Team Hike Spring 2007 (June 15 – June 17): Rt. 309 to Hawk Mountain Road

Friday: Spugs, Gramps, Popper, Hummer, Sean, Fallon, Grant, Hicks, Rocco, Boner, Gump

• Spugs & Gramps meet up and stash beer and water in Bake Oven parking lot and leave a car on Furnace Road
• Popper, Hummer and Sean meet up with them in Parking lot and the 5 hike in together
• Next in Fallon & Grant
• Next Rocco and Hicks
• Boner and Gump in at 2AM after Stevie Nicks concert.

Just like the white winged dove...
Sings a song...
Sounds like shes singing...
Whoo... whoo... whoo...
Just like the white winged dove...
Sings a song...
Sounds like shes singing...
Ooo baby... ooo... said ooo

And the days go by...
Like a strand in the wind...
In the web that is my own...
I begin again
Said to my friend, baby...
Nothin else mattered

He was no more... than a baby then
Well he... seemed broken hearted...
Something within him
But the moment... that I first laid...
Eyes... on... him... all alone...
On the edge of... seventeen

Saturday: Rocco out, Manning in

• Up late – start hike at noon
• Spugs declares this the best weather ever for a Team Hike
• Lunch on Bake Oven Knob
• Boner and Grant fall in love with ex-thru hiker Glowworm.
• Manning meets us in Bake Oven Shelter in pink oxford shirt – gets the trail name “Johnny Cakes”.
• 30% chance of rain means 100% on Team Hike but only about 10 or 20 minutes worth
• A very smelly series of thru hiker’s came through camp.
o First was Chillout.
o Then the scary couple and the ugly lady with the whelts on her legs.
o Then the hippy dude’s. At least they drank a beer before they left the camp.

Sunday
• 6 am wake up.
• Except for Manning who slept on a picnic table.
• Everyone got on the trail for an early departure, since it was Fathers day.
• Spug’s 3.3 miles out took only 1.5 hours to walk out in really great weather.
• Poprick is on his death bed.
• Gramp’s got his period because there was too much trash. 

Gramps Begley

History by Grant Perry

 Here's how I saw it,

Spugs organized a great trip!!! Although I have only been on 3 team hikes this was my best experience yet. The Hike had it all from intense hiking and climbing, scenic vistas, excellent food (crab cakes were spot on Gramps)and a great group of guys that appreciated the experience.

When Jason (Prince Shrek) and I arrived in the parking lot off 309 we started the hike and quickly came upon a cell tower that looked like something from the show "Lost". Jason wanted to go in and start entering codes on the commodore 64 so the world didn't explode. I convinced him not to and we some how found the crack in the right corner of the wood line were the AT continued. It was a great hike and we quickly found the first responders and the festivities began.   The next thing I know I was singing "just like a wild winged dove" and "No I want to fall in love" to welcome Boner and Gump to the party.  www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Zz_4N6p3f8   Daylight was soon upon us and it was time for sleep.

Sat morning was supposed to be Shrek's day to make breakfast fireside. I had really been looking forward to this as the thought of scrapple egg and cheese burritos was a good thing. What happened after Shrek woke up was disturbing. He displayed the kitchen preparation skills of my 18 month old daughter and at one point thought he had to throw his pan away because eggs had stuck to the bottom. His excuse to us all was that he had no PAM which apparently would have increased his pathetic cooking IQ. At no time was your attempt at cooking correct, we are all now dumber for having seen this and may God have mercy on your soul.

We then went on a demanding hike through the Lehigh Gap which was extremely technical. Shrek was right behind me and I could hear his computer syntax error several times as important decisions needed to be made with each step. We went by the parking lot and Boner and I had a nice conversation with a thru-hiker named Glow Worm who had many stories regarding the AT and told us that we had just completed
one of the tougher section of the trail. We soon were upon a scenic vista called Bake Oven Knob. We stopped to have lunch and enjoy the view. Soon into the next section of the hike the clouds started talking to us and the idea of a shelter sounded good. We came upon one the was about 2 miles short of our planned site for the evening.   Then out of no where a man in a pink shirt confronted us and it happened to be Manning. He had been waiting for us for about " 4 or 5 beers". I would have thought,knowing Manning, that that meant
about 5 minutes but he insisted it was several hours. The group voted and a decision was made to camp at the shelter with the impending rain on its way. This ended up being a great decision as the rain came down pretty hard for a short period. We all stayed dry
and began to eat, drink and by merry for tomorrow we die. Popper broke out the guitar and we all contributed to a variety of songs, good times. Day soon turned to night and Gump and Gramps turned into different people. Almost werewolves. Gump started climbing on the roof of the shelter and pouncing. We all knew this was the beginning
of the end for him and sure enough he was the first to bed sleeping away by 9:45 PM. Gramps then started stumbling around the camp site and getting mad at Shrek and myself because we were playing a trivia game with Hicks that included cities with all 4 major sports named after that city(there are 5). Philly just happens to be one of them
so Gramps smelled conspiracy. He then mumbled some profanities under his breath and wondered off to bed. Shrek and I slept in the shelter and put up a tarp to protect us from insects, raccoons, bears, Boner, Manning and Popper. We were successful.

