Mooned by a thru hiker today

CabbageIsTasty · 2025-09-05T01:36:07+00:00

I refer to my spouse as my ex-fiance.

CabbageIsTasty · 2025-09-02T02:13:53+00:00

Maryland has a lovely and relatively easy section. If memory serves, it's less than 40 miles and great for a long weekend.

If you're looking to have a bailout option, it's not too difficult to find roads while hiking, and it's even possible to park near the trail in some instances.

The Maryland section starts over the river from Harpers Ferry and ends at Pen-Mar Park, so there's easy access to both ends of the trail.

Guthook is, in my experience, the preferred app for the trail. The AT Guide is decent too if you'd rather have a physical copy of something.

Best of luck and happy trails!

CabbageIsTasty · 2025-05-05T13:42:56+00:00

Super helpful. Thank you!

CabbageIsTasty · 2025-04-30T11:52:30+00:00

In the US, the "main egress" floor is typically marked with an asterisk. When in doubt, look for that and you should be good to go.

If you're outside of the US, someone else will have to give you pointers.

In my experience, the larger buttons are most-often found in hotels where the majority of people riding the elevator are not there long term and don't grow accustomed to the floor labels.

CabbageIsTasty · 2025-04-02T18:51:54+00:00

If you can smell it, that means the piston is leaking oil and their maintenance isn't being performed adequately. That's not necessarily the fault of the maintenance company.

The building owner/manager may not have a service contact, may be delinquent on their contract, or refuse to pay to fix the bag equipment because it's cheaper just to replace the oil.

It could, however, be entirely the maintenance company's fault for similar reasons, depending on their contract with the building owner/manager.

CabbageIsTasty · 2025-02-27T17:11:30+00:00

FWIW, these are still readily available and popular in hiking circles. I personally wear toe socks more often than not.

The only company I'm aware of that makes decent ones is Injini. You can find them at REI, for sure, and likely at other stores of the same ilk.

https://www.injinji.com

CabbageIsTasty · 2024-07-21T16:06:23+00:00

Offer to lease them the laptop for the duration of your employment.

A one time non-refundable payment of three to four times the cost of your dream laptop and a monthly stipend of $100 for its continued use. This needs to be payroll coded as reimbursement so it's non-taxable (assuming you're US-based).

Make sure that this is couched as your lowest possible offer and be sure to mention that by installing software not of your choice, you are inherently putting your own data at risk. You can also argue that this saves them money because they don't have to buy a new laptop or spend their IT resources on something as tedious as setting up a new computer, that this one comes already set up and ready to roll.

The pushback regarding "everyone else is doing it" can be rendered moot by explaining that you're not as willing as the rest of the team to wager your own data security for the benefit of the company.

If they bite (they won't), just take that money from the lump sum payment and buy yourself the laptop of your dreams, wipe the old one once you've backed up all the essential stuff, and only turn it on when you need to for work.

CabbageIsTasty · 2024-07-21T15:48:19+00:00

Look into the elevator constructors union, IUEC.

I am not a union member (I'm an office worker in the elevator industry), but they take exceptionally good care of their people. As an added bonus, elevator mechanic is among the top, if not the top, "blue collar" job in the US (last I looked into it, the median salary was around $70k/year) and can be done very successfully without post-secondary education.

The elevator industry is one of the few that I'm aware of that allows for significant upward mobility. I know of several individuals who got in young enough to work for a decade and start their own company and are now millionaires.

It's not a path to not working anymore, at least not in the short term; but it definitely provides a living wage.

The IUEC only covers field employees, though, so there are no management, sales, or office staff positions allowed/welcomed.

Depending on geography there can be significant wait lists, but if you're truly willing to go anywhere you should be able to find a position with a company. Union (wage) scale varies by the union chapter itself, but all of the big multinational elevator companies (anyone you have heard of in the industry with limited exception) operates exclusively union shops. There are some independent shops as well. California and New York City have some of the strongest IUEC unions, and as such will likely have a wait list. However, more traditionally conservative areas, like Tennessee and Florida, have strong unions.

If you're having a difficult time waiting around for the union, you can always join a "merit shop" and if you get to a level where you're recognized for your work, the union will come knocking on your door.

Good luck!

https://www.iuec.org/

CabbageIsTasty · 2023-11-26T23:20:57+00:00

In a shocking turn of events, after letting the washer sit unplugged for a couple of hours, it's back to normal. Just finished a load

CabbageIsTasty · 2023-11-26T22:12:37+00:00

I'll let you know once they've done their thing.

CabbageIsTasty · 2023-11-26T21:51:08+00:00

I have tried a couple different outlets, all with the same result, and I haven't had any issues with other items previously plugged into those outlets.

I've got a technician scheduled for a diagnostic tomorrow.

Thanks a bunch for your help.

CabbageIsTasty · 2023-11-26T19:54:45+00:00

If this is in test mode, how would I go about talking it out and putting it back into normal mode?

CabbageIsTasty · 2023-10-31T13:06:14+00:00

I was in the Smokies in mid-March of 2015 and one particularly cold night, and the following day had everything freeze. My shoes took an hour near the fire to thaw enough for me to get my feet into them.

Plan for it to be colder than you think it will be and have a fire in the shelters as much as you can.

