The realized generalist

[kevino]

You're welcome.

I never knew how much time it would really take. I'm 5 years into it now.

I am just getting into it. My first academy is April 4. Do they haze?

The groundpounders do; they're like a bunch of frat boyz.

Stick with Mountain Rescue; we drink more than all the other specialty units combined.

Except maybe Dive Rescue...

 

Can't wait to see some of the guys in our crew trashed...

[sobo]

Oh, it ain't priddy...

[mike1]

I specifically stay away from other sports because I know I will only enjoy them if I am good at them... really good. Which means I have to go all the way. A guy at work just asked me why I wasn't into golfing. Simple. It looks kind of fun and if I start playing it, then I'm buying all the shit and playing all the time until I either figure out I just suck at it and hate everyone that plays it or I'm gonna go pro. PRO MAN!!! Pool... now there’s one I can and have easily obsessed about. Especially straight pool. Only obsessed pool players even know about that game! Ya... I got the OCD.

[MonkeyD]

Am I the only one here who doesn't know what skulking is? It was in the OP's post, did you mean you like to skulk or is this actually a sport that I don't know about?

[sobo]

He may have meant "skulling" and just fat-fingered the "k" instead of hitting the "l". Were that the case, a more proper term would have been "crew", which is the sport of rowing a "skull" on flatwater. You may be familiar with this sport. The uninitiated may call it "rowing". The sport of crew can also be performed in a skull built for a single occupant.

See images below:

 

 

 

But being that the OP is lance, maybe he really did mean skulking...

[grtmtnchic]

skulk (sklk)

intr.v. skulked, skulk·ing, skulks

1. To lie in hiding, as out of cowardice or bad conscience; lurk.

2. To move about stealthily.

3. To evade work or obligation; shirk.

n.

1. One who hides, lurks, or practices evasion.

2. A congregation of vermin, especially foxes, or of thieves.

[Bug]

I thought that was ADD.

[lancegranite]

Skulking is taking snorkeling gear to a river and swimming rapids, exploring eddies and "skulking" upstream from rock to rock in order to get to the top of a rapid.

Of course it's quite exciting, but as with many things, scoping for danger is manditory.

You can do a pretty good survey of a rapid as you skulk upstream.

It sounds crazy, but you can sometimes dive UNDER a burly rapid to cross it, sometimes darting from rock to rock is the way.

So there you go.. there is a whole community of skulkers in L-town who have been doing it for years, come on out after you finish with the fun that is climbing.

Watching salmon and trout is a big plus, and discovering hidden treasure is common (...anybody lose a pair of sunglasses?).

I bring the full wetsuit, fins, mask and snorkel, some guys use shorts and a mask. It's usually really cold.

 

[ivan]

grendels fatal departure

was regretted by no-one who witnessed his trail

the ignominimous marks of his flight

where he'd SKULKED away, exhausted in spirit

and beaten in battle, bloodying the path,

hauling his doom to the demons mere.

the bloodshot water wallowed and surged

there were loathsome upthrows and overturnings

of waves and gore and wound-slurry.

with his death upon him, he had dived deep

into his marsh-den, drowned out his life

and his heathen soul: hell claimed him there!

[sexual_chocolate]

Skulking is taking snorkeling gear to a river and swimming rapids, exploring eddies and "skulking" upstream from rock to rock in order to get to the top of a rapid.

Of course it's quite exciting, but as with many things, scoping for danger is manditory.

You can do a pretty good survey of a rapid as you skulk upstream.

It sounds crazy, but you can sometimes dive UNDER a burly rapid to cross it, sometimes darting from rock to rock is the way.

So there you go.. there is a whole community of skulkers in L-town who have been doing it for years, come on out after you finish with the fun that is climbing.

Watching salmon and trout is a big plus, and discovering hidden treasure is common (...anybody lose a pair of sunglasses?).

I bring the full wetsuit, fins, mask and snorkel, some guys use shorts and a mask. It's usually really cold.

 

i've never gone skulking, but i love swimming rapids.

 

what are the biggest rapids people skulk?

[sobo]

Skulking is taking snorkeling gear to a river and swimming rapids, exploring eddies and "skulking" upstream from rock to rock in order to get to the top of a rapid...

Well there ya go. Learn something new everyday.

[ivan]

Skulking is taking snorkeling gear to a river and swimming rapids, exploring eddies and "skulking" upstream from rock to rock in order to get to the top of a rapid.

Of course it's quite exciting, but as with many things, scoping for danger is manditory.

You can do a pretty good survey of a rapid as you skulk upstream.

It sounds crazy, but you can sometimes dive UNDER a burly rapid to cross it, sometimes darting from rock to rock is the way.

So there you go.. there is a whole community of skulkers in L-town who have been doing it for years, come on out after you finish with the fun that is climbing.

Watching salmon and trout is a big plus, and discovering hidden treasure is common (...anybody lose a pair of sunglasses?).

I bring the full wetsuit, fins, mask and snorkel, some guys use shorts and a mask. It's usually really cold.

 

i've never gone skulking, but i love swimming rapids.

 

what are the biggest rapids people skulk?

i used to do this in the james river back in virginia - had no idea it had a name - just thought it was something you did on a lazy sunday after drinking your weight in watery beer, attempting to escape the miserable agony of 100 degree weather by wallowing in 70 degree water - i remember following a 3 foot long catfish for awhile until sunddenly he led me to a whole army of his enormous followers - kinda freaked me out to realize i was sharing hte river w/ such monsters - richmond was a great place for such tomfoolery - tons of ancient debris from the civil war and beyond collecting seaweed on the bottom

[Dechristo]

cool

 

[lancegranite]

Very cool indeed Ivan!

not sure about the name, but it seems to fit the activity.

