365 ....... up to the top !

OK .... so here it was the day ..... ResQlou's 1st Cake Day ..... a day that she has been talking about and looking forward to for as long as I can remember. Not only was it her 365th day..... her goal was to also make it her 365th find, and what box does she have in the scope?

Adrenaline Junkie ....... Huh ? What ?? AJ ?????

This box makes it home at the top of Table Rock. Yes .... dear friends ... all the way at the top. Now while this is a 7 mile hike round trip (give or take), for those of you that have never hiked Table Rock, this is a VERY TOUGH 7 miles. The RED Table Rock trail goes up and up and up and up and up and up and up !

When Lou first announced that this would be what she would be doing with her partner in crime .... a certain Clown .... I got a little concerned. Neither of them were familiar with the trail and/or what they were in store for. They had hopes to drop the little hounds and clowns off at school at 7:45 AM in Simpsonville, drive the hourish journey to Table Rock State Park, hike the trail, and be back in Simpsonville to pick the little ones up from school at 2:30ish. So I offered to take a vacation day and guide them up the mountain, and pretty much "demanded" that they have a backup plan for picking up the kids (since I KNEW that they would never make it off the mountain in time and be there for the kids). After my offer, the day turned into an event. A wolf, a bee and a 't' decided to join the fun. That was as they say the beginning of the end ! :O)

OK .... so there is your cast .... ResQlou, Woody Clown, Mama Wolf, 't', Hornesbee, the Troll Master and an elevation of 3,124 red trail. Standing at the Trail Head (making last minute "pit stops" using both gender bathrooms :O)) A ranger asks us what trail we are hiking ....... Hornesbees says Table Rock, he makes a face and says: AH...... THE HARD ONE ! They all spin around and look at ME !!! Like this was MY IDEA !!!! I said ..... look I told y'all .... there is NOTHING easy about this thing ..... it is up and up and up and up and up ...... :O)

We register at 9 AM .... say we will return at 2 (LOL not gonna happen)... and who do I put as the Emergency contact ..... YEP the TROLL .... heck I figured we might as well really have fun if we never return of this crazy mountain ....and with that we are on our way.

So we are talking and laughing and walking along .... then it starts ..... up ..... and up ....... and up ...... rock stairs, wooden stairs, a climb here and a climb there. I keep wondering why everyone keeps looking at ME ...... so we climb and we climb, Lou determined .... leads a little then falls back while a Hornesbee takes the lead, and we keep each other going.

"ARE we THERE yet ??????" Lou yells (too many times to count), "Keep going Lou ....", I encourage her (laughing just a little because I warned her !)

"Who's *bleeping* idea was THIS ?" she asks.

"Just keep going LOU, you will be fine!"

And on we go ....... we take turns leading .... (read this as some drop back thinking to themselves ..... what in the WORLD are we doing ...... this is CRAZY ! Who in their right mind would hike this trail..... LOL)

AND THEN it is in our sites the famous CCC shelter. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH ! We stop. We sit. We take pictures. We drink water. We do a few exchanges, OH but wait. Here we are LOU's cake day.... LOU'S DAY ........ and she does not have her STAMP ! WHAT ??? You don't have your stamp ........ LOL .......... What a "word play #3" !!! "No proof you were here then" we tell her as she cusses us all ! (you just can't make this stuff up !)

The clown decides she is gonna get a head start on us and heads up the trail, and then we follow along. At this point, 't' and I know we are only at the shelter, but Lou has it in her head the TOP is only about 5 more minutes from here ....

So back to the climb .... we climb ....... we climb ..... we KNOW we should have NEVER stopped for that rest ...... only makes it worse to start going again ..... we climb along. 't' in her wonderful 't' way announces that she has NEVER seen anyone get to Governor's Rock without panting ...... I totally agree .......

