Author Archives: Sintax77

Camping in a Shutdown Wilderness

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3 Days of Backpacking and Camping in the Dolly Sods Wilderness.

For this spring backpacking adventure, we headed down to West Virginia’s Dolly Sods Wilderness are for some hiking, camping, good views and good times. Oh, and some seclusion – we got more of that than we bargained for on this one.

Dolly Sods is the highest plateau east of the Mississippi River, with a wide variety of terrain and ecology, covering over 17,000 acers. Despite this vastness, it’s still a pretty well known spot amongst east coast hikers. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, and a little stubborn determination to do a 3 mile road hike, this ended up being one of my most unique experiences in the Sods, as it was virtually void of other backpackers.

James and I both went with single person tent camping setups on this trip to give us more camping options in the windswept, treeless areas that cover much of the plateau. We also packed in a bunch of real food and a frying pan to try our hand at some fun camp cooking recipes.

Oh, and speaking of cooking – did I mention that this wasn’t just the emptiest I’ve every seen Dolly Sods, but it was also the driest? They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch. In our case, we had plenty of lunch, but there certainly were no free water sources. We would have to work a bit for that….

Our goal for this trip was to really just wing a do a good mix of time at camp and some mileage as needed, of course. If you’re planning a hike of your own in Dolly Sods and would like some detailed info on the area, including GPS data, gear used and trail descriptions, check out this post, where I do a solo backpacking trip with a full loop of the plateau and hike the majority of it’s main trails.

Season: Spring 2023

No permit is required to camp in the Dolly Sods Wilderness, but there are rules and regulations regarding backcountry camping. You can find more information on the USFS Dolly Sods website here.

Trailhead Used: Bear Rocks Trailhead,  N39° 03.794′ W79° 18.197′
Public Rd 75, Davis, WV 26260

The Bear Rocks trailhead has room for many vehicles and is reached via a dirt / gravel road. The grade is not too aggressive and should be fine for most 2wd cars if driven carefully (I saw a couple when I was there). No parking fee or permit required. Loop begins behind the large info board.

Dolly Sods Printable Trail Map from the USFS

Camping in the Middle of Nowhere – Jeep Tank on Empty

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Cold weather backpacking and hammock camping in Central Pennsylvania’s Tiadaghton State Forest.

For this adventure, I decided to grab my tarp and hammock and hike into the woods with not much of a plan other than to do some random exploration, find a suitable basecamp, and maybe have a little fun with some campfire cooking. Instead of relying on dehydrated backpacking foods as I usually do, I packed in a bunch of “real” food and a frying pan with the intention of skipping the backpacking stove and cooking exclusively on a good ol’ open campfire.

My backpacking load-out for this trip was relatively lightweight and minimal, but I did spend a few extra pounds on some fun camping items like a hatchet, cooking gear, and some cold weather clothing to deal with the forecasted 20° temperatures at night.

In addition to the camp food, I’ll give you a full look at the items that I pack in on a typical colder weather backpacking trip as well as my go-to tarp and hammock camping setup.

While I didn’t really use an official trailhead for this trip, I did stumble upon Pennsylvania’s orange blazed Mid-State trail before going off trail to look for my campsite for the night. The nearest town was Waterville, PA, which does have a very nice general store and parking for anyone interested in doing a proper backpacking loop with Pine Creek as the center piece. It’s an awesome area for fishing, hiking and backpacking.

In my case, I ended up on the upper ridges of gorge instead of down along the creek where I usually go, but it did make for a memorable experience somewhere deep in the woods of Pennsylvania…

Backpacking the Smoky Mountains – Wind, Rain & Solo Camping

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Join me for 3 days of Winter Camping, Backpacking & Hiking in the Smoky Mountains. 

For this winter camping adventure, I decided to do a solo backpacking loop along the Little River Gorge in Tennessee’s western region of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  The Little River is flanked to the south by Meigs Mountain and to the north by Sugarland Mountain.  By hiking trails along the ridges of both these mountains, I was able to create a 25 mile loop with 6,000 feet of gross elevation gain.

On the first night, I chose to camp on top of Meigs Mountain at campsite 19, Upper Henderson.  On day two I planned to descend into the gorge to camp along the Little River at campsite 21. On the third day, I would hike up Sugarland Mountain towards Laurel Falls and ultimately, Little Brier Gap to complete the loop.

For sleep and shelter, I packed in my Outdoor Vitals Fortius trekking pole tent, a 3-season sleeping pad and my Hammock Gear 20° down quilt.  Despite it being the middle winter, my temp range was relatively mild with lows in the 40’s and highs touching the mid 60’s.  This allowed me to leave my extra cold weather clothing layers at home, so I was still able to use my ultralight backpack instead of the larger pack that I typically use for winter.  Days 2 and 3 had a forecast of rain and high winds, so I played it safe and packed in full set rain gear as well.

Route Overview – Smoky Mountains Little River Gorge Backpacking Loop – Sintax77

A backcountry permit is required for all campsites in this area. You can reserve them for $8 per night on the Smoky Mountains National Park website here.

