(no subject)
Hey everybody comin backpackin July 1 2 and 3 click here
Ok first of all I want everybody to post a comment here who wants to come, so I can get an idea of how many we have. I kind of have a feeling, but no facts.
What We Are Plannin To Do
Go up to Big Fat Gap trail head in Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness, North Carolina. Its right on the tennessee border, in fact the trail follows along slickrock creek for a while, which is the tennessee border. The closest town is Robbinsville, NC. I think we should leave Friday sometime early, probably 9 or 10 at the latest. The drive should take about 5 hours. We will leave whenever we get back to the parking lot Sunday, which should be mid afternoon. The first day's hike is easy, 2 miles down hill to a campsite. After we get there we can look around some and go check out these waterfalls Wildcat Falls and swim in the pool there some. Its cold but its fun. The second day is about 3.5 miles on flat ground, the only thing hard about it is some bumpy terrain and big rocks and stuff, and having to cross the creek a couple times. The footing is bad across the creek, especially with a big ol backpack on, and somebody will probably slip and get wet, but that is the worst thing that will happen, its pretty shallow. Its kind of quick moving, but not very forceful. We can camp pretty much whenever we want to, once we get done with the creek crossings, but we will want to get as far as we can because the third day is a tough hike. Its about 3.5 miles again, but its pretty steep uphill. It will be tiring, but we can go as slow as we want to, I dont think we will be under any time pressure. Its easier than swim/cheerleading/lacrosse/cross country/wrestling practice ;). Here is a map of the trail with some markings on it.
If anybody wants me to put up a clean copy of this map to print out, let me know.
And a map of the way there:
the big X is where my dad messed up highlighting, we arent going there. The thin circle is the whole area of the first map.
What to Bring
The rule is, for backpacking trips, bring as little as possible! Then you don't have to carry it. Heres a list of what I think I'm going to bring. I may be forgetting some stuff though. The only things you should err on the side of excess with are socks and underwear.
-Backpack
-Sleeping Bag(dont need a huge one, its probably going to be around 50 at night. Also get a nice bag to stuff it in and make it small)
-Tent(find another person to share it with, then you guys can agree one person carry the tent, other person carry poles and stakes or something like that. also share a waterproof tarp to put under the tent with that person)
-Thermarest sleeping pad thing(I don't know if im going to bring this, because its pretty heavy. The ground is usually fine to sleep on but you may find yourself wanting some sort of sleeping pad if you have a lot of roots in your area)
-Water bottle(s). I'll probably bring two nalgenes.
-Toof Brush and paste, some floss maybe
-Some TP and a little shovel(interesting combination...)
-Matches(in some kind of waterproof bottle/case)/Lighter
-Bug Spray
-Pocket Knife
-A couple trash bags, at least one of them big enough to semi cover your pack in if we have to hike in the rain
-Some kind of soap(liquid is probably better unless you are planning on taking a baf in the creek or something. Also biodegradable is good)
-Knife, fork, spoon, plate, cup, bowl, can opener(can usually get these in a nice kit)
-Some paper towels, half a roll maybe
-Water purification tabs
-FLASH LIGHT, make sure it works
-Whistle
-Some emergency food stuff, like instant oatmeal and soup and hot chocolate, and some snacks like granola bars, trail mix etc.
-A little first aid kit, with blister stuff(moleskin)
-RAIN JACKET
-3 or 4 T-Shirts
-A long sleeve T-shirt
-A long sleeve flannel button down shirt
-2 pairs of shorts
-1 pair of long pants
-5 pairs of underwear
-5 pairs of socks
-fleece jacket
-Hat, im bringin my PDS alumni hat i think
-Hikin boots for the first and third days. These are important, make sure you have some that fit well and are somewhat broken in. If not, you will get blisters the first day from your toes rubbing against the front of your shoes due to all that downhill, and those will not be fun for two more days.
-Flip flops for the campsite, you will want these(Tevas or some sandal like that are better if you have them, because you are a lot less likely to hurt yourself if you kick a stump or something)
-Pair of old tennis shoes or tevas for the second day
-Sunscreen and chapstick are probably not necessary, because we are going to be in the shade and calm air most of the time, but if you feel like you will need some, bring it
-I think im probably bringing my ipod and a book in something waterproof
Ok, this ended up being a more thorough list than I thought. I may have missed some stuff, so let me know if I did, but if you feel like you will not need some of this stuff, don't bring it. There are some things you shouldn't skip out on though like the whistle, the food, the matches/lighter, the knife, and the flashlight.
There is also some community stuff that we need to get together, like a few stoves, a more thorough first aid kit, some pots and pans and some food. Speaking of food, here are some meals I thought of.
First Day:
Lunch on the road
Beef stew for dinner in camp(and some other stuff, we can have pretty much whatever we want that doesnt require an oven or something)
Second Day:
Eggs and bacon for bfast wooooooo
Sandwiches for lunch, maybe cheese today(need a big hard loaf of sourdough, not pre sliced so it doesnt get smooshed or moldy, also need a big serrated knife to cut)
Hamburger helper/mac and cheese for dinner
Third Day:
Pop tarts and oatmeal for breakfast
PB&J for lunch(same stuff needed as yesterdays lunch)
Dinner on the road
One idea that my dad had was splitting up into threes for meals, like 1 stove 1 pot 1 pan, and all food necessary for every three people, and share the load
Alright, so thats it for me, post here and put out some more ideas
Ok first of all I want everybody to post a comment here who wants to come, so I can get an idea of how many we have. I kind of have a feeling, but no facts.