We catch up to the clown (who found a piece of balloon along the way .... go figure)... and then we are there ...... Governor's Rock .... but some of the cast thinks ... we are there ..... at the top, of Table Rock (LOL silly hound !) ...... we climb the carved out steps.... PANTING (just like 't' said) and they think we are there!! ........ NO WAY y'all this is just Governor's Rock ......*Bleep* *Bleep* *BLEEP!*


More pictures ..... pictures of Lou walking away from us because she is not STOPPING and is kinda peeved, since she thought we were there and NOPE ....there was still more to go .... so on we hike, the trail gets a little "funky" up here as you have to climb up on the face of rocks at times. A few times I heard ...."do you mean we have to climb up that?" ....... Then Lou asks ....."How much further Holly? " ..... "We are almost there, I promise Lou.... keep going" as she turns around and looks at me with that LOOK.

Then my cell phone rings....... FFQ boxing at the bottom with FFP and Justink ... "where are you ?" ....... "We are almost to the top I tell them !"

We climb, we climb and we climb ....

"YOU LIED HOLLY YOU LIED" starts to be the chant ....... I assure them we are almost there ....... "YOU LIED HOLLY" ...... heck it is all relative ....... almost is almost ! :O)

We climb and we climb and we climb ....... then we see the SIGN ... 3124 ..... SEE .... it wasn't that bad we are almost there !!! I tell them !
"ALMOST THERE HOLLY.... YOU LIE !!!" 't' backs me up on this one...... (thanks 't')

The moment ..... the moment when you walk out on that rock ...... at the top ....

SMILES all around and the pain and the "lies" are totally forgotten for now and I mean FOR NOW !

The cast breaks out cameras as Lou goes in search of Adrenaline Junkie, which is the reason for us fools to be on top of this mountain right now ! :O)

Click ..... Click ...... Click ....... as Lou emerges from the bushes with box in hand .......


We had done it ...... we had reached the top ..... all 6 of us (well 7 if you count AJ .... Lou's boxing buddy named AJ after Adrenaline Junkie) ..... Box in hand ....

Hornesbee's presented Lou with a special stamp carved just for the milestone..... (good thing since Lou DID NOT HAVE A STAMP !!!!!)
't' broke out the wine .....(gotta love 't' !)
I had made a special card for the day to go in Lou's logbook with all our stamps on the card ...
Lou had made a 365 box to be planted while we were up there ....

So we had a SIP of wine and our lunches, stamped in ..... and SAVORED the moment ..... but wait ...... we only had a SIP of that wine ...... where did it ALL go ??????????? ....... hummmmmmmmm ......... only one person "smelled" of wine ..... hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm could it be while we were busy stamping .... the wolf drank the wine ...... no she wouldn't ...... Would she ??????

Hummmmmmm gotta watch out for that Darth Wolf ..... hummmmmmm .....

OK well TIME check .... I think it was noonish ..... I did have a SIP of wine too !

Lou plants her box, we return Adrenaline Junkie to it's spot safe and sound at the top of Table Rock and start on the way DOWN.

" HOLLY ..... I thought this was DOWN !!!" yells Lou

HUH ????? Like I made this trail ????? KEEP GOING LOU .... I tell her ......

As we climb up and UP ..... HOLLY YOU LIED ..... this is NOT DOWN this is UP !!!! WHY ARE WE NOT GOING DOWN ??? ..... just keep walking I tell them !!!

Again ....... it is in our sights ..... 3124 ...... and we stop for Lou's 366th find. Now..... this would be a 't' box .... she is not sure where it is (like I said you have got to LOVE TO DEATH 't')...... I think I am there .... the wolf reaches for the box and comes out with just a plain plastic bag... with a container in it ........

I look at 't' ..... VERY CONFUSED ..... "'t' this is nothing like you ???? A plastic bag ????? no box ???????"

She looks at me and shrugs .............. "I don't know Holly, maybe ?" .....

I am still in total disbelief ...... NO WAY 't' hid a plastic BAG all the way up here - NOPE .......

Mama opens it .................. WOAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, what in the world ...... GARLIC......

Again ......... I look at 't' .............. "what in the world is wrong with you I ask her ?" She still has this very confused look on her face and says "I don't know Holly ......."

