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  1. #1
    Senior Member Hawk-eye's Avatar
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    Talking Gorge Rat Infestation 2010 Trip Report

    Still working on catching up with work and the whole process of transitioning to the real world ... but plan to have the trip video I made edited and "enhanced" by the end of the week.

    I just wanted to give my trip update before then. While it's still fresh in the old gray matter.

    We had a total of 42 attend this Gorge Rat Gathering of hammock campers. There were two additional campers ... ground dwellers that came with Seuss for a couple days so technically there were 44 in attendance.

    Here is the final list:

    1 Hangin'Burrito
    2 Hickery
    3 TZBrown
    4 Darby
    5 HappyCamper
    6 Hawk-eye
    7 Hedcase
    8 Hooch
    9 Kayak Karl
    10 MacEntyre
    11 Thing1
    12 mtncmpr
    13 Running Feather
    14 Seuss
    15 Tasthree
    16 Nooner
    17 Louiez
    18 Cookie
    19 Airborne
    20 Starrione
    21 Jbryan
    22 Ken
    23 JerryW
    24 Wisenber
    25 Jennifer
    26 Hangout
    27 Rayn
    28 2Sticks
    29 Timetraveler1701
    30 John
    31 Idcakes
    32 Kim
    33 Hamper
    34 Ninja Ranger (Hamper Son)
    35 Walker Talker (Hamper Wife)
    36 Waterbar Jim
    37 Detail Man
    38 Tweaky
    39 Pucker Factor
    40 Muttly
    41 K45Auto
    42 Finn

    It was a great week ... little rain on Wednesday for the first day ... not as bad as the guys had Sunday, Monday and Tuesday though! Temperatures never got below 34 degrees outside my tarp ... though Louise and Shirley at the restaurant had 27 at their homes a few valley's north of the site.

    Thursday night was the blow from Hades ... tested everyone's tarp pitching skills and endurance! We had to do safety checks most of the night ... at least till around 2 am to make sure everyone was OK. Fortunately after the night of the wind .... things were grand ... never dipped below freezing and the days were sunny and warm.

    Two folks KTStone and Acer ... were renamed ... Airborne and Pucker Factor ... respectively. Airborne for his exploding rig during a "watering the lilies" moment and Pucker Factor for his rock hopping and climbing abilities!

    Greatly missed was our original Nineteen member Shug ... but we heard a lot of great Shug tales from Hickery so that was fun.

    Spent an extra night in the gorge Sunday night with Hickery, Mtncmpr, Finn, and my pal JerryW ... in an undisclosed special GR site that was magical. Man that was fun around the fire and what a magnificent sunrise we had! Not to mention that late breakfast at Louise's!

    It was grand seeing so many of the Rats from the previous two gatherings and the new folks that came to experience the gorge. Grand to have the little folk there ... Ninja Ranger and 2Sticks ... as well as the not so little arson expert Thing1. We found that she has mysterious powers of flame and is more than capable of hiking with the best of us ... even when she forgets her hiking boots!

    Jennifer ... if I could give you a medal ... I would ... you deserve it!
    Wisenber ... great choice in hiking partners ... not so much in packs

    Tweaky ... you work magic around a dehydrator ... that's a fact ... and we won't change your name to Stinky ... no matter what tales DM made up

    TZBrown ... you sir have a wife with the skills of a pie goddess. I hang my head in respect of her Rhubarb Strawberry magic.

    Darby ... you da man my friend ... kept me in stitches most of the time!

    Kayak Karl ... you're one fun guy ... glad I got to meet you and your four legged "girl friend".

    HB and RF ... dang brothers ... you just ain't right, that's why I love ya!

    Hickery ... time in the woods with you is classic ... odorous ... but classic! I enjoyed every minute of it brother ... that was a great last night in the secret campsite Sunday night.

    Finn ... dang fine to finally meet you. Wish you all the best on your journey. Looking forward to your next trip to the gorge!

