This is camping post II, in which I'll try to fill in some details that I'd left out for length's sake, and cause I was kinda posting in a mild hurry.
So here are some of the events that happened on the trip that were amusing/painful/fun to us.
Blisters and missing toenails:
Krissi developed a blister like under a toenail like late friday or saturday. By saturday afternoon, this resulted in her toenail very nearly coming off. Its kinda dead, but still attached, so we figure it will fall off in a few days. To remedy the blister part of it, Maddie, who is an RN, lanced it with my pocket knife, and treated it with a first aid kit.
Jason also ended up with a blister, which was lanced with a safety pin and treated.
Total exhaustion:
Saturday evening when we rolled into the campsite and were considering pushing on the other 2.something miles to the car, Jason was absolutely dead exhausted. In fact, it was $10 to stay in the campsite, and Jason offered to pay it so that we could stay, instead of pressing on. We did stay, and moved over to a campsite, where Jason undid the straps on his backpack and laid down on it, on the ground. And laid there for like an hour, I think. We went and begged some other campers for some ice for him. He recovered, thankfully.
Blood and vomit:
On Friday we didnt cover alot of ground, but some of it was pretty inclined and tough. About three-quarters through a mile or so of steep switch-backs, Krissi demanded a stop and immediately threw up some of what we'd eaten for lunch a couple miles ago. We noticed at this point that Jason was bleeding. He'd developed a nosebleed some ways back and was using a white hankerchief to stem the flow. His white hankerchief was solidly pink already. He said he'd been bleeding for awhile, and just hadnt spoken up. Jason is Mr. Suffer In Silence.
Stranger in the Night:
So Friday night we camped out in the woods, having not been able to reach a real campsite. We'd been hanging food as best we could, to reduce the chance of a raid. Apparently sometime during the night, Maddie heard some scuffling outside her tent, followed by the sound and movement of something *knocking* on her tent. It was of course a racoon or something checking it out, but she responded by growling, and punching back at the spot that was being knocked on. After letting the beast know that she was not giving out candy or food, it left her alone.
Cemetaries and people on the trail:
There were a number of old cemetaries along the trail. We stopped at two of them (I'll find the names). Both were old and had knee high weeds, but were very pretty. Huge trees grew in the cemetaries; one looked like it had been there since some of the people buried there were alive (early 1800's). There were perhaps two dozen graves in one of the cemetaries, and a dozen in the other. There were a few markers that indicated that those lying beneath the stones had been there only since the 1940's or 1960's, while others listed the year of death as being in the 1840's. They were very pretty, and quiet, and peaceful. We also saw a few people on the trail. Actually, if I discount the "weekend campsite" places we went through, we ran into perhaps seven people. There were also some canoers, but still, we saw few people out on the trail. It was very nice. One of the people that we saw was on Sunday morning, as we were completing the almost 3 miles from our last campsite to the car.. not knowing exactly how much further, and eager to get to the car (we were tired and filthy and ready for some civilization), we saw a gentleman headed toward us on the trail. We said hello and he passed headed in the other direction. We chuckled about it, because we knew we were close, as this was a gentleman of easily 60 years, who had on shoes and blue jeans and a button-up shirt on with no pack or anything. Also, since I'm talking about people we encountered.. Saturday evening we stayed in a camp area that was full of weekend campers. It wasnt elbow to elbow, but there were easily a dozen tents within stone-throwing reach. And most were not tents that you would want to carry in a backpack either. One set of our neighbors were unloading their truck as we were setting up and settling in.. a nice lady comes over and offers us some raw burgers that she says they have and are extra. There we sit, filthy and tired, on a tarp on the ground, with a propane canister camp stove, and a pot with water sitting on top of it. I respond that we wouldnt be able to cook them, but thanks, and she wanders away, mumbling that her sister was supposed to have shown up, but didnt, so they have extra food. This was the same two people who, later in the night, talked loudly over beers, singing in that strangled and drunken karaoke (even though I shouldnt be singing karaoke), it makes my ears hurt just now thinking about it.
Filth:
By sunday morning we were disgusting. Filthy and sweaty. Mostly unwashed. We'd reapplied sunscreen and bugspray with deet, which has a much different aroma than any "off" stuff I've used. Anyway, we were gross. I cant speak for my fellow hikers, but I'd kinda rinsed the grime off when we went swimming friday morning, and again saturday afternoon, and at a campsite stop on saturday I washed my feet really good in a sink, for good measure. So we were nasty. This is funny when things like this happen: We all sit around resting for a few moments during our trek, and when we get up, its pointed out that Maddie has mud on her posterior. She (vainly) responds that it must be taken care of and demands a bandana from Jason. Jason stoically removes the now-not-so-white bandana from around his neck and hands it to her, and she wipes and rubs determinedly at her pants. After a moment, satisfied, she hands the bandana back to Jason, who ties it back around his neck. What a trooper. Jason I mean.
