6th Annual G.G.G. 1/24-26 2014

Ken,

I saw the post that you are referencing regarding if BPL is your life, you have a problem.

I took that remark to be made half in jest and half serious.

That said, please don't take it literally or personally!

You are the pain in the butt that keeps BPL honest and often what you say has merit.

Again, I might not agree with everything, but I know that in your heart it is simply because you care and you want BPL to be better than it is and to keep their promises.

I too have been frustrated wtih BPL.

I have made what I thought were very constructive and well thought out suggestions and only heard the silence of the wind in reply.

I am not as active on BPL as I used to be, but I am still here for the community that has given me so much and allowed me to take the trips/adventures that I have been on.

You should be proud of what YOU have done here.

YOU have helped bridge the gap between what is just an online community to make it something special where people meet in the real world to cement friendships that last because they have come to meet in real life at the GGGs.

I know that you are modest, but there would not be a GGG today without you because you are the magnet that draws others to want to help you make the GGG happen.

Think of all the backpacking trips that might not have happened with people who meet at the GGG….memories for a lifetime to talk about.

Your enthusiasm HERE on BPL is what helps make the GGG happen.

Heck, you get excited about the next GGG right after the last one is finished.

If you leave BPL silent of your voice we will all be poorer for it.

BPL will be poorer for it and if they don't appreciate you for what you contribute, the heck with them!

You have told me that over the years the GGG and BPL has given a lot to you. It has brought you out of your shell and made you be more socialable when you really are not.

It has made you better and your presence has enriched all of us who know you online and in person.

Maybe BPL should not be your LIFE, but is can be your FAMILY.

Family cares about each other, even when they disagree and fight. They may not be able to see eye to eye, but family does stick together.

Personal, I am terrible relations with my own biological family, but my family is the one of my making and BPL is part of that constructed family.

So please reconsider….take the time you need, if you want to, give yourself some space, but I hope that your reasons for your leaving are the right ones for YOU and not because of some misguided posting on BPL.

Tony

Edit for spelling

Hey Ken –

Whatever you've taken from BPL you've given more.

BPL might make a roaring comeback or flame out but whatever happens you'll always have the relationships you built here, the memories and the knowledge you had a positive impact on people.

Not bad, huh?

So is this sort of like the BPL version of burning man?

Ken,

I’ve never met you outside of the BPL forums but when I read your criticisms about BPL, I see a person who’s invested into this community and is passionate about making it better. I don’t know what your background is but you’d have been a great fit in an infantry unit. As a grunt from my previous life, I can’t pay you a higher complement. If we had problems within the platoon, we’d have it out with each other with no mercy but at the end of the day, we were a band of brothers.

I realize that BPL isn’t a military operation but while criticism is tough to take at times, it should always be welcomed as an opportunity for some self reflection.

“The day the soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”
Colin Powell

I really look forward to finally meeting you in person at the GGG and I’m bringing a flask of a top shelf beverage. I can’t wait to have a drink with you.

Taking over the count-down for Ken…

There are 2 months and 15 days (that is 76 total days) until the GGG West starts!

Looks like my kind of people coming, hope I am half the person of y'all. Ken, I'm bringing my loudest kerosene stove for Friday AM coffee.
Duane

Ooh boy, I can't wait!! This will be my first GGG event(of many, hopefully!). More than anything else I'm really looking forward to meeting like-minded folks and making some new friends and hiking buddies.

Ken,

I understand the need to take a break from things to get some perspective. However, I REALLY hope it is just a break. I don't know you other than from our brief PMs regarding GGG, and from your presence here on BPL, but from that I can tell you are someone who cares about others, who stands up for what he believes is right or wrong, and who I'd enjoy hanging out/hiking with (fellow recovering introvert here). Sure, many of your posts are 'calling out BPL', or whatever, and that can ruffle many feathers, but your voice has been a necessary and valuable one to the community IMO. It is clear that you care about this forum and more so about the community that comprises it. In a good way. I really don't think 'BPL being your life' is a bad thing, as it is so much more than a forum and some good articles. If only BPL could be my life!!! :)

Sorry if I overstepped my bounds in any of the above, but I really felt compelled to share my feelings on this.