"A FLEA", Mama says

and 't' reaches over and holds up a normal and natural 't' box !

3124 and a garlic flea were ours !

Cell phone rings ...... and rings ..... and rings ... I try and call it back, very confused - there is ernie and burt talking to each other and then a kid singin My Bolonga has a first name ......... I can't get a good enough signal to call them back so we go on....... I am thinking this is another of Lou's tricks .... but she is here with me ..... but I ask anyway ..... Lou did you have someone call me ? NO ... Holly ...... DUH ????

Down and up and the DOWN and DOWN and DOWN...... now up is bad but I personally thing down is worse since you have to step DOWN these steps and such with JELLY legs.... but we go on .....

THEN

We hear it ....... a SCREAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

OMG

then we hear "GET THE CAMERA"

OK well you remember how I describe the trail up here as a little "funky" since you have to climb up rock faces at points ...... well we are now going DOWN .... so you have to climb DOWN the same rock face again with jelly legs. We look below us and

OMG

there is LOU laying on this rock face on her back .....legs in the air ..... in a very compromising position .... Darth Wolf breaks out the camera....... I comment this will be the next "naughty" stamp carved .....

Now we are starting to question where all the wine went .......No worries we have a nurse with us !!!! (just for the record she did not seem too concerned ! :O))

OK .... no major injury .... Thank GOODNESS because I am not really wanting to carry Lou off this mountain .... nor get the wrath of the SNOB when someone has to take her home all banged up ...... a wanked knee is all that was reported ... so we get her up ..... and continue down......

ANOTHER SCREAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

LOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

This time it was he own doing .......... she decided to slide down the rock ..... UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM cell phone in back pocket ....... *sigh* LOU ... she scared the *bleep* out of all of us !!!

We are now back to Govenor's rock ...... and another box we did not get on the way up ........ another 't' box ..... she stands there and says "I am not telling you where " as most people know I LOVE 't' boxes .... so someone is reading the clue and like a fool I go to get it, slap dab in the stickers on my knees ..... I hand it off to Mama Wolf as I unstick myself.......

We PLOP down to stamp in .................... Then we hear it AGAIN

another SCREAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Lou JUMPS up ......... yelling (and they call me Hollerin' Holly !!!!)

ANTS............... Lou has dang ANTS in her pants !!!!!!!!!! OMG ......

Like I have said before ..... somethings you just can't make up ..... a drunk wolf (well maybe .... still not sure what exactly happened to that wine ..... but that wolf did smell like it ..... hummmmmmmmm) and Lou with Ants in her PANTS !!!!!

OK ..... we gotta keep going DOWN .......

Off the ROCK and down ... side step ..... side step .... everyone OK ???? .... side step ..... side step ........

Again another milestone .... the CCC shelter ..... "We are almost there LOU!" I say ....

"SHUT UP HOLLY YOU LIE !!!!!!", I hear ! LOL

OK well there are 2 nice older men resting at the shelter ..... then another family walks up with a little boy in tow ...... We have 2 boxes to get here, within site of the shelter ..... Lou says to me FORGET it really too risky ...... let's just go.... so we start traveling down again ......

Mama the Wolf that she is stops us and says we can do this...... as she proceeds back to the shelter to talk to everyone as a distraction .... I raid her pack for her log book and stamp and we obtain Happy Hiker and a very special box .... that traveled up to the shelter ! :O)

Time check ......... OK well better invoke Hornesbee's plan B

MOM ?????????????????? Could you PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE pick up Nick at school for me ??????????????? Big SMILE !!!!! OK everyone's plan B (as I insisted) had been put into motion !!!!!!!!!!!! We were all good (I actually had a plan B too .... even though I live 5 minutes from Table Rock and the calf gets off the bus at 3:45 or so)

A text message ...... AHHHHHHHHHHHHH the person calling me while we were up on the mountain ................. We are at the cars !!!! it was Justink ...... Tried to call again ..... with out luck .....

