Those who went were Ben Bauman, Jim Fischer, Andrew Hoffman, Justin Meyer, Kai Tikkanen, Robert Wallace, John Ward, and Robert Zimmerman, along with Mr. Zimmerman – Scoutmaster, Mrs. Tikkanen – Troop Committee, Mr. Hoffman and Mr. Meyer, Assistant Scoutmasters.
Saturday, June 25th
We left Mr. Zimmerman’s house at 5:35 AM, but John Ward forgot his Scout Shirt, Mr. Meyer forgot extra keys and Ben forgot his Scout Book, so we reassembled again at the US Bank on Moorland Rd. and left Milwaukee at 6:00 AM. Ben’s mom, Cindy Yomantas joined the caravan, as she was driving to Louisville to pick up her parents, and then pick up Ben at the end of the hiking trip to take him to Notre Dame for basketball. Mr. Meyer got a lot of grief because it was appearing that he was trying to lose the other cars while driving through Chicago expressway traffic, but they couldn’t be shaken. We stopped at an exit after the Skyway to move Ben and Andrew into our cars while Mrs. Yomantas went south on I65. We took the toll way across Indiana and Ohio, stopping for lunch at a freeway oasis, with our destination of the day being at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. We arrived there about 2:00 in the afternoon and the Hall of Fame closed at 5. It was inspirational for all the Rock and Rollers on the trip, including a wonderful “Tommy” exhibit up at the top, the Hall of Fame with the signatures of all the artists on the wall, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and the ability to listen to hundreds of music albums on headphones. The store was a huge hit also, where boys bought t-shirts and rock and roll CD’s to be played in the car. We drove to the Boy Scout Camp Manatauk and found our campsite. There were no scouters at the camp, since it was a Saturday night, and it was in between sessions, just like Long Lake. We were at the Valley Forge Campsite. We slept in the Boy Scout tents with wood floors. We were in the wooded hills. It was a beautiful setting. For dinner, we had tacos. Mr. Meyer and Mrs. Tikkanen left camp to go to a grocery store for bread, which was also forgotten back in Milwaukee. Almost everyone took an unescorted walking tour of the Boy Scout camp. The boys enjoyed petting the horses. Everyone was in bed by 10:30 PM
Sunday, June 26th
We were up at 7:00 AM for cereal, blueberries and coffee. We packed up and left by 8:00 AM, taking Hwy 77 to the Canton Football Hall of Fame, which opened at 9:00 AM. The boys felt that this museum was much more organized than the rock and roll museum. The original football field had a 5-yard grid on it, and that is why the playing field is currently referred to as a gridiron. Quarterbacks could not scramble beyond one grid. Curly Lambeau and Don Hutson were featured, along with many other Packers. Canton, Ohio was chosen for the Football Hall of Fame because in the late 1800’s a Canton car dealer, who was the owner of the Canton Bulldogs, called the meeting of all the owners to start the football league. The Green Bay Packers are the third oldest team in football; the oldest being Decatur, the team which became the Bears and the Chicago team which became the Arizona Cardinals. Green Bay is one of the few teams not to ever change location. We went to a special presentation called “Game Day” in a revolving theatre where we were treated to a HUGE movie screen and surround sound Super Bowl Game. We had lunch on the lawn at the Hall of Fame. Everyone thought the pickles were excellent, and sandwiches! We stopped in Ravenswood, WV for gas and ice cream. One scout was quoted while being pulled off a one-armed bandit: “But I could have won $50!” This on a .25¢ “game of chance” machine. At Dairy Queen, the troop spent $17.96 on ice cream. The boy’s chose to upgrade for $21.25 to get larger, and more toppings.
Mrs. Tikkanen’s car was referred to as the “quiet” car. Mr. Hoffman’s car was referred to as the “singing” car and Mr. Meyer’s car was the “rock and roll” car, because we had a CD player and would play the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame CD’s quite loud.
In one of the many famous quotes from the trip, Jimmy asked, “Are we here?” Andrew answered, “Yes.” Jimmy said, “I mean, are we there?” Andrew said, “Well, you’ll never be there.” Also, Mr. Meyer asked of those in the back seat, “Is this music too loud?” Jimmy answered, “Not any more!” At 6:30 PM we arrived at the Hurricane Campground, set up tents and had dinner.
