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Show PAGE 14 THE ZEPHYRAPRIL 1991 a the marching men of the Travers and other tales by David Travers read with great Interest your story of the arch hunters in the January Issue of the Zephyr. You mentioned the Travers tradition of certifying an arch by completing a pass with a football through the opening. The article attributes this practice to Doug and his two eldest sons, Joe and Roy. Actually the two oldest sons would be Joe and myself, David. I I briefly considered sending a blistering letter to your vast research department a gentleman by the name of Jim runs It) admonishing him for this oversight understand (I Upon further reflection I realized that even If you had asked Mom and Dad for the names, It was entirely possible that you were given bad Information. Permit me to explain THE EARLY DAYS boys we had By the time we were done strapping on all the cameras Japanese tourists asking for advice. The crowning touch, and the signal we were ready to go, was our hats. Not Just any old hats, but Pith Helmets. You know, the kind the Jungle explorers always wore In the old black and white movies. And off we would go, looking like British extras from the old Tarzan movies, to chase shadows on distant fins until the setting sun would beckon us back to camp. THE TENT Returning from a hike was always a bittersweet experience. While pleased to be since we were hot tired, and suffering from temporary water weight gain, we sadly acknowledged that heading back to the tent was not exactly a room at the Greenwell. We had the biggest tent Sears ever sold. I think they only made one and we bought It We had firm offers from Bamum and Bailey. This thing was an engineers dream of canvas and aluminum. It was a childs nightmare. The tent procedure was as follows: We would pull Into the campground and unload Dads folding directors chair and place It In the only shady spot In sight Dad would off the trail Our early travels to Moab Involved six kids and a 1966 VW Campmoblle Bus. We would slowly grind westward with all our vacation hopes and dreams pinned on a 40 engine. The "bus as It was affectionately known, would be our horsepower home for the next three weeks. Three very long weeks. Roy, referenced above, would eventually become the seventh (and Anal) child and therefore could not have been one of the oldest sons. Additionally, the original six kids have decided that Roy was the result of Immaculate conception. We know this because anyone who has traveled across the country In a 1966 VW Bus with six kids would never knowingly conceive another. In fact I suspect a Journey of this duration In the bus may have rendered conception scientifically Impossible. So how could the names have become confused you say? Generally speaking, by the third day of these trips Mom and Dad had quit using our given names and had gone to gender groups; "you boys settle down, girls quit teasing your brothers. By the end of the first week of playing musical bladders across the country, we were simply the kids. One large group with no names. No differences. By the time we got to the second week we were answering to anything from "dammit and "who started It now? to "the next one who makes a sound rides on the luggage rack!. And we still dont talk about the events of the third week. So you see, I dont think Mom and Dad knew who had what name by the time one of these three-wetreks was over. air-coo- led ek THE QUEST The football tradition started quite by accident on a hike to Delicate Arch one year. a football Taking along on a hike was Just the kids' way of making Dads obsession more fun and meaningful. We completed a pass through Delicate and a tradition was bom. However, the real story here Is not the football throwing, but rather the hikes. Not Just any hikes, but those glorious arch finding hikes. The very worst kind. You essentially stated In your article that these arch hunters had stairs that didnt reach the top floor, an oar shortage while rowing, etc. Im not sure you went far enough since Dads behavior clearly bordered on religious fanaticism. (At least I thought so based on the number of times references to various gods were made while traveling In the bus.) This arch obsession was so bad I think Dad became convinced the Marching Men formation was some kind of a signal from the arch gods for us to hike relentlessly In all directions. The typical hike In those days would begin at the Devils Garden trallhead. We would motor up In the bus at dawn, pile out for the head count do a brief Imitation of the ape scene In 2001, and prepare for another arch Jihad. Fortunately for us we would be hiking with Dad the engineer, leaving no doubt as to what supplies to bring and how much of each. This would not be a simple matter of water bottles and Instamatlcs. No way! This was serious arch hunting and there was only one way to do It. Engineers know these things; kids do what theyre told. We had every hiking gizmo you could think of and each piece weighed a ton, or so It seemed at the time. My brothers and I would begin by lacing up our clunky leather hiking boots, bidding a tearful farewell to our feet as we had known them. Bets were made on which toes would blister first and how severely. The game was five toe draw. Next we strapped on our water; two canteens on the belt another two quart-- er from the neck to slow circulation, and the equivalent of a residential water tower hanging In your backpack. Now all we had to do was stand. Yes, engineers know these things. And, of course, we couldnt possibly look for arches without a vast array of sophisticated cameras. We always took all of the cameras. We always took all of the lenses. We took the tripods. One year there were discussions about taking the darkroom. The Travers Marching Men (and women) with unidentified park ranger. then fix a liquid tranquilizer (scotch), and Just to make It Interesting, tell us he was timing us to see how fast we could set up the tent I used to think Dad played this game with us In order to get the task to go quickly so we wouldn't complain. When I got older I realized he did It to get the tent up before the park rangers could object In addition to being a very large tent It was also quite heavy. One of the reasons It was so heavy Is because every year Dad would have us set it up In the yard at home and waterproof It with this solution that came In a green can from Sears. Applying this stuff was like trying to paint a giant sponge with a water-col- or brush. Oh yeah, Sears had our number. First the tent and then a million gallons annually of waterproofing treatment When we would set the tent up at home, the neighbors would always get a little nervous. They would watch Mom carefully to see If she was showing. With so many kids living In one house, they were never sure If we were Just getting ready for Utah, or If this was It, a legitimate expansion. The year Mom was pregnant with Roy we set the tent up and left It Just for fun. Anyway, back to the campground. We had those old army style canvas cots that sat about two feet off the ground, and the tent was big enough you could sit up on your cot and not touch the roof. This worked out nicely since sitting was much preferable to trying to sleep on these cots. The canvas It was like sleeping In a reallv small so bad sagged straight-jack- et CANYONLANDS LLAMAS DAILY RATES $50 per day per person 2 person min. MULTIPLE DAY TREKS $100 per day per person 4 person min. Do you want a truly unique dining experience? Join us and our beautiful llamas for a hike and dinner in the canyons around Castle Rock. Guided Pack Trips Daily Hikes Multiple Day Treks Drop Camps Custom Adventures (801) (801) 259-82259-573- 52 9 CVSR1911 Moab, Utah 84532 |