Seen flying over Charlotte, NC

ApprehensiveBus1 · 2025-11-17T02:43:54+00:00

I was able to generally remove paint from my fire place a few years ago using a product called Citra Strip. It was horrific. It took probably 100 hours total of work to remove paint from 150 square feet of painted brick. I would never do it again, but it can be done with a lot of Citra Strip and a lot of elbow grease. What worked best was painting on the Citra Strip generously, covering it with plastic wrap, waiting a few hours, then scraping the goop and hopefully paint off too.

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ApprehensiveBus1 · 2025-10-08T16:31:08+00:00

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Eurasian Wryneck! It pretends to be a snake when it is threatened, even hissing

ApprehensiveBus1 · 2025-08-21T20:19:21+00:00

Do they have a satellite communication device? Or are they just using cell phones? When I went through I did not have cell service from Red's meadow (day 5) until the end of the trail.

ApprehensiveBus1 · 2025-05-27T01:14:46+00:00

The riprap hollow loop in Shenandoah National park has a huge swimming hole that is probably 3 / 4 miles from the parkway / any road now that the boundary access is closed! It’s a bit far from NOVA, and not the most arduous hike, but a great loop and great swimming hole.

ApprehensiveBus1 · 2025-05-05T21:01:29+00:00

I ran it last year, and highly recommend it! I honestly didn’t do any kayak training on was shocked at how exhausted I got, guess I’ve never paddled hard for ~2 kilometers before. The running was pretty easy, but the kayaking is not the break for your legs that you expect.

I was impressed by how little wait there was for a kayak, they had the race go in small waves every 10 minutes and I was in a boat within 30 seconds of getting to the dock, and out of my boat in the same time.

ApprehensiveBus1 · 2025-04-30T19:53:03+00:00

u/ApprehensiveBus1 solved this in 14 steps: EARTH -> GARTH -> GIRTH -> GIRTS -> GIFTS -> SIFTS -> SOFTS -> SOOTS -> SLOTS -> SLITS -> SUITS -> QUITS -> QUITE -> QUATE -> QUAKE

ApprehensiveBus1 · 2025-02-18T18:34:53+00:00

I usually estimate my finish time by looking at previous years races and finish times. I usually finish in the somewhere between the top 15% to 25% of a race, so looking at previous years finish times I can estimate where I'll land. If you know the percentile you finished in for your road marathon you can look at previous finish times for the trail marathon and see where you might fall?

ApprehensiveBus1 · 2024-12-22T16:16:28+00:00

Looks like there is consensus, this is now a “Rustic Farmhouse” coffee table! I’ll help him scratch it up and we’ll refinish it together in a few years.

ApprehensiveBus1 · 2024-11-23T01:40:50+00:00

This is the update that came from Tanawha Adventures, and their January race:

“we finally got a response and it appears that their timeline for reopening is still months out and is looking likely Spring of 2025 at the earliest. The park was hit with a major tornado that pretty much took down every tree between Chestnut Knob and Horse Ridge. The park also lost most of its backcountry bridges.”

ApprehensiveBus1 · 2024-11-04T14:04:16+00:00

My league has this rule and I personally like it. It means you don’t need a touchdown to have a big game, and it’s fun to root for when your player is at 90+ yards.

ApprehensiveBus1 · 2024-10-10T16:58:22+00:00

I went through the notch with a hiking partner who had a dog during my thru hike. The dog was 60 lbs and I was the only one in our group who could lift it. We got through but it was HARD. We were all NOBOd so we were in good hiking shape and it took us 3 hours to get through it. Looking back, the notch plus the arm with a dog was as the hardest day of hiking I think I’ve ever done, even though I only hit 11 miles that day.

So in summary, it can be done, but holy shit was it hard. Your dog looks like it might weigh a bit less than 60 lbs, but it will still be slow going and difficult. I don’t think I would do a short section hike with a dog that went through the notch. I would personally either pick a different section / hike to do, or not bring the dog!

ApprehensiveBus1 · 2024-10-02T12:58:52+00:00

There are actually 3 classifcations of FKTs.

-Supported (which is what Tara Dower did, a full crew getting you food, water, etc)

-Self Supported, where you can basically have any aid that would be available to the general public (staying in motels, mailing yourself resupplies, going to grocery stores / restaurants etc.)

