3 Days of Hiking, Backpacking, & Rainy Hammock Camping in the Cranberry Wilderness using the Amok Draumr XL Hammock.
For this 3 day, 2 night spring backpacking trip, I’ll be hiking a 20 mile loop in West Virginia’s Cranberry Wilderness, part of the larger Monongahela National Forest. The specific area for this hike, located between the Williams River and the Cranberry River, is commonly referred to as the Cranberry Backcountry.
Each of the 3 days will be comprised of three different “vibes”. Day one will mostly be a lowlands hike in the woods, day two will be primarily along the the beautiful Cranberry River, and day three will be a mossy, higher elevation ridge hike along Kennison Mountain.
With a new Amok Fjol XL tarp in hand to thwart the forecast of rain, each night will be spent hammock camping and testing the new Amok Draumr XL hammock, which Amok kindly sent for evaluation.
Route Overview Cranberry River Loop – Sintax77
No permit is required to camp in the Cranberry Wilderness, but there are rules and regulations regarding backcountry camping. You can find more information on the USFS Cranberry Wilderness website here.
No permit is required to camp in the George Washington National forest, but there are rules and regulations regarding backcountry camping. You can find more information on the George Washington & Jefferson National Forest website here.
Join Sara and I for some hiking, trail cooking, and backpacking on a hammock camping trip in Shenandoah National Park.
For this hiking adventure, Sara and I will be revisiting Shenandoah National park for Sara’s second dose of hammock camping out in the wild along with a healthy dose of backcountry cooking and camp food. We did a previous backpacking trip not too far from here in Shenandoah a mere two weeks before, and it went quite well. It wasn’t, however, exactly the experience that we had set out to do.
You see, for that particular trip, I may have sold it as a rather relaxed excursion. And depending on your perspective, it very well may have been just that. But for Sara, who’s most recent backpacking memories prior to that trip were that of a grueling elevation-fest through the White Mountains, it wasn’t quite the reprieve we were looking for.
The required prescription was a high dose of low mileage, potent lounging, and dense pancakes. Thankfully, the trip seen in this video hit the spot. Below are some details and trip data for the trip, although there isn’t much of it. But that’s exactly what we were going for. Check out my Trip Data Page to get full GPS data for this trip.
Parking: Meadow Spring Trailhead (Mile 34 on Skyline Drive)
N38° 38.304′ W78° 18.823′
Day 1 Trails Used (in order): Hazel Mountain Trail
Turn Left on White Rocks Trail Camp along White Rocks Trail (see my GPS Data for potential campsites on either side of trail)
After setting up camp, take a half mile round trip down to Hazel Falls, for happy hour.
Day 1 Stats: Mileage: 3.2 miles (includes half mile excursion from camp down to Hazel Falls and back) Gross Elevation Gain: 390′ Gross Elevation Loss: 1,175′
Day 2 Trails Used (in order):
Wake Up, Eat Pancakes (this is important – trip will not work properly without this step!) White Rocks Trail
Right on Hazel Creek Trail
Day 2 Stats: Mileage: 2.5 miles (not nearly enough to burn off those pancakes, you’re gonna have to go to the gym tomorrow…) Gross Elevation Gain: 699′ Gross Elevation Loss: 75′
Notable Backpacking Food for this Trip: Bisquick Shake ‘n Pour Pancake Mix Packit Gourmet Dehydrated Maple Syrup and Blueberries
Packit Gourmet Queso Dip with a regular ol’ bag of Tostito’s Scoops (wheat, because we’re obviously healthy and stuff)
Packit Gourmet Texas State Fair Chili (I lost my mind eating this stuff on this winter video, after climbing Mt Washington)
Day 1 (20.5 miles)
Begin at Lakeview Tunnel at the end of the “Road to Nowhere”
Benton MacKaye Trail / Lakeshore Trail
Bear Creek Trail
Welch Ridge Trail
High Rocks Vista – Great views of Fontana Lake!
Cold Spring Gap Trail
Hazel Creek Trail
End at Backcountry Campsite 82
Day 2 (24.5 Miles)
Hazel Creek Trail
Lakeshore Trail / Benton MacKaye Trail
End at Backcountry Campsite 76
Day 3 (12 Miles)
Lake Shore Trail / Benton MacKaye Trail
End at Lakeview Drive (Road to Nowhere) Trailhead and the Car!
Osprey Hornet 46 Backpack
Hennessey Hammock – Expedition A-Sym
Sea to Summit Toaster – Fleece Sleeping Bag Liner (used as primary bag)
Klymit Inertia X-Frame Sleeping Pad
11 pounds Base Weight + extra filming gear and electronics that the average person probably won’t need. I was actually carrying closer to 13 lbs while filming. See the full Ultralight Gear List Video for a detailed look at the 11 pound system, plus tips for going sub-10-pounds if desired.
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w/ cheap dollar store utensils for cooking