Full GPS track data, including campsites, water sources, etc, for this trip and many others can be downloaded on my Trip Data Page.

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Off Grid Cabin Life | Winter Backpacking on our own Mountain

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Join me for some Winter Backpacking and Tent Camping right from our Off Grid Cabin in Tioga County Pennsylvania.

For this outdoor adventure, I decided to do something I had surprisingly never done before – A winter backpacking trip hiking some trails right on our own mountain in the Tioga State Forest near Pine Creek and the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon.

We’ll do some campfire cooking, tent camping and outdoor fun on the trail. Afterwards, I’ll take you back for a tour of our cabin in the woods, which has no water or electrify (not from the traditional grid , at least) and a day and night of camp chores and relaxation.

We’ll check out the wood burning stove, our solar power system and some other fun stuff. This backpacking video is a bit different from what I normally do. It’s basically a combination backpacking and off-grid cabin life video. I hope you enjoy the adventure!

Beginner Backpacking – Campfire Cooking & Abandoned Hotels on Echo Lake

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3 Days of Camping and Backpacking on Echo Lake in the Catskill Mountains.

FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through some of my links.

For this backpacking trip, we headed up to New York’s Catskill Mountains for 3 days of campfire cooking, mountaintop abandoned hotel exploration and lakeside camping with crew consisting of a wide range of experience levels – all the way from 10 years to a very first backpacking trip.

Our Late Fall temperature range for this trip was between 35° and 70° without a chance of rain until the latter half of the trip.  With the possibility of rain on our last day hike out, and the addition of some fun comfort items like a stool, firewood saw and some other surprise goodies, my base weight was a little over my typical sub-10lb base weight for this particular trip.

Mike and I went with hammock camping setups for this backpacking trip, while Mike’s son and his friend decided to share a Nemo 3 person tent. Our  plan was to do our 3 day trip basecamp style by snagging a decent campsite alongside Echo lake and remaining there for both nights.  This would allow us to do a day hike up towards Indian Head Mountain on the ridge lighter daypacks.  This also gave us the advantage of returning to a campsite that was already setup if our hike back ended up taking longer than expected.

Water would be plentiful at basecamp due to the nearby lake, but their is beaver activity in the area, so water filtration and / or treatment is strongly encouraged.  There is also a stream that feeds the pond not to far from where the spur trail for the Echo Lake Shelter begins.  Our chosen campsite was on the opposite side of the lake, so went the filtration route with my Katadyn BeFree water filer system.

Full GPS track data, including campsites, etc, for this trip Sintax77 and many others can be downloaded on my Trip Data Page.

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Solo Backpacking on Mt Passaconaway – 3 Days of Camping in New Hampshire

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Join me for 3 Days Ultralight Backpacking on Mt Passaconaway, deep in the Wilderness of New Hampshire’s White Mountains.

Join me for 3 Days Ultralight Backpacking on Mt Passaconaway in the White Mountains, deep in the wilderness of New Hampshire.

FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through some of my links.

For this 3 day, 2 night backpacking trip, I decided to spend a few days exploring Mt Passaconaway, a 4,000 footer nestled in the Sandwich Range Wilderness of of New Hampshire.

My plan for this trip wasn’t to crush miles, but to instead slow things down and really have a chance to get an intimate look at a smaller area, something I often don’t always do. With it’s combination of a hardwood populated rolling lowland approach hugging the beautiful Oliverian Brook at 1,200′ elevation, followed by a short, but steep rocky ascent up to the ridges leading to the summit of Mt Passaconaway at 4,043 feet, it seemed like the perfect choice for such a trip.

I would spend my first day looking for a suitable break in the dense foliage to camp along the babbling sounds of Oliverian Brook for the night. On day two I would head up towards the summit in search of a clearing just short of the summit to the previous sight of an old lean-to shelter called Camp Rich.  The shelter was removed many years ago, and is no longer listed on newer maps.  According to reports though, there are still some great clearings for camping in the area, which is a rarity at higher elevations in the White Mountains.  Allegedly, there is a rather reliable water source running nearby as well.  Again, a rarity near tree line in the Whites.

My backpack was pretty light for this adventure, consisting of only my trekking pole tent, trekking poles, a single titanium pot with DIY alcohol stove for cooking, a simple foam sleeping pad, 40° down quilt, hardshell jacket, and a mid-layer synthetic hoodie for extra warmth, as the daily low was expected to be in the upper 30’s Fahrenheit. This was pushing it a bit, but I’ve found that the hoodie and hardshell combination works pretty well as a cold weather parka down to around the mid 30’s.  A more detailed list of backpacking gear can be found below.

Despite a temporary minor lower back muscle injury that slowed me down a bit from my normal pace, this ended up being a really fun backpacking trip.  It gave me an opportunity to appreciate the merits of spending more time soaking in a single area at camp or along the trail, rather than hiking triple the miles to hit multiple summits.  While I really enjoy doing hikes like that too, it was pretty awesome to appreciate the character of a single mountain and the random treasures it had to offer.

Route Overview White Mountains Mt Passaconaway Backpacking Trip- Sintax77

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