Naps:
You know the best way to nap is after a grueling hike through the woods in the hot, humid morning, to find a shady tree in a campsite, stretch a tarp out, cover your face, and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
There is still tons more, and I hear that Jason is currently writing a series of novels based on our adventure.. so I'll see if he posts it here :)
I'll try to get some pictures up and available in the near future.
Showing posts with label camping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label camping. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
camping
Ok, so I am a terrible journalist.
I took a notebook and pen out with me, intending to write about our trip when we had down time, and did not do so.
However, I will still attempt to relay some of our camping experience.
We left North Mississippi shortly before 6AM on Thursday and drove north and west into Arkansas. We stopped at Cracker Barrell and enjoyed breakfast, and made great time out to Ponca, Arkansas, where we found our jump-off point. We grabbed our packs and headed to the trail about 11:30AM. The area was gorgeous, and the weather was excellent. It was warm, but not hot, and we had a clear sky. Each of us carried packs weighing between 35 and 40 pounds. The Buffalo River area is woods, mostly hardwood, but with areas of softwood. Its pretty rocky and rugged terrain as well, and we soon learned that the river is often bordered by tall cliffs. Thursday was both fun and tough, which I guess the other days were as well. I recall thinking as the day progressed that if you'd asked me once an hour what I thought of it, you'd have gotten different responses. Like I said, it was beautiful terrain. The trail was well maintained, a dirt path about 24 to 36 inches wide right through the forest. Early into Thursday's hike, we came across numerous tall rock formations right off of the trail, that if we walked out on them, we found ourselves looking out 30 feet or more over the surrounding landscape. I also remember noticing the sun filtered through the trees. It created myriad patches of light on the ground that shifted as the trees moved in the wind. It struck me as being really awesome. Bugs were not too bad, though they were present. We made pretty good time going into our hike on Thursday, and quickly ran into steep terrain. We didnt really have to do any outright climbing, but some of the surfaces probably approached 45 degrees, though there were frequently stone "stairs" available, and these steep inclines were short, probably between 10 feet and 40 feet from beginning to end. The longer, but less steep inclines were probably worse. I would be hard pressed to cite an incline degree, but suffice to say that on the switch-backs, which sometimes were probably as much as half a mile in walking length, the uphill was a real struggle and slowed us down. On flat stretches we could manage about two or two and a half miles in an hour, but the uphill slowed us to a mile an hour or less, I believe. It didnt take long for the packs to grow heavy, and the feet to grow tired. My shoulders hurt where the pack weighed down on my collarbone (and trapezius muscles?). My feet grew sore, and eventually hurt in a tired, sorta-numb way. The uphill stuff was incredibly taxing on my thighs, and I had to frequently stop to catch my breath and let my burning muscles relax for just a moment. Maddie led us Thursday, and she was relentless in her drive uphill. I was amazed that her pace didnt seem to change at all, as she'd just slowly go step after step right up the hill, with me wheezing behind her, and Krissi and Jason behind me. By the time we'd be going for a couple of hours on Thursday, and hit a few hills and had more to go, we were feeling both physically and mentally taxed. The river lies aprox 1100 feet above sea level, and I think we climbed ultimately, on Thursday, to 1800 feet above sea level. But we made it. It was actually excellent to have Maddie leading up the hills. She drove herself on, which drove us on, even though we briefly considered a revolt :P Along the way though we saw some amazing sights, the most memorable was an overlook 300 feet above the Buffalo River. Below us lay a sharp bend in the river, and a broad clear camp area. Across from us and down the river were more steep cliffs of slate grey rock, probably 200 feet in height. It was dizzying, and spectacular. Buzzards were riding the wind currents, below us and above us. It was really awesome.
So Thursday we did 10 miles I believe, between 11:30AM and when we stopped to eat and make camp, which was I believe close to 7PM. We stopped at Horse Shoe Bend for the evening. I recall that we were all super ready to stop hiking for the day when we got there. We went down the trail, right down onto a sheer rock surface that formed the bank of the Buffalo River in this spot. Everyone stripped off their packs and shoes like a bunch of 4-year olds at a swimming pool, and sat on the rock bank with our feet in the water. It felt great. We were tired, and made a supper of packaged chicken, swiss chese and pita bread. We refilled our water bottles from the river with a pump filter that Jason brought. The river water tasted great, and the food was excellent. We pitched camp about a hundred yards from the river, just above it on a 20 or 30 foot overlook of rock and pine trees. We slept very well, though it got damn cold in the night, probably 55 degrees. I heard a visitor, probably a racoon or possum, but none of our gear or food was raided.