    Muttly ... kept us in stitches pal ... not sure I want to go under the knife with you in attendance though!

    Tasthree ... finally good to meet you ... even if it was hard to locate you in all that camo!

    WalkerTalker ... you get the award for the best camp pants! Shug would have been proud of ya!

    Ninja Ranger ... glad to meet you partner ... you're a real trooper in the woods!

    Hamper ... great crew you have there ... great family! Go Wolfpack!

    Hangout, Rayn and 2Sticks ... mighty nice to meet you fine folks ... loved the video by the way!

    Timetraveler ... finally met someone that snores louder than me in the woods!

    Starrione ... pleasure meeting you ... love the laugh!

    Airborne ... gotta teach me that "unpacking" technique you developed Thursday night!

    Happycamper ... what can I say my friend ... you truly are a happy camper and I enjoyed sharing the time in the woods with you! Hope to see you in the gorge again or at least over a piece of pie or Livermush in the future.

    Hedcase ... dang grand to see you again! Till next time pal!

    HOOCH ... it was a pleasure to finally meet you and see there's another person in this world that's truly "not right" You da man Hooch!

    Mac and Thing1 ... Mac it's always grand to spend time in the ditch with you but this was the first time to share it with Thing1. You've got a daughter to be very proud of!

    JerryW ... my soft spoken friend ... glad we had the opportunity to camp together Sunday night ... what a great time. Looking forward to more adventures with ya.

    Ldcakes and Kim ... well ladies ... I'm glad you came to the gathering. Finer ladies you couldn't ask to meet!

    LouieZ ... all the way from Texas! Glad to share the woods with ya pal.

    Pucker Factor ... another soft spoken Gorge Rat of the highest caliber ... and yeah .. better not let yo mama see those pictures!

    Nooner ... pal ... glad to see you up there. Hope your fishing trip went even better on the coast.

    Seuss ... always glad to see you ... even if you don't partake of the mush!

    Jbryan ... glad ya made it! From 2Sticks' commentary in her video ... you must have made an impression on her for sure!

    K45Auto ... short visit but fun ... hope to spend time more time with you in the future! The gorge was definitely secure Sunday morning wasn't it!

    Cookie ... thanks for introducing me to a fine ... if not ugly cigar! Great ... absolutely great to see ya again pal!

    Mtncmpr, Ken and Waterbar Jim ... what can I say to my brother members of the First Four ... definitely friends you can count on and be proud to know. Not to mention Jimbo makes a mean DO beef stew and biscuits!

    Well till the video is complete that's my commentary. Thanks for all of you coming and I hope you had a great time. Come back to the gorge when you can especially when you now see how grand it really is. Don't forget to stop by and have some pie or that great breakfast at Louise's Rock House Restaurant! Shirley and Louise are adding the GR Logo to their sign! Yeah it's official ... Louise's Rock House Restaurant is the official eatery of Gorge Rats!

    One more comment ... Hey Shug ... heard any good Poop on a stick stories lately? We sure did!
    Last edited by Hawk-eye; 11-02-2010 at 09:55. Reason: Correction to list

    WARNING: Will discuss Rhurbarb Strawberry Pie and Livermush at random.


    "A democracy is two wolves and a small lamb voting on what to have for dinner.
    Freedom under a constitutional republic is a well armed lamb contesting the vote." ... B.Franklin


    Home of the Gorge Rats: Linville Gorge
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  2. #2
    Senior Member TZBrown's Avatar
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    Hawkeye

    Thanks so much for putting this hang together. I know from experience, it is a LOT of work.
    I hope to be able to hike with you, and attend other hangs in the future.

    TZ
    Life's A Journey
    It's not to arrive safely at the grave in a well preserved body,
    But rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting,
    Woo Hoo!....What a Ride!

