Uwharrie Backpacking Trip

Length: Two days
Crew: Two adults, two Scouts
Trip Sheet
Day one
We arrived after one of the typical two-hour car rides that leave you straining to go. Maybe it was the energy that we had left unused in the car, but by lunch time we had knocked off almost half of our allotted 7 miles for the day. Lunch was at a location to be supplied. Rest finished, we proceeded down the trail and began to encounter one of my very favorite things: CREEKS! So, what with the creeks to cross, and, more importantly, with the diminished amount of water in our water bottles, our pace slowed somewhat. Despite the lessened momentum, we managed to make it to our camp site on time. The site, by the way, was awesome! It had a creek and a nice, flat surface that was perfect for pitching tents. Thus, effectively, end the activities of Day One.

Day two
After breakfast and packup, we began on our 2.5 mile portion for the day. Looking back, my memories of the hike are rather blurred. My strongest ones are of a grayness, a mental grayness, largely imposed on the world around. But even within it, there were always things to see. You'd find your attention being directed by a crew member to say a neat rock in the trail or maybe a bit of moss or lichen. Then we would stare at it for a while in silence and both go away with the impression that we had seen something distinctly worth while. So we continued walking down the "gray" trail, which, when you think about it, was not that gray after all, and eventually reached the car that was at that end of the trail. We all had lunch and waited while Mr. Hock got the other car, and afterwards went home. In summary, this trip, like every other trip had its ups and downs, but overall I would give it an A!

Wilson Creek Backpacking Trip

Length: Three days, Friday through Sunday
Crew: Two adults, three Scouts
Trip Sheet
Pictures
Day 1

The group drove in one car from Chapel Hill to the Wilson Creek Visitors Center, but found it was not open yet. We continued up to FR 464 to try to enter the Harper Creek area from the north side, but the FR 464 was blocked by a landside. So we had to backtrack to the Harper Creek trailhead on Brown Mountain Road. The car was parked on the road by the trailhead and we hiked in. Lunch was at the campsite near the confluence of Hunter Camp Creek and Harper Creek, where the Mountains-to-Sea trail changes from the Hunter Camp Creek Trail to the Harper Creek Trail. We took the deadend trail to Harper Creek Falls by mistake, had to backtrack to where the main trail turned uphill. The falls were worth the visit, but we should have dropped the packs at the trail split. After a somewhat treacherous trail over the falls area, we found an excelled campsite with a firepit and benches on a rise overlooking the trail, the creek and some waterfalls.

Day 2

We left the campsite with dayhike packs and continued up Harper Creek Trail with the intention of having lunch at the South Harper Creek Falls and then deciding whether to come back down by backtracking on the Harper Creek Trail, taking Hunter Camp Creek Trail, which is a little longer, but has more ridge hiking and less creek hiking or by Persimmon Ridge, which is much longer with more ridge hiking.
It took twice as long to get to South Harper Creek Falls as expected. There were three major creek crossings (where you had to wade through current) before branch off for the Persimmon Ridge Trail, and many ( we stopped counting after six ) more major creek crossings before we got to the Harpers Creek gorge. We did see a beaver dam, freshly built from mountain laurel and met some fishermen at the last major creek crossing before the gorge.
The climb up the gorge to South Harper Creek Falls is very steep, but well worth the visit. We had lunch on a huge rock ledge, which the waterfall crossed after coming down a fifty foot drop and before dropping another hundred foot drop. It is spectacular. The total drop of the falls is two hundred feet. Above the falls, there is another major creek crossing and a climb through a poorly marked set of trails up to a campsite with a beautiful overlook of the falls and the gorge.
From the top of the mountain, we took the Hunter Camp Creek Trail, because it is obvious that there would be many fewer creek crossing and an easier trail. It turned out to be much easier than we expected. There is one major creek crossing just before the intersection with Harper Creek Trail, where we had lunch the day before. After a short revisit to Harper Creek Falls, we rehiked the short trail to the campsite.

