Shakedown Trip Report

Bonds Shakedown Picture Galleries:

• The Puppet Master's Pics
• Mutha's Pics
• tMail's Pics
  

Bonds Shakedown Trip Reports:

[From MadDog]

1. thanks all for getting the shakedown to occur in the first place.
2. Even though I had the Shakedown variant experience it was still great.
3. I can't believe (then again yes I can) g-$$$ muscled that pack up.
4. The PM can power uphill like no other (fully loaded and with large strides) and run down the big dawgs.
5. Which leads to Tmail, either we tether him to a 2mile rope, or we designate it as the team's forward scout for reconn.
6. Sorry I missed Bob's camp wisdom.
7. Only MuthaZ can downhill rock hop, fully loaded with the WY gear and with Spanky in a fireman's carry. Amazing!
8. Intake for the way in and out = 4l of H2O and Gasorade, 9 PB cracker packs, 6 sweetie treatie trail bars, 2 ham and cheese sands.
9. We forgot to grab PM's pistol for the exit...MZ and I were in pretty bad shape for the railbed.
10. What's event precedes this expression "#$%^ing goddamn railbed!" ANS = stubbing my toes, at least a dozen, painful times.
11. Tmail eats whatever he (or anyone else seems to) picks.
12. Is it legal to have Pinot Noir and Spam w/BBQ sauce on the same trip?
13. Things I am adding to my pack - bugspray (5 gals to be exact), hat, sunscreen, toss away towellettes, BareBait REI pants, stone mason knee pads
14. Things I am deleting from my pack - down vest to be replaced by mid-weight fleece, NorthFace pants.
15. New dynamics - scampering downhill across wet roots, with 40lbs on your back, will smack you down almost as hard as Nacho can. I whacked the bad knee again.
16. While I have never seen a whore in church, thanks to the PM's continuous cultural insights, I now know the telltale signs of one.
    

[From Mutha]

I'm bummed I missed what was clearly a beautiful night. I can't wait to hear the rest of the story. MadDog, Spanky and I got back to the car around 7:30, making for an 18.2 mile trek in about 11 hours. Spanky did most of it on her own.

Lesson learned: just because the dog has a proven trail history doesn't mean new issues won't crop up. Diagnosis: strained muscle (minor sprain). She's got a barely noticeable limp this morning. Thanks to all for helping and special thanks to MadDog for escorting us out and along that endless trail. I promised MadDog that I'm going to buy a handgun and bring it to the Wilderness trail so I can shoot that goddamn railbed.

Another lesson: heavy pack wasn't all that bad, but it hurt in two unexpected places: hip muscles and toes. Apparently the forward leaning posture put extra stress on toes and caused soreness/blisters for me.

Last lesson: even with a 60lb pack, tMail can jog up a mountain. Never seen anything like it.

[From The Puppet Master]

So much to be said and so many lessons learned.

1. I am a biting post for all kinds of bugs, big and small. I will be looking into some "Buzz Off" clothing - 16 bites on my left hand/wrist alone
2. The wool man panties wick like a dream, and would be good for the whore in church
3. Riley is a great watch dog which makes him a shit tent companion!
4. Yes, Lisa WAS pissed that G$ took the kitchen sink
5. We need better communication if we're going to survive safely in WY
6. My pack can lose ~5 to 10lbs of unnecessary BS prior to WY
7. Mother Nature never allows for the "Hollywood Poop" and "Java Juice" is potent
8. I have an open theory that Spanky is a lesbian - she's definately more man than Riley
9. The soak at the end of the trail is worth the f-ing railbed
10. Never sleep on a slippery slope
11. Mosquitoes can bite through clothing AND tent mesh
12. Watching the sunset from Bond Cliff was spectuacular... even if it was with 4 other guys and I was sipping some Malbec wine... (uh oh, my wrist looks like Spanky's)
    
    (Correction - 5 guys for sunset + 1 male dog = 6)
    

[From g-$$$]

1. Thanks all for the company! Hated some things, Learned a few things, loved everything. I still love day trips, but sometimes a good overnight adventure makes me yearn for more.
2. Special thanks to Bob for nurturing me along when I was getting "a bit unglued" and more importantly bringing Doug and Tom to help me realize speed is relative.
3. Intentional or not humping our heavy packs to Bondcliff was a good move. The bugs were horrendous where we stayed but they would have bordering on suicidal had we camped closer to the Pemi River valley.
4. We need to recruit Johnny B so Tmail can have someone for his rope team.
5. The PM is a good person to be around camp because the bugs will swarm over him and only occasionally show interest in you.
6. Bondcliff is much more enjoyable when you can take an hour to enjoy the views than on a flash tag during the Pemi Prance
7. Sunset on Bondcliff is on par with Sunset over West Bond...
8. $8 to camp at Guyot is highway robbery compared to the $0 we paid to camp, especially where Tom, Doug, and Bob set up.
9. Contrary to what the PM said, I did not take the kitchen sink...but I plead the 5th on the oven. I may be the least fit of this elite bunch but I'm sure lugging the weight of the outback oven will not be the reason why we would not summit Gannett and I suspect like those chocolate cookies last night fresh baked treats will not go to waste every night.
10. While chowing on some awesome banana bread french toast at the Sunny Day Diner in Lincoln...Bob made a great suggestion for the Shakedown Sequel (Jun 28/29), we give some thought about hitting up Mansfield and give Mad Dog the homecourt advantage (not that he needs it)
11. My goal in the next month is lose at least as much weight off my pack as I do off my body.
12. Bob needs a nickname. Tom and Doug told me they call him Sponge Bob but I said 1) that's too obvious 2) we already have Spungie 3) he's got to earn his nickname.
13. Hope Spanky is back on the trail soon enough.

[From tMail]

Food/Clothing Notes:

1. Less is more. I think personally for me the best approach would be the following for food / clothing:
   Water (3L), Oatmeal packages (6-7), 10 Power / Cliff bars,6 Sandwiches
   Sticky Rice, Gels, Liquid Energy, Dehydrated Meals
   Leather Boots w/ Ankle Gaiters
   
2. This is my tentative clothing List:
   Fleece Gloves, Glove Liners, Synthetic Hat/BugNet/OR Hat
   Marmot Precip Jacket/Pants, Fleece Pants, Smartwool (2 weights)
   Mountain Hardwear Shell, Jacket Block Wind, Injinji Socks, Nylon Pants
   Patagonia Shorts, DriFit Shirts (2)
   
3. I will of course have the other personal / safety stuff with me:
   Deet, Bear Spray *Discussion Point*

Lessons Learned:

1. Control Speed
2. Group commmunication I understand everyone hikes at different speeds Wyoming we stay within sight of each other.
3. I never did Bondcliff in my life until I did it 3 times on Saturday
4. Everyone that hiked is an Animal in their own right!
5. Frequently move shoulder straps and take the pack off for relief 2-3 minutes does wonders
6. Nothing beats the soak
7. I will count every ounce in my pack
8. Waking up and thinking a jet was taking off was cool
9. Waking up and seeing tons of stars really cool
10. Waking up and seeing Riley stairing at me freaky!
11. Who needs water purification?
12. 3rd time on the Railbed and I learned not to look up and don't think water = bridge is near...