We woke Friday morning and had breakfast of instant oatmeal, which we heated water for over Maddie's little camp stove. I brought coffee along which was nice to have, though it tasted like shit (too weak I believe). We took our time eating and breaking down camp. Then we left our packs under some trees and crossed the river to go a mile or so off the trail to Hemmed-in Hollow. On the way, Jason ambushed a sweet baby deer, which ran for its life. We swam in the river, which was cold, but very refreshing. We hiked without our packs to Hemmed-in Hollow, which was about a mile or a mile and a half one way. It was a gorgeous water fall way back.. well, in a hollow. We followed the creek back from the river. It was gorgeous surroundings with ferns and trees and moss and it felt like we were both miles and years away from civilization. The water fall was a small creek, I'm terrible with estimates, but it was probably a gallon per second. It fell from a cliff that I'd guess was about 200 feet above us. It was a hollow, so we stood in a cul-de-sac formed by this tall rock cliff. It was possibly the best thing we saw on the whole trip. We headed back to the river and cross back to our gear. We packed up and headed back to the trail, after first eating lunch beside the river. Thursday had been our most difficult day in terms of climbing. Friday we took it easier, covering about 7 miles, including the easy two or three miles to and from Hemmed-in Hollow. The trail crossed the Buffalo River 5 times, which was particularly difficult for me. The crossings were all in shallow water, usually only knee deep, but sometimes almost hip deep. We were doing these crossings of course with our packs. The Buffalo River is not especially wide or deep or fast, and its a super popular destination for canoers and kyakers. At many points the river is only 20 to 30 feet wide, though it is wider in some places. It has some shallow crossings with some deeper areas. It flows with reasonable speed. I wouldnt venture to call it either particuarly fast or particularly slow. There are some points of rapids though where of course it gets faster and rougher. Anyway, I'd brought some $3 flip-flops from walmart or target along as camp shoes, and these became my water-crossing shoes. The bottom of the river was largely comprised of a mix of softball to baseball sized stones, and smaller gravel and sand. For what seems like most of the crossings, we had the softball sized stones. I quickly discovered that these rocks are relatively slippery, and so you have to go slowly (and remember there's 35 or 40 extra pounds on the back, which does not help with balance). To make matters worse, the current would frequently catch the shoe and move it out from under my foot as I took a step, so when I came down I had half of a sideways flip-flop between my foot and the rock, in addition to the plastic bit painfully tugging at my toes . If this sounds like a bit of whining, I suppose it is. This was the one part of the trip that I really disliked. Uphill climbs were tough, but the crossings were just hell for me. I think it'd have been different had I some better footwear. Anyway, we made it, and didnt have any unwanted spills. Jason was kind enough to ferry peoples packs across during one of the more difficult crossings. The crossings slowed us down some, then we ended up doing some more uphill stuff, so we didnt do very many miles on Friday when it began approaching evening. We had wanted to make it to the next actual camp stop, but didnt feel like we could get there before dark, and certainly didnt want to get caught on the trail when day light ran out. So we came across a flat area around the trail (these were almost non-existant during the uphill or downhill parts of the trail), and made camp about 6 or 6:30PM. We had chicken and pitas for supper and settled in. We heard wolves or coyotes howling in the distance, both in the evening and in the morning. It was quite cool. Also there was a large nest high in a tree near where we camped, and a large bird of prey came in and out of during the evening.
We woke Saturday morning a little tired and sore still. We'd rested, but the trail was taxing us. We broke camp down and hit the trail, made it a few miles to a cleared camp area and stopped to eat and rest. We had a great rest, which really seemed to help our energy level. Replenished water, ate some Chicken and Rice camp meal stuff that was really good. I dumped the 6 or so pounds of Gorp that I'd brought, and didnt need. We napped, I took a veritable sink-bath, and we all cooled off before packing back up and hitting the trail again. Saturday was hot, and the bugs were worse. We picked probably 50 ticks off of us, all together. Almost all of them were just leg climbers though, and had not yet latched on. We made good time on Saturday, as it was much less inclined than the previous days. I led, and felt great on the trail. We did 9 miles on Saturday, and early that evening, came to a campgrounds. At this point we were less than 3 miles from the end of the trail, and we considered pressing on, but some of our party was exhausted, and so we stayed in the campsite, which was very crowded with weekend tent campers. We pitched camp, ate food, had a great cup of coffee, and listened to drunken campers singing (terribly). We slept well, and woke early. We broke camp quickly and moved off to our last leg of the trail. It went fairly quickly and before 9AM we'd come out of the trail and found Jason's car waiting for us.
