Page 8
THE BATTALION
THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 1974
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Backpackers find cheap thrills
Four discover inexpensive outdoor exercise
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By MIKE KOLAR
Most people feel that spring
break is a time to either work or
rest. The biggest problem may
be in choosing between two kinds
of six-packs.
For four Aggies however, the
biggest problem was in staying
alive.
The four roommates, Randy
Miller, Dave Perelli, Phil Shimer
and Keith Kipp, drove to Big
Bend National Park where they
Spent five days backpacking.
The four hiked over 26 miles
during the five days through
trails of desert wastes, mountain
ranges and dried creek beds.
“We decided to do this because
\ve usually do something over the
break,” Perelli said. “It was also
very cheap.”
“Backpacking is not really a
pleasure sport like boating or
fishing,” Miller said. “You go to
a reserve like Big Bend and sign
in at the Ranger station. You
give your name and the number
of days you plan to be out. If you
don’t come in, this way they can
look for you.”
At a national reserve like Big
Bend, the hiking trails are not
like major highways in their
comforts.
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“We traveled for five days and
we saw only three other people
on the trail during that time,”
Shimer said. “It’s not that there
aren’t many people out there, it’s
just that there are so many miles
of trail.
“At the base camp of the Chi-
sos Mountain Trails, the name
for all the hiking trails in the
park, there’s a restaurant, motel
cabins, stores and a lodge. There
were many people there, including
many other Aggies, but on a trail
a mile away, someone could be
dying and no one would know it.”
“It’s not really a good place
for a honeymoon,” Miller added,
“but then again, it just might
be.”
While on the trails, the four
carried about 40 pounds of weight
on their back. Usually waking at
about ten each morning, the group
would eat and then walk along
the trails until they came to a
spring where they would make
camp until the next day.
Finding a spring which was
not dry was not always easy.
“Springs were marked on a
map, but there was, no way of
knowing whether the spring was
running or not,” Kipp said. “When
we’d find a dry one, we’d have to
walk on another three or four
miles until the next one.”
The combination of he^t and
hard terrain made hiking the
trails difficult.
“In the desert part of the
trails, the temperature was above
100, while in the higher moun
tain areas, the temperature would
get down into the 40’s,” Perelli
said.
“You had to walk with your
head down,” Kipp said. “The foot
ing was so bad that you’d fall if
you looked up. We carried along
two quarts of water for each per
son and refilled the containers as
much as possible. We always kept
five quarts of water on hand in
case of an emergency.”
“We really didn’t travel in one
bunched-up group,” Shimer said.
“It was fairly easy to get lost.
We met two other people who
said they’d been lost for over 24
hours. We even got lost for a
couple of hours. We took a trail
which led nowhere and couldn’t
find the main trail back. The
main trails are marked with blue
tags on trees or with rocks piled
up high along the trail. Some
times, there wouldn’t be a mark
er for a quarter of a mile or so.
That’s when you really get wor
ried.”
Sound will not travel very well
because of the mountains. Getting
lost and staying lost really be
comes a problem to the backpack-
“It was kind of scarey,” Miller
said. “We became so dependent
on water. Our food, which was the
concentrated, freeze-dried kind,
even needed water to be eaten.
If we couldn’t find water, we
were slightly in trouble.”
“We took a compass, but when
you came to a spring that was
dry, you couldn’t go and sell your
compass for a glass of water,”
Perelli said.
All four agreed on certain
things which would be necessary
to anyone considering a back
packing trip. A good pack, a first-
aid kit, concentrated foods, many
pairs of socks and a good pair
of boots.
Another item considered to be
important was many packages of
M&M’s.
“I really looked forward to the
rest breaks,” Miller said. “We’d
eat M&M’s and drink water. That
really kept me going. The M&M’s
give you energy and they’re a
chocolate which won’t melt.”
“The humor on the trip kept
me going,” Kipp said. “Everyone
seemed to be in good spirits even
though we were so close to dan
ger. I really think the humor
kept me going.”
“The thing that kept Phil (Shi
mer) going,” Perelli said, “was
the two cases of Coors waiting at
the truck.”
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DAN COURSON balances for a backhand smash in prepara
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at 9 a.m. Friday. (Photo by Kathy Curtis)
For the session starting July, 1974,
Euromed will assist qualilied Antet
ican students in gaining admission
to recognized overseas medical
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And that’s just the beginning.
Since the language barrier conslituln
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In addition, Euromed provides stii'
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Senior or graduate students currentl)
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For application and further
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(800) 645-1234
in New York State phone:
(516) 746-2380
or write,
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170 Old Country Road
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Attention Seniors,
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The Gentleman's Quarter
3705 E. 29th Bryan
•'/ 4
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846-1706
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