as long as I wasn’t putting any weight on it, but that wasn’t going work for the hike out.

The on and off rain made it difficult to do much of anything while in camp. We tried to make a fire, but the wood was so wet that it wouldn’t catch no mater what we tried, though we did manage to burn a lot of the paper trash that we found scattered around the area.

Around dark, I decided to crawl back in bed. I didn’t sleep very well the previous two nights, so I went to bed early in hopes of recharging and maybe healing my ankle. However, the ominous signs at the trail head about numerous bear encounters made for light sleep. Every little twig crack and rumble of thunder sounded like a scavenging bear. One of the things that black bears have learned is that food is often hung in trees low enough to the ground that they can usually reach it. Matt and I had properly hung all of our food, but I was sleeping in a nylon hammock and couldn’t suppress the recurring thought that I might resemble a poorly hung bear bag to a hungry bruin.

Despite these pervading thoughts I managed to sleep most of the night, unmolested by bears. Waking early in the morning to a cold breakfast of granola bars and Tang. My ankle wasn’t any better and I dreaded having to walk out knowing that every step was going to be painful. We packed up camp, I rewrapped my foot and took some Advil, and we headed out. The first half mile was excruciating, with shooting stabbing pain every time my boot hit the trail. At some point I became numb to the pain, and the rest of the trail passed in a pain educed blur.

As we neared the trailhead we passed a young couple that stopped to chat for a moment. They told us that this tail was going to be closed to camping as of June 1. We had seen the signs indicating this on our way in, and having seen the devastation that campers wreak on this area, it is no wonder why. The couple was also very interested to know whether we had seen any bears. The girl seemed quite relieved when we told her, regrettably (for us), we had not.