The Hurricane Campground had been rated by National Geographic and Camping Magazine as one of the best campgrounds in the US. It was clean, well organized. The cost was $14.00. The host was quite accommodating. It had showers, a stream running through it and was about a half mile from the Appalachian Trail. We took advantage of the warm showers, and as it became dark, the lightning bugs came out. This was an incredible sight. The stream provided the background music, the lightning bugs in the trees surrounding the campsite provided the illusion that we were in a stadium and everyone was taking flash photos of the opening pitch. The stars were also out without the moon, so it was a totally black environment, except for the stars and the lightning bugs. As the lightning bugs flew through the air three of four feet from the ground, they created a glow on the ground.
Monday, July 27th
We were up at 6:00 AM, had breakfast and packed and were ready to leave on the hike at 8:40 AM. With our scale present, we noted that the people left with packs of the following weights:
We left the campsite with the scouts in the lead. Since we had a 4-day hike and eight scouts, each scout got to lead for ½ day. They reviewed the map and set off in the direction, which we discovered turned out to be the wrong direction! It was a valuable lesson in orienteering, compass reading and map reading. We then returned to camp and departed on another path at 9:44 AM.
It was ½ mile up to the Appalachian Trail, on a blue path. The Appalachian Trail is marked with a white rectangle on trees and stones. We had lunch on the trail at the side of the path. Everyone laid down on their packs after a long, hard climb up a steep impasse. We took off our shoes, sat on our packs and had a 5-minute silent period. The was known as "The Barefoot Pass-Out!"
We got water from a stream and used the iodine. The rain started, we put on our pack covers. At one point, we met up with about 20 youth from a Christian Bible Mission as we crossed Virginia 606 Highway. We passed about 5 other people on the path. We stopped at the Old Orchard Shelter and set up our tents for camp. We had walked 8 ½ miles on the Appalachian Train; ½ mile up to the Appalachian Trail and 1 mile for a practice hike. We ate Mrs. Tikkanen’s dehydrated meal and pudding for dinner. At dinner, we started a tradition of “Roses and Thorns” in which each boy had to say one thing that was really great about the day and one thing that wasn’t so great. The most popular rose was Mrs. Tikkanen's food and being together again on a hike. The thorns included the two rainstorms (one in which we just barely ran into our tents after getting the bear line in place), the climbing, sore hips, the boy’s arguing and the switchbacks on the trail. At 8:15 PM we got into our tents just as the third rain of the day started. Some tents got wet. There was an inch and a half of rain overnight. The wind blew hard.
Tuesday, July 28
We were up between 6 and 6:30 AM. It had been difficult to sleep because of the rain. At 8:30 AM we departed the Old Orchard Shelter Camping Area. We stopped for a 20-minute snack about 10:00 AM. We came to a clearing up near the top of a hill where we saw a horse corral where there was a church group playing Frisbee and a small group of boys and dads. The troop played football. Someone took a photograph of Justin leaving the girl's bathroom. The latrine was extremely refreshing, since the design created a bit of an updraft. What a group.
We had lunch at the Wise Shelter during a heavy downpour. This area was restricted for “No Camping” since the landscape was becoming fatigued. We met a group of 12 Girl Scouts and 3 leaders from High Point, NC. When they told us about the ponies up at the top of Massey Pass, they said the ponies would lick your hands because of the salt. The boys joked that they would have a pony for dinner tonight, and the girls were quite disgusted.
We got to Massey Pass, and we saw the small ponies. The boys named one of the ponies “Dinner.” We then had to climb up from this clearing to the peak. There were rock steps. It was very difficult. This part of the trip was harder than Colorado.
We went through Fat Man's Squeeze and the common phrase was that “the path is all downhill except for the up parts!” Along the path, we had met Bob, Russell, Art, Kurt and Rod (inside joke). The boys also developed Ben’s dream sequence.