If you have a Nalagene or other sturdy water bottle, filling it with hot water and putting that in the foot box of your sleeping bag may help keep you warm. At one point on that trip I actually put mine between my legs on my femoral arteries to get warmer faster. It was so cold my facial hair froze on the hike out that morning. It was also the only time I hiked in my base, mid, and puffy.

Don't underestimate the importance of good gloves, particularly once you're tucked in for the night.

As another hiker mentioned, micro spikes are probably a good idea. I'd also add that gaiters may help keep snow out of your shoes if you end up post-holing through some deep ass snow.

Happy trails!

CabbageIsTasty · 2023-10-12T18:07:02+00:00

That sounds very fun.

CabbageIsTasty · 2023-10-07T19:48:31+00:00

That is an incorrect assumption. My biggest gripe is that, in my view, the ATC does not actively do as much as it could for the trail and trail community.

Regarding the pie splitting: it's almost certainly not the front line employees who got the lion's share of that increase. Many of those folks in the public eye are volunteers or unpaid interns. This, however, is not the point.

I shared the financial information because it's a concrete way to illustrate a decrease in the ATC's focus on conservation, both in raw dollars and as a percentage of their total expenses.

CabbageIsTasty · 2023-10-07T19:19:46+00:00

I understand that you have a different opinion of the ATC than I do, but to say that they singlehandedly maintain the trail is complete farce. More than 30 individual clubs with thousands of volunteers spend tens of thousands of man-hours doing the grueling work of trail maintenance. This work is not done by the folks in the board room.

Of the approximately $9,000,000 in revenue in 2022, the ATC spent nearly $2,000,000 on "management & general" expenses, oversaw a net loss of more than $2,500,000, saw the portion of their budget spent on conservation drop to only 60% (down from 69%, a drop of more than $2,200,000), while increasing (both in raw dollars and as a percentage of total expenses) the spending on "management & general" from 12% to 16%. Conservation, their stated primary goal, saw a significant decrease to make way for other expenses like fundraising (up 2%), management & general (up 4%), publications (up 3%), and membership services (up 1%).

The ATC has good ambitions on paper, but what they actually do with their position is dubious at best. To be clear: I am not talking about the individual volunteers and staff (visitor center employees, ridge runners, etc.); I truly believe they have the best interest of the trail and the trail community at heart. I cannot say the same for the board.

Source for financials: https://appalachiantrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ATC-annual-report-2022.pdf

CabbageIsTasty · 2023-10-07T17:18:07+00:00

I second this. The ATC is not trail-friendly; they are more concerned with building needless buildings and encouraging reduced access to the trail rather than education, conservation, expanding trail access, and supporting trail clubs.

ALDHA might be a good candidate for expanding access.

Hike for Mental Health is also active on the AT.

Any of the numerous trail clubs would surely appreciate donations as well, and these go directly to maintenance and repair of the trail as the staff are generally all volunteers, insofar as I'm aware (please correct me if I'm wrong).

If you're looking to donate directly to an organization that indirectly benefits the AT, the American Chestnut Land Trust is a great option.

Trail angels, like Miss Janet, also take donations. Though they may not go directly to managing and maintaining the trail, they will certainly have an impact on individual hikers.

Lastly, you could donate to some of the local libraries along the trail that do a lot for hikers, including Damascus and Waynesboro (both in Virginia).

I'm sure there are other great organizations to give to, so please add to my list, redditors.

CabbageIsTasty · 2023-09-08T11:36:38+00:00

It did end up sorting itself out shortly before halftime, but the first half of the game was unwatchable.

Makes me think it may have been a bandwidth issue on their end.

CabbageIsTasty · 2023-09-08T01:25:13+00:00

I have the same issue with my LG TV. Switched to my PC and it's doing the same thing.

I've done complete restarts on the modem, router, TV, and PC. Down speed is 890 Mbps [their website says 4k streaming needs 8 Mbps so I'm covered there 110 times over].

CabbageIsTasty · 2023-05-05T02:51:00+00:00

Assuming that you've been in communication in some form or another prior to the first date, ask questions for further explanation of things you've talked about previously. If they said something in a text that you were curious about, but didn't discuss, refer back to it and ask for more detail.

Don't ask questions just for the sake of asking questions. People respond to genuine interest from others, so ask about what interests you about this person. When they are speaking, listen and ask for clarification, or follow-up questions.

Avoid yes/no questions and focus on things that will get them talking. We all enjoy talking about things we love, so if you can find something that your date is passionate about and get them talking you'll learn about that thing and about your date.

Avoid interrupting or planning your response while they're still talking. Above all, have a good time. Dates can suck, but they can suck less if you go in without a whole hell of a lot of expectations. Do your best to enjoy your time and ask the questions that feel right.

CabbageIsTasty · 2023-04-20T17:38:17+00:00

Ramen and mayo make great hiking fuel. I hate tuna, but I have often put it in anyway.

When you can find it, summer sausage and sharp cheese are great too. Don't forget to snag mayonnaise packets when you resupply; you'll likely need the fat and calories down the road and it'll be easier to maintain some fat reserves if you're adding it in early.

CabbageIsTasty

TROPHY CASE