I had several dreams on my list when I was a kid; become a US Marine, check; marry a good woman, double check; have some kids, check; and then the lesser goals followed in my own version of a bucket list. 

On my lesser list of goals was travel the world, hunt in Alaska, learn to sail, learn to fly-fish, learn to trap, and many others including hiking the Appalachian Trail.  After joining the Marine Corps I had managed to check off traveling, backpacking in the Rockies, skydiving, and scuba diving. Another one of my goals is to hike the Appalachian trail from beginning to end.  I had been on the trail once before with the family in February of 2009 but it was a little cold and the melting snow made the trail slick and a little dangerous so we didn’t go very far. 

Start of the Appalachian Trail at Newfound Gap

Well over the 4th of July holiday I managed to check off another one of my goals, kinda.  Now obviously I did not hike the whole thing, or even a large portion of it, but the part I chose was amazing none-the-less.  We had put off hiking for a while now because the kids were at that age where they could no longer be carried, and they weren’t quite big enough to keep up the pace.  Well those days are behind us, and we are back to hiking.  My oldest, now 9 and my youngest now 6 accompanied my wife and I on a short day hike. You may notice that the pictures in this post are from the early spring, that’s because we had a major malfunction with our camera the day before our hike this year (I fell in the Oconaluftee river with it in my pocket) so the only pictures I have are from the 2009 trip.

The boys climbing on the AT 2009

We started out at Newfound Gap in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and turned around at the Sweet Heifer Creek trail-head.  Not a long hike, only about 3.4 miles round trip, but when you consider that in the 1.7 miles out we climbed in elevation from 5024 feet to 5850 feet, it was still challenging for a 6 year old.

We got started a little late in the day after lounging around our campsite all morning.  I loaded up my day-pack with some granola bars and two bottles of Gatorade.  I filled my hydration bladder with 100 oz of fresh water and we hit the trail.  We noticed quickly that most of the average sightseers turn around after about a quarter mile, because the trail becomes quiet accept for the wind.  It was a beautiful day for a hike, 79°F about 54% humidity, and a light 5-6 mph northwesterly breeze.  We had a little broken cloud cover that seemed to conjure up a cloud at just the right times along the trail. 

Neo & Josiah on the AT

The footing through this area of the trail is excellent, and easily definable.  As we walked along my boys would stop every so often and climb a rock that was calling their name.  More than once they were shy’d away by their mother from one that was a little too close to the edge.  For the first half of the outbound leg the uphill was to our left and an amazing view of Newfound Gap was to our right.  In the distance we could make out the squiggly line of the road making its way down to the town of Cherokee.  The huge boreal forest stretched for miles around us, and the fragrance of the pines filled the air.  There were all manner of wildflowers growing in dispersed patches along the trail.  God’s work was on full display and we were gently trekking in the midst of it.  As we continued on the trail rose steadily in front of us and disappeared around a bend.  That is what keeps me going down the trail, I am constantly wondering what beautiful sight is just around the corner.  After about 30 minutes of steady climbing we came to a slightly level area where the trail crossed over a saddle to the other side of the ridge line.  With the uphill now on our right the breeze was a little more steady and it kept us fairly cool.

We took a short water break near this saddle and just lounged on the rocks sipping some water and catching our breath.  As we sat several hikers passed us going the opposite direction, I quickly discussed with them the trail conditions ahead and the approximate time to our turn around.  As they moved on we bid them happy hiking and they were gone, around the bend.  After a few short minutes we gathered ourselves and continued up the trail, every so often I could hear my youngest say to himself “this is awesome,” talk about making a parent happy! 

We moved quietly along the trail, coming across several other groups headed in the opposite direction, always wishing them happy hiking and moving on.  The sun was now directly overhead and the temperature was rising.  We made it to our turn around point after about an hour and a half on the trail.  The temp had risen to about 84°F and the breeze was dying so we took a short break, munched on some granola bars and sipped some Gatorade.  After a 15 minute break to relax and enjoy the scenery we started back down the trail. We arrived back at our vehicle about 45 minutes after turning around!  The trail going down was so much quicker that even though it took us 1.5 hrs to the turn around the whole trip only ended up taking 2.5 hours.  When I was loading my pack in the car I checked the temp and it read 89°F, it had risen 10 degrees in just under 3 hours.  

Needless to say we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly and plan to make another trip before too long.  I hope next time to bring back some pictures of a new section of trail.  While I may not have completely checked off hiking the AT I at least got it started, and like the saying goes you have to get started if you want to get done. So till I have the time and the money to make the long walk, I’ll keep taking these day hikes.  Hope you enjoyed the hike as much as we did, till next time

Stay Frosty,

USMCPatriot

Not too long ago I was out for a day of shooting behind the house in Michigan when my Glock 23 had a blow out. I am certain it was no fault of the manufacturer. I happened to be shooting reloads that a friend of mine had brought out. He tends to load a little hot and I obviously chambered an overly hot round. Other than the fact that Glock advises not to use reloads because Glocks have an unsupported chamber, I did not see any reason not to use the reloads. I have shot hundreds of reloads through my pistol and never had an issue.

