ftwildernessguy

I am told I bear a striking resemblance to Dale Gribble.

I don't see that as a screw up. I see it as a great business move.
Eisner saw that Disney was losing the convention and large meeting business to off property hotels. He, and others, decided they needed a convention-oriented hotel near Epcot and they got someone else to pay for it.
Eisner did what he had to do during his tenure to bring the Disney company, and WDW, out of the financial rut that it was in. He's credited by many to revitalizing the company and removing the risk of it being a victim of a hostile takeover. Which they were before he arrived.

Some of you will remember that Matt and I went on a hike last August to get used to backpacking in all the gear we would need for an overnight stay in the wilderness.  Matt is in Boy Scouts and I have had the pleasure of getting to learn a lot by hanging out with these guys and Matt.
 
Well, last years trip was a learning experience where we discovered that a comfortable pack was important.  The pack he was carrying did not fit right and he was uncomfortable shortly after we started.  On that trip we did get to the shelter, put on a lot of miles on the trail and overnighted in a really nice place.  BUT…, we never made the summit.
 
Two weeks later we returned to the area with the Boy Scout troop and climbed the same mountain (not a very challenging mountain either).  Matt was still not a happy camper after the prior attempt and stayed near the base working on orienteering skills with another group while I went with the rest of the kids and other adults to climb to the summit.  We made a rookie mistake of not verifying that each kid had enough water for the hike. Lesson to other adults out there, simply asking the kids if they have enough water is not enough.  Two of the kids that were in our group only had one small water bottle with them on a hot sunny day, and we had to turn around at about half a mile from the summit because the group was running low on water. 
 
So, over the winter we were complaining about our failures and decided we would have to give this a third try.  Matt is now a year older and growing like a weed.  One of his friends in the troop and his Dad (both were on the second attempt to summit) and the troop leader agreed that this would have to be planned.  So, starting in mid-February, we all put together our calendars and lined up a date to get the job done.
 
Our plan was to take the Piper Trail up to Penacook Shelter again, just a three mile hike, and set up camp mid day.  Then we would take off for the summit with just water and maybe a few other items and finish the last 1.5 miles without the 30 pounds on our backs.
 
We started from central MA at 7:00 on Sunday morning for the three hour drive up to the parking lot.  The weather was great on the way up and we were really stoked for this trip.  Matt and I had picked up two more modern packs through the scout shop last year during a fantastic clearance sale that our local scout outfitter told us about (two customizable Osprey packs that can be adjusted to different sizes over the years for less than a cost of a single pack at the local outfitters).
 
Some signs at the trail head:
 

 

 
Think the Fort will ever go to self service pay stations?  In case you are wondering, they do check and anyone who does not pay will get a hefty ticket or towed out of the parking lot.
 

 
As you can probably tell, the weather was great.  Temperatures in the high 70’s, partly cloudy with a little bit of a breeze.  After having three weeks of 90+ degree humid days, we were enjoying this change.  The trail starts out fairly well maintained with a gradual incline for the first mile or so.
 

 
We cross over brooks several times or near them on the climb.  Another reason why this hike is good for the first few pack trips – if you bring a filter you don’t need to carry a lot of water to drink.
 

 
 
And then we start to climb, gradually at first:
 

 
And then the real dreaded switchbacks as the trail gets steeper:
 

 

 
 
And higher we go, like stair climbing on rocks:
 
 

 
 
At last we reach the 3.1 mile mark where the junction to the spur trail takes off toward the shelter.  That is such a welcome relief to know we can drop 30 pounds at the shelter and finish with nothing but a water bottle!
 

 
But they don’t give up the shelter that easily, you have about a half mile scramble over little used or maintained trail to get there:
 

 
following little signs like the yellow paint on the tree (above photo) or small signs like this which are hard to notice if you aren’t looking for them:
 

 
Matt knows we are close, and is a lot happier on this trip:
 

 
Finally we get a break and take some time to eat lunch:
 

 
 
It was about this time that we notice clouds beginning to roll in, so we decide to head for the summit.  The radar (this side of the mountain also has spotty cell phone coverage and we could check the radar on our phones) shows some good rain heading east, but near the border of NH and VT, so we feel confident we can make it in time.
 
A pause along the ridge headed to the summit:
 

 
Then the clouds really roll in.  Matt pretending to be the character on the advertisement for the video game “Assassin’s Creed”:
 

 
 
And finally we find the highest point while wandering around in the clouds.  Sort of creepy but cool to have “fog” rolling around and partially obscuring your line of sight.  The peak of Chocorua seems very steep and very unusual for northeast mountains which tend to be round tops or not so steep.
 

 
Then we headed back down to start dinner before the rains come.  I grabbed a few more shots along the trails that run the ridge between Middle Sister Mountain and Chocorua:
 

 
I didn’t get any photos of dinner, but it was another one pot meal cooked over the alcohol stove followed by granola bars for desert hunkered down in the shelter while the rains pounded the metal roof.  One of the adults also brought out a surprise flask so that the adults could have a small celebratory toast of Jameson!  That hit the spot.  An added bonus of sleeping on a wood floor with very thin sleeping pads – the kids said none of us really snored that bad!  We typically snore so bad that the trees shake, but not this night!
 
