[at-l] Ruck Fest

[John O <johno@mail.monmouth.com>]

Hi Folks,
I great weekend was had at the Ruck Fest by all who attended.  All totaled
there was 41 overnighters and 12 daytime visitors.  The weather was
beautiful and there was enough food to feed 100 people at least.  There had
to have been 100 photo albums being passed around for viewing during the
weekend.  I took a couple rolls of film and once developed they'll be
posted on my web site.
http://www.monmouth.com/~johno/index.html
I meet all that were there and forgot 80% of the names.  Once pictures are
up I'll need assistance to put names with faces. 
There was enough gear to outfit Campmor and REI together.  
Back to the food.  It was GREAT.  Glad the doorways were extra large or
none of us would have gotten out of Ironmaster Mansion on Sunday.  You name
the food group and it was there in large quanity, very large quanity.
I enjoyed meeting all the folks I've read about and communicated with over
the last couple of years.  Everyone was so helpful with passing on their
hiking experiences.  It was a running work shop all weekend long.  
One of the special treats was sitting and talking with Earl Schaffer.
Looking at all the slide shows, videos and albums would have taken 5 days
alone.  
Did I mention the food was GREAT?  
Our hosts were Tom & Maria Ha and their 2 sons Christopher & Zachary went
out of their way to ensure all went smoothly.  The Ironmasters Mansion is
full of history and Tom passed on this information throughout the weekend.  
This was my first time at such a gathering of hikers and I enjoyed it very
much.  My head is still spinning from all the information that was freely
passed on from some really nice folks.  
To all who attended thanks for making this a truly enjoyable weekend for me.
Have a good one.
John O
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John F. O'Mahoney
E-mail: johno@mail.monmouth.com
E-mail Me During My AT Thru-Hike:      athiker99@pocketmail.com
John O's Ultralight Backpacking Page:
http://www.monmouth.com/~johno/index.html
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