Gorge Rat Infestation 2010 Trip Report
Still working on catching up with work and the whole process of transitioning to the real world ... but plan to have the trip video I made edited and "enhanced" by the end of the week.
I just wanted to give my trip update before then. While it's still fresh in the old gray matter.
We had a total of 42 attend this Gorge Rat Gathering of hammock campers. There were two additional campers ... ground dwellers that came with Seuss for a couple days so technically there were 44 in attendance.
Here is the final list:
1 Hangin'Burrito
2 Hickery
3 TZBrown
4 Darby
5 HappyCamper
6 Hawk-eye
7 Hedcase
8 Hooch
9 Kayak Karl
10 MacEntyre
11 Thing1
12 mtncmpr
13 Running Feather
14 Seuss
15 Tasthree
16 Nooner
17 Louiez
18 Cookie
19 Airborne
20 Starrione
21 Jbryan
22 Ken
23 JerryW
24 Wisenber
25 Jennifer
26 Hangout
27 Rayn
28 2Sticks
29 Timetraveler1701
30 John
31 Idcakes
32 Kim
33 Hamper
34 Ninja Ranger (Hamper Son)
35 Walker Talker (Hamper Wife)
36 Waterbar Jim
37 Detail Man
38 Tweaky
39 Pucker Factor
40 Muttly
41 K45Auto
42 Finn
It was a great week ... little rain on Wednesday for the first day ... not as bad as the guys had Sunday, Monday and Tuesday though! Temperatures never got below 34 degrees outside my tarp ... though Louise and Shirley at the restaurant had 27 at their homes a few valley's north of the site.
Thursday night was the blow from Hades ... tested everyone's tarp pitching skills and endurance! We had to do safety checks most of the night ... at least till around 2 am to make sure everyone was OK. Fortunately after the night of the wind .... things were grand ... never dipped below freezing and the days were sunny and warm.
Two folks KTStone and Acer ... were renamed ... Airborne and Pucker Factor ... respectively. Airborne for his exploding rig during a "watering the lilies" moment and Pucker Factor for his rock hopping and climbing abilities!
Greatly missed was our original Nineteen member Shug ... but we heard a lot of great Shug tales from Hickery so that was fun.
Spent an extra night in the gorge Sunday night with Hickery, Mtncmpr, Finn, and my pal JerryW ... in an undisclosed special GR site that was magical. Man that was fun around the fire and what a magnificent sunrise we had! Not to mention that late breakfast at Louise's!
It was grand seeing so many of the Rats from the previous two gatherings and the new folks that came to experience the gorge. Grand to have the little folk there ... Ninja Ranger and 2Sticks ... as well as the not so little arson expert Thing1. We found that she has mysterious powers of flame and is more than capable of hiking with the best of us ... even when she forgets her hiking boots!
Jennifer ... if I could give you a medal ... I would ... you deserve it!
Wisenber ... great choice in hiking partners ... not so much in packs
Tweaky ... you work magic around a dehydrator ... that's a fact ... and we won't change your name to Stinky ... no matter what tales DM made up
TZBrown ... you sir have a wife with the skills of a pie goddess. I hang my head in respect of her Rhubarb Strawberry magic.
Darby ... you da man my friend ... kept me in stitches most of the time!
Kayak Karl ... you're one fun guy ... glad I got to meet you and your four legged "girl friend".
HB and RF ... dang brothers ... you just ain't right, that's why I love ya!
Hickery ... time in the woods with you is classic ... odorous ... but classic! I enjoyed every minute of it brother ... that was a great last night in the secret campsite Sunday night.
Finn ... dang fine to finally meet you. Wish you all the best on your journey. Looking forward to your next trip to the gorge!
Muttly ... kept us in stitches pal ... not sure I want to go under the knife with you in attendance though!
Tasthree ... finally good to meet you ... even if it was hard to locate you in all that camo!
WalkerTalker ... you get the award for the best camp pants! Shug would have been proud of ya!
Ninja Ranger ... glad to meet you partner ... you're a real trooper in the woods!
Hamper ... great crew you have there ... great family! Go Wolfpack!
Hangout, Rayn and 2Sticks ... mighty nice to meet you fine folks ... loved the video by the way!
Timetraveler ... finally met someone that snores louder than me in the woods!
Starrione ... pleasure meeting you ... love the laugh!
Airborne ... gotta teach me that "unpacking" technique you developed Thursday night!
Happycamper ... what can I say my friend ... you truly are a happy camper and I enjoyed sharing the time in the woods with you! Hope to see you in the gorge again or at least over a piece of pie or Livermushin the future.
Hedcase ... dang grand to see you again! Till next time pal!
HOOCH ... it was a pleasure to finally meet you and see there's another person in this world that's truly "not right"
Mac and Thing1 ... Mac it's always grand to spend time in the ditch with you but this was the first time to share it with Thing1. You've got a daughter to be very proud of!
JerryW ... my soft spoken friend ... glad we had the opportunity to camp together Sunday night ... what a great time. Looking forward to more adventures with ya.
Ldcakes and Kim ... well ladies ... I'm glad you came to the gathering. Finer ladies you couldn't ask to meet!
LouieZ ... all the way from Texas! Glad to share the woods with ya pal.
Pucker Factor ... another soft spoken Gorge Rat of the highest caliber ... and yeah .. better not let yo mama see those pictures!
Nooner ... pal ... glad to see you up there. Hope your fishing trip went even better on the coast.
Seuss ... always glad to see you ... even if you don't partake of the mush!
Jbryan ... glad ya made it! From 2Sticks' commentary in her video ... you must have made an impression on her for sure!
K45Auto ... short visit but fun ... hope to spend time more time with you in the future! The gorge was definitely secure Sunday morning wasn't it!
Cookie ... thanks for introducing me to a fine ... if not ugly cigar! Great ... absolutely great to see ya again pal!
Mtncmpr, Ken and Waterbar Jim ... what can I say to my brother members of the First Four ... definitely friends you can count on and be proud to know. Not to mention Jimbo makes a mean DO beef stew and biscuits!
Well till the video is complete that's my commentary. Thanks for all of you coming and I hope you had a great time. Come back to the gorge when you can especially when you now see how grand it really is. Don't forget to stop by and have some pie or that great breakfast at Louise's Rock House Restaurant! Shirley and Louise are adding the GR Logo to their sign! Yeah it's official ... Louise's Rock House Restaurant is the official eatery of Gorge Rats!
One more comment ... Hey Shug ... heard any good Poop on a stick stories lately? We sure did!
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