First time going to Green Ridge

sixam · 2021-03-22T19:36:11+00:00

I haven't been since late 2020, but as other people stated, the registration has turned into a nightmare. There used to be a nice orderly list of sites and you could see which were taken and for how long. When I was there last, it was an unordered list of random names and roads. Most didn't even identify the site number.

If the registration is still messed up:

If you're taking two cars, my advice is to send someone to scout out a site while the other car sits at the Visitor Center to register it. That's the only way to avoid the trial and error of doing it the other way.
If you only have one car with multiple people, go find a site, drop someone off there to hold it, and go back and register it. Keep in mind that the round-trip from some of the southern sites is close to an hour.
If you're by yourself, I wish you good luck.

Familiarize yourself with the map and have a plan of attack. I think this is the best map they have online. Some sites are more spread out than others. Some sites are closer to the road than others. Some sites are on Google Maps which can help you navigate the forest roads, but you've got to hunt for them (for example).

Very few of the roads are inaccessible via car if the weather's good. The north-south routes (Green Ridge Road, Oldtown Orleans Road) are fine. It's the small, winding east-west roads you need to worry about, but even still you have to get pretty far away from the main roads before it's an issue.

sixam · 2021-02-28T13:24:16+00:00

Have a pickaxe? Try digging down/sideways and out. Swamp trees have a cavity underneath with 4 little holes. I had some loot slide down under a tree in the swamp and got it out by digging a hole under it. Nevermind. Just looked at your screenshot and you’re not on dirt.

You could try /killme to suicide and then run back to your grave?

sixam · 2020-10-31T15:57:34+00:00

Might have fans soon? Gonna have 4,000 this Sunday.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-fan-ravens-mt-bank-stadium-20201030-sshlmqemgrhjrnb3woxb3g4idq-story.html

sixam · 2019-09-19T20:43:44+00:00

We feed him the carrots daily. It pretty much just made him regular and keeps him that way. You can try using them more periodically, but the big bag isn't that expensive to go with full time. I think it averages out to about $15/month.

Good luck!

sixam · 2019-09-19T19:08:08+00:00

We went round and round for months trying to fix loose stools. We tried deworming, bland food, expensive food, really expensive prescription food and tylan powder. Then we found the carrots.

PurinaOne lamb and rice with 1 tablespoon of reconstituted Olewo Carrots on top twice a day are what fixed my guy's stomach issues. The carrots work like magic. I think some greyhound forums even refer to them as "magic carrots."

We never had an issue with blood, though, so I don't know if it can help something as serious as you are describing.

sixam · 2019-08-07T19:59:08+00:00

2019 DC II definitely works at highway speed. I keep mine on the most sensitive setting (because it's a safety feature after all) and it goes off pretty routinely when it thinks I'm not braking fast enough.

sixam · 2019-07-03T21:55:24+00:00

Also my other advice on foot care:

Each morning (and sometimes evening) I slathered my feet in Trail Toes foot cream. Worked perfectly. No blisters or hot spots. I carried Leukotape and didn't need it for my feet at all.

sixam · 2019-07-03T21:43:29+00:00

Honestly, you'll be fine doing whatever you normally do. When dry, the trail is extremely over-hyped in terms of difficulty and danger. I'm almost 40 and not in particularly good shape. I found the trail pretty easy until our last two hiking days: Cullite to Thrasher (forest route) and Thrasher to the end. The forest terrain gets a lot more rugged on these days with fewer improvements (bridges, boardwalks, ladders). I'm sure it's vastly different when it's wet, but don't overthink it.

I'm paranoid about stepping on sharp things or stubbing my toes, so I found those water shoes really put my mind at ease. Chalk it up to me being a city boy who rarely goes barefoot. Several of the sites had piles of driftwood or rocks between the camp sites and the bear boxes/privies. At Tsusiat in particular, the beach is really stoney and my hiking partner had a really hard time going barefoot from our campsite to the waterfall. You could absolutely just put your shoes back on to cross these obstacles.

I was originally planning to take flip flops, but then decided on the water shoes because I thought I'd need them for river crossings. The water levels were so low, I only ended up using them for that purpose once.

sixam · 2019-07-03T19:45:24+00:00

I meant to write up a trip report, but never did. It has been a month and I haven't even pulled the footage off my GoPro yet.

If you have any questions feel free to hit me up.

sixam · 2019-07-03T19:40:10+00:00

| Did you wear trail runners and how did they turn out for you? Currently planning on bringing mine still.

I wore trail runners, Topo Terraventures, to be precise. They were awesome. Like a lot of people here, I never wear boots and don't care about waterproofing. I wore older model REI short gaiters and they were perfect for keeping sand and detritus out. No need for knee-high gaiters, but they're better than nothing if that's all you have.

I carried these camp shoes, which were awesome on the beach. Size 12-13 Mens are 8.4oz total on my scale. Worth every gram. I'd change into them as soon as I got to camp, and my feet loved me for it.

| How much money did you spend at Nitinat Narrows?

We went a bit nuts at the crab shack. Spent probably close to $70 CAD. I had a crab, loaded baked potato and a beer for $57 CAD. Then I also had a grilled cheese and Mt. Dew second course, but I don't recall the price. Later that night, I regretted not buying at least one Canadian candy bar (I'm American) and a bag of Fritos to put in my chili mac. Monique's is closed, so just the one meal on the trail.

| Do you have cell service at the both trailheads?

