Hi everyone --
I have SO MUCH to tell you all, I hardly know where to begin. Firstly
I survived the Planet Walk/Gray Pine experience! Thanks to everyone
who got me prepared/psyched up for those hills. I cannot believe
Mimulus does it voluntarily on a regular basis. We got there at 11:00
and got back to the parking lot at 5:30 - 6 1/2 hours! But keep in
mind that it took me an hour and half just to go the 1,000 feet to Mars
due to all the stamping in I had to do (there were HHs involved to
complicate everything). Although it never rained very hard, there were
some small showers and constant drizzle up on the ridge. John had the
brilliant idea of bringing along a folding chair which came in very
handy when the other option was sitting in the mud to stamp in. We
were fully equipped with umbrellas, food, flashlights and a cell phone.
Unfortunately, like aT and H. Amadeus, we missed Pluto on the way back.
I think it must have been where the trail splits and there are no
markers - and we made the wrong choice. Otherwise we got everything
and got back to our B&B dirty and exhausted, but quite smug!
The most harrowing part of the adventure was when we had to cross the
creek to get to Gray Pine - as you all know it has been raining a lot
and so the creek was running high. We had to take our shoes and socks
off to ford the thing (the water came up almost to my knees!) and then
had to do it again when you cross the creek the second time.
I'm sending the SitReps on the other areas I travelled to separately so
they can be found more easily in the future. Over the 4-day weekend I
ended up with F38 P2 (+ replanted 2) and should have got X3 except the
people didn't have their stamps. 22 of the Fs were Mimulus's!
-- Princess Lea
Suglarloaf
4 messages in this thread |
Started on 2005-02-23
Suglarloaf
From: Lea Shangraw Fox (princesslea@alamedanet.net) |
Date: 2005-02-23 09:16:07 UTC-08:00
Re: Suglarloaf
From: carolehada (akacejay@comcast.net) |
Date: 2005-02-23 21:08:20 UTC
Congratulations Princess Lea and family!! Sounds like you got an
enviable amount of stamps for a week-end and it seems like you made
great time on the Sugarloaf loop, and in nasty weather at that. Now
tell me how this compares to Blackbirds Oakland Hills series. Can we
do it?
I think that everyone that does the loop from Gray Pine misses Pluto.
We missed it the first time, the Boxalots, artTrekker and Healdsburg
Amadeus and perhaps there were others.
My advice to anyone that is reading this and may be planning to do
this combination series loop keep in mind that even though that hill
ahead seems to be the straw that will break the camels back and very
possibly yours as well, you have to take it to get Pluto. Any time
you have the opportunity to take the path of least resistance, don't!
Do not veer left!! It's always up,up, up and over!!! But, don't let
all of this talk scare you from getting these series. These are all
great stamps and it is a beautiful area and worth the pain. smile
Carole of DKK
Re: [LbNCA] Re: Suglarloaf
From: Inbal Kashtan (inbalka@mindspring.com) |
Date: 2005-02-23 14:53:07 UTC-08:00
I'm laughing.... cause I couldn't quite face the huge hill to Pluto when we
went up there (we were first finders). I started it, but realized there was
a big "should" in there, and chose instead to go back to the picnic table
and finish Abamit and her Shadow. My partner and 6 year old son braved the
hill and made it - and there was a surprise there! The way down, they
reported, was harder than the way up.
So you can follow my example: send a different member of your party up
there....
:-)
Alien Explorer
> From: "carolehada"
> Reply-To: LbNCA@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 21:08:20 -0000
> To: LbNCA@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [LbNCA] Re: Suglarloaf
>
>
>
> Congratulations Princess Lea and family!! Sounds like you got an
> enviable amount of stamps for a week-end and it seems like you made
> great time on the Sugarloaf loop, and in nasty weather at that. Now
> tell me how this compares to Blackbirds Oakland Hills series. Can we
> do it?
>
> I think that everyone that does the loop from Gray Pine misses Pluto.
>
> We missed it the first time, the Boxalots, artTrekker and Healdsburg
> Amadeus and perhaps there were others.
>
> My advice to anyone that is reading this and may be planning to do
> this combination series loop keep in mind that even though that hill
> ahead seems to be the straw that will break the camels back and very
> possibly yours as well, you have to take it to get Pluto. Any time
> you have the opportunity to take the path of least resistance, don't!
> Do not veer left!! It's always up,up, up and over!!! But, don't let
> all of this talk scare you from getting these series. These are all
> great stamps and it is a beautiful area and worth the pain. smile
>
> Carole of DKK
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
went up there (we were first finders). I started it, but realized there was
a big "should" in there, and chose instead to go back to the picnic table
and finish Abamit and her Shadow. My partner and 6 year old son braved the
hill and made it - and there was a surprise there! The way down, they
reported, was harder than the way up.
So you can follow my example: send a different member of your party up
there....
:-)
Alien Explorer
> From: "carolehada"
> Reply-To: LbNCA@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 21:08:20 -0000
> To: LbNCA@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [LbNCA] Re: Suglarloaf
>
>
>
> Congratulations Princess Lea and family!! Sounds like you got an
> enviable amount of stamps for a week-end and it seems like you made
> great time on the Sugarloaf loop, and in nasty weather at that. Now
> tell me how this compares to Blackbirds Oakland Hills series. Can we
> do it?
>
> I think that everyone that does the loop from Gray Pine misses Pluto.
>
> We missed it the first time, the Boxalots, artTrekker and Healdsburg
> Amadeus and perhaps there were others.
>
> My advice to anyone that is reading this and may be planning to do
> this combination series loop keep in mind that even though that hill
> ahead seems to be the straw that will break the camels back and very
> possibly yours as well, you have to take it to get Pluto. Any time
> you have the opportunity to take the path of least resistance, don't!
> Do not veer left!! It's always up,up, up and over!!! But, don't let
> all of this talk scare you from getting these series. These are all
> great stamps and it is a beautiful area and worth the pain. smile
>
> Carole of DKK
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Re: [LbNCA] Re: Suglarloaf
From: Lea Shangraw Fox (princesslea@alamedanet.net) |
Date: 2005-02-26 10:17:30 UTC-08:00
On Feb 23, 2005, at 1:08 PM, carolehada wrote:
>
> Now tell me how this compares to Blackbirds Oakland Hills series. Can
> we
> do it?
Personally I had ore difficulty with the Oakland boxes, but that is
probably because I was still a little sick at the time, and also
because I was not mentally prepared for the challenge. Had both those
things corrected when I got to Sugarloaf, so I think that if you made
it through that one stretch between boxes 4 and 5 for Gray Pine, you
would probably survive Who Goes There.
>
> I think that everyone that does the loop from Gray Pine misses Pluto.
>
> We missed it the first time, the Boxalots, artTrekker and Healdsburg
> Amadeus and perhaps there were others.
>
> My advice to anyone that is reading this and may be planning to do
> this combination series loop keep in mind that even though that hill
> ahead seems to be the straw that will break the camels back and very
> possibly yours as well, you have to take it to get Pluto. Any time
> you have the opportunity to take the path of least resistance, don't!
> Do not veer left!! It's always up,up, up and over!!! But, don't let
> all of this talk scare you from getting these series. These are all
> great stamps and it is a beautiful area and worth the pain. smile
>
> Carole of DKK
>
>
So, you are saying it was back where the trail splits off to the actual
Brushy Peak? That means it actually leaves the trail, at least
according to my map. That's why I didn't go up there! There was
another place where the trail divided, and that's where I thought I
missed Pluto (that time I went up, instead of taking the side route).
Sorry, but I AIN'T going back for Pluto!
-- Princess Lea