Never-the-less after about 150 rounds that day, while moving and shooting at a static target at about 15 yards, I pulled the trigger and the round detonated in the chamber. It blew out the extractor and spring, and left a partially disintigrated casing lodged in the chamber. My hand felt like I had just taken a metal baseball bat to a street light post, that numb tingling feeling. I was wearing shooting glasses thank god, because a shard of casing was lodged in the plastic lens of my right eye piece. I had a small cut on my right cheek, I’m a left handed shooter by the way, and some minor powder burns on my right hand.

I have heard a lot of the older shooters that I shoot with gripe about the composite frame of a glock and its reliability. I can tell you that the frame was not damaged in any way and dealt with the detonation fine. After a day or two I took the pistol to Jay’s Sporting Goods in Gaylord, MI. They are an authorized Glock retailer so I took the pistol there and asked what could be done. I was informed that Glock had a lifetime warranty against malfunctioning parts and that the shipping and repair was free. They could not tell me how long it would take but said it was usually pretty quick.

That was on a Friday, 10 days later on a Monday I got a call from Jay’s saying my pistol was in and I could come pick it up. The man on the phone apologized because it had actually come in Friday afternoon, but no one had called me. Thats pretty dang impressive a 7 day turn around including shipping. I picked up the pistol and opened the box. I checked it against my serial number and took it home. I was very impressed, the pistol looked brand new, the slide had been refinished, it had a new extractor, and was nice and clean, with a light layer of oil on it. Enclosed was a little hand writter note from the Tech that fixed it, saying “Mr Thompson, I received your firearm and fixed the extractor, the spring, and resurfaced the chamber, I polished the barrel, and refinished the slide…” “After completing the work I fired two 10 round magazines to safety check it and it is ready for your use” “If you have any other issues please return it as soon as possible, but I might suggest not shooting hot reloads again.”

Needless to say I still shoot reloads but only my own, and they are loaded to factory specs. I have put a little more than 1000 rds through it since that incident and have not had a single issue.

Obviously we all feel different about our chosen favorites but with customer service like that, I will be a Glock customer for a long time to come.

Stay Frosty,
USMC Patriot

Everyone needs to read this and be aware that the Anti’s are out there and could be coming to your state soon, if they aren’t already there.

I found this article on another blog today:

The So-Called “Leghold” Trap - Whenever and wherever anti-trapping legislation is introduced on a municipal or larger statewide scale, the goal is always to ban the primary tool of the trade, the so-called “leghold” trap. This misnomer refers to the “live-hold foot trap” used predominately to hold land-based furbearers without injury in case the captured animal need to be released.CLEARYSNOTEBOOK on February 08, 2010, ClearysNoteBook, Feb 2010

You should read the whole article.

Justin Thompson

Create Your Badge

Not too long ago, the Michgan Trapper and Predator Callers Association got together and put on their Otisville fur sale so I figured I’d post the latest fur prices. 

All in all a good sale, we are getting great prices for our rats.  A few of the critters are still bringing lower than desired prices but I’m liking what I see.  If anyone has any questions you can contact the Michigan Trapper and Predator Caller Association at www.mtpca.com They also have a nice forum they are getting up and running so stop in and take a look.
Till Next time, Stay Frosty

USMC Patriot

Well, all across the southland spring is coming! General  Trapping Season has come to an end here in North Carolina and its time to wrap up the steel.

I had a slow season this year, between the family obligations, the normal grind of being a Marine, and bad weather I only managed a few weekends on the line.  I only took in a few critters this year, a couple possum, half a dozen grey fox, and a red fox.  No where near what I’d like to be bringing in but all things considered I still thank god for a good harvest. 

Ahhh but its not quite over yet, the spring Beaver season is in full swing and will be for another 2 months.  All over the state and indeed most of the country the saw tooth little buggers are dodging steel as we speak.   So I take this opportunity to ask everyone to monitor their local trapping organizations for important legislative info that may impact you.  Tis the season when all of the whacky left wing tree hugging hippies who love to introduce bills and other legislation in anticipation of the upcoming elections, get their ideas on paper.

Over the next few months we will see whatever bill the save the whales, smoke dope and kill your babies crowd wants to push on us.  I am always amazed at the lengths these people will go to keep the act of killing babies legal, while trying to keep me from putting meat in the freezer.  I realize this may be a little harsh language for some of you out there but its the reality of life in this country.  So keep an eye out to the news and the blogesphere for the impending stench of rotten laws and be prepared to take action.  Remember the lord tells us in Luke 11:21 “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe”  So own a gun, carry it, and don’t apologize for who you are.  I am a hunter, a trapper, a gun owner, and proud of it.  

I leave you today with these, just a few pictures from the trapline, till next time, Stay Frosty
USMC Patriot.

I am excited to get started with Skinny Moose, and I look forward to building a “fan” base!  I hope everyone enjoys what I have to say or at least disagrees enough to stay tuned.  I will explore and comment on all matter of outdoor activities from my daily trapline runs, to hunting, shooting, hiking, snowmobiling and whatever else I happen to take interest in.  I look forward to any and all comments. Lets get started!

Till next time Stay Frosty,

USMC Patriot