Tag Archives: hammock camping

Sara Goes Hammock Camping! – Backpacking in Thornton Hollow

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Join Sara and I for a spring Hammock Camping and Backpacking trip in Shenandoah National Park.

For this trip, we’ll be visiting Shenandoah National Park for a 2 day overnight backpacking trip in the Thornton River area of the park’s northern district.

Parking Location:  N38° 45.689′ W78° 16.923′
From Front Royal entrance station, take Skyline Dr. S to mile marker 21 and park in the lot on the right not too far after Hogback Overlook.

Trails Used (in order) and Route Notes

Day 1

  • Start by heading south on the Appalachian Trail from the trailhead connected to the parking lot.
  • At the Junction with Tuscarora Trail, take a right to continue on Tuscarora Trail. (Yes, this is where we took the wrong turn and ended up back at Skyline Drive)
  • Take Matthews Arm Trail towards Matthews Arm Campground.
  • Pass the campground and cross over Skyline Drive.
  • From the other side of Skyline Drive take Elkwallow Trail.
  • Continue along ridge line, via Elkwallow Trail.
  • At the next junction, hang a right on Thornton Trail to begin descending back towards Skyline Dr.
  • Cross the road to continue on Thornton Trail.
  • Decent camping opportunities become available as you approach the Thornton River.  A potential area on the right (that we skipped) is marked in my GPS data file for the trip.
  • Continue on Thornton Trail.  From this point on, the trail will cross back and forth across the river several times, before any particular decent camping areas appear.
  • Reach the intersection with Hull School Trail.  There are reportedly several decent camping opportunities within range of this intersection.  We chose to continue down Thornton Trail a little ways and camp not to far from the river as a water source.
  • Setup camp along Thornton River.
Thornton Hollow - Day 1 Elevation Profile

Thornton Hollow – Day 1 Elevation Profile

Stats for Day 1
Mileage: 12.1 miles
Gross Ascent: 1,621′
Gross Descent: 3,632′

Day 2

  • Break Camp and follow Thornton Trail back to trail junction.
  • Hang a right to head uphill on Hull School Trail
  • Continue on Hull School Trail, crossing the Piney River, and passing the Bolen Family Cemetery.
  • Take the Keyser Run Fire Road towards the Little Devil’s Stairs Trailhead Parking area, and Rt 614.
  • At the parking area, head up Little Devil’s Stairs Trail, though the canyon.  Prepare for numerous zig-zags over flowing water and potentially slick rocks, depending on recent rainfall and time of year.
  • After gaining 1,200′ or so climbing out of the canyon, reach the the intersection to reconvene with Keyser Run Fire Road once again.  At this point you can either stay in the woods by heading left towards Pole Link Bridge and Sugarloaf Trails, which will take you back to the AT and ultimately your car, or hang a right on the fire road towards Skyline Dr for a road hike along several scenic overlooks.  We chose the latter.
  • Return to the parking lot on Skyline Drive.
Thornton Hollow - Day 2 Elevation Profile

Thornton Hollow – Day 2 Elevation Profile

Stats for Day 2
Mileage: 10.4 miles
Gross Ascent: 3,133′
Gross Descent: 1,237′

Trip Totals for 2 Day Overnight Loop
Total Mileage: 22.5 miles
Gross Ascent: 4,754′
Gross Descent: 4,869′

Thornton Hollow 2 Day Loop GPS Track

Thornton Hollow 2 Day Loop GPS Track

Gear

My wife, Sara, is starting to really look at getting her base weight down, and taking a more weight conscious overall approach.  For this trip, she’s basically carrying the standard system that I usually use, seen here in my 2015 Ultralight Backpacking Gear List video and blog post.  A detailed run down can be found in that post, as well as on my Gear Lists page.  The only notable difference would be her own clothing choices, and the esbit cooking system.  I chose instead to carry a generic $5 canister stove, and a can of IsoPro canister fuel for the sake of simplicity.  I also knew that the terrain and mileage would be relatively tame on this trip, so it was well worth the extra half pound or so.