Clawing upstream against the current, squeezing between boulders and using climbing techniques( hand jams feel good underwater) to catch the next eddy.

Rapids are a blinding mass of bubbles, prior underwater scouting lets you avoid where the rocks/ wood are.

Edited March 29, 2008 by lancegranite

[ScottP]

I did a tank dive in that hole on the Sky just east of Index, the one everybody goes to with the flat rocks to hang out on. The depth was about 30 feet when we did it. There are railroad rails down there that are wrapped around boulders by the force of the current and are bright metal from being sandblasted.

Lots of good-sized fish as well.

 

 

[ivan]

Very cool indeed Ivan!

not sure about the name, but it seems to fit the activity.

Clawing upstream against the current, squeezing between boulders and using climbing techniques( hand jams feel good underwater) to catch the next eddy.

Rapids are a blinding mass of bubbles, prior underwater scouting lets you avoid where the rocks/ wood are.

the james is decidedly less hard-core the greatest danger there is of being so wasted you get your lighter or smokes soaked - you don't go UP rapids so much as across them, the river is almost a mile wide there on the w side of richmond, but it's all suddenly dropping a couple hundred feet over a few miles creating great broad rapids - in the summer the water gets so warm its like an old man taking a leak on you and river level drops like 20 damn feet and you can almost stay dry crossing hte whole thing if you had to - mostly its leisurely swimming/wading from one eddy system to another, to scrambling/walking on rocky/sandy islands infested with herons and swans and their filth w/ the occasional lawn hose or couch detritus thrown in for comedy's sake), then getting to a main current and having to swim as hard as possible across without getting swept too far downstream into the nastier rapids (a real danger with 20 lbs of bright green bottles of rolling rocks in your pack and a mean-spirit to not forsake'm) - it does pass for adventure in those parts though

[sobo]

...it does pass for adventure in those parts though

A whole lotta stuff passes for "adventure" in Ol' Va'ginny.

 

Hey ivan, you ever get up around Fort Valley, between Front Royal and Strasburg?

[ivan]

too close to yankee country up there

 

didn't wander further north than the limits of shenendoah park, west to seneca was fantastic - south to boone area was also nice, but nothing but a fart in a stiff breeze compared to these parts - i ain't ever going back!

[sobo]

Well, yeah, Harper's Ferry and them Marylanders are only an hour or so away. That is rah-ight close.

 

But you prolly went rah-ight by mah folks' house on yer way to Seneca. It's only 90 minutes from mah folks' front door. That was nice during summer breaks from my learnin' at VA Tech.

 

But Ah ain't never goin' back, neitha, 'cept to visit mah kin.

[lancegranite]

SC,

The biggest rapid?

I just do the fun ones, shoot, even the most modest rapids are a whole lotta fun.

You guys come on over this summer, we'll take you out in the Tumwater, got M/S/F setups for 4 people.

Bring a wetsuit.

 

[olyclimber]

sounds like fun

[dan_forester]

Skulking is taking snorkeling gear to a river and swimming rapids, exploring eddies and "skulking" upstream from rock to rock in order to get to the top of a rapid.

Of course it's quite exciting, but as with many things, scoping for danger is manditory.

You can do a pretty good survey of a rapid as you skulk upstream.

It sounds crazy, but you can sometimes dive UNDER a burly rapid to cross it, sometimes darting from rock to rock is the way.

So there you go.. there is a whole community of skulkers in L-town who have been doing it for years, come on out after you finish with the fun that is climbing.

Watching salmon and trout is a big plus, and discovering hidden treasure is common (...anybody lose a pair of sunglasses?).

I bring the full wetsuit, fins, mask and snorkel, some guys use shorts and a mask. It's usually really cold.

 

i've never gone skulking, but i love swimming rapids.

 

what are the biggest rapids people skulk?

i used to do this in the james river back in virginia - had no idea it had a name - just thought it was something you did on a lazy sunday after drinking your weight in watery beer, attempting to escape the miserable agony of 100 degree weather by wallowing in 70 degree water - i remember following a 3 foot long catfish for awhile until sunddenly he led me to a whole army of his enormous followers - kinda freaked me out to realize i was sharing hte river w/ such monsters - richmond was a great place for such tomfoolery - tons of ancient debris from the civil war and beyond collecting seaweed on the bottom

 

Sounds like good noodling country!

[ivan]

 

Sounds like good noodling country!

"Dangers:

Almost every instance of noodling involves minor wounds. Although superficial cuts are received with every catfish caught, this can be avoided to an extent by wearing gloves and other protective clothing. Even so, losing fingers is a real risk, whether from the bite or infection. A slight danger of drowning exists, as most holes are far enough down in the water that diving is required to reach into them. A person confident in their swimming abilities may be caught off guard by the sudden added strain of carrying a large fish to the surface. Spotters can alleviate this danger, but it is still present. It is possible that statistics on noodling deaths are not available or accurate due to the depths at which many catfish live. A severely wounded noodler ten to twenty feet underwater might not have the physical capacity to return safely to the surface of the water, resulting in the official cause of death as death by drowning. Another danger lies in one's clothes, getting tangled or snagged on roots or rocks. To avoid this, many noodlers will dive wearing nothing more than their shorts.

 

The largest danger posed to noodlers are other forms of aquatic life found in catfish holes. Far more dangerous than catfish are alligator, beavers and snapping turtles, who will take over abandoned catfish holes as homes of their own. These animals are always on the mind of experienced noodlers."

 

[sobo]

 

Sounds like good noodling country!

"Dangers:

...The largest danger posed to noodlers are other forms of aquatic life found in catfish holes. Far more dangerous than catfish are alligator, beavers and snapping turtles, who will take over abandoned catfish holes as homes of their own. These animals are always on the mind of experienced noodlers."

Or on the ends of their arms...