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Post by rickus on Oct 7, 2005 23:08:35 GMT -5
For the last 3 years I've been going down to the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge during the winter to pick up the trash left behind by the throngs of visitors who deluge the area during the summer. Lots of beer cans and bottles.
I've always gone alone. And will do so again, unless one or more of you would like to join me. I go down there at least three to four times during the winter. I typically drive down Friday night and get a campsite at the Camp Doris campground within the Refuge's borders. I pick up trash for about 4-5 hours. Then head back to the City that evening. It's easy to moderate terrain and low impact hiking that I believe ANY of us could do.
I have no dates yet, but will probably make my first trip in late Nov. or early Dec. If you'd like to come help out and think you can find the time to do so, let me know.
Thanks for your time.
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Post by tammy on Oct 8, 2005 12:54:14 GMT -5
i would love to go. let us know about the dates and i can take off
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Post by Guest Justin on Oct 8, 2005 22:50:35 GMT -5
Ditto for me, Rick. I'm always looking for an excuse to tent it for an evening.
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Post by Tyler on Oct 9, 2005 9:15:35 GMT -5
Rick, can a rapelling harness be fitted to a 3 year old?
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Post by rickus on Oct 10, 2005 8:56:57 GMT -5
Wow!
I honestly didn't expect such a response. Thanks guys! I am currently considering the evenings of November 11 or November 18 to drive down to the Wichita's If neither of these weekends works out for us then I'm thinking the weekend of December 2nd.
As for 3 year olds and rappelling harnesses, "Yes." I think a rappelling harness can be fitted to a 3 year old. If however your question were "Should a rappelling harness be fitted to a 3 year old?" My answer would be quite different. Sport rappelling is one of the more dangerous outdoor activities those with an adventurous hankering can engage in. It honestly scares the pee out of me each time I do it. I think it's a great idea to get kids interested in doing adventure sports early. But "early" is a subjective term. I would recommend that unless the child is mature enough to understand and react appropriately to verbal instruction (I know of no 3 year olds who do this with regularity) that they not be tethered to a rope and dangled over a vertical precipice. As anyone who has visited a few of David's posts would soon discern, gravity is extremely unforgiving, and it doesn't grant "do overs."
I'm looking forward to our weekends in the Wichita's. I think we'll be able to cover a lot of ground together. Thanks!
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Post by Tyler on Oct 10, 2005 10:47:50 GMT -5
I was actually thinking of a way to carry my 3 year old...
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Post by rickus on Oct 10, 2005 11:02:20 GMT -5
Oh... OK. Well then as I said earlier, yes I think you could fit a harness to a 3 year old. If you don't mind, once their in the harness, what were you planning on doing?
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Post by rickus on Oct 10, 2005 11:04:25 GMT -5
BTW, I have a "Small" harness. If you like I could bring it down to the ol' Batdorf homestead sometime before our excursion to see how it would work.
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Post by Tyler on Oct 10, 2005 11:10:13 GMT -5
I was thinking of getting four circles of rope and hooking two of those around my shoulders and through the caribiner on the harness and having him hold onto two of the loops like handles. Kinda like I were a horse he were riding. It was something I was thinking about just before sleep, so it's more of a mind-exercise than a plan. I do think it would be fun for Jacobs.
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Post by rickus on Oct 10, 2005 11:51:44 GMT -5
I'm not sure how long it's been since you were in a harness, but I was just thinking that they're really not all that comfortable to sit in for long periods of time. You know, squeezing the family jewels and all.
My offer of a small harness still holds. In fact I think I would rally like to see what you've come up with.
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Post by Tyler on Oct 10, 2005 13:47:30 GMT -5
Yea, I know it's crazy. It's just hard to figure out how to take family on a hiking trip. Maybe the stroller...
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Post by rickus on Oct 25, 2005 15:42:50 GMT -5
Stroller? Not a good idea.
Ummm... Justin told me verbally Saturday that one of the dates for trail maintenance was not good for him. But, I can't remember which one is was. If it's not inconvenient would everyone let me know what days are good.