We found a campsite near Rhododendron Gap. Justin, Zimmy, Ben and Rob went for water about a half mile down the path. They needed to pump the water. They would have been back earlier except that they “waited for a lady to do it her way” even though the boys had some suggestions for her. Those staying behind made camp, prepared dinner, set the bear line. When the four boys returned after quite a long time, everyone was relieved. When Mr. Zimmerman was trying to get the mess kit out of Zimmy’s pack, Zimmy said, “What’s wrong with you dad? I’m not trying to help you, I’m trying to eat!” That brought a large laugh to a group of very tired hikers. we hung the bear bags and went to bed. During this time we had a small fire, but no one had the energy to sit up around the fire for very long. At 10:30 PM we went to bed; it had been a tough day. Please see Appendix for an extensive report on the dream. Thorns for the day included the climbing and the feet. The roses included Mrs. Tikkanen’s food, as always, and Ben’s Dream Sequence. Quotes of the day are: When someone asked Kai how his feet were his reply was, “Fine, I can’t feel them anymore!” When someone indicated they were so hungry they could eat a horse, Jimmy’s reply was “Why carry a horse?”
Wednesday, July 29th
We were awake at 6:45 AM, which began a bet. The bet was that the boys could break camp and be ready to leave by 8:00. If the boys did it by 8:00, they’d get a 5-Quart Gallon of ice cream with all the toppings they wanted. Mr. Zimmerman and Mr. Meyer had a side bet. If the boys were able to do it, Mr. Meyer got (2) Mint Dilly Bars. If the boys couldn’t do it, Mr. Zimmerman got (2) Mint Dilly Bars. The Boys did it and we bought the ice cream later in the trip. (Mr. Meyer has yet to receive his (2) Mint Dilly Bars!) We left camp and went to the shelter and got water. This was the same place the boys had returned to the night before, called Thomas Knob. We saw a family with two dogs, Lucy and Jasmine.
Along the way, we found the access path to Mt. Rogers. It was a half-mile up to the U.S. Geological Marker, which indicated the top of Virginia. It was a wooded, dark tunnel. And at one point, near Mount Rogers, Mr. Zimmerman sat down and Rob referred to himself as being in a “perfect state of mind.” He was very peaceful at the moment. The group.
Along the path, we met a through hiker by the name of Tackle. Tackle indicated if we met up with Lucky and Firefly we were to send his regards. He had left May 1st from Georgia and was going to walk until September 31st. He had seen three bear cubs and a mom, a coyote, and he had lost 40 pounds. He also decided to stop if he were to lose 100 pounds, which he could have done.
We got to Buzzard Peak, which is a high point along the trail. It was a beautiful view in 360o. Some boys wanted to go on the next 3 miles to a campsite closer to the exit point. Several boys wanted to stay.
One of the hikers on the trail at the top indicated that there was a place to camp about a half mile down near the stream. We did not find that spot and so we went three miles down the path to Hwy 58. This was a very difficult time in the trip because the walking downhill for three miles was extremely painful. The boys had made this decision, but it was not a consensus decision, but it may have been a majority.
We found a clearing away from the highway in an old campsite, just before dark. We got into the campsite at 8:30 PM. We had 45 minutes of daylight to set up. The boys cooked and set up the tents. We were in bed before dark. The boys sat outside the tent for Mr. Zimmerman, Mr. Meyer and Mr. Hoffman and told the story of “Ben’s Dream” found in Appendix “A.” Mr. Zimmerman fell asleep and was snoring during the storytelling.
Thursday, July 30th
We woke up at 7:15 AM. The boys lost the bet on camp breakdown and did not get additional ice cream. We hiked up to Lost Mountain Shelter where we met another pair of campers who had slept in the shelter the night before. We did the thorns and roses from Wednesday. The thorns included the long hike, cooking utensils baked with food, the attitude of some people who wanted to get finished with the hike fast, the pain in Justin’s foot, many aching body parts, trusting the guy on the path about being able to go a half-mile, which was a mistake, walking so far and getting dehydrated, staring at the ground as we continued to walk, lack of consensus in the decision making, being really tired and not contributing to the decision process, wishing to see the sunrise and sunset, a sense that the boys didn’t care about the trip but just wanted to be finished with it. The roses included retelling the dream sequence at night, no one had died, a change in thinking for some of the hikers to a more self-reflective time and seeing in the Elk Garden area after we thought it was Deep Gap. This indicated that we were much further along the path than we had anticipated. A big rose for everyone was resting after the heavy push. Additional roses were the view from Buzzard Rock and it was a very good time today when the boys were feeling that they could really accomplish what they had set out to do. We left the Lost Mountain Shelter at 11:30 AM, having gotten water from a tiny, trickling stream. It was a lot of down travel in that day. We had our last snack on the road, consisting of bars, beef jerky and the good tropical trail mix.