It was a fantastic trip. It was tiring, exhausting, painful, and a ton of fun. It made me realize that I'm out of shape, but still I'm pleased that I'm not in worse shape. I lost like 5 pounds on the trail. Jason lost 15!! Maddie and Krissi both lost about 5 pounds as well. Krissi lost a toe-nail, and had a couple of blisters, and I think Jason ended up with a blister as well. I have come out of it a little wiser I think, about backpacking and hiking matters, in regards to things like what to take, and what to expect. I'd do it again in a heart beat. It is such a great experience. But I like the comforts of the life that I'm accustomed to.
I'm sure I could go on, and I will try to add some more in a later post, but that's all for now. We had a blast!
I took a notebook and pen out with me, intending to write about our trip when we had down time, and did not do so.
However, I will still attempt to relay some of our camping experience.
We left North Mississippi shortly before 6AM on Thursday and drove north and west into Arkansas. We stopped at Cracker Barrell and enjoyed breakfast, and made great time out to Ponca, Arkansas, where we found our jump-off point. We grabbed our packs and headed to the trail about 11:30AM. The area was gorgeous, and the weather was excellent. It was warm, but not hot, and we had a clear sky. Each of us carried packs weighing between 35 and 40 pounds. The Buffalo River area is woods, mostly hardwood, but with areas of softwood. Its pretty rocky and rugged terrain as well, and we soon learned that the river is often bordered by tall cliffs. Thursday was both fun and tough, which I guess the other days were as well. I recall thinking as the day progressed that if you'd asked me once an hour what I thought of it, you'd have gotten different responses. Like I said, it was beautiful terrain. The trail was well maintained, a dirt path about 24 to 36 inches wide right through the forest. Early into Thursday's hike, we came across numerous tall rock formations right off of the trail, that if we walked out on them, we found ourselves looking out 30 feet or more over the surrounding landscape. I also remember noticing the sun filtered through the trees. It created myriad patches of light on the ground that shifted as the trees moved in the wind. It struck me as being really awesome. Bugs were not too bad, though they were present. We made pretty good time going into our hike on Thursday, and quickly ran into steep terrain. We didnt really have to do any outright climbing, but some of the surfaces probably approached 45 degrees, though there were frequently stone "stairs" available, and these steep inclines were short, probably between 10 feet and 40 feet from beginning to end. The longer, but less steep inclines were probably worse. I would be hard pressed to cite an incline degree, but suffice to say that on the switch-backs, which sometimes were probably as much as half a mile in walking length, the uphill was a real struggle and slowed us down. On flat stretches we could manage about two or two and a half miles in an hour, but the uphill slowed us to a mile an hour or less, I believe. It didnt take long for the packs to grow heavy, and the feet to grow tired. My shoulders hurt where the pack weighed down on my collarbone (and trapezius muscles?). My feet grew sore, and eventually hurt in a tired, sorta-numb way. The uphill stuff was incredibly taxing on my thighs, and I had to frequently stop to catch my breath and let my burning muscles relax for just a moment. Maddie led us Thursday, and she was relentless in her drive uphill. I was amazed that her pace didnt seem to change at all, as she'd just slowly go step after step right up the hill, with me wheezing behind her, and Krissi and Jason behind me. By the time we'd be going for a couple of hours on Thursday, and hit a few hills and had more to go, we were feeling both physically and mentally taxed. The river lies aprox 1100 feet above sea level, and I think we climbed ultimately, on Thursday, to 1800 feet above sea level. But we made it. It was actually excellent to have Maddie leading up the hills. She drove herself on, which drove us on, even though we briefly considered a revolt :P Along the way though we saw some amazing sights, the most memorable was an overlook 300 feet above the Buffalo River. Below us lay a sharp bend in the river, and a broad clear camp area. Across from us and down the river were more steep cliffs of slate grey rock, probably 200 feet in height. It was dizzying, and spectacular. Buzzards were riding the wind currents, below us and above us. It was really awesome.