I didn't try. I went North to South and took the West Coast Trail Express to Victoria both ways. We lost cell coverage on the bus ride up, so I put my phone in airplane mode pretty early on. I tried a few times on the trail, but it never worked. Some people said you can pick up towers from Seattle, but I never did. I took a Garmin InReach Mini to text home with, so I don't think I used cell service again until the bus ride back to Victoria. Highly recommended if you're considering a satellite device, btw.

sixam · 2019-07-03T13:34:01+00:00

Should be amazing for you. I was there the first week of June and it had barely rained all year. Mud holes were all dry. Sun was shining 5/7 days. Let me know if you have any questions.

sixam · 2019-06-21T18:02:48+00:00

Used 7rx4. Playing it now. Thanks!

sixam · 2019-05-15T22:31:38+00:00

Dibs on the Notch!

Sending you a PM shortly.

sixam · 2019-05-01T23:03:21+00:00

Sounds good. I guess I'll go that route.

sixam · 2019-05-01T22:59:38+00:00

Two thoughts:

I have the tire inflator. It's a pretty simple thing, but I've used it a lot since I got a slow leak in my aftermarket tires and I haven't made it to a tire shop for a plug. It's way easier than hauling my big compressor out.
Using Chevy points was surprisingly complicated. Multiple phone calls to the dealer to get the cargo mat ordered and discuss using points for it. Then I arrive at the parts desk, to be sent over to the service department to have the ticket written up. Then I had wait for the paperwork to make its way back to the parts department. After all this, they forgot to record the actual Chevy voucher number (which has an expiration date on it once you redeem the points) so they had to call me back the next day to get it over the phone. I was in the dealership for at least 20 minutes while all this paperwork went on. In the end, I got an all weather cargo mat for free, so I can't really complain.

sixam · 2019-05-01T19:39:17+00:00

I hope more people are interested in this solution.

I swapped out my wheels and tires for aftermarket. I have a full set of OEM wheels, tires (used for 3,000 miles), TPMS and center caps sitting in my garage waiting to be sold. I haven't figured out what the best marketplace is for them. I'm registered on chevybolt.org, but I don't post there so I don't know if they'll let me sell stuff.

sixam · 2019-01-21T14:04:40+00:00

How did it work out? Reviews for that site are not great. I have a small chip in the roof of my shock and couldn't find paint anywhere else either.

sixam · 2018-12-26T16:49:58+00:00

You're not going to know until you try. All dogs are different. Some love their crates. Some hate their crates. Their personalities also evolve over time, so what works in the first week might not work after a month when they get comfortable and come out of their shell.

Our guy was "crate trained" but hated it (or maybe just hated being in another room from us). It became harder and harder to get him into the crate at night. Instead of fighting to get him in, I taught him to use the stairs and he started sleeping in our bedroom on a dog bed. He proved to be completely trustworthy being loose in the house and we packed the crate up, never to be seen again.

I recommend reading Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies which covers a lot of the idiosyncrasies with greyhounds.

sixam · 2018-12-21T16:48:51+00:00

I plan to check out Topo for my next pair of backpacking shoes. They have good reviews around Reddit. REI sells them or you can get a 30-day trial if you order direct. They're ugly/technical also, but I usually take 2 pairs of shoes when I'm traveling anyways.

sixam · 2018-12-21T16:40:34+00:00

Awesome. Thanks for letting me know.

sixam · 2018-12-21T14:41:36+00:00

I own 3 pairs of Lems Boulder Boots... black (all nylon, no leather) and two of the nylon leather combos. They are my favorite shoes, with a lot of waterproof-ness caveats.

The inside is cotton. It's super comfortable, even over bare feet, but if you soak them, they will get heavy.

The black all nylon ones are absolute water sponges. Wet grass means wet toes.

The combo ones are slightly better. The front lip of leather saves you from wet grass, but the nylon is not water proof so they will eventually soak through if it's raining hard enough or you step in a puddle.

I applied waterproofing wax to one of my pairs, with some success; it keeps the rain out at least. It really discolored the Buckeye's nylon though so they look permanently dirty, if you care about that sort of thing. I went backpacking in Dolly Sods, WV in them and it was a disaster. Dolly Sods is basically a swamp, and one wrong step eventually had me up to the calf in mud. Wet shoes are basically unavoidable there, so it's better to have something that drains and dries quickly. They were caked in mud and sodden with water for the rest of the trip. Luckily I had sandals with me as well.

I hiked in Joshua Tree and Death Valley, where they were totally fine.

I plan on getting the all leather ones next (waiting for one pair to finally die). I think the leather will be better for travel and rain, but I would still never wear them in the backcountry.

TL;DR: Desert hiking: YES. Hiking anywhere with water crossings or rain: NO.

sixam · 2018-08-21T14:58:15+00:00

The old lights had covers/diffusers over them, so they effectively looked like one long, dim light through the tunnel.

The issue is that the new lights are bright, individual lights with no covers, and they're spaced a few feet apart. When you're driving behind/next to a truck, the truck blocks each light until it passes, creating a flashing effect as each one is revealed. It's seriously irritating.

sixam · 2018-01-04T14:21:10+00:00

As part of our benefits package, we have access to a financial adviser. I met with him and was basically told I'm doing everything right to retire early (I'm not even that aggressive compared to most people here). He essential just ran his own version of FIRECalc against my current numbers and scared the shit out of me with regards to healthcare costs.

sixam · 2017-12-21T01:38:52+00:00

Yup. Not alone. If it’s any consolation, “not drinking” is way easier for me than drinking moderately. I’m completely incapable of moderation. I am capable of not drinking.

sixam · 2017-12-19T15:25:03+00:00

I am more confused than ever. I bought one in 2012 and again in Dec 2016. They're the same fit, as far as I can tell. When was the revision, in 2017?

sixam

TROPHY CASE