NJ > Pine Barrens > April 27th

[Deadphans]

I will be there. Would be great to meet a fellow hf'er. Thinking of doing batsto to mullica river camp. I'm bringing along two ground dwellers as well. It'll be good to have you, and other fellow hangers, so we can put the ground dwellers in awe and crave a wonderful hammock.

I plan on leaving early and getting to batsto around 9. Will this work for you?

Edit: upon further reading, mind if we join at lower forge?

[silentorpheus]

I will be there. Would be great to meet a fellow hf'er. Thinking of doing batsto to mullica river camp. I'm bringing along two ground dwellers as well. It'll be good to have you, and other fellow hangers, so we can put the ground dwellers in awe and crave a wonderful hammock.

I plan on leaving early and getting to batsto around 9. Will this work for you?

Edit: upon further reading, mind if we join at lower forge?

The more the merrier.

Here's the deal for now - I reserved camp site 7 at Lower Forge, for 2 people (SilvrSurfr and I). I'm not sure how the new system works exactly (first time reserving since the change) but I'll assume I can add people to it. But it maxes out at 2 tents, 6 people. There's still one campsite left, Number 8.

If you're pretty positive you'll make it, you may want to consider grabbing that one - especially if you have some folks in tents. I'm not sure if hammocks/tarps count towards the 2 tent total. Easiest way to find out is to call and ask - I'll try and get around to that in the next few days if I can.

I think SS and I are planning on meeting up and hitting the trail a little later, since he has a baseball game earlier on Saturday. But that doesn't mean you'd have to wait for us if you want to hit the trail earlier.

I'll pull my thoughts together more later, and think this through a bit better.

[Deadphans]

Oh great ss is going! Hes practically my neighbor. Good to see he can get out and play. I will try calling and seeing what I can do. I know tomorrow is going to be a late day at work for me, so hopefully Wednesday will be okay and it won't be filled.

[SilvrSurfr]

My knees are feeling pretty good, considering I've done absolutely no physical activity since a car accident wrecked my knees (torn MCL, bone bruises, etc.) in December. I have had a few physical therapy sessions, which really helped.

At my son's baseball practice today, I found myself shagging fly balls, running full speed backwards without thinking. I even caught a few! Of course, that kind of activity is frowned upon by my doctor and physical therapist, but it was really encouraging from a hiking perspective. I think I'm good to go for a little 5.7 mile jaunt.

[silentorpheus]

My knees are feeling pretty good, considering I've done absolutely no physical activity since a car accident wrecked my knees (torn MCL, bone bruises, etc.) in December. I have had a few physical therapy sessions, which really helped.

At my son's baseball practice today, I found myself shagging fly balls, running full speed backwards without thinking. I even caught a few! Of course, that kind of activity is frowned upon by my doctor and physical therapist, but it was really encouraging from a hiking perspective. I think I'm good to go for a little 5.7 mile jaunt.

My knee has been acting up lately, and I didn't have any crazy car accident. I wouldn't be surprised if you handle the little jaunt better than I do.

I will try calling and seeing what I can do. I know tomorrow is going to be a late day at work for me, so hopefully Wednesday will be okay and it won't be filled.

Let me know how it turns out. And like I said, I'll try and call and make sure we can add to my reservation, just in case. Who knows what they'll let you do now that they have their new fangled system.

[silentorpheus]

Oh great ss is going! Hes practically my neighbor. Good to see he can get out and play. I will try calling and seeing what I can do. I know tomorrow is going to be a late day at work for me, so hopefully Wednesday will be okay and it won't be filled.

Online system still shows one site available - site 8.

Just got off the phone with the Batsto office. I can add people to the reservation I have either online or at the office - so just let me know your plans.

[Deadphans]

this is great. I am definitely in. Whether or not the other two come I am not sure. They sounded pretty optimistic in going. But me personally, knowing that you two are going to be there I will definitely go.

If my two friends go it might be best to get the campsite 8. I am sure we are going to want to drink and we may make too much noise (not crazy, just talking and such). However, if I go with you two it would be really nice to chip in on the site.

I will keep you updated.

P.S. Is there a charge for cancelling a site reservation? Just in case?

[SilvrSurfr]

this is great. I am definitely in. Whether or not the other two come I am not sure. They sounded pretty optimistic in going. But me personally, knowing that you two are going to be there I will definitely go.

If my two friends go it might be best to get the campsite 8. I am sure we are going to want to drink and we may make too much noise (not crazy, just talking and such). However, if I go with you two it would be really nice to chip in on the site.

I will keep you updated.

P.S. Is there a charge for cancelling a site reservation? Just in case?

If it gets cold for some reason, I'm gonna loan you an underquilt. No backing out because of your UQ!

[silentorpheus]

this is great. I am definitely in. Whether or not the other two come I am not sure. They sounded pretty optimistic in going. But me personally, knowing that you two are going to be there I will definitely go.

If my two friends go it might be best to get the campsite 8. I am sure we are going to want to drink and we may make too much noise (not crazy, just talking and such). However, if I go with you two it would be really nice to chip in on the site.

I will keep you updated.

P.S. Is there a charge for cancelling a site reservation? Just in case?

There is a charge - it's something like the reservation fee, plus one full night's permit cost. So for a one nighter, it's basically everything you paid. Luckily, to reserve a site is only $12.

[SilvrSurfr]

BTW, SilentOrpheus has a music degree, and any time you hang with him, he requires that we all sing Star-Spangled Banner (in three-part harmony) before setting up.

As a Red Sox fan, I require that we sing Sweet Caroline during the seventh inning stretch. Know the lyrics of both songs. No mouthing the words.