Spring 2014 IndyMoot Group Trek

So moot it be...

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Greg
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Spring 2014 IndyMoot Group Trek

Post by Greg »

Date change being discussed...please see most recent posts.


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I over-confidently titled this thread "Group Trek" for a reason. There was a fair bit of talk in a recent recap thread among Midwesterners about wanting to be able to get in on a good event, as well as others, etc. and I thought an over-optimistic title might help motivate some folks! I have no gurantees that I'll be able to attend this, since I' having another child in May, but there are enough locals that it can happen regardless, so at the request of Straelbora, here goes nothing!

So what I'd like to do is pretty simple, really.

Two nights. Three days. Location to be determined, in the general area of Nashville, Indiana, in lovely Brown County.

No more than about three miles hike in, hike out, but a fair bit of moving about on day two, seeing the landscape, etc. Claim you're out-of-shape? No problem.

Timeframe? Early to Mid-April.

My preference is weekdays, seeing as how I've got Monday-Thursday off every week for the time being, but I can survive with a day or so off on a weekend...but taking a whole weekend off might be a challenge for me, financially. Up for debate.

Please feel free to list your preferences, etc., and we'll go from there. Toss some dates around. Doesn't matter how likely you believe your attendance to be...this is a discussion, not signing on to the military.
Last edited by Greg on Sat Feb 15, 2014 1:17 am, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: Spring 2014 IndyMoot Group Trek

Post by Straelbora »

Not sure I could convince my wife of three days/two nights, but given a map with marked coordinates, I think I could meet up for an afternoon, evening and the next day.

If things can gel and I can get away for the whole trip, I'd even offer the following:

Having been there, I know that sometimes, cars just don't want to make long distance trips. However, you can always take the dirty dog (Greyhound) for a relatively cheap price. Anyone who can get to the bus terminal in Indianapolis could catch a ride to the trek site and back with me.

I just checked: Roundtrip bus tickets from Denver to Indianapolis for mid-April 2014 are at about $240. Set aside $50 a month starting now and you've got your bus ticket.

Another option is Megabus. http://us.megabus.com/routemap.aspx They have a more limited network, but if you play your cards right, you can get incredible deals as I have done, like $20 round trip from Detroit to Chicago.

If need be, I can even provide crash space at my house for a Ranger or two at the bookends of the trek.
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Re: Spring 2014 IndyMoot Group Trek

Post by Greg »

I can provide crash space as well...I've currently got a bed and a couch, plus floor space that are spare.
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Re: Spring 2014 IndyMoot Group Trek

Post by Eärendur »

I'd love to be able to go, though it's about 5 hours away for me; this is too early to say for sure if I can go, but I want to try to be able to.

Since you have weekdays off, and most of us (I assume) have weekends off, I would suggest timing it in a way that catches both weekday and weekend.

So, dates. I'm not married to this idea, but I thought I'd throw it out there: April 17-19. The 18th is Good Friday, which is a holiday for a lot of people, so fewer people would have to be at work (myself included). If we finish Saturday, say in the early afternoon, people can still be home for Easter. The net result is that no one has to take more than a day off (Thursday for some of us, Saturday for Greg; assuming everyone gets Friday off, which may not be a good assumption).

Anyway, just tossing the idea out there. I realize it may not work so well for some with families, etc, but I thought I'd bring it up.
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Re: Spring 2014 IndyMoot Group Trek

Post by Greg »

That's an interesting thought, though you may be very correct in assuming that it would be a tricky weekend for families. I would need to know VERY soon if this was the date range chosen by most in order to request it off...easter weekend is highly competed for at my workplace.
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Re: Spring 2014 IndyMoot Group Trek

Post by Manveruon »

I love this idea! And thank you, Greg, for putting it out there without any pressure! I definitely think this is something I would LIKE to do, but I'm not totally sure yet if it's something I CAN do. We'll see as we get into the new year.

That being said, I would say that Eärendur's suggestion sounds like a decent one, but as previously mentioned it might cause some logistical problems. Otherwise, I would probably shoot for sometime around the 3rd through the 5th of April - or at least close to the first week of the month. I'm like Greg in that weekdays are generally easier for me to get off than weekends (the joys of working customer service), but that may or may not change by then. Either way, it's plenty of time to request it off from whatever job I may be working at that time.

