Elissa Collopy
eac001@marietta.edu
The Adventure Club hosted its first speaker last Wednesday night who is a Triple Crown Winner.
Sophomore Hannah Steketee, an officer of the Adventure Club, said she feels the evening went well.
“The other officers and I thought that he was very informative and interesting,” Steketee said. “I had never met him and I found him online so I was pleasantly surprised.”
Rick Osthmier, known as “Handlebar” to hikers, completed the Total Triple Crown in 2012 which includes the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail.
He also hiked a multitude of other trails, totaling 11,000 miles to date that he has long distance backpacked.
Handlebar received his trail name due to his handlebar mustache. He also has a long, white beard and wears a kilt while hiking.
When asked why he wears a kilt he simply said “I just find it more comfortable.”
Now at 69, he talked about his hikes through the AT, PCT and CDT with stories and images to accompany it.
Handlebar started the night by going through a slideshow of his experiences. Through his time hiking the AT, Handlebar was with a group called the FDOM—the Four Dirty Old Men for a while and spoke of his time with them.
“We don’t consider ourselves old—just advanced middle age,” Handlebar said.
One image that really stuck during his slideshow was of his raw backside, which he acquired from glissading—a way to descend a snow-covered slope.
Next, he explained trail angels—people who do something for hikers such as provide them with food, also known as trail magic, and a place to sleep for the night.
Handlebar also talked about contracting Giardiasis while hiking the CDT. He contracted this after filtering water and not boiling it from a stream that crossed a hiking path above him, which gave him symptoms such as an upset stomach and diarrhea, so he had to refrain from finishing the trail that year.
The CDT is lovingly known as the “cow dung trail,” according to Handlebar.
“We joke about this because you could follow all the cow dung and find a water source,” Handlebar said.
The year after, he restarted it to only run into heavy snow and stop again. Finally in 2012, he finished the CDT and completed the Triple Crown.
Handlebar’s favorite trail was the PCT.
“It’s above tree line, it was fairly easy hiking and I only had five days of rain,” he said.
After hearing all of his trials and triumphs, he took us through his backpack, where one item really stuck out—a “shit kit.” Included in this water-proof bag were all of the necessities—an item called “the big dig,” which is used to dig what he calls cat holes, toilet paper and hand sanitizer.
Other essentials in his pack were food, lighters, clothes, a sleeping bag, personal hygiene items, water, tarps and a first aid kit.
When asked about tips for those who want to hike one of these trails in the future, he suggested packing light.
“I packed meals for every five days, which weighed about 15 pounds,” Handlebar said. “Overall, my normal backpack weighs around 25 pounds full.”
Steketee said the explaining of his pack was her favorite part of the evening.
“I have been trying to plan for my own trip so that was interesting—I also think that that was the most useful part for me,” Steketee said.
The Adventure Club will be hosting another speaker in the spring.