Thanks!
rickus
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Post by Guest Justin on Nov 1, 2005 12:45:19 GMT -5
Sorry,
I've been crazy busy, and I haven't really had much of a chance to look at the board in the last few weeks. I'm just seeing this for the first time today. Rickus, I'm going to Bethesda, MD, on Monday, Nov 7th and won't be back until the evening of the 10th (Veteran's Day is Friday the 11th). I am quite sure I won't feel much like traveling that weekend.
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Post by Tyler on Nov 1, 2005 13:16:50 GMT -5
Why are you going to Maryland?
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Post by rickus on Nov 1, 2005 13:31:30 GMT -5
I'm going to make the trip down to the WMWR the evening of Dec. 2nd and will do clean up on the 3rd. If you don't have plans that weekend please feel free to come lend a hand. Rick A link to the website if you're interested in looking at it: www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/oklahoma/wichitamountains/ |
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Post by Guest Justin on Nov 1, 2005 14:21:10 GMT -5
Why are you going to Maryland? Unavoidable (federally mandated) training for work. Woohoo. Rick, the December date looks good to me. |
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Post by Jeff on Nov 6, 2005 2:19:03 GMT -5
Be safe in your travels this week, Justin.
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Post by rickus on Nov 26, 2005 14:58:28 GMT -5
Just a reminder:
Our trip to the Wichita's is next weekend. I plan to stay the night Friday night at Camp Doris and start the clean up at about 8:00AM.
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Post by Betterout on Dec 5, 2005 11:06:12 GMT -5
Well, I'm quite new to this whole trail maintenance thing, but I would go ahead and say that the trip this weekend came off without a great many hitches. Rick and I met in Edmond on Friday afternoon, dropped Mandy's car off at Katie's and his (that sort of possessive construction always seems forced to my ears) house, and set off for the southland. After a bite at the Riverside Cafe in Medicine Park (whodathunkit that they'd have mahi mahi on the menu), we made camp in slot #70 at Doris Campground. It was nice weather, and we stayed up late staring into the fire and talking 'of many things, fools and kings,' as the song goes. We woke up around 7:30, hit the trail at about 9:15, and got to the task at hand. Several hours, 4 miles, and 7 bags of trash later, we hit the road once again--windburned, cold, and tired. We had Subway for dinner, and we made it back to his house by 6:15 or so. Good talks, good company, good work.
For those of you who don't think you'd be up to the strenuous hiking challenge of a trail maintenance outing, let me assure you that you are. I have never fully recovered from my leg and pelvis injury of two years ago, and so don't have nearly the strength or endurance I used to have. I'd kinda figured I'd be a goner by lunch time. But, no. It's not nearly so bad as you'd think. It's well within the scope of anyone's abilities. Rick said as much: "It's easy to moderate terrain and low impact hiking that I believe ANY of us could do." He's absolutely right about this. Plus, it's a good cause and a lot of fun.
Rick told me that he would really like to do it all again in January and February. I'd highly recommend coming along with him on those next outings if you can. I know that I'd like to try and make it.
But...
Hey, even if he doesn't get to go on those trips, this is really something that could be done by anyone at anytime, and it doesn't have to be in the Wichitas in order to be effective (if in doubt, Rick might even be able to let you know more about which parks in the state maintain their own trails, how frequently, and how good a job they may or may not do at it). I sincerely hope I'm not speaking out of turn here, but I'm quite sure Rick would be happy to go along with someone else on their own trail maintenace get-away. I would, too, for that matter. That said, Rick is and will always be the proverbial Wagonmaster, very knowledgable, well prepared, enthusiastic, and encouraging; in short, he's a lot of fun to go on trips with, and he's gonna make sure nothing bad will befall you.
Thanks for the opportunity this weekend, Rick. I had a blast. Oh, and yes, I DID gank your can opener, albeit unintentionally. Sorry 'bout that.
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Post by Jeff on Dec 5, 2005 12:35:04 GMT -5
When I was in boy scouts we used to spend a few weekends a year picking up trash there on the lake road in Pawhuska. Also, mom and dad used to have us go pick up aluminum cans on HWY 99, the road that ran in front of our house. So, like Justin says, you really don't have to clean up someone else's backyard...
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