Any hikers?

[dallaswynn]

Hello all. I am an avid hiker and was just curious if there were any other hikers out there? I would like to find some hiking partners, but don't know any in my area. I do a lot of hiking in the St. Paul area (Bear Country). I have all necessary equipment for protection, however I do advise everyone carry there own bear spray. Any takers? All of my hikes are overnighters.

[edieo]

I hike every chance I can get but don't really have all the stuff I need to hike in to camp yet ... :D

[dallaswynn]

What don't you have or do you have? As long as you have a pack, tent, sleeping bag, and food/water, you should be good. I have encountered black bears were I go on a couple of occasions, and I think as long as you carry a marine fog horn (bought at Wal-Mart) you should be fine. On my last encounter with a black bear, I simply gave two short blasts from the horn at the bear and it was history. The reason I say you should carry your own is really only for your protection at night. I don't share my tent, as it is small, so you might want your own horn just in case. I carry first aid supplies, all we would need in an emergency, so you don't have to worry there. As a U.S. Marine (01-05), I am trained in survival first aid. I also carry epinephrine, so I would need to know if you have any allergies just in case. Let me know if you might be interested in hiking sometime. That being said, I am not nearly in the physical condition I was in the Corps, so I do go a little slow and like to b**** at the hills while climbing them :o . As long as you have the basics, it would just be cool to have company sometimes as I usually go solo.

[BSA534]

Just wondering... after you used your horn to run off the bear... did you go back to sleep or pack up and head out!?!? ;-)

[dallaswynn]

Hello BSA534!! My last encounter was a funny trip actually. However, to answer your question, I definitely continued my hike and camped for the night less than a quarter mile from the sighting. I have a thread in the "Geocaching Adventures" forum titled "Bear Adventures" where I have introduced myself and recalled my first encounter. You should check it out!! I am not afraid of the bears anymore. After my first encounter, I did massive research on black bears and now have a broad knowledge of "Smokey". I relish the opportunity to see them.......from a distance.

[edieo]

I'm not afraid of bears either I've come across two so far while hiking they seem more afriad of me ..lol.. I have a tent and sleeping bag but there a little big for backpacking ...

[dallaswynn]

I don't have an extra sleeping bag, however I do have a small tent. How tall are you?

[edieo]

I'm 5 feet 4 inch ...lol

[bluesybreeze]

Topic Review
edieo I'm 5 feet 4 inch ...lol

5 feet 4 inches 8O
ya know I luv ya, however this is October 1...NOT April 1 :D

[edieo]

Now girl friend ya know I'm that tall :twisted: 8) 8O :wink:

[dallaswynn]

Actually, I am 5'6" and the tent I have that you could borrow is just a little tight for me. Not that it can't be used, but I have two and take my other one. Anyway, if you are ever interested, I will PM you when I am about to take off and you can let me know if you are interested in going with.

Bluesybreeze, feeling any better?

[edieo]

That sound good to me .. :)

[jclaudii]

One of you could always go all "Bear Grylls" and build your shelter from sticks, leaves, and mud and make a real "you vs. the wild" editon. If you do this, I think a video camera should be involved and post here for us to see :)

[dallaswynn]

JClaudii, I wouldn't be able to go that extreme on the OHT (Ozark Highland Trail). You aren't allowed to cut trees for shelters and such. However, I actually have thought about making some kind of outdoor site to keep up with my adventures. If I were to go "Bear Grylls", I would go "Les Stroud". I am a bigger fan of his. JClaudii? Why don't you come with?? The more the merrier! :?:

[jclaudii]

I may take you up on that offer sometime in the future, especially after my wife (southerngirl) has our next child in Feb. A few months after that in the spring will be prime hiking weather!

I like both the survivor guys in their own way. Bear is always blabbing about some poor sap who got lost and did this or that. Naa, I didn't mean cut anything, there's plenty of fallen limbs and such you could make a pretty decent shelter out of. Heck...I learned the other day that two hiking poles stuck through the eye of a tarp and secured to the ground with stakes makes a decent tent/wind break/shelter. Granted you may want some type of ground covering in case it rains or a waterproof sleeping bag, but that is one way.

My wife and I are still wanting to do an overnight float trip on the Buffalo perhaps or even the Caddo. Were not sure if we'll take the kayaks or the canoe to put all our gear in, but it could be interesting!

[dallaswynn]

Let me know and congrats!! I just got back this sunday from a hike and it was awesome! I started at OHT waypoint 13, took the Spy Rock spur, and checked out the SPECTACULAR view. I tell you what, this is the reason I hike!! I don't have pics yet, but when I get them I will most definitely post them. Stay tuned.

[dallaswynn]

I didn't include this story in my last post:

The first day, I make the trek up to Spy Rock and just sat and marveled at the grandeur of it all for a while. The day was wearing on, so I decided I better head back down the trail and find an area to camp for the night; I would hate to be cutting wood and setting up camp in the dark. So, I got camp set up, ate and put the food up a tree, and cut some wood to build a fire (felled wood, I didn't cut any trees down). That night, I heard something running around my tent. At first I would just yell at it to leave me alone and let me sleep, but it finally started to get very close and more curious. I always take air horns with me, so I decided to just blow the horn at it one time to scare it away. I blew the horn, and the little animal just ran a short distance and then came back. I got out of my tent and looked around to see if I could see what kind of animal it was, but to no avail. I just didn't want a curious Bob Cat lurking around. Now, I set camp up for the night on a game trail so I knew there would be company. I searched the trail extensively for bear sign, but I found none and just assumed it was a dear trail. This activity was happening all night long, and at 5:30 a.m., I hear this weird bark/yelp type noise coming from the bank close to my camp. I let it go for a while thinking it would just go away, but it never did. Exhausted, I grabbed for my horn to blow at it as I heard the first drop of rain hit my tent. It stopped. Apparently it doesn't like the rain. The animal left and I finally got to sleep a couple of hours before getting up and hiking 2 1/2 miles in the rain. When I got home, I did some research and found the same bark/yelp. It was a fox. I guess I was on his/her trail and they didn't like it. Well, they sure let me know about it that night. I didn't get but a couple hours of sleep. Moral of the story; No matter how great a spot looks for a camp site, never camp on a game trail! You might be harassed all night. :roll:

[Savoy]

I love to hike/camp... and I'm coming back to Arkansas this month from working in Brazil; I'd love to connect with folks interest in Geohiking adventures - I'm sure there must be some trials with interesting caches to log along the way!

[jclaudii]

Sounds like a goodtime, except for the constant foot traffic by your visitor. Can't wait to see the pictures, post up a link when you get them loaded!

[DEEZER]

I just got back from a 3 day 2 night hike in the Ponca Wilderness. Here is a link to the track I uploaded on wikiloc.
http://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=606174