For my gear, I basically just carried all of my older gear that I’ve slowly upgraded away from over the years.  I all works great, it’s just a bit heavier – but it sure comes in handy when the wife says she wants to head out for a trip.  Eventually, Sara will probably get her own ultralight backpack to replace her larger, heavier Gregory Baltoro, but in the meantime, I’m fine with using my EMS Longtrail 70.  Once she’s decided on a new pack, I’ll put the Longtrail back into use strictly as my heavier bag for winter trips.
Notable Gear Items (For full lists, head over the to the Gear Lists Page)

Sara

  • Dream Hammock Darien Ultralight Hammock with Dutch Clips and cinch buckle suspension system.
  • Hammock Gear Cuben Hex Tarp with Zing-It guy lines and Dutch Wasps for quick tension adjustment.
  • Osprey Hornet 46 backpack.

Shawn

  • Dutchware PolyD 1.2 Hammock with Dutch Speedhooks and Kevlar Tree Hugger suspension system.
  • Hennessy Deluxe Hex Tarp with Dutchware continuous ridge line kit (30′ Zing-It, Dutch Hook, Dutch Wasp, and two soft shackles) and Dutch Tarpworms shock corded to each corner tie-out point.
  • EMS Longtrail 70 backpack
  • Generic Canister stove and Toaks 750 ml titanium pot for boiling water needed to re-hydrate those ridiculously tasty PackIt Gourmet meals.
  • Sawyer Squeeze rigged up in gravity mode, using a few dollars worth of 1/4″ tubing and adapters that I grabbed on a whim from the Dutchware site while picking up the previously mentioned Tarpworms.  So far, it’s working great – I don’t know why I didn’t do this sooner!


Post-Hike Cheeseburger Spot

The Backseat Bar and Grill, in Winchester, VA

The vibe here was basically if you combined classic diner with a bar that has IPA on tap.  We both got fried pickles to start, followed by a classic, straight forward cheeseburger with fixins.  This paired nicely with the Devil’s Backbone IPA that they had on tap, which we thought was the obvious choice after having just conquered Little Devil’s Stairs.

Links for More Info
Info on Shenandoah Backcountry Camping Permits and Regulations.
Official Parks Service Info Sheet and Map for Matthews Arm area.

 

Post Hike Burger at the Backseat Bar and Grill.

Post Hike Burger at the Backseat Bar and Grill.

Mt Washington Winter Ascent – Backpacking in Huntington Ravine

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Join me as I attempt a winter ascent of Mt Washington, while hammock camping in the Huntington Ravine.

For this trip, I’ll be heading up to the White Mountains for one more winter backpacking trip before the season ends, and spring arrives.  This will also be my first attempt to climb Mt Washington in winter.  Okay, climb may be a bit overzealous of a term, but it will be pretty aggressive compared to my other winter hikes.  Which brings up an important topic – additional gear needed.  I’ll get to that a little later, but first lets take a look at where exactly I started off from and the general route I took.  Full GPS track data for this trip can be downloaded on the Trip Data page.

Parking Location: Pinkham Notch Visitor Center near Jackson, New Hampshire.

There were a couple of nice things about parking at Pinkham Notch Visitor Center.  First, there was no parking fee, so that’s always nice.  They also leave the pack room, bathrooms and changing area open 24 hours, which I was quite happy to discover upon my arrival at 2 AM.

List of Trails Used, in Order

  • Start at Tuckerman Ravine Trailhead (located right behind visitor center)
  • Follow the Tuckerman Ravine Trail.
  • Stop at the Fire Road Junction.  Do not continue up Tuckerman Ravine!  You should see a sign stating that it is closed in winter due to avalanche danger.
    Take Huntington Ravine Fire Road towards Harvard Cabin.
  • Arrive at Harvard Cabin to setup camp and get organized.
    The cabin is open from December 1st to April 1st and a caretaker is on site.  It is $10 to stay in the cabin, complete with wood burning stove, or $15 to camp in the surrounding area.  A big bonus of staying here is the water hole behind the cabin, which is maintained daily.  This allows you to get water directly from the stream below, without the chore of melting snow.  Registration is done at the Pinkham Notch Pack Room.  Click here for more details on the Havard Cabin.
  • Once setup and geared appropriately, backtrack a bit down the Fire Road.
  • Before getting back to the junction, take the Lion’s Head Winter Route on your right.
  • Follow Lion’s Head Winter Route. This is a very steep trail opened as a safer alternative to Tuckerman Ravine Trail during avalanche season.  Be prepared to use both hands as well as your ice axe for support.  While I did not carry one, a rope could be quite useful and convenient on the way back down.  
  • Rejoin the Tuckerman Ravine Trail (you’re above of the avalanche zone now).
  • Continue on Tuckerman Ravine Trail, crossing the summer Auto Road and on to the summit.
  • Follow course in reverse to return to Harvard Cabin to camp for the night.
  • On day two, hike back out via Huntington Ravine Fire Road and Tuckerman Ravine Trail.