It rained hard all night but we stayed dry in the shelter.  We had draped our rain fly tarps over the entrance to keep the blowing mist out and we were very comfortable.  I woke in time for sunrise the next morning and grabbed this shot while waiting for the coffee:
 

 
and the shelter:
 
 

 
Coffee above the clouds – can you smell the aroma?  Wish you were there?  I do.
 

 
 
We finished breakfast, grabbed our gear and some extra trash others left at the shelter and off we went to the base.
 

 
We always find a great local spot along the trip home to tank up after our camping trips and we stopped at a 50’s style diner for a brunch at noon. 
 

 
And what would a trip report be without pood forn?  Useless in my mind, so here is the long awaited obligatory shot of Matt’s small little nosh called the Cadillac special.  He finished.  I paid J
 

 
It’s not a fort trip, but I needed to prove we could summit that mountain.  Now we can choose our next peak adventure and climb even higher and gain more experience.
 
 
 
 

The ball was probably lubed when the new hitch was installed.  However, wether or not it's still lubed is a good question.  I do know that IH does occasionally lube the stinger before sliding it into the receiver....

I'm thinking those two folks on horseback are fixin' to rob that there train!

ok, I am going to chime in, I know you really really want a camper, who wouldn't. The problem I see here is that you are "trying to make" your van capable of towing what you can tow and not what you really want to tow.
 
My personal feeling is that you are going to put a lot of money that has no redeeming value when you trade your van in. For what cash you are putting into this vehicle you still aren't sure it will do the job that you want it too. From what I gather that doesn't include the weight dis hitch either, just the reciever.
 
For a quarter the amount of $ you are spending on upgrading your van you could buy the nicest tent set up available and wait until its car buying time and get what you need then get what you really WANT to camp in.

On the plus side, without knowing where to find a plug here and there, you all would have missed out on the glory that was this...
 

 
Because for sure there would have been no evidence of our 24 Hours of Mayhem without every once in a while needing to do this...
 

 
But in a normal Disney day, consider this...
while all those people are sitting around waiting for their beloved electronics to charge, the rest of us can be doing this

I had a hub go out this past trip.  Got to call out the  folks at Tom Raper RV in IN. I believe Doug was the tech and Daryl was the service manager.  I was in and out over 3 hours on a Monday morning. 1 hub replaced and 4 packed.
 
I had help a friend RVers - as he pulled into the rest stop I informed him that his RV sounded like it was dragging a pipe.  Like it was rolling a pipe over the ground. He whipped out his IR meter and did his hub and tires and mine. Said I had one hub a little warmer.....  I gave him my hitch grease, hoping it would help out....  it's odd how Karma works... 3 hours later I pulled in and my hub was bad.  Luck or karma not really sure but not going to question either..   around $300 for 4 hubs greased and 1 bearing replace....
 
I had my hubs done in 2011 at local shop. It's cheap insurance, especially if you are taking an extended trip and have not had them done in a while.

Latex.

After exhausting avenues trying to find an owner, we have decided to keep him and help him through his twilight years.  Hope somebody does that for me someday....lol.

I also don't see how throwing TCD will help this matter.

Murphy on a camping trip, not the Fort. He will be going for the first time this fall.

Mickey's final trip to the Fort. He loved going to Best Friends.

DEET. 100%. Jungle tested. Endorsed by FWGuy.

Shame on you all anyone should be able to see Larry has a disability.(either his mother didn't love him or maybe he just has a small member)

You better get 4 new ones unless you have a short trip home. The other 3 won't be far behind. I know from experience.

I was messing around with the timer feature on the camera. You got me.

Celebrity alert. First of all, that guy across the row from you on TOT could be your long lost brother.
The guy with the Salacious t shirt is Jon Cryer.
Guy in the robe - Al from Home Improvement
None other than Oprah under the Star Tours sign.

Why couldn't disney pick a good coffee shop. WDW went from muddy water to burn coffee.
Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

Is this what you guys are talking about?

If it wasn't for me carrying, Little Red would have been taken away by those poachers.

If it wasn't for me carrying, Little Red would have been taken away by those poachers.

Come on, people! What is wrong with you? You are going back in time to retrieve a Dinosaur during a meteor shower! Unarmed? I don't think so! I personally have been nearly eaten by some huge carnivore, not to mention dive bombed by a pterodactyl!

If you were an alien looking at the earth thru a telescope and saw four legged furry creatures leading two legged hairless ones around by a leash, and the two legged ones function seemed to be to follow the 4 legged ones around waiting for them to poop so they could pick it up, who do you think the alien would think was in charge on earth?

If you were an alien looking at the earth thru a telescope and saw four legged furry creatures leading two legged hairless ones around by a leash, and the two legged ones function seemed to be to follow the 4 legged ones around waiting for them to poop so they could pick it up, who do you think the alien would think was in charge on earth?