LA, MS, FL, IL, IN, OH, WI, MI, KY, VT, GA WV, TN, VA
(Or...high points are great places to meet interesting people).

The foregoing string of states represents an ad for Lois and Randall Horne for interested highpointers who might care to join them next year for an "East of the Mississippi Blitz." They're reeeal friendly-like and would love company to complete their quest.

We first met this pair two President's Day weekends ago (04) at the CT trailhead and the next day at the RI highpoint. They told us there they were sky divers, she with 250+ jumps and he in excess of 600. Yikes! They were just getting started as highpointers and we, as more numbered "experts," took them under our wing, keeping in touch by e-mail.

When they wrote saying they were getting married in Gloucester, VA in mid-May (05) and afterwards sky-dive in their wedding garb we, well...kinda invited ourselves to be there for THAT! As part of a tight cluster of 20-or so family and friends on the landing field, we were allowed to locate close to "The Pit" - that circle which jumpers target to touch down - and witness them re-earth all around us. Of all who participated, Lois, in her wedding dress and pink parachute, was the only one to nail the pit from her plane-load of free-falling nuts. (See pic: A to Z, 3rd qtr, Iss. 70. P.36, lower left).

Lois is a pilot, has ice-climbed, rock climbed, played rugby, ice hockey, and aspires to scuba diving, ASAP. He's from SC, she from NY (they met at a jump event in Illinois). They just bought a home in her neighborhood. That means acclimatizing warm-blooded Rebel Randall for higher and cooler places, 44N for starters. Get in touch with them at Lois_Nice@hotmail.com

TTT Note: Hmm...now what was that Highpointer Club ruling on sky diving to a high point? Hey, let's get that subject going....

MOUNTAIN HIKER, 18, SUCCUMBS TO BOULDER ACCIDENT

Several days ago, local to this blog's home base, an 18-year old female hiker was pinned against a tree by an errant rock rarity and died several hours after being extricated. The freak accident occurred in the Hawk Mountain (raptor) Sanctuary in Berks County, southeastern PA. Full story (2): http://www.geocities.com/w_wentzel/boulder3.txt

Huge rocks moving with little or no provocation are reminiscent of Aron Ralston's Blue John Canyon experience. In his book, he alludes to climber Gerry Roach's "Classic Commandments of Mountaineering" as they related to his own dilemma in Utah. Roach's commandments are reminders that rocks can spontaneously break away ("geologic time includes now"). One will pull loose after barely touching it...when you're using it for a handhold and it shifts...that sometimes one will fall after you've already stood on top of it.

"It's rare. But it happens. Has happened."

Hike with Chris & Jean through a garden of England -
("But," you might ask, "do they do crop circles?")

Hi Bill - I guess I have said this before, but our paths are much different to yours, it seems to me that you have limited access, even for such a big country. Whenever I have been to the USA it seems as if one has to take a long car journey to get to 'The Trailhead.' We don't have trailheads as such, just someplace to park or somewhere to get off the bus. We then hike! I can leave here and be on footpaths within minutes, then I can hike all day if I like, over fields, through woods and even through farms and gardens at times! - Chris Halloway and wife Jean lead hikes all about the U.K. and beyond. For sure, their treks always include a pub stop for a pint. See their web site: http://www.cjhike.com/

COULD YOU SURVIVE? TTT TV Tip on New Series -

If you haven't stumbled across it yet, check out "I Shouldn't Be Alive" which premiered on The Discovery Channel on October 28th. True stories about people whose physical endurance and will to live kept them alive under the harshest of circumstances with titles like "Lost in the Snow" and "Escape from the Amazon." Watch Friday, 9PM, (EST) or check your local TV/cable schedule. Just surviving an episode from your recliner can be traumatic.
Discovery Channel :: I Shouldn't Be Alive :: New Series

" What we have heah is a fail-yuh to communicate!"
Cool Hand Luke, '67
(Another trail tale from Marty T. in Ohio)

I took my brother and cousin for a hike this Saturday. My brother quit about half way through. He was packing WAY too heavy a bag, and said that I told him it was only 4 miles, not 12. No way I told him 4 miles. When he asked how long, I told him 4 HOURS. He musta heard "miles." Anyhow, he lived through it since I suggested we take the shortcut turnaround at the halfway point, and we kept it level on a towpath trail. After all that, he called Monday to say he slept for 13 hours and felt great when he woke up. I told him we just need to discover our limits and keep sliding them forward. (Good advice , TTT notes, and mentions the old disclaimer: "I know you believe you understand what you think I said , but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.").