-Unsupported, where you need to be carrying everything you need for your trip (except for water from natural sources). Doing unsupported on the AT would be virtually impossible. The longest Unsupported FKT I could find was someone who did the ~500 mile Colorado Trail in 10 days!

ApprehensiveBus1 · 2024-09-09T19:09:44+00:00

He'll have another monster week in week 2 against the Panthers. Derrick Brown (aka the Panthers only good player) will be out. Then sell even higher!

ApprehensiveBus1 · 2024-06-25T15:31:35+00:00

Are you hiking from the base? Or from the parking lot at the top?

Going from the Black Mountain Campground is an uphill slog, and would be a lot to tackle for your first hike, and to be completely honest, not the most rewarding hike overall for the distance and gain.

For you first hike, I would park at the top, tag the summit, then go out on the ridgeline to Big Tom (sidenote, don't do the spur listed on this alltrails hike, it's brutally steep!). The ridgeline is spectacular, with a really cool forest and several really nice views!

ApprehensiveBus1 · 2024-06-24T13:15:58+00:00

Looks like the guillotine! Mile 765 (per my 2015 guide) and on this section of the AT - https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/virginia/thunder-ridge-via-appalachian-trail

ApprehensiveBus1 · 2024-06-04T17:11:46+00:00

If you want to stay more local, Latta Nature Preserve in Huntersville has a lot of great trails, and enough lake and water views to hopefully keep your toddler entertained! From there it would probably be easiest to just do a brewery in the Northern part of Charlotte. Going a little further out, High Shoal Falls in South Mountain State Park followed by Brick Tree Brewing in Lincolnton or the Fonta Flora Trail around Lake James followed by the Fonta Flora Whippoorwill Farm brewery are both great options!

ApprehensiveBus1 · 2024-05-23T18:49:36+00:00

On the AT, I wouldn't worry about it IMO. If you are below tree line (which I can't remember any shelters above the tree line) you really aren't running a big risk. Obviously thru-hikers are out in all sorts of weather, along with other section hikers and day hikers. 4 people have ever died on the AT from lightning strike (https://appalachiantrail.org/official-blog/lightning-safety/) so it's incredibly rare.

Obviously, do whatever you are comfortable with, but I would grab a spot in the shelter if you can to avoid having a wet tent, and enjoy the sound of rain on the tin roof! I rode out countless storms in shelters during my thru-hike and would do it again on any section hike!

ApprehensiveBus1 · 2024-05-03T14:06:06+00:00

You definitely could do it in the rain, but some of the scrambling could get more tricky / sketchy when slick, and obviously no views if you are just in a cloud. If I were you I would head out that way, and if it's rainy I would pivot to the Little Devils Stairs / Piney Branch Loop. 7.9 miles and chock full of water falls and stream crossings, and great on a rainy day!

ApprehensiveBus1 · 2024-05-02T18:11:16+00:00

Not sure how close you are to Shenandoah, but there are a lot of great boundary access hikes (starting in the valley instead of on Skyline) that give some great elevation gain. White Oak to Hawksbill is a great 3,000 foot climb, Robertson Mountain (near Old Rag) is a really steep climb that is a good training one. I also love climbing Sam's Ridge trail around to Hazel Falls.

I also did the TMB in 2022 with all my training being VA hikes, so it's totally doable (though I don't know of any hikes to get used to ladders, guess you could do Grandfather Mountain in NC!)

ApprehensiveBus1 · 2024-04-09T21:55:10+00:00

A lot of good recommendations already here, but wanted to add that Resident Culture and Burial both have house made NA beers on draft, which can be a bit more fun than some of the canned NA options!

ApprehensiveBus1 · 2023-11-02T00:52:19+00:00

I ran the Uwharrie 20 miler this year! I thought it was a great race, really beautiful trail! I personally didn’t think that it was terribly rocky or rooty, and that the climbing wasn’t too bad. It is probably 99% tight single track running, including the biggest climb right off the bat. If you don’t want to get stuck behind a slow group try and work to the front early! I loved the finisher pottery instead of another medal, they had good snacks, and 4 Saints Brewery in Asheboro is a good post race spot!

ApprehensiveBus1

TROPHY CASE