So Thursday we did 10 miles I believe, between 11:30AM and when we stopped to eat and make camp, which was I believe close to 7PM. We stopped at Horse Shoe Bend for the evening. I recall that we were all super ready to stop hiking for the day when we got there. We went down the trail, right down onto a sheer rock surface that formed the bank of the Buffalo River in this spot. Everyone stripped off their packs and shoes like a bunch of 4-year olds at a swimming pool, and sat on the rock bank with our feet in the water. It felt great. We were tired, and made a supper of packaged chicken, swiss chese and pita bread. We refilled our water bottles from the river with a pump filter that Jason brought. The river water tasted great, and the food was excellent. We pitched camp about a hundred yards from the river, just above it on a 20 or 30 foot overlook of rock and pine trees. We slept very well, though it got damn cold in the night, probably 55 degrees. I heard a visitor, probably a racoon or possum, but none of our gear or food was raided.
We woke Friday morning and had breakfast of instant oatmeal, which we heated water for over Maddie's little camp stove. I brought coffee along which was nice to have, though it tasted like shit (too weak I believe). We took our time eating and breaking down camp. Then we left our packs under some trees and crossed the river to go a mile or so off the trail to Hemmed-in Hollow. On the way, Jason ambushed a sweet baby deer, which ran for its life. We swam in the river, which was cold, but very refreshing. We hiked without our packs to Hemmed-in Hollow, which was about a mile or a mile and a half one way. It was a gorgeous water fall way back.. well, in a hollow. We followed the creek back from the river. It was gorgeous surroundings with ferns and trees and moss and it felt like we were both miles and years away from civilization. The water fall was a small creek, I'm terrible with estimates, but it was probably a gallon per second. It fell from a cliff that I'd guess was about 200 feet above us. It was a hollow, so we stood in a cul-de-sac formed by this tall rock cliff. It was possibly the best thing we saw on the whole trip. We headed back to the river and cross back to our gear. We packed up and headed back to the trail, after first eating lunch beside the river. Thursday had been our most difficult day in terms of climbing. Friday we took it easier, covering about 7 miles, including the easy two or three miles to and from Hemmed-in Hollow. The trail crossed the Buffalo River 5 times, which was particularly difficult for me. The crossings were all in shallow water, usually only knee deep, but sometimes almost hip deep. We were doing these crossings of course with our packs. The Buffalo River is not especially wide or deep or fast, and its a super popular destination for canoers and kyakers. At many points the river is only 20 to 30 feet wide, though it is wider in some places. It has some shallow crossings with some deeper areas. It flows with reasonable speed. I wouldnt venture to call it either particuarly fast or particularly slow. There are some points of rapids though where of course it gets faster and rougher. Anyway, I'd brought some $3 flip-flops from walmart or target along as camp shoes, and these became my water-crossing shoes. The bottom of the river was largely comprised of a mix of softball to baseball sized stones, and smaller gravel and sand. For what seems like most of the crossings, we had the softball sized stones. I quickly discovered that these rocks are relatively slippery, and so you have to go slowly (and remember there's 35 or 40 extra pounds on the back, which does not help with balance). To make matters worse, the current would frequently catch the shoe and move it out from under my foot as I took a step, so when I came down I had half of a sideways flip-flop between my foot and the rock, in addition to the plastic bit painfully tugging at my toes . If this sounds like a bit of whining, I suppose it is. This was the one part of the trip that I really disliked. Uphill climbs were tough, but the crossings were just hell for me. I think it'd have been different had I some better footwear. Anyway, we made it, and didnt have any unwanted spills. Jason was kind enough to ferry peoples packs across during one of the more difficult crossings. The crossings slowed us down some, then we ended up doing some more uphill stuff, so we didnt do very many miles on Friday when it began approaching evening. We had wanted to make it to the next actual camp stop, but didnt feel like we could get there before dark, and certainly didnt want to get caught on the trail when day light ran out. So we came across a flat area around the trail (these were almost non-existant during the uphill or downhill parts of the trail), and made camp about 6 or 6:30PM. We had chicken and pitas for supper and settled in. We heard wolves or coyotes howling in the distance, both in the evening and in the morning. It was quite cool. Also there was a large nest high in a tree near where we camped, and a large bird of prey came in and out of during the evening.
We woke Saturday morning a little tired and sore still. We'd rested, but the trail was taxing us. We broke camp down and hit the trail, made it a few miles to a cleared camp area and stopped to eat and rest. We had a great rest, which really seemed to help our energy level. Replenished water, ate some Chicken and Rice camp meal stuff that was really good. I dumped the 6 or so pounds of Gorp that I'd brought, and didnt need. We napped, I took a veritable sink-bath, and we all cooled off before packing back up and hitting the trail again. Saturday was hot, and the bugs were worse. We picked probably 50 ticks off of us, all together. Almost all of them were just leg climbers though, and had not yet latched on. We made good time on Saturday, as it was much less inclined than the previous days. I led, and felt great on the trail. We did 9 miles on Saturday, and early that evening, came to a campgrounds. At this point we were less than 3 miles from the end of the trail, and we considered pressing on, but some of our party was exhausted, and so we stayed in the campsite, which was very crowded with weekend tent campers. We pitched camp, ate food, had a great cup of coffee, and listened to drunken campers singing (terribly). We slept well, and woke early. We broke camp quickly and moved off to our last leg of the trail. It went fairly quickly and before 9AM we'd come out of the trail and found Jason's car waiting for us.