Sincerely looking forward to meeting you and others at the GGG.

And, if I may, RJ would be a fool to ban you from BPL.

"I really look forward to finally meeting you in person at the GGG and I’m bringing a flask of a top shelf beverage. I can’t wait to have a drink with you."

Remember, he's already talking infantry, so "top shelf beverage" means whatever they can reach while already drunk…..

And to all the Ken love out there, fer cryin' out loud, get a fricking room already, will ya!

nevermind, don't want to be negative.

If something I said could be taken hurtfully or in jest, I probably meant it in jest.

If Doug does so, he certainly meant it in jest.

"If Doug does so, he certainly meant it in jest."

Thanks Dave.

Ken and I are good friends. I have no doubt he'd smile, or even laugh, when he reads what I wrote – but that's because he knows me.

I should remember that not everyone does, and therefore such posts can be easily misinterpreted. My bad.

David,
I'm sure Doug was AT LEAST partly kidding, but it just rubbed me the wrong way with the "get a room" thing. It makes me not want to share my feelings that I otherwise would want to. I reacted and responded in a way I shouldn't have, and I apologize for that. Also edited my post because it also just didn't sit well with me.

Doug,
Sorry for reacting negatively to your post. I was out of line and took it way too seriously. :)

>"I'm hoping Jim launches another fireball! "

Fireball? Did someone say fireball?

Erik,
I hear you, although I missed your edited post. I have been told the same when expressing appreciation for someone and it did not sit well with me either. Seems like culturally men have so often been discouraged from expressing their feelings and when they do I would rather encourage them than shoot them down. So Erik, to me you guys that speak from the heart are brave indeed and don't stop doing it please.
All that said, Doug is a sweetheart too even though sometimes he likes to hide it . I cannot think of another BPL member that has been as generous to fellow members. Let's just say he is the real Santa of the forum. So here is some love for you Doug.
Now someone tell me to get a room :)

Edited for spelling

"And to all the Ken love out there, fer cryin' out loud, get a fricking room already, will ya!"

Actually I was hoping for some cuddle time with Ken at the GGG but this may not be the right time to bring that up….

… yeah let's table that one.

"Actually I was hoping for some cuddle time with Ken at the GGG but this may not be the right time to bring that up…."

You realize you just earned the nickname "Teddy Bear" at the GGG, right?

"Remember, he's already talking infantry, so "top shelf beverage" means whatever they can reach while already drunk….."

Ha ha! Talk's cheap Doug! Show up to the GGG and we'll see. Hint, it's Irish.

"Let's just say he is the real Santa of the forum."

In other words, I'm fat and I have an unusual fondness for elves.

Get a room indeed. The surcharge for reindeer is ridiculous……

""Let's just say he is the real Santa of the forum."

In other words, I'm fat and I have an unusual fondness for elves.

Get a room indeed. The surcharge for reindeer is ridiculous……"

:)

Ken must be around to change his avatar or a admin type is messing with us.
Duane

I am overwhelmed with everyone's kind comments here and the delightful PM's that have been sent. I certainly feel the love. Thanks for the encouragement.

… can someone point me to the waitlist please? :)

-mox

http://gggwest.com/ — 64 days and counting!!

A take away from this for me. The coast in winter can be like the Sierra or more for clothing needs. I've only been to the coast a few times, the first was colder than the Sierra at Christmas a few years ago, a few days before Christmas at Bodega Bay. My 35F bag was only sufficient. Food protection needed from coons or will we be far enough inland to avoid those nasty critters? I think that is all the concerns I have, hope to make it, depending on road conditions over the mountain in Jan.
Cold the last two weekends car camping, 19F yesterday AM when I got home.
Duane

" Food protection needed from coons or will we be far enough inland to avoid those nasty critters?"

There will absolutely be raccoons active in the park. I don't recall seeing or hearing any in camp, but they won't be far away.