Day 3

We hiked back to the car, which was covered with road dust, had lunch at the Visitors Center and drove home. At the visitors center, we asked about leaving cars at the parking lot. They said to let the center know if we were leaving cars overnight. The phone number for the Visitor Center is 828-759-0005.

Northern Tier Post-Trek

The crew drives back to Minneapolis. They stop to look at the Mississippi River. After a Northwest flight back to Raleigh/Durham, they get in just before 10 pm.

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Northern Tier Day Six - Wind Lake to Sommers Canoe Base

Wind Lake - Moose Lake
3.5 Miles* - 1 Portage

Because we were so close to the base and couldn't get in until 3 pm, we hung around the campsite until 1:30, with the boys canoeing out to larger rocks in order to swim, sleep and sunbathe. We still took it nice and slow for the last little bit of canoeing, but when we landed at base, things got a little bit hectic again. We had to take the canoes and paddles and life jackets to the racks we got them from, check in the food and equipment crates and packs, put some of our gear back in the car, get some toiletries and such out of the car, and get ready to spend the night in the cabins, which were much nicer than the ones we spent the first night in, complete with bunk beds, a light, and a heater (Which we did not use). After that, we all got a chance to hang around in the sauna for as long as we could stand it, and eat another meal at base. In the evening, we had Rendez-vous, a voyageur tradition when they got to talk with old friends for the first time in a while and meet other fellow voyageurs. We and the two or three other crews coming in on that day shared songs, skits (Which we had to come up with), and stories from our trips. After it officially ended, we could look a bit more at the historical setup outside of base, mess with bear traps, play a game from the era, or try throwing tomahawks. Once we got tired of that, we just headed back to the cabins to sleep and prepare for the trip home tomorrow.

Northern Tier Day Five - Pipestone Bay to Wind Lake

Pipestone Bay - Back Bay - Good Lake - Indiana Lake - Wind Bay - Wind Lake
11 Miles* - 5 Portages

It was going to be another long day of paddling, with only two or three portages and a lot of open water canoeing. Mr. Hock saw the opportunity for a "detour", which would lessen our distance on Basswood Lake, which would be more crowded and allowed motorboats, and give us some more portages. It turned out that the "detour" was actually the route that was in the leader's guide we had gotten the route from, but most of us welcomed the chance for some time away from the sun. We made it through that, despite one ugly beaver dammed inlet which required a lot of getting out of the canoe and pushing, finally making it onto an inlet with a whole ton of plants (no idea what) and some serpentine paths through them. This turned into a bit of light-hearted canoe racing, which had the interesting strategy of trying to force the other canoe into the reeds to avoid a collision, but the reeds would significantly slow the canoe. We managed to do one of the two portages that began our trip, so we camped incredibly close to the base.

Northern Tier Day Four - Tin Can Mike Lake to Pipestone Bay

Tin Can Mike Lake - Rapids - Jack Fish Bay - Pipestone Bay
11 Miles* - 3 Portages

There were only a couple of very short (50 rods or less) portages today, so we were expecting to essentially just pull the packs out of the canoe and put them back in again. Little did we know that the two shortest of these portages (15 and 20 rods, 240 and 320 feet) would be some of the most annoying we'd face if not the hardest. We found this out on the first of these, when while passing over what looked like just another muddy stretch of terrain (The other portages were full of those) we sank into the mud, some of us up to our waists! Even at the end of that portage, it was easy to sink ankle deep or deeper when wearing a pack, so just taking the packs 20 feet over to the canoe became almost a daunting task! We all made it through that portage and another like it but slightly less mucky with all our possessions intact.

