Tag Archives: camp cooking

Fall Camping in Dolly Sods – Foliage Peaking and Sleeping Pads Leaking

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Join Sara and I for 3 Days of Camp Cooking, Hiking, & Backpacking in the Dolly Sods  Wilderness.

For this 3 day, 2 night backpacking trip, Sara, Denali and I decided to do some fall foliage camping in West Virginia’s Dolly Sods Wilderness, part of the larger Monongahela National Forest. Dolly Sods is located in the Allegheny Mountains on the highest plateau east of the Mississippi river and features some of the most varied and scenic terrain available to hikers in the Mid-Atlantic region.

We had our dog with us on this trip, so we decided to give tent camping a go this time around to keep us all together in one spot.  I also decided to totally throw lightweight backpacking out the window for this trip, so I brought along my Fjallraven Kajka 75 backpack and stuffed it to the gills with various backpacking gear, just to have a little fun and switch things up a bit (gear list at end of post).  This decision was made easier by the fact that we were starting at Bear Rocks trailhead, which is already high up on the plateau with minimal elevation changes.

Campsites and great views are fairly abundant in Dolly Sods, so our general plan was to keep the mileage low and focus on a relaxed hiking pace, fun backpacking food and camp cooking.  It was the perfect recipe for a laid back camping trip.  Other than the whole leaking sleeping pad situation to make things more interesting…

 

Route Overview – Dolly Sods Fall Backpacking Loop – Sintax77

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.

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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Hiking Halfmoon Mountain – Camping & Backpacking in West Virginia

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Solo Backpacking, Hiking, & Camping with my Dog on the Halfmoon Mountain Loop in West Virginia.

For this 2 day, 1 night spring backpacking trip, I’ll be hiking a 10.5 mile loop in the George Washington National Forest.

Route Overview – Halfmoon Mountail Loop – Sintax77

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.

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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GCI Slim Fold Cook Station – Make your Vehicle Adventure Ready

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A Review of the GCI Outdoor Slim Fold Cook Station.

In this video camping fear review, I give a run down of the various features of the GCI Slim Fold Camp Cook Station, as well as my own personal experiences with the GCI cook station for car camping and various camp cooking applications.

Disclosure: This post or video contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through my links. Cross reference, do your own research and make your own decisions, duh 😉

Specs and Features as per the manufacturer

  • Folds flat for storage
  • Easy to open, set up and close
  • Four multi-use fold-out side tables – beverage, wine glass, garbage bag, paper towel and utensil holder (weight limit per table: 30 lb / 13.6 kg)
  • Aluminum counter top (weight limit: 48 lb / 21.8 kg)
  • Lower rack for storage/dry goods (weight limit: 35 lb / 15.9 kg)
  • Powder-coated steel frame
  • Open size: 20.9 x 52 x 32.3 in (53 x 132 x 82 cm)
  • Folded size: 20.9 x 3.7 x 34.6 in (53 x 9.5 x 88 cm)
  • Unit weight: 18.9 lb (8.6 kg)

MalloMe Camping Cookware Mess Kit Review

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A Review of the MalloMe Camping Cookset.

The MalloMe Cookware set is a 10 piece nesting mess kit for backpacking and camping that I’ve had for about year now, with great results.

While I typically pack pretty minimal for my solo backpacking trips, for group backpacking trips and snow melting in the winter, I’ve grown to really like this budget mess kit. It’s also quite nice for more involved backpacking meals and trail food cooking.

Items included with the MalloMe Cookware Set

  • Aluminum 1 Liter Pot
  • Pot Lid
  • Aluminum Frying Pan
  • 2 BPA Free Bowls
  • Folding Stainless Steel Spork
  • BPA Free Soup Spoon / Ladel
  • Wooden Spoon Spatula
  • Cleaning Sponge
  • Folding Stainless Steel Fork (free bonus)
  • Nylon Travel Bag Drawstring Pouch

Other Trail & Backpacking Cooking Items Seen

Toaks 450ml titanium cup
Toaks 750ml titanium cook pot 
Sea To Summit Alpha Light Long Spoon
Budget Canister Stove

Hiking Big South Fork Pt 2 – Tennessee Hammock Camping & Backpacking Trip

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Join me for 3 days of hiking & hammock camping on a backpacking trip in Tennessee’s Big South Fork Nat’l Rec Area.

For this backpacking adventure, I’ll be breaking the hiking trip into two parts. BSF Part 1 is mostly in the woods and at camp and is more of a hanging in the woods, conversational type video. Part 2 covers days 2 and 3 where I traverse into the higher regions of Big South Fork, hitting the ridges for views of the Cumberland Plateau’s sandstone bluffs and Big South Fork River.

