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<DIV>Yes, once again your hero, Switchback, has cheated death once again.
I attended the Gathering up at Lake Tahoe.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I drove from Las Vegas up to Lake Tahoe and immediately checked into the
Holiday Inn Express on Thursday. I ate a small Mexican restaurant down the
street and then returned to my room to chill out and watch TV.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>On Friday morning I headed up the highway on the CA side of the lake to a
restaurant I had eaten at two years ago with Can’tQuit before we went hiking on
the PCT. The lady who ran the place collected post cards and I brought
some from Las Vegas. Turns out she had sold the place and now worked down
the street at the post office. So, after breakfast I took the cards down
there and left them with a clerk for her. The drive along the lake was
very beautiful.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>One of my goals on this trip was to visit Emerald Bay State Park and take
the Vikingsholm Castle tour. So, on the way back to South Lake Tahoe, I
turned into the park parking lot. Unfortunately, I had a medical accident
when I got out of my SUV and decided not to go on the morning tour. I
figured I could go on the tour in two years when the Gathering returns to Lake
Tahoe.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I drove up to Sierra Pines to check things out at the Gathering
location. I saw MeadowEd and others who had already arrived. I knew
some folks had gone hiking that day and were there too. Instead of staying
at Sierra Pines, I decided to go back to the Holiday Inn Express and hit the hot
tub, eat, TV, wash, etc. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>On Saturday I drove back up to the camp for breakfast. It really
surprised me that so few people showed up this year. There were about 70
people there and two years ago there were 150 hikers. I think that might
be because the registration was only put on the Internet about a month before
the Gathering. The presentations were focused on travel logs for various
hikes and outings. Of course, two years ago I gave a SuperSecret seminar
at the Lake Tahoe Gathering. That must be it. Since I was not on the
program a lot fewer people showed up. That's it. You know what a
draw I am for any event.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I set up my Pirate's Lair table with some handouts, gear scales, and hiker
jokes notebook. The hiker jokes were a big hit with lots of people reading
them (see PostHoler.com/Switchback Unchained). Unsupported Reinhold spent
a lot of time reading them. No one had me paint their tent stakes at this
Gathering, but two years ago I did a lot of painting. It was great to see
Yogi, GottaGo, Tortoise, Kathy from Yosemite, etc., etc. at the Gathering.
Lots of fun. When Yogi saw me, she again gave me her patented belly dance
routine like down at the April Kickoff. I think she is a closet
Pirate and wants to join my crew and is trying to get my attention for an
audition.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I took a break to go down to Harvey's to play slots. I won some money
and brought a good bottle of wine to bring back for dinner. At the dinner
table everyone was very nice to me as I passed the wine around.
“Switchback, do you need some more veggies?” “Switchback, let me take your
dishes and trash after you eat.” Switchback, do you need some more salad
from the salad bar?” It is so nice to see the genuine friendship and
camaraderie among backpackers.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I told the new ALDHA-West president, Strider the WagonMaster, that I wanted
to start a new organization under the umbrella of the ALDHA-West. I will
be the first president. It is the American Short Distance Hiker's
Association - West. If you hike 2 miles on the AT, CDT, and the PCT, you
get its “Triple Crown” award. By the way, there were 22 real Triple Crown
folks this year and around 10 were at the Gathering to get their
certificates. Wow!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>After breakfast on Sunday, I drove down to Lone Pine to check into the Dow
Villas Motel. Of course, I had a nap, TV, and then hit the hot tub.
Later Crash checked in and we went to the Merry-Go-Round restaurant for dinner
and wine. His wife called him while we were eating and I told her that I
was doing my best to keep him under control in the trailtown -- no sacking or
pillaging. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Overall, it was a very nice road trip and fun meeting.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Respectfully submitted, </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Switchback the Trail Pirate<BR></DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">See what's new at <A title="http://www.aol.com?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001170" href="http://www.aol.com?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001170" target="_blank">AOL.com</A> and <A title="http://www.aol.com/mksplash.adp?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001169" href="http://www.aol.com/mksplash.adp?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001169" target="_blank">Make AOL Your Homepage</A>.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>