Sunday morning we all awoke early and were on our hike quickly.  Although the remaining hike was still challenging were covered the ground pretty quickly. While driving out of the trail you were really able to see how much terrain we covered on the AT. We all had fun and walked away with a sense of accomplishment.

GP

History by Jason Fallon

 ......and while we were at the shelter before it started to rain, grant came within a "hare" (no pun intended) of killing a wabbit with his rather disturbingly sharp pocketknife which he launched from about 10 paces.   Fortunately for the wascally wabbit, grant's lack of coordination and overall arm strength allowed for a last second escape....

Grants new trail name from that day forward is Elmer Fudd......

Great hike....!

History by John Santilli

The week before the trip began I start getting a little anxiety:

Steve wants to drive up to team hike after the Stevie Nicks concert….but we are going to get hammered at the concert.

Gramps wants me there earlier and requested me cancel the concert….my wife wants me at the concert and all the buddies I got wrapped into the concert would kill me if I skipped.

I really want to get wasted this weekend…on team hike it is inevitable and frightening.

Am I too fat to climb mountains…yes your fat but you probably are not the most fat.

My 31 hours on team hike…

The evening came. Around 7:00, Steve and I started drinking like there was no tomorrow only to be reminded that we were expected to hit he road in three hours, to drive 2 hours, to hike another hour. The concert was filled with diversity and biker chicks. After we dropped of our wives at the docks for the ferry/cab ride home, we raced to my car to start team hike/guys weekend. The trip to the mountain was uneventful except for realizing the lengthy jail term we would have possibly serve if we were pulled over at one particular point.

... your going to have to guess what that refers to...

As we headed toward the mountain we prepared ourselves with a small treat to keep us focused. A small concern of hiking into the wrong direction came upon us after being on a road (and not a trail) for the first 20 mins of the hike…. Soon we found the entrance to the pitch black woods. Steve and I took the night hike time to catch up with one another…and trying to guess when the rest of the gang would jump out and scare the daylights out of us. Ahhh yes, the smell of wood burning and hearing our theme song (“white winged dove”) gave us the feeling home was just around the corner…we reached our party area/sleeping ground (1.8 miles behind us). Matt, Rocco, Hicks, Sean, Jason, Grant, Hummer, Gramps and Spugs all very happy, awake and drunk all welcomed us with open arms. After being greeted with Makers Mark, Oreo’s & Guinness, Sausage & Peppers, Langoustines and about 7 additional beers or shots to help catch up with everyone, we soon realized the sun was coming up, birds were chirping and we needed to get to sleep before it was too late. Rocco never said good-bye but I am over it.

Around 10’oclock we decided it was time to get up. Eggs, ham, steak, oranges, apples and other fun eye blurring treats were provided to prepare us on our short journey. Watching Jason fumble in the egg cooking process reminded us of his inability to live by himself….and why precooked meals are his favorite delicacy. Spugs spoke and it was time to move on. Our normal “Who is better looking? Oprah or Throw Momma from the train?” game provided some entertainment as we made our climb to the summit. We found the refreshment coolers Gramps and Spugs stashed, Steve met some of the “greatest guys ever” that will likely show up at his house in Philly some day and Spugs briefly operated on a toe of Sean’s. Our creatures of the day were daddy long legs, black & gardener snakes, fat toads and a hawk that circled Steve like he was buzzered food. Painful wishes <as a result of the “ankle busting rocks” worked each one of us> directed toward Spugs subsided as the awesome views of Bake Oven Knob came within view during our lunch break. The years have paid toll on the team hike crew as they removed their shirts for drying and catching some rays. The clouds started to roll in, the boy scouts headed for cover and we left to meet Manning.

Manning (looking gayer then ever earned him the trail name “Johnny cakes”) was finally found on the trail shortly before the clouds started to rumble. His campaign for staying in Bake Oven Shelter was successful as lighting lit up the sky (about 5.0 additional miles behind us). The three sets of trail hikers provided some brief entertainment and a smell that was worse then Hick’s ball sweat filling the surrounding 10 foot radius. Mac, Ham and Cheese started us off…followed by other stuff that the other hikers will need to provide more details on (This is where I get a little fuzzy). Vodka, the remaining beer and other bottles of alcohol started flying at a speed which became unbearable for me. Soon I was hiding in my tent and everything became silent. I woke up at one point in a Closter phobic panic where I went out took a pee and went back to sleep.

Early morning came and so did the complaints of a few from my early decent. I have never seen a team hike where the entire group was ready to hike out by 7:15. We packed up, complained, some decided to leave trash for others to carry and we set off for the longer then usual hike out. This part of the trail was where we spent the most individual time. I recall looking down on trail terrain thinking “I wonder what others were thinking that I was thinking.” The most excitement on the hike back was when Jason’s Hindenburg sized head exploded into a tree limb as it tactically maneuvered through the trail. No one ever could have guessed that head could be injured. (2.5 more miles behind us)

Steve and I stopped at the local family restaurant only to find Jason and Grant…followed by Spugs for a solid breakfast It was a great feeling to bear $hit in their clean restroom. I had to beat Steve into staying awake while driving but we did get home safely.

As all good things come to an end so did another hike…all fathers made it home for father’s day 2007.

Thanks Spugs & and all that continue to keep the hike alive!!