For more details on the first day of this trip, check out my Big South Fork Pt 1 blog post and video.

GPS Data for this trip is available on the Trip Data Page, or via this link for direct download: Big South Fork Backpacking Loop 2017 GPS Data – Sintax77

Big South Fork John Muir John Litton Backpacking Loop Route Overview – Sintax77

Trailhead and Parking Location

Bandy Creek Visitor Center, 151 Stable Rd, Oneida, TN 37841
N36° 29.275′ W84° 41.837′

Topics discussed and things that happen in this episode

  • Place Holder

Trails Used Day 2

  • Break camp along the Laurel Fork Creek Trail
  • Continue north on the Laurel Creek Fork Trail
  • Make a left (east) onto the John Muir Trail (the next 2 miles will cover the bulk of the elevation gain for the day)
  • Make a right (west) onto the Fall Branch Trail
  • Setup camp along the Laurel Fork Creek Trail (less than a 100 meters after crossing the creek / bridge.  There is a campsite immediately next to the creek as well)

Day 2 Total Mileage: 15.2 miles
Day 2 Gross Elevation Gain: 1,616 feet
Day 2 Gross Elevation Loss: 1,266 feet

Big South Fork Day 2 Elevation Profile – Sintax77

Trails Used Day 3

  • Break camp along Fall Branch Trail
  • Continue south on the Fall Branch Trail
  • Make a Right (north) onto the John Litton Farm Hike Loop Trail (heading south will ultimately bring you back to the parking lot as well).
  • Continue south onto the road (gravel, then paved) until you arrive back at the Bandy Creek Visitor Center Parking Lot.

Day 3 Total Mileage: 6.1 miles
Day 3 Gross Elevation Gain: 600 feet
Day 3 Gross Elevation Loss: 313 feet

Big South Fork Day 3 Elevation Profile – Sintax77

Trip Grand Totals

Total Mileage for Trip: 28.4 miles
Total Elevation Gain for Trip: 3,076 feet

The gear list used for this trip along with discussion on each item can be found in my accompanying 2017 Ultralight Backpacking Gear List Blog Post and Video.

Hiking Big South Fork Pt 1 – Tennessee Hammock Camping & Backpacking Trip

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Join me for 3 days of hiking & hammock camping on a backpacking trip in Tennessee’s Big South Fork Nat’l Rec Area.

For this backpacking adventure, I’ll be breaking the hiking trip into two parts. Part 1 is mostly in the woods and at camp and is more of a hanging in the woods, conversational type video. In BSF Part 2 we will traverse into the higher regions of Big South Fork, hitting the ridges for views of the Cumberland Plateau’s sandstone bluffs and Big South Fork River.

GPS Data for this trip is available on the Trip Data Page or by clicking this link for direct download: Big South Fork Backpacking Loop 2017 GPS Data – Sintax77

Trailhead and Parking Location

Bandy Creek Visitor Center, 151 Stable Rd, Oneida, TN 37841
N36° 29.275′ W84° 41.837′

Topics discussed and things that happen in this episode

  • Feeling like a lost idiot on the trail.
  • Camp setup priorities when arriving at camp.
  • Setup / breaking camp in the rain.
  • Continuous Ridgeline usage and setup for quick and easy tarp deployment.
  • Low carb backpacking food options for carb conscious or ketogenic diets.
  • Starting a campfire in the rain.
  • Campfire cooking some meat on a stick.

Trails Used Day 1

  • Parked at the Bandy Creek Visitor Center
  • Started on the Oscar Blevins Farm Loop Trail (located in the corner of the parking lot on the opposite side of the road from the visitor’s center)
  • At the Intersection, turn right onto the Collier Ridge Bike Loop. This is where I mistakenly continued straight, which would have taken in a circle. Luckily, I realized earlier enough to turn around and head back to the intersection.
  • Turn left (north) on the gravel road. From looking at the map, I could have avoided the short road hike by hopping on the access Jack Ridge trail, which appears to be found either right near where I popped out on the road, or a little ways down that road to the right.  Continuing on the road seems to have saved me a decent amount of hiking though, which made up for my wrong turn earlier,
  • Turn right (east) onto the next, smaller gravel road.
  • Arrived at the sign for Jack Ridge Loop Trail and headed left onto
  • Black House Branch Trail
  • Right on Laurel Fork Creek Trail
  • Setup camp by the waterfall pool along the Laurel Fork Creek Trail.

Big South Fork Day 1 Elevation Profile – Sintax77

Day 1 Total Mileage: 7.25 miles
Day 1 Gross Elevation Gain: 860 feet
Day 1 Gross Elevation Loss: 1,256 feet

The gear list used for this trip along with discussion on each item can be found in my accompanying 2017 Ultralight Backpacking Gear List Blog Post and Video.