It was a fantastic trip. It was tiring, exhausting, painful, and a ton of fun. It made me realize that I'm out of shape, but still I'm pleased that I'm not in worse shape. I lost like 5 pounds on the trail. Jason lost 15!! Maddie and Krissi both lost about 5 pounds as well. Krissi lost a toe-nail, and had a couple of blisters, and I think Jason ended up with a blister as well. I have come out of it a little wiser I think, about backpacking and hiking matters, in regards to things like what to take, and what to expect. I'd do it again in a heart beat. It is such a great experience. But I like the comforts of the life that I'm accustomed to.
I'm sure I could go on, and I will try to add some more in a later post, but that's all for now. We had a blast!
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
backpacking and gaming
Okay so two subjects for discussion.
As I have mentioned, we're headed out to go backpacking.
For entertainment value only, here is the list that I compiled a few weeks ago of the things that I thought were needed:
backpack
sunscreen
sunglasses
spare sunglasses
boots
boot socks (x2 or x3)
compass
GPSr
spare AAA batteries for GPSr
flashlight
spare batteries for flashlight
lantern
knife
camera
batteries for camera
hat
water bottles/water
water purifier
first aid kit
camp stove
camp plate/bowl, cup, fork/spoon, knife
one or more change of clothes
sleeping blanket?
food & snacks
toilet paper
coffee
coffee filters (for coffee and water filtration, etc)
toothbrush/toothpaste
hammock
bungee cords?
extra rope
tarpoleon
trash bags
large ziplock bags
cell phone
map
extra map
bug repellant
belly pack
whistle
signal flare?
bandana
duct tape
shovel
watch
towel
hankerchiefs
claratin
pain killer
crystal light?
gloves
light jacket
rain poncho
book
notebook and pen
pair of shorts
lip balm
pepper spray
camp shoes
walking stick
foam seat?
stuff sack
My list was not far off, and soon I'll comprise a list of what I actually am taking. I weighed my pack last night, and it was right at 40 pounds. I'm excited. We'll be leaving town about 5:30 Thursday morning and hiking Thursday afternoon, Friday, Saturday, Sunday morning, and driving back Sunday.
So for my second topic: Gaming..
Specifically Pen & Paper role playing games.. I've been playing D&D and other games fairly regularly since.. um.. like 1991 probably. I think the first RPG that I bought was "Recon" an RPG set in the Vietnam War. Shortly after, I picked up "Twilight 2000". During this time I also found someone's homebrew fantasy RPG in an attic. The things that I remember about it, aside from its many typed pages, clipped into a 3-ring binder, were the many and varied spells, and the damage system. Armor in this home-brew system functioned like damage resistance. Stronger armor subtracted from damage dealt. Thus my first campaign ended up with the heros having armor which allowed them to casually dispatch any number of creatures that were simply unable to damage them in their heavy armor. I picked up (probably stole - I was a semi-hooligan in high school) the AD&D 2nd Edition Dungeon Masters Guide. I wasnt allowed to have/play/etc D&D stuff, as my folks were super opposed to anything easily labeled evil or misguiding. So I kept it secreted away for awhile until it was discovered and confiscated. I continued to run with home-brew fantasy for some time. As high-school wound to a close I got into D&D again, for real this time, moving from my home-brew-with-stuff-taken-fromD&D into real AD&D. Ahhhh tHAC0. I played AD&D like it was my full time job. And I guess for some time, it was. I was able to live a little fast and loose right after high school, so I did alot of D&D and a little job-having. Anyway, years passed and my gaming went from frequent to infrequent, though I played some great games with some great people (I'm looking at you, former-jackson-gang.. and some still-in-jackson-folks too). I played some Shadowrun 3rd, Vampire the Masquerade, a Werewolf the Apocalypse game with GURPS lite-lite rules, some RIFTS, and I'm sure a bunch of other stuff - my wife will grimace and share with you that I collect gaming books. Anyway, that kindof brings us around to current day, and the last year or three.
