Meat and I really enjoyed hiking 700 miles with Brian Sarvis, aka Flosser, aka Kilimanjaro. I won't mention his age, but if Abe Lincoln was talking about Flossermanjaro-AT he would say "6 score" and something years ago... What I mean is Flosser has been around the block a time or two and he has had a lot of adventures in his life but during our 2 months of hiking together Meat and I were able to share a few "firsts" with Flosser...
Flosser's Firsts: Ho-Ho'sDing-Dongs
Oatmeal Cream Cookies
Pretty much anything from Hostess or Little Debbie's, which is surprising to me. After being around kids as the Superintendent of the school system one would think that he may have tried more "kids" snacks. When I was a kid that's all I wanted, Little Debbies snacks. When I was an older kid in college that's all I ever ate (just kidding Mom, I had a well balanced diet all 4 years of college!)
Snack Pack Pudding
Blowing Snot Rockets (he got really good at the Simko technique!) Breakfast at the Huddle House
An all you can eat KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken)
The Cracker Barrel
Shin Splints (not something he wanted to try, but just a product of hiking 700 miles in 2 months)
Sugar Sodas (Well, he had those before, but that was probably 30 years ago...and for me 30 years is a lifetime!)
What I learned from Flosser
How to tie a Bowline Knot (which I call the rabbit hole and the tree knot)How to tie a Half Hitch Knot (which I call the "in case I messed up the rabbit and tree knot our food bags won't fall" knot)
How to drink half of everything in the first swig
How to drink your dinners on the trail, going without a cook stove and eating all of our food cold
How to meet someone at KFC and then completely forget who they are 15 minutes later when they give us a ride to our hotel
How to use iodine to treat our drinking water
There were a lot of fun times with Flossermanjaro-AT in the past two months and we are sad to see him go! Also, I know in the last week of hiking Flosser got a new trail name, Kilimanjaro, but I had already started the "Flosser's Firsts" blog, and Flosser's Firsts sounds better than Kilimanjaro's Firsts. Kilimanjaro is headed back to Santa Barbara for a summer full of adventures, a shower every day, and a comfortable bed to sleep in. I wonder if he will miss walking everyday, not showering for a week at a time, and sleeping on the ground. We'll be looking forward to seeing Kilimanjaro when he comes back to hike with us in a few months!
Oh Chris.... There are so many subtle and not so subtle things you had to have learned in two months with JBrian. Things such as the importance of romance in one's life, an appreciation for chocolate and all that information he so scholarly stores in his head creating the perfect pigmalian relationship. So good to have him home. Thanks for sharing the gift of your time with him.
ReplyDeleteHe loved it. :)
Oops spelled Pygmalion way wrong!! :). Happy hiking!!
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