And finally, Straelbora: thanks a million for the suggestions, and for looking that up with me in mind! It's greatly appreciated! It might also be possible that I could get a cheap flight out to that area through a guy I know who works for Frontier. I would have to be flying standby, but if it's not during any major spring breaks, it shouldn't be a problem. I'd just need transportation from and then back to the airport.

Anyway, it's all just speculation right now, but it would sure be awesome if I could make it happen.
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Re: Spring 2014 IndyMoot Group Trek

Post by Straelbora »

Manveruon wrote:I love this idea! And thank you, Greg, for putting it out there without any pressure! I definitely think this is something I would LIKE to do, but I'm not totally sure yet if it's something I CAN do. We'll see as we get into the new year.

That being said, I would say that Eärendur's suggestion sounds like a decent one, but as previously mentioned it might cause some logistical problems. Otherwise, I would probably shoot for sometime around the 3rd through the 5th of April - or at least close to the first week of the month. I'm like Greg in that weekdays are generally easier for me to get off than weekends (the joys of working customer service), but that may or may not change by then. Either way, it's plenty of time to request it off from whatever job I may be working at that time.

And finally, Straelbora: thanks a million for the suggestions, and for looking that up with me in mind! It's greatly appreciated! It might also be possible that I could get a cheap flight out to that area through a guy I know who works for Frontier. I would have to be flying standby, but if it's not during any major spring breaks, it shouldn't be a problem. I'd just need transportation from and then back to the airport.

Anyway, it's all just speculation right now, but it would sure be awesome if I could make it happen.
I'm fifteen minutes from the airport, so the bus station offer extend to anyone flying in as well.
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Re: Spring 2014 IndyMoot Group Trek

Post by Odigan »

My preference would be for the second week(end) in April, if it's to be April. I'd recommend against running into Easter weekend not just for reasons of planning, but because that is a peak travel time. So whether you're driving/flying/taking the bus, it would be more crowded, more expensive, and take longer.

I'd also really rather use at least some Fri/Sat/Sun time, but that's dependent on the majority of other's availability I suppose.
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Re: Spring 2014 IndyMoot Group Trek

Post by Manveruon »

I mainly say the first week of April because I already have a booking for a performance at a birthday party (I do kids entertainment as Captain Jack) on the 12th. The 6th, 7th, and 8th might work though.

Anyway, I don't expect you guys to schedule the whole thing around me, since I'm not even sure I can make it yet, but that's just my two cents.
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Re: Spring 2014 IndyMoot Group Trek

Post by Eärendur »

At this point I'm pretty open - my only issue with weekdays is that I don't get much PTO. Also - what's the weather like in early April?

I went (semi-minimalist) camping with some friends the first week in April this year.... we had snow, and I was freezing my tail off the first night (no proper tent, temps in the low 20's, and I had no idea what I was doing). Although I have to say, there's something aweseome about going through white-out conditions sitting under your shelter, the campfire immediately outside, with a mug of hot soup and a hunk of bread in your hands.
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Re: Spring 2014 IndyMoot Group Trek

Post by Eärendur »

*bump*

Continued discussion? This is still far enough out that I can try to plan for it.
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Re: Spring 2014 IndyMoot Group Trek

Post by Greg »

I think first week of April is the genral consensus. Any nay-sayers?
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Re: Spring 2014 IndyMoot Group Trek

Post by Udwin »

I know we're still a few months out from the proposed date, but as I've discovered, these kinds of things tend to come together best if a date is fixed well ahead of time. Assuming First Week of April is our target, is it too early to start cementing specific days for this trek?
Speaking for myself, I have classes Tuesdays and Thursdays.
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Re: Spring 2014 IndyMoot Group Trek

Post by Greg »

Forgot we hadn't done so yet! I think the best call, at the moment, would be to shoot for a Friday-Sunday, for the sake of most folk's work schedules.

I'm going to tentatively set my personal best date range as April 4th-6th, meeting at approximately noon-ish on Friday, at the Yellowwood State Forest Nature Center.

Speak now, forever hold your peace, or just show up and get your woods on.
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Re: Spring 2014 IndyMoot Group Trek

Post by Greg »

Hokay, need some responses quickly from those still interested in attending. Would March 21st-23rd be doable? April's first week is getting a bit too close for comfort to my wife's due date, and I don't want to be leaving her at the house by herself with a one-year-old while 8+ months pregnant...that's a little nerve-racking. If the first weekend of April still works best for everyone, I'll just have to opt out of this one.
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