After my gaming kindof trickled off, I got the itch and started scouring memphis looking for some gaming people. I finally found some and started playing with a group that had been playing a D&D 3.0 game. We converted to 3.5 during the campaign. It was alot of fun. I met some great people, some cool gamers, and a few people with whom I'm fast friends. (I promise I'm getting to a point, of sorts. My thought here has really been about RPG Theory, but I wanted to start at the beginning, for me.)
The crew from chizat, some of whom are the former-jackson-gang, have been somewhat influential in my gaming theory. For years, gaming for me involved killing orcs and climing ropes and all the other stuff you have to roll for in D&D. My philosophy has shifted from "Gamist" or even "Simulationist" to "Narrative". Previously, I played D&D, willing to overlook that things that go with Gamist or Simulationist D&D. Everything from 30 minute long rules arguments/negotiations/discussions, to trying and sometimes failing at mundane tasks, thanks to the dice. Its gaming that feels like you're literally playing Baldurs Gate or Diablo while sitting at the table.
I've lately been running with Narrative specifically in mind. It shouldnt be about who can "win" the game, or killing the most orcs, or jumping over the spike filled pit trap, its about having an engaging evening of gaming. That means changing the way the GM and players interact, and how the story and mechanics work. There are some great game systems out there that really help with this, like Donjon, Dogs in the Vineyard, FUDGE, Capes, and a ton of other games that I havent even been able to look at.
Anyway, I'd hoped to be able to phrase all of that in a more informative manner, but so many people are able to offer so much more information than I am at places like The Forge forums.
But coming up soon I'll be running a game with Feng Shui rules that's based on Constantine and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I hope that it works fantastically.
As I have mentioned, we're headed out to go backpacking.
For entertainment value only, here is the list that I compiled a few weeks ago of the things that I thought were needed:
backpack
sunscreen
sunglasses
spare sunglasses
boots
boot socks (x2 or x3)
compass
GPSr
spare AAA batteries for GPSr
flashlight
spare batteries for flashlight
lantern
knife
camera
batteries for camera
hat
water bottles/water
water purifier
first aid kit
camp stove
camp plate/bowl, cup, fork/spoon, knife
one or more change of clothes
sleeping blanket?
food & snacks
toilet paper
coffee
coffee filters (for coffee and water filtration, etc)
toothbrush/toothpaste
hammock
bungee cords?
extra rope
tarpoleon
trash bags
large ziplock bags
cell phone
map
extra map
bug repellant
belly pack
whistle
signal flare?
bandana
duct tape
shovel
watch
towel
hankerchiefs
claratin
pain killer
crystal light?
gloves
light jacket
rain poncho
book
notebook and pen
pair of shorts
lip balm
pepper spray
camp shoes
walking stick
foam seat?
stuff sack
My list was not far off, and soon I'll comprise a list of what I actually am taking. I weighed my pack last night, and it was right at 40 pounds. I'm excited. We'll be leaving town about 5:30 Thursday morning and hiking Thursday afternoon, Friday, Saturday, Sunday morning, and driving back Sunday.
So for my second topic: Gaming..
Specifically Pen & Paper role playing games.. I've been playing D&D and other games fairly regularly since.. um.. like 1991 probably. I think the first RPG that I bought was "Recon" an RPG set in the Vietnam War. Shortly after, I picked up "Twilight 2000". During this time I also found someone's homebrew fantasy RPG in an attic. The things that I remember about it, aside from its many typed pages, clipped into a 3-ring binder, were the many and varied spells, and the damage system. Armor in this home-brew system functioned like damage resistance. Stronger armor subtracted from damage dealt. Thus my first campaign ended up with the heros having armor which allowed them to casually dispatch any number of creatures that were simply unable to damage them in their heavy armor. I picked up (probably stole - I was a semi-hooligan in high school) the AD&D 2nd Edition Dungeon Masters Guide. I wasnt allowed to have/play/etc D&D stuff, as my folks were super opposed to anything easily labeled evil or misguiding. So I kept it secreted away for awhile until it was discovered and confiscated. I continued to run with home-brew fantasy for some time. As high-school wound to a close I got into D&D again, for real this time, moving from my home-brew-with-stuff-taken-fromD&D into real AD&D. Ahhhh tHAC0. I played AD&D like it was my full time job. And I guess for some time, it was. I was able to live a little fast and loose right after high school, so I did alot of D&D and a little job-having. Anyway, years passed and my gaming went from frequent to infrequent, though I played some great games with some great people (I'm looking at you, former-jackson-gang.. and some still-in-jackson-folks too). I played some Shadowrun 3rd, Vampire the Masquerade, a Werewolf the Apocalypse game with GURPS lite-lite rules, some RIFTS, and I'm sure a bunch of other stuff - my wife will grimace and share with you that I collect gaming books. Anyway, that kindof brings us around to current day, and the last year or three.