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  3. #3
    all secure in sector 7 Shug's Avatar
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    Hawk-eye ..... got a terrific briefing from Hickery last night.
    You done did good ..... now rest your brain.
    Wanna see the WV stealth...
    Shug
    Whooooo Buddy)))) All Secure in Sector Seven

  4. #4
    Senior Member HappyCamper's Avatar
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    Take a look at that list. Who'd want to herd those cats??? But Hawk-eye did it and he did it with patches, pie, and panache! Way to go, buddy! Great hang! Thanks so much.
    Exercise, eat right, die anyway -- Country Roads bumper sticker
    Fall seven times, standup eight. -- Japanese Proverb

  5. #5
    Senior Member Hawk-eye's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TZBrown View Post
    Hawkeye

    Thanks so much for putting this hang together. I know from experience, it is a LOT of work.
    I hope to be able to hike with you, and attend other hangs in the future.

    TZ
    Hope so too pal ... we'll keep you posted on future gatherings. Hope you tote another one of those pies your wife makes next time too!
    Get a little tear in my eye remembering that last bite!

    Quote Originally Posted by Shug View Post
    Hawk-eye ..... got a terrific briefing from Hickery last night.
    You done did good ..... now rest your brain.
    Wanna see the WV stealth...
    Shug
    Did Hickery tell you about the terrible explosion that last night? Got it on video!
    Methane and an open flame ... not a pretty thing!

    Quote Originally Posted by HappyCamper View Post
    Take a look at that list. Who'd want to herd those cats??? But Hawk-eye did it and he did it with patches, pie, and panache! Way to go, buddy! Great hang! Thanks so much.
    Nawh ... not that big a deal ... but it sure was great to see you finally ... and get to cook you up a good old Hunter's Livermush breakfast sam'ich Thursday morning!

    Just realized ... if we could crank the calendar back a week ... we could get a do'over!

    WARNING: Will discuss Rhurbarb Strawberry Pie and Livermush at random.


    "A democracy is two wolves and a small lamb voting on what to have for dinner.
    Freedom under a constitutional republic is a well armed lamb contesting the vote." ... B.Franklin


    Home of the Gorge Rats: Linville Gorge
    My Videos YouTube Channel
    Photo collections Flickr Photostream


    Gorge Rat Productions On FaceBook

  6. #6
    Senior Member Ken's Avatar
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    Couldn't have done it without you Hawk-eye. I'm no organizer. I can follow along and take orders all day, but I'm not boss material. You did a great job and everything fell right into place. Like the HappyCamper said, you presented folks with good stuff and good times, and that's all it takes.

    Ken
    http://www.linvillegorge.net

    "You can't hem up a Rat!" Malcom Johnson, ca. 1970

  7. #7
    Senior Member G.L.P.'s Avatar
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    Sounded like a lot of fun Hawk-eye....can't wait for the Video....
    It puts the Underquilt on it's hammock ... It does this whenever it gets cold

  8. #8
    Senior Member JerryW's Avatar
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    Thanks for everything Hawk-eye! It was great to spend some time, in and around the Big Ditch, with you. I can't wait for the next one!

    The "Search" function is your friend!

  9. #9
    Senior Member Hooch's Avatar
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    Hawk-eye, your planning for this was great! It wouldn't have been the truip that it was without you and all you did to make it happen. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. You're a good man, Charlie Brown. Lookin' forward to the spring trip at The Ditch already.
    "If you play a Nicleback song backwards, you'll hear messages from the devil. Even worse, if you play it forward, you'll hear Nickleback." - Dave Grohl

  10. #10
    Senior Member Hangin' Burrito's Avatar
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    Hawk-eye,

    I couldn't have asked for a better hang, much less a better place to have a hang.

    All I can say is, thank you. I met some great folks, I'd hike/hang with any of them again. The generousity, kindness, and all around welcomed feeling of the people there was just amazing.

    Take care my friend, and I'll see ya' at the next one.
    "Is this the best you've got?!!" (Shortoff Mtn., Linville Gorge 2010)

    "Life is tough.....it's even tougher if you're stupid!".....(John Wayne)

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