What We Are Plannin To Do
Go up to Big Fat Gap trail head in Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness, North Carolina. Its right on the tennessee border, in fact the trail follows along slickrock creek for a while, which is the tennessee border. The closest town is Robbinsville, NC. I think we should leave Friday sometime early, probably 9 or 10 at the latest. The drive should take about 5 hours. We will leave whenever we get back to the parking lot Sunday, which should be mid afternoon. The first day's hike is easy, 2 miles down hill to a campsite. After we get there we can look around some and go check out these waterfalls Wildcat Falls and swim in the pool there some. Its cold but its fun. The second day is about 3.5 miles on flat ground, the only thing hard about it is some bumpy terrain and big rocks and stuff, and having to cross the creek a couple times. The footing is bad across the creek, especially with a big ol backpack on, and somebody will probably slip and get wet, but that is the worst thing that will happen, its pretty shallow. Its kind of quick moving, but not very forceful. We can camp pretty much whenever we want to, once we get done with the creek crossings, but we will want to get as far as we can because the third day is a tough hike. Its about 3.5 miles again, but its pretty steep uphill. It will be tiring, but we can go as slow as we want to, I dont think we will be under any time pressure. Its easier than swim/cheerleading/lacrosse/cross country/wrestling practice ;). Here is a map of the trail with some markings on it.
If anybody wants me to put up a clean copy of this map to print out, let me know.
And a map of the way there:
the big X is where my dad messed up highlighting, we arent going there. The thin circle is the whole area of the first map.
What to Bring
The rule is, for backpacking trips, bring as little as possible! Then you don't have to carry it. Heres a list of what I think I'm going to bring. I may be forgetting some stuff though. The only things you should err on the side of excess with are socks and underwear.
-Backpack
-Sleeping Bag(dont need a huge one, its probably going to be around 50 at night. Also get a nice bag to stuff it in and make it small)
-Tent(find another person to share it with, then you guys can agree one person carry the tent, other person carry poles and stakes or something like that. also share a waterproof tarp to put under the tent with that person)
-Thermarest sleeping pad thing(I don't know if im going to bring this, because its pretty heavy. The ground is usually fine to sleep on but you may find yourself wanting some sort of sleeping pad if you have a lot of roots in your area)
-Water bottle(s). I'll probably bring two nalgenes.
-Toof Brush and paste, some floss maybe
-Some TP and a little shovel(interesting combination...)
-Matches(in some kind of waterproof bottle/case)/Lighter
-Bug Spray
-Pocket Knife
-A couple trash bags, at least one of them big enough to semi cover your pack in if we have to hike in the rain
-Some kind of soap(liquid is probably better unless you are planning on taking a baf in the creek or something. Also biodegradable is good)
-Knife, fork, spoon, plate, cup, bowl, can opener(can usually get these in a nice kit)
-Some paper towels, half a roll maybe
-Water purification tabs
-FLASH LIGHT, make sure it works
-Whistle
-Some emergency food stuff, like instant oatmeal and soup and hot chocolate, and some snacks like granola bars, trail mix etc.
-A little first aid kit, with blister stuff(moleskin)
-RAIN JACKET
-3 or 4 T-Shirts
-A long sleeve T-shirt
-A long sleeve flannel button down shirt
-2 pairs of shorts
-1 pair of long pants
-5 pairs of underwear
-5 pairs of socks
-fleece jacket
-Hat, im bringin my PDS alumni hat i think
-Hikin boots for the first and third days. These are important, make sure you have some that fit well and are somewhat broken in. If not, you will get blisters the first day from your toes rubbing against the front of your shoes due to all that downhill, and those will not be fun for two more days.
-Flip flops for the campsite, you will want these(Tevas or some sandal like that are better if you have them, because you are a lot less likely to hurt yourself if you kick a stump or something)
-Pair of old tennis shoes or tevas for the second day
-Sunscreen and chapstick are probably not necessary, because we are going to be in the shade and calm air most of the time, but if you feel like you will need some, bring it
-I think im probably bringing my ipod and a book in something waterproof
Ok, this ended up being a more thorough list than I thought. I may have missed some stuff, so let me know if I did, but if you feel like you will not need some of this stuff, don't bring it. There are some things you shouldn't skip out on though like the whistle, the food, the matches/lighter, the knife, and the flashlight.
There is also some community stuff that we need to get together, like a few stoves, a more thorough first aid kit, some pots and pans and some food. Speaking of food, here are some meals I thought of.
First Day:
Lunch on the road
Beef stew for dinner in camp(and some other stuff, we can have pretty much whatever we want that doesnt require an oven or something)
Second Day:
Eggs and bacon for bfast wooooooo
Sandwiches for lunch, maybe cheese today(need a big hard loaf of sourdough, not pre sliced so it doesnt get smooshed or moldy, also need a big serrated knife to cut)
Hamburger helper/mac and cheese for dinner
Third Day:
Pop tarts and oatmeal for breakfast
PB&J for lunch(same stuff needed as yesterdays lunch)
Dinner on the road
One idea that my dad had was splitting up into threes for meals, like 1 stove 1 pot 1 pan, and all food necessary for every three people, and share the load
Alright, so thats it for me, post here and put out some more ideas