After my gaming kindof trickled off, I got the itch and started scouring memphis looking for some gaming people. I finally found some and started playing with a group that had been playing a D&D 3.0 game. We converted to 3.5 during the campaign. It was alot of fun. I met some great people, some cool gamers, and a few people with whom I'm fast friends. (I promise I'm getting to a point, of sorts. My thought here has really been about RPG Theory, but I wanted to start at the beginning, for me.)
The crew from chizat, some of whom are the former-jackson-gang, have been somewhat influential in my gaming theory. For years, gaming for me involved killing orcs and climing ropes and all the other stuff you have to roll for in D&D. My philosophy has shifted from "Gamist" or even "Simulationist" to "Narrative". Previously, I played D&D, willing to overlook that things that go with Gamist or Simulationist D&D. Everything from 30 minute long rules arguments/negotiations/discussions, to trying and sometimes failing at mundane tasks, thanks to the dice. Its gaming that feels like you're literally playing Baldurs Gate or Diablo while sitting at the table.
I've lately been running with Narrative specifically in mind. It shouldnt be about who can "win" the game, or killing the most orcs, or jumping over the spike filled pit trap, its about having an engaging evening of gaming. That means changing the way the GM and players interact, and how the story and mechanics work. There are some great game systems out there that really help with this, like Donjon, Dogs in the Vineyard, FUDGE, Capes, and a ton of other games that I havent even been able to look at.
Anyway, I'd hoped to be able to phrase all of that in a more informative manner, but so many people are able to offer so much more information than I am at places like The Forge forums.
But coming up soon I'll be running a game with Feng Shui rules that's based on Constantine and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I hope that it works fantastically.
Monday, May 15, 2006
not forgotten
Hello Reader,
I have not forgotten my blog, I have simply been too distracted to get on here and do any real posting.
I'm sure there was some stuff I meant to post about in the last week or two, in fact I started a post last week, but never finished it.
We *did* go see Thank You For Smoking. It was very entertaining. I recommend it.
This past week I went to Montezuma, Indiana for business. My boss and I drove up there Wednesday afternoon and I got a tour of the mill up there, and we came back Thursday afternoon. Six hours each way. It was a long trip, but I got to meet the folks up there and see the operation.
The big thing that is coming up is our backpacking expedition. Krissi and I, as well as Maddie and Jason are going to go backpacking along the Buffalo River out in Arkansas this coming weekend. The kind of backpacking where you carry food, sleeping bag, tent, water, filter, and all the other stuff you need to live in the woods for 3 days straight. It'll be alot of fun to unplug for a bit. I'll be keeping a journal and reposting here for my (and your) entertainment.
This past Saturday, Maddie and I hit the pavement at 6AM for a seven mile run. It was a little exhausting. But it was super good. That same afternoon we packed up our full camping packs and set off on a test run. We did a two mile walk with them, and actually setup camp in a little park, just to test everything out. It went pretty well, and I'm glad we did it. It gives me a solid idea of what to expect. I'll be able to trim down what I'm carrying a little.
If there is more exciting stuff to share, then I've forgotten about it for the moment.
I have not forgotten my blog, I have simply been too distracted to get on here and do any real posting.
I'm sure there was some stuff I meant to post about in the last week or two, in fact I started a post last week, but never finished it.
We *did* go see Thank You For Smoking. It was very entertaining. I recommend it.
This past week I went to Montezuma, Indiana for business. My boss and I drove up there Wednesday afternoon and I got a tour of the mill up there, and we came back Thursday afternoon. Six hours each way. It was a long trip, but I got to meet the folks up there and see the operation.
The big thing that is coming up is our backpacking expedition. Krissi and I, as well as Maddie and Jason are going to go backpacking along the Buffalo River out in Arkansas this coming weekend. The kind of backpacking where you carry food, sleeping bag, tent, water, filter, and all the other stuff you need to live in the woods for 3 days straight. It'll be alot of fun to unplug for a bit. I'll be keeping a journal and reposting here for my (and your) entertainment.
This past Saturday, Maddie and I hit the pavement at 6AM for a seven mile run. It was a little exhausting. But it was super good. That same afternoon we packed up our full camping packs and set off on a test run. We did a two mile walk with them, and actually setup camp in a little park, just to test everything out. It went pretty well, and I'm glad we did it. It gives me a solid idea of what to expect. I'll be able to trim down what I'm carrying a little.
If there is more exciting stuff to share, then I've forgotten about it for the moment.
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