We came out at Bear Tree Gap at 3:00 PM. We walked down the road, met Mrs. Tomantas and her parents. They were happy to see us and we were happy to see them.
When we opened Mr. Meyer’s car at the Appalachian Trail Campground, it was full of little mouse droppings. The mouse had gotten into the bread, chips, fruit and cereal. Much of the food had to be thrown away and we were constantly in search of the mouse, but he was found later.
We walked to a man-made lake by a dam. We had our Cracker Barrel and splashed through the water. Ben left with his mom for Notre Dame. After the swim, we drove to the camping area. Mr. Zimmerman and Mr. Meyer left to go to the Conderack General Store. The store owner questioned whether Jerry had a gun and if he was an attorney because he had a notepad. He wasn’t going to talk to Jerry until he realized that we were making a big purchase, and then he was very eager to help.
During the day we had taken the Appalachian Trail across a railroad bridge and joined the Virginia Creeper Trail. Dinner on the campfire was hamburgers and hotdogs. One of the quotes was, “Don’t worry, Jimmy’s eating my bun!” and “Jimmy, eat faster!” The thorns for the day included difficulty in finding water, the fact that the trip was over – and that was the reason that we came, pain in the knees, feet, toe, shoulders, waist, we’re back to civilization, the time of self-reflection is finished, missing seeing the new sights now that the backpacking is over, the difficulty with the steep trail, there were too many “shut-up’s” on the trail, constant bickering – we must work together better, always stress individuality – the team is important also. The roses included swimming in the water, seeing Mrs. Yomantas in her car, no one was hurt, pushing ourselves against fear and hard work was a good self-test, being comfortable in the car and swimming, the boys listened when the adults asked the boys to do it better, the leaders’ passion, the whole thing was great, and the swimming was the greatest we had had on the trip, being with you boys. Mr. Hoffman concluded with, “You guys are worth it.”
We were in bed by 10:30 PM.
Friday, July 31, 2005
We were up at 6:30 AM and packed by 7:30 AM. We packed the cars and left by 8:00 AM. We stopped in Damascus for gas. Quote from the car: “Everything here ends in ‘ville’, Rogersville, Williamsville, Brownsville….” On a historical note, Jerry Zimmerman drove the car at 75 mph, 5 miles over the limit.
We stopped at a Wal-Mart near the freeway. Mr. Meyer is riding with Mrs. Tikkanen, behind Mr. Meyer’s car, when he saw a mouse on the ground. The mouse was behind the back tire and ran in front of the tire just as Jerry pulled forward, squishing the mouse! The flattened mouse then was stuck on to Mr. Hoffman’s car and taken out to the middle of the intersection. This must have been the mouse that was trapped in Mr. Meyer’s car at the Appalachian Trail, because no evidence of the mouse was found again.
We visited the Kentucky Visitor’s Center and sat under a willow tree for lunch. Editor’s note: This is where the boys got their ice cream for breaking camp on time. We arrived at Mammoth Cave, set up camp, had pork chops in camp for dinner, and drove over for a $2.00 10-minute shower. We were in all in bed by 10:30 PM.
Saturday, August 1, 2005
We were up at 6:30 AM for cereal. We spent the day at Mammoth Cave touring on the geological tour in the morning, had lunch on the grounds outside Mammoth Cave and then took a bus trip over to Frozen Niagara, which is an extremely narrow canyon passageway. There was a girl with another group who always seemed to be hanging out with the boys! At the end of the day, we still had some energy, so we drove over to Nolan Park Reservoir State Park and spent some time swimming. Came back to a dinner of tenderloin, spaghetti from the neighboring campsite, sautéed onions and mushrooms and potato fries.
Quotes from the day included: “I aint doin nothing!”, “I didn’t do it!”
Sunday, August 2, 2005
We got up early and drove home. We stopped for lunch at a rest area. We had a flat tire on Mr. Meyer’s van.