Northern Tier Day Three - Basswood Falls to Tin Can Mike Lake

Basswood River - Horse River Horse Lake - Tin Can Mike Lake
13.5 Miles* - 9 Portages

We knew we'd be doing our longest portage, 340 rods or 1.1 miles, early that day, so we weren't that thrilled with it based on our experience with the portages back on day one. Fortunately, the long portage was flat and shady, although the bugs were bad. It seemed every hundred feet or so would be another mud hole with another several dozen mosquitos breeding in it. About halfway through, we stopped to take a break, reapply bug spray, and figure out where to go. We noticed a wrecked canoe that had presumably tried to go down the rapids we were portaging around. We had even more portages in the rest of that paddling day, totaling another mile of portaging. When we made it to the lake where we were supposed to camp, all the sites were taken, so we had to make another portage onto the next lake to take a site there. This was our biggest day of the trip, as we traveled 12 miles total and almost 2 miles of portaging. That night, right after we had all gotten into a sleeping bags, we were woken up by cries of "Moose!" It was across the lake, so all we saw (fortunately, considering stories of moose in camps) was a brown blotch, or a brown moose shaped blotch through binoculars.

Northern Tier Day Two - Washington Island to Basswood Falls

Basswood Lake
11.5 Miles*

No portages, so it was just a long day of paddling. We stopped once along the way to eat lunch and swim a bit. The main part of the campsite was on a large rock with no shade, so the mosquitos weren't that bad. Unfortunately, the flies were worse there than at the other campsites. Anything in the sun that didn't move was a fly target, especially if it had touched human sweat or anything else that a fly might consider nutritious. (And that's about everything) The flies never made it past just being pests, as they didn't bite and they didn't land on moving things, like us, as much. At least there wasn't a mosquito presence until the evening.

Northern Tier Day One - Sommers to Washington Island

Moose Lake - Wind Lake - Basswood Lake
9.5 Miles* - 2 portages

We woke up bright and early on our first day of paddling, knowing we'd have to get up every day on our trip at about the same time. (So jet lag actually helped) We went and picked up our life jackets, PFDs, and canoes, and set off into the Boundary Waters. We had our first two portages that day, both about a half mile, but they were probably the most physically strenuous on the entire trip, because they were steeper and had less shade than other portages the same length. We made it to the campsite before lunch, and found it to be something of a mosquito haven, worse than any we would go up against later in the trip. Despite that, we still managed to set up camp, get used to the cook gear and survive to the next day.

Northern Tier Day Zero

We arrived at the camp a bit earlier than we were supposed to, 12:30 instead of 1:00, so we had a little bit of time to hang around and wait for the staff to come off lunch break. Once they did, we had a brief talk on Voyageur history before meeting our interpreter, Matt. He showed us around the base a little. The first place he took us was to the cabins we'd be sleeping in that night: small hexagonal cabins with four beds and four cots to sleep in. Once we had our things set up for the night, he took us to pick up all of our supplies and packs: two food packs, one equipment pack with cooking gear, and three packs to hold all of our personal gear. After that, we had a little bit of time to wait and check out the trading post before dinner, which was better than standard Scout camp fare, but nothing special.

Northern Tier Pre-Trek

05/05/2001 - Mr. Filpus proposes the Northern Tier trip at the annual 50 mile bike ride.
05/15/2001 - Positive response from the boys and adults makes the decision to go easy. Two adults and six boys (with one alternate) are compiled into a crew roster which is distributed by email.
05/21/2001 - The reservation is made by phone for the crew.
05/22/2001 - The tour is officially announced at the troop Court of Honor.
05/2002 - One boy and the alternate are unable to go on the trip. The trek contingent ends being Mr. Tom Hock, Mr. George Painter, Jesse, Greg, Philip, Alexander, Courtney and Austin.
06/12,19/2002 - Canoe skills training is held at Lake Crabtree.
07/02/2002 - Trek preparation and portaging practice is held at the pond at Heartwood.
07/05/2002 - The crew of six boys and the two adults leave at 1:30 pm on a Northwest flight for Minneapolis. There, the adults rent two cars, drive to Duluth, where they have dinner and spend the night in Aurora, Minnesota, near Grand Marais.
07/06/2002 - The crew drives to the base in Ely and checks in.