Extra Gear used for my Mt Washington Winter Ascent

There were two pieces of gear that I brought on this trip, that I’ve never previously felt the need for on other White Mountains winter trips:  Crampons and an ice axe.

The ice axe is not to be confused with an ice tool, specialized for actual ice climbing, supported by ropes and typically headed straight up a wall of ice.  The ice as, or mountaineering axe as it’s also often called, is longer and straight with a pick for self arresting on one side (this is the primary reason to bring it out on the ice fields of Mt Washington), and an adze on the other side for digging and chopping tasks.  The adze is mostly used for more advanced mountaineering techniques than may be required on a Mt Washington attempt, but it does come in handy around camp for setting up a home for the night.

The crampons I chose were universal strap-on crampons, so that I could use them with my regular, flexible winter hiking boots, as opposed to the typical Automatic or semi-auto crampons that require a traditional hard plastic climbing boot, which I do not own.  It should also be pointed out that my usual winter traction choice, Kahtoola MICROspikes, are not crampons, nor are they in anyway comparable.  I love my micro spikes, but if I had them as my only option on this trip, I probably would have been in some trouble.  Or at the very least, it would have taken me twice as long to complete the route.

As seen in the video, there are some other pieces of gear that are essential for a Mt Washington winter climb.  I should also reiterate that no matter how favorable the forecasted conditions are, you should always pack and carry worst case winter gear.  This includes the ability to have all skin fully covered, no exceptions!  Conditions can change on a dime in the Whites.  Below are some highlights of gear I brought for the above treeline portion of my hike (other gear was left at my base camp below treeline).

  • EMS Packable Pack (small daypack)
  • EMS Ascent Mittens with fleece glove liners
  • Synthetic Ski Hat
  • Seirus Innovation Neofleece face mask / scarf combo
  • Bolle Mojo Snow Goggles (Lemon lense color)
  • Spare hat and gloves (in case others get wet or blown away)
  • Garmont GTX Snow boots
  • CAMP Stalker Universal Crampons
  • Black Diamond Raven Ice Axe
  • Nalgene 1 Liter wide mouth water bottle

Clothing worn was pretty much exactly what I’ve used on my previous White Mountains snow camping trips.  I cover some of the details later in the video as well.  You’ll also notice that I do not have snowshoes listed on my above treeline list.  I brought a pair of MSR Denali Ascent snowshoes that I left at my base camp, and in fact, that was the only place that they were necessary.  I did not find them to be need on the wind blown, ice covered summit cone of Mt Washington – crampons took care of that nicely.  The section of Tuckerman Ravine trail approaching Harvard Cabin traversed daily via snowmobile by rangers checking avalanche conditions, so I really didn’t need snowshoes on that portion of the hike as well.  A few steps off the trail though, and you’ll quickly find yourself in waist deep snow or more.

Notable Gear Used at Camp

  • Dutchware PolyD 10′ Hammock with Dutch Titanium Cinch Buckle suspension, Dutch Clips and 12′ webbing straps. I take a look at cinch buckles in this video post.
  • Hammock Gear Incubator 0 Underquilt
  • Hammock Gear Burrow 0 Top Quilt – Here’s my post on both HG Quilts.
  • Dutch Winter Sock for extra protection for wind and blowing snow.
  • Hammock Gear Cuben Hex Tarp, 12′ – equipped with 9′ Zing-It guy lines and Dutch Wasps for quick tension adjustment.
  • MSR Rapidfire Stove – Here’s video post for a closer look at the Rapidