Backpacking Day 2
First, go check out the post and comments at www.gregengland.com called “You Make the Call.” Very interesting and I’m interested to hear your take.
Second, my law firm took 5 years off my life today when it appeared they had changed our firm's internet policy and were blocking 80 percent of our web access (including all blogs) and would give us time limit to use the rest. It appears now that this may have all been a terrible mistake, but my heart has already suffered the damage. Nevertheless, if I can’t update this blog while spending hours on phone conference meetings, my short lived blogging career could be in serious jeopardy.
Third, here is the continuing report on my backpacking trip:
The night before we left on our trip my Dad informed me that there were large forest fires burning out of control near where we were planning to hike and camp. It was impossible to get an accurate report on how near or whether the area would be closed, or engulfed in flames, so we decided to stay the course. It may seem strange to you that we were completely undaunted by the idea that we could be hiking into a fiery furnace, but we Stumps are not ones to let a little something like caution interfere with camping.
Allow me a quick story to demonstrate what I’m talking about. A few years ago, my father, brothers and I went backpacking in Canada. When we arrived at the trailhead we were informed that there was a bear or bears who had been “harassing” hikers on the trail. Apparently the bear or bears had been telling inappropriate jokes and yelling profanity at passers by. Anyway, our collective response was to buy a single can of “bear mace” and decide that everything would work out fine.
As you might expect, bear mace was created to deal with the escalating problem of bear muggers on the New York subway, but was now being marketed to outdoor enthusiasts who hoped to commune with nature by spraying nature in the eyes with liquid pepper. To be honest, the whole notion of bear mace was quite disturbing to me. First, since the range on the mace was less than 300 yards, making use of this product would mean that I was much closer to a bear than I should be. Second, I had a hard time convincing myself that a wild animal at the top of the food chain equipped with claws and teeth roughly the size of a bowie knives, would be anything but greatly annoyed if upon deciding to eat me I made his eyes sting really bad. Third, as a product liability attorney I had to check out the warning label which included instructions not to spray the spray around my tent as a bear repellent as the pepper spray would actually attract…wait for it…bears!!! What?
So, let me get this straight, I’m supposed to rely on a product to protect me from bears that actually attracts other bears. So, the good news is, I’ve made a hungry bear really irritated with me by blinding him for a few seconds while I stand trembling soiling myself. Meanwhile, I’ve managed to attract other bears from miles around to join in the fun at my expense. What a fantastic product. I can’t see why we don’t hear more about the “bear mace millionaires” buying up sports franchises with all their newfound wealth.
Anyway, in spite of the potential to be eaten or more likely harassed by bears, we headed off on our trek. Similarly, when hearing of fire, we simply figured it would work out in spite of the fact our left over can of bear mace would not protect us from fire. On the way to the trail head I called the ranger to ask about the fire and had the following conversation:
Me: Uh, yeah, I am headed down to the Frog Camp/Obsidian trail area and I understand there is a fire somewhere near there?
Ranger: Yes, that’s right.
Me: Well, are the trails going to still be open?
Ranger: Yes, the fire in that area is nowhere near there.
Me: (momentarily pondering the lunacy of that statement) Hmmm…ok then. Thanks.
So, since the fire in the area we were headed was nowhere near the area where we were headed, I assured the rest of our party that all would be fine. When we reached the trail head we were greeted with the sound of a fire helicopter overhead as it carried an enormous water bucket roughly in the direction we were to be hiking. Apparently by “nowhere near” the ranger meant that we would not actually be on fire when we started the hike. Oh well, no one wanted to let a silly little thing like fire stop us, so we took off.
More later….
Second, my law firm took 5 years off my life today when it appeared they had changed our firm's internet policy and were blocking 80 percent of our web access (including all blogs) and would give us time limit to use the rest. It appears now that this may have all been a terrible mistake, but my heart has already suffered the damage. Nevertheless, if I can’t update this blog while spending hours on phone conference meetings, my short lived blogging career could be in serious jeopardy.
Third, here is the continuing report on my backpacking trip:
The night before we left on our trip my Dad informed me that there were large forest fires burning out of control near where we were planning to hike and camp. It was impossible to get an accurate report on how near or whether the area would be closed, or engulfed in flames, so we decided to stay the course. It may seem strange to you that we were completely undaunted by the idea that we could be hiking into a fiery furnace, but we Stumps are not ones to let a little something like caution interfere with camping.
Allow me a quick story to demonstrate what I’m talking about. A few years ago, my father, brothers and I went backpacking in Canada. When we arrived at the trailhead we were informed that there was a bear or bears who had been “harassing” hikers on the trail. Apparently the bear or bears had been telling inappropriate jokes and yelling profanity at passers by. Anyway, our collective response was to buy a single can of “bear mace” and decide that everything would work out fine.
As you might expect, bear mace was created to deal with the escalating problem of bear muggers on the New York subway, but was now being marketed to outdoor enthusiasts who hoped to commune with nature by spraying nature in the eyes with liquid pepper. To be honest, the whole notion of bear mace was quite disturbing to me. First, since the range on the mace was less than 300 yards, making use of this product would mean that I was much closer to a bear than I should be. Second, I had a hard time convincing myself that a wild animal at the top of the food chain equipped with claws and teeth roughly the size of a bowie knives, would be anything but greatly annoyed if upon deciding to eat me I made his eyes sting really bad. Third, as a product liability attorney I had to check out the warning label which included instructions not to spray the spray around my tent as a bear repellent as the pepper spray would actually attract…wait for it…bears!!! What?
So, let me get this straight, I’m supposed to rely on a product to protect me from bears that actually attracts other bears. So, the good news is, I’ve made a hungry bear really irritated with me by blinding him for a few seconds while I stand trembling soiling myself. Meanwhile, I’ve managed to attract other bears from miles around to join in the fun at my expense. What a fantastic product. I can’t see why we don’t hear more about the “bear mace millionaires” buying up sports franchises with all their newfound wealth.
Anyway, in spite of the potential to be eaten or more likely harassed by bears, we headed off on our trek. Similarly, when hearing of fire, we simply figured it would work out in spite of the fact our left over can of bear mace would not protect us from fire. On the way to the trail head I called the ranger to ask about the fire and had the following conversation:
Me: Uh, yeah, I am headed down to the Frog Camp/Obsidian trail area and I understand there is a fire somewhere near there?
Ranger: Yes, that’s right.
Me: Well, are the trails going to still be open?
Ranger: Yes, the fire in that area is nowhere near there.
Me: (momentarily pondering the lunacy of that statement) Hmmm…ok then. Thanks.
So, since the fire in the area we were headed was nowhere near the area where we were headed, I assured the rest of our party that all would be fine. When we reached the trail head we were greeted with the sound of a fire helicopter overhead as it carried an enormous water bucket roughly in the direction we were to be hiking. Apparently by “nowhere near” the ranger meant that we would not actually be on fire when we started the hike. Oh well, no one wanted to let a silly little thing like fire stop us, so we took off.
More later….
Comments
Just a question - How do they know which 80% to block? (It's like the old joke about the thermos keeping hot things hot and cold things cold - how do it know?)