Outfitting

Swim Tests - The boys and adults needed to pass the BSA swimmer test and be signed off by an a life guard or instructor. This took more trouble than expected. Mr. Hock and three of the boys had their tests at Camp Durant. Mr. Painter and Austin had their test at one pool, while the other two boys had their tests at the Sportsplex two days before the trip.
Jungle Boots - A supply of reasonably priced new USA made jungle boots were found at Bob's Surplus on South Saunders street in Raleigh.
Sleeping Bags - The sleeping bag for the trek needed to be a warm weather (40 degree) and light. The normal backpacking sleeping bag is too warm. Normal warm weather bags are too heavy. A good ( and cheap ) lightweight summer weight bag was found in the Quest Helix line of bags at Dick's.

A short walk through South Mountains State Park

Ever want to walk along quiet streams? Camp in open meadows?
Watch meteor showers unobscured by the ambient light of civilization?
We look for that and more each month and found a treasure at South Mountains State Park.
From ridge-top trails the surrounding arc of hills gives a sense of quiet grandeur with its own sense, different from the austerity of the Blue Ridge crest.
Broad trails provide room for hikers and bikers.
Here are moments to stand above and almost outside the world.
The Park was kind enough to let us help them landscape a new camping area.
We look forward to coming back to see the results of our labor.
Thank you South Mountains Staff for a memorable weekend.

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Philmont

Orientation
After an all-night plane ride to Albuquerque and an equally long van ride to Cimarron, we found ourselves planning the details of our trek. Here Brian and John set up their crews' agenda. We spent a busy day "being processed." These guys need an express line. After years of Fifty-Milers where we step out of the cars and onto the trail, "processing" was a trip unto itself. In this room, we made our first, and perhaps only, serious mistake: we scheduled burros from Ponil to Pueblano. When you go to Philmont, consider this option carefully, and then just say no to burros. They are sweet, friendly, loveable, and have lots of other positive attributes. They are also lazy, willful, stubborn, and strong enough.
Hart Peak
The trek up Anasazi Canyon was our first glimpse of the true backcountry. The canyon was still verdant: lots of water running in the creek, wild turkey, beaver, profuse wildflowers. The petroglyphs were amazing. We participated in an archeological dig, heard about the Anasazi Indians, and had some great campfires. Then up and out, over Hart Peak for our first lunch over eight thousand feet, and down into Ponil for a horseback ride, and cold root beer at the cantina. A little roping, some boot branding, and two great chuck wagon meals, and we were on our way to Pueblano, burros and all.
Burros? Love 'em or leave 'em.
The hike to Pueblano was straightforward and serene, except for our four-footed chums. Even they were not too bad on the first day. However, the next morning, they refused to leave the corral. Could it have something to do with breakfast? Anyway, we abandoned them to the tender mercies of the Pueblano staff, who the night before said, "If they won't walk, we can't make you carry 'em." And we couldn't and didn't. This shot is from Harlan Camp, days later. Along with loading and unloading (on skeet traps) shotgun shells, we also raced burros, a wild and exhilarating kinda thing. (These burros are not members of the same species that were issued at Ponil, by the way.)
Baldy Mountain
After blacksmithing, panning for gold, exploring a tin mine, including walking out in total darkness, Baldy Mountain was a literal as well as figurative high point in the trip. At 12,441 feet, breathing is different. Five of us got up at 3:00 a.m. to scale the summit for the dawn. Then part of the first contingent and the rest of the troop climbed later in the morning. A commanding view with cold brisk winds, the wind chill was worth at least twenty degrees, and it wasn't warm to start with. The complementary view from the Ewells Park meadow was softer and warmer. We sat for hours lunching, taking pictures, and just sitting in awe. Then on to Baldy Camp and down Dean Canyon.
Glissade anyone?
After exploring the top of Baldy with its bleak rock, colorful succulent flora, and old copper mine, a relatively warm glissade down a snow bank put a refreshing spin on the rest of the day. While not in the league with the thousand footers (vertical and linear), these hundred to three hundred foot runs are a hoot. What a trip! We're hooked and planning to go back.

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