HIGHPOINTER CLUB KONVENTION SPEAKER...

The '06 Konvention Kommittee says Stuart Smith will be the featured speaker in Asheville. He is the 1st American and only 7th person to complete the Adventure Grand Slam—all the world highpoints and both the north and south pole. In the next issue of the HP newsletter, or the one after, there will be bio of Stuart, so be watching for it. Hopefully, Aron Ralston likes cheese and will show up at the WI-2007 Konvention near Timms Hill.
Links: Texan Stuart Smith has become the first American to complete the Adventure Grand Slam --
EverestHistory.com: Stuart Smith

BASIC WATER FACTS -
(...or "How I hate people who can do Guadalupe Peak in late July, hatless, wearing shorts, T-shirt, flip-flops, and carrying an 89-cent bottle of water bought at the last gas station.")

1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.
2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.
3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as much as 3%.
4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study.
5. Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.
6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.
7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzz short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.
8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

GETTIN' INTO THE MUSHROOMS

In the Fall issue of A2Z, The Highpointers Club Newsletter, under Klimbin' Kollaborator, a member asks for altitude sickness info and "tricks" that high climbers use to cope.

Yeah, we'd like to know some tricks, too. Prior to doing Whitney, my first 14K+ mountain, I got my doctor to write a prescription for acetazolamide (Diamox). He balked at the mention of my doing elevation stuff, but doctors are notorious for telling us we'll never walk again, etc. I decided it was an envy thing, them being stuck in their office all day examining hypochondriacs.

On arriving in California and curious about the pills in my backpack, I talked to the pharmacist at the Lone Pine drug store, thinking he'd know all about it being who he was where he was. He said the side-effects of Diamox could be similar to altitude sickness itself. Duh. Well, I didn't bother taking any after all and lived.

We're curious about gettin' into the mushrooms - reishi, in particular - to help allay high elevation discomforts. If you're reading this then you can probably research "altitude sickness" on the web. There are numerous sites covering the topic though often trying to sell you something. That's nothing new; wade through it.

Books: We have Going Higher, Charles Houston, and a new, compact publication, Altitude Illness: Prevention & Treatment, Stephen Bezruchka, M.D., M.P.H. Buy used from Amazon, save money.

Nineteen-K, Pen May, a tough hi-klimbin' Kilimanjaro hike leader with lots of Sierra Nev (CA) experience says, "Altitude sickness? Cannot help with "tricks" at all...just staying very aerobically fit, acclimatizing well en route and drinking lots of water...that's all I know!"

JUST ANOTHER HIGHPOINTING ALMOST

One of the gifts Diane gave me to celebrate my birthday recently was a copy of Between a Rock and a Hard Place. We had both seen the first Sep, '04 DatelineNBC/Brokaw interview with Ralston, "Desperate Days in Blue John Canyon." Mind-blowing stuff! I'm just getting into this hard-to-put-down, well written book. Actually, receiving it brought back the memory of our IN hp visit on Sept 5,'03.

We took our pictures and signed the log. Diane manages to spend extra of our time to read those things and, in this case, despite all the friggin' mosquitos there. She got especially excited over her find in the Hoosier Highpoint log. Apparently, Ralston had been there a few days before with his grandmother who we'd heard lived nearby. We assumed the log entry was authentic based on that fact and the squiggly handwriting.

Diane actually video-taped the log and the sign-in read in part, "Aron, 'the hiker who amputated his arm,' Ralston."And, "My grandmother's first official high point." Dated, Aug 29, '03. Also, we'd heard Aron was indeed a member of the Highpointers Club (he's listed in the '05 directory with 43 states but is now a 50-Kompleter) and, thusly, a highpointer. So...it musta been him, one of the club's celebs. We were disappointed that we missed so close an encounter of the third-kind with him, the remarkable survivor of a harrowing Out There experience.

Doing some web research, I discovered that there's a plethora of internet sites featuring Aron Ralston the auto-amputee, mountaineer, and high pointer extraodinaire, his experience presented every which way, his book, and his "tour" schedule. As a member of the HPers Club, (doesn't that make him akin to us?) it sure would be great if Aron could be asked and agreed to speak at one of the upcoming Konventions. But, he's quite the popular guy and for that to happen, I suppose, leaves the club between a rock and a hard place. Maybe. Write the '06 Konvention Kommittee. We Want Aron!
Interview: .: THE GUNKS :.