Hiking/Camping/Outdoorsy Types

[Katy]

Once I was backpacking in the Cascades with a group (my family isn't quite into going that far ) and we were above the line where snow fell in June. Anyway we stopped to eat lunch, look at everything pretty, and then roll our eyes as the leader decides it is time for an "ice breaking exercise." We take off all our spare clothing so we are standing barefoot in only shorts and shirts and line up on a little snow covered log. Then we are instructed to take a step.

I have never felt colder water in my life.

[KathieK]

We have camped through most of the U.S. We even set up a RAGE camping weekend last year. Lots of fun. BUT my version of camping is in my motorhome with air conditioning, heat, microwave and two TVs! (And did I mention the smoothie maker, turkey fryer, etc. etc.?)

[MissInformation]

Does skydiving count as outdoorsy? If so, that's the most fun outdoorsy thing I've done. The most strangely interesting outdoorsy thing I've ever done is marsh-mucking. And yes, that involves a marsh and muck. Once the mud in the marsh reaches knee level, you have to crawl to go any further. My sister was a nature freak and used to drag me along on trips like this. She tried to teach me what I could eat in the marsh to survive if I got lost. The cat-o-nine tails was not too bad tasting, but I drew the line at a live grass shrimp.

I would love to do some more camping, I've only been a few times. The first time I ever went was a real nightmare, but at least I was willing to go again. I don't care much for hiking trips because the people tend to just want to keep moving at a fast, steady pace and I like to meander and stop and look at things along the way so I always get snarled at for being poky.

Other outdoorsy things that I've enjoyed are cross-country skiing, rafting, tubing (but only when the water level in the river is high) and horseback riding.

Things I would like to do in the future are hang-gliding and spelunking.

Heidi

[Andrew Y.]

i like to do just about any outdoor thing.....

camping
climbing
paintball
off-road
mountain bike
dirt bike
boating
water ski
ski
snowboarding (spent half the time on my butt)
cliff diving


got some pretty good stories if anyone wants to hear em...

[KenWittlief]

ok, how long can a post be?

When I was in college I started going backpacking every June. One trip was a 100 mile loop through the Allegany National Forrest in NE PA. 10 day trip. Went with a close friend. First day our packs weighed 60 lbs each, and we stopped every 40 minutes or so and collapsed.

Your first night out, when it starts getting dark everything is dead quiet and this panic comes over you. You start thinking "This is stupid, if we pack up now we can make it back to the car by midnight" but its too late to leave. Strangely the next morning you feel right at home in the wilderness. I think its something eveyone should do, it changes your whole perspective on life.

The last day we were out we could not find water along the trail all morning. By noon we were getting pretty thirsty, and there was a good size stream we were due to cross. For some strange reason I had a sudden craving for beer, which is weird cause I dont really like beer. We come across the stream, and sitting on a rock, right in the middle, with water flowing half around it, is a can of beer! The sun was shining down through the trees, like a spot light, on the can of beer. We just stood there in disbelief, and yelled out to see if anyone was around. it was like someone was filming a commercial.

My friend gets an idea, and runs downstream a bit, and finds another can. Someone must have put them in the stream to cool, and left them.

So we are both standing there, still with our packs on (now mostly empty), when we hear this clamor coming up the trail from the other direction. We start thinking (ut oh!).

These 6 college kids come up to the stream, drenched in sweat, drop their packs, and start drinking from the stream. they barely noticed us at first. Then they started asking us:

How long have you been out here? ten days
How far did you hike? about 100 miles

they had started out that morning, only a few miles down the trail. After a long pause, one finally asked, "Where did you get the beer?!"

I looked him straight in the eyes and said, "Didnt you guys bring any beer?"

He shook his head and said "you got any more?"

I finished the can, crushed it in my hand, and said "Sorry, last one!"

You had to see us to fully appreciate, we were in great shape after 100 miles, we still had our packs on, standing there with our worn hiking staffs. They stared at us with their mouths open, like they were in the presence of some sort of Lumber-Jack Gods.

The other thing I really love to do now is sailing. There is a mystical quality when you pull in the main sail and the vessel accelerates silently through the water. Everytime you sail the conditions are different. I have been out in 8 foot whitecaps, where I could just barely keep the boat under control, and I have been in the bay in 2mph winds, where my HobieCat slid across the glassy water like a hot air ballon drifting through the sky.

And trapping out, where you are hooked into a harness that runs to the top of the mast, and you stand on the outside of the windward hull of the catamaran, leaning back sideways. when the hull lifts up out of the water you dont think about ANYTHING else but the next wave you are about to crash through, and the subtle changes of the wind on your face, as you instinctively work the tiller and mainsail to keep the boat up on one hull, flying along at 20mph.

Its something everyone should be required to do, at least once.

[spadercool]

I also am going on a cruise to Alaska and going down a mountain in Danali National Park for my senior vacation.

[Pit boss 384]

I've had a lot of fun outdoor experiences.But one that sticks out was a couple of summers ago, I was on a mountain biking trip down some melted ski slopes in west Virginia, having blast, and hitting jumps like crazy. That year we used a rental company so we didn't have to hall our bikes to west Virginia. I regret that. Half way down the slope I lost my brakes and started to go faster than I wanted to go. To say the least, I ended up with a stick stuck in my head and had a helicopter trip to UVA. What was cool was that I was conscience the whole time. I'm OK now. But it was fun.