Down we continued ..........................

" OK Holly ..... what box is next ?"

" any rock will do ", I say ............... keep going ...........

Down and Down and Down and Down we goooooooooooooo.....

"Are we almost there HOLLY ????" Yeah .... I snicker

YOU LIE HOLLY is all I keep hearing

and then ...... slience is broken

WHAT ?????

Someone is singing a BARNEY song..... Sun Sun ... Hello Mr SUN ... Please shine down on me .............

The WOLF?????? The wolf ???? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO .....the wolf is singing ..... OH MY ...... no one will believe this one ......... we only have cameras no video ......

"Mama is that you ?????", I ask ????

"NO ONE WILL BELIEVE YOU HOLLY .............. YOU LIE !!!!!", She laughs .....

Then the clown starts ......................... It's a small world after all .... It's a small world after all .....

OK now I have ZERO idea what really did happen to that wine !!!!

On we hike ..... down ......... down ........... down ....

"WHERE IS IT ????? I KNOW WE PASSED IT !!!!" .... yells Lou !!!

NO we did not keep going I tell here

YEAH you guessed it

YOU LIE HOLLY YOU LIE !!!!!

Every time we approach a rock ...... we look .... Lou is flipping out that we passed it ...... I keep telling her we are not there yet .......

Down ........ down ....... down ......... down .....

YEEEEHAAAAA

Success ...... Any rock will do ..................... we stamp in

My cell rings ...... FFQ ....... I tell her we are at her box .... Any rock will do and we are be down SOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNN

On we gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

What is next Holly ???


West Wind .....

well since we are doing this "backwards" we pass it ..... I find the canoe and arrow ..... so yep we have to climb back UP the trail ...... I crawl up to read them the wooden clue....... they LOOOK at me because now they have to go back UP the trail a little ..... who passes us as we are going back up ????

The two older men that Mama befriended at the shelter ...... GOING BACK UP ??? they ask .....

Lou answers, "Yeah we just can't seem to get enough !"

Wise arse !!!!!!!

I climb up to them (I already have this box)

No box ....... ughhhhhhhhh we climbed back UPPPP the trail and it is missing .... OK lets go almost home I say one last box and then we are like off this mountain .....

Eastatoe Green Bird is next (I need this one too .... have walked past it like 100 times .... not sure WHY I don't have it ) ..... back down ..... and down ......

some talking but no singing LOL

we stop at the foot bridge .... YOU MAY CROSS announces 't' .....

That is the Troll's line I tell her !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then the very cool Eastatoe Green Bird would be ours ........ I color an we all stamp.... We are HOME FREE I tell them ...... They don't believe me .... BUT we really were !!!!

Down .... Down ..... the rest of the way ........ and I drop the pink slip in the trail head registration box ..... about an hour off our time .... it was about 3:00 but we all had plan B in place .....

A YELL ..... SUCCESS .... we did it ................. Then the Car horns .... FFQ and FFP and Justink were waiting on us at the cars ....... to share in our success and celebrate Tink's 17th birthday ..... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TINK ..... we all love you !

We talked .... drank some water (the wine was long gone ..... still not sure about that LOL) and did a few more exchanges ! ..... Everyone packed in the cars and we were off .......

I was home in plenty of time to get Sean off the bus..... and everyone's plan B appeared to work ..... All was well

A very wonderful day...... Great wonderful friends ..... could not ask for better... I wonderful trek to the top of Table Rock ..... One of the hardest trails in the area (IMNSHO).... No need for resQ planes, no mad troll, kids picked up from school ... and 6 very crazy women came off the mountain in one piece .... laughing....

Congrats Lou and Paula on #365 plus and for making the hike and not calling it quits

Thanks Mama Wolf for all the great company and going with us - it was a honor

Thanks Kris (one of my favorite partners in crime) for coming off your mountain to spend the day with a few other NUTS

't' for being 't' and making my day since you are my other partner in crime :O)


Thanks for letting me be a part of this day ...... Love y'all