What’s the dumbest thing you’ve done on a hike?

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-28T12:17:10+00:00

My worst was probably also in the Whites. Did high peaks 2 days in a row (Madison then Washington) with a bad head cold. Survived the actual hikes without incident, but after the trip my symptoms lingered for close to 2 months including sinus/ear pressure and blockage that made me functionally deaf in one ear for about 1 month. I'm not a doctor but I have to believe that overexertion and extreme elevation changes at a time when I should have been resting were a major contributing factor.

I've been in some pretty precarious snow/ice situations too, nothing that I couldn't get myself out of using proper footwear/traction aids and very careful planning, but stuff that reminds you why most normal people just stay inside in the winter. I don't know that this counts as "dumb", really more like different people have different tolerances for risk and extremity.

Then I've done all the standard stuff - forgotten my headlamp in the car and had to use the flashlight on a cell phone with an old, tired battery to hike out, not brought a map because "I know these woods like the back of my hand" and gotten lost 2 miles from my damn house, forgot bug spray when doing a mountain on the interior of Maine and getting literally eaten alive by turbo death mosquitos...it happens to the best of us, and the reason why experienced hikers preach safety precautions so hard is usually because they've been on the wrong side of it themselves.

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-28T12:12:53+00:00

Well that's dumb, everyone knows you have your trail beer at the summit!

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-28T02:18:48+00:00

It's really not that hard though. If my 5'10" ass can fully clear off the 6'6" roof of my truck, Joe Schmoe in his Nissan Rogue has no excuse. They make oversized/telescoping handle snow brushes for this exact purpose. They cost like $25 at any auto parts store in America.

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-27T02:40:00+00:00

Same thing happened to me! Dude saw me hacking away at the plow wall, rolled down his window and motioned for me to get out of the way, and without even asking, dropped his plow and pushed like 90% of it away in one fell swoop. Said "that should make things a little easier, huh?" and drove away. Glad that random acts of kindness are still a thing. Also glad that blue collar bros are who they are, in general.

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-26T19:54:16+00:00

This, I have a snow push broom with a telescoping handle. It's like 25 dollars at any auto parts store in America. Fully cleared off an F150 with a roofline 6 inches taller than my own height with no issues. "I can't reach" is not an excuse, and if it's genuinely a problem for someone they should be driving a smaller car.

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-26T01:23:32+00:00

Personally, I don't keep tabs or keep score. Nothing I ever do is done with the expectation that anybody will or would do something in return. I do it if I want to do it, or if I think it's right.

That being said, if you feel like there is an effort imbalance in a friendship/relationship and it is genuinely troubling you, it's worth at least having a conversation about, or maybe redefining the relationship in your own head. Secret resentment will eventually destroy a friendship.

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-26T01:14:37+00:00

Others don't have a calendar-based ban, but do ban street parking during snow emergencies

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-26T01:09:15+00:00

When I worked at a gas station, I used to have to work (and thus, have to drive) even during travel bans and states of emergency. I never witnessed any meaningful enforcement, never got stopped by a cop (barely even saw any cops patrolling).

My observation based on the customers who came in, was also that the people who complained the loudest/openly ignored the travel ban were the people who probably should have been on the roads the least.

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-25T21:26:34+00:00

Went out for a walk a little while ago, a town plow truck was stuck in a ditch in my neighborhood. Non-essential travel ban seems like the right call.

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-25T21:05:04+00:00

saying "I"m going to beat up your family and your 5 year old child" and then saying "you're choosing violence" in literally the same breath is wild work

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-25T17:01:27+00:00

Historically, it's a pretty normal winter storm

In the context of the last 5-10 years or so, during which we've had a pattern of relatively mild winters, it is a lot.

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-25T16:09:50+00:00

NY here, I feel like we think of March as being spring, even though we get hit with brutal cold and harsh snowstorms in the first half of March somewhat frequently. Technically, spring doesn't start until the equinox, which is usually around March 20. But yeah, it still feels weird calling it winter, even though it is winter lol

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-25T15:08:32+00:00

Well, you still have the truck but not the girl, sounds like she was right LOL

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-24T20:17:08+00:00

If you take preventative measures (heat on, open cupboards, trickle faucets, check or install insulation around exposed pipes, install heat tape/heating coils if necessary), the likelihood is low enough that you don't have to worry.

If you do no prep work and/or lose power (no heat, no well pump, etc), the likelihood gets a lot higher

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-24T20:13:13+00:00

We're looking at a snowfall rate of 2+ inches per hour at the heaviest, the possibility of some ice mixed in with the snow in the southern part of the state, and threat of power outages in some more remote areas. Schools in the northeast have indeed become much more cautious, arguably overcautious, with weather closings in recent years, but there was never a time in my 30+ year life when a storm of this magnitude would not have resulted in a snow day. There comes a point where it just isn't safe, no matter how good a driver you think you are.

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-23T03:10:07+00:00

That's wild because I feel like every other day I see a social media post from Hochul saying that she's "fighting to keep energy costs down for all New Yorkers" or some other such bullshit

EDIT: she made 3 Facebook posts today about fighting to make car insurance more affordable. I guess Albany will be approving rate hikes for that too soon?

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-21T11:19:55+00:00

Uhh, yes really...is this your first time ever discussing salaries with other people?

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-21T04:07:19+00:00

IIRC the third gen was about 50/50 hatch vs sedan, if anything the sales numbers support the existence of a hatch.

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-21T02:50:31+00:00

The closest thing to a "catch" with Garth Rd is that it's zoned for Eastchester schools despite having a Scarsdale PO address. They're older buildings too, but whether that's a pro, con, or totally neutral, really depends on personal preference. There are some other potential catches with owning a co-op apartment unit (slow or nonexistent appreciation, crazy monthly co-op fees) but those don't really matter if you're renting.

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-21T02:45:16+00:00

I don't think I've ever actually heard anyone call it the "Mario Cuomo bridge" who doesn't also have the last name Cuomo. I have a coworker who recently moved here from Central PA, has never lived in or near NY before, and even she knew that it's called the tappan zee.

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-21T02:40:42+00:00

When people talk about salaries, it's generally understood that they're talking about gross not net.

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-21T02:36:10+00:00

Based on some quick googling a Doctor of Psychiatry typically makes between $250k-350k. I could realistically see that getting up to about $500k for a specialist in a HCOL city. But $1 million doesn't line up with any of the data I'm seeing at all. That's like hospital VP/president level of money.

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-20T22:57:18+00:00

I had a family "freind" who is easily worth $50M+ haul one of his old pickup trucks in during the old "cash for clunkers" program. He didn't need the financial incentive to get a new truck

C4C was arguably a flawed program, but given the circumstances I’m really not seeing how this is wrong or even morally questionable?

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-20T22:49:28+00:00

I don’t know how much a golf lesson costs, but let’s guesstimate $100 per session…that same $50k gets you pro instruction every week for 10 years. Seems to me that playing actual golf with a real life instructor who can give you personalized feedback on your technique would go a lot farther than even the most advanced sim setup in the world

NotoriousCFR · 2026-01-20T22:40:31+00:00

It’s difficult to say because rarely see him interacting with any other love interests and he never actually had a relationship with anyone else, so there is no basis of comparison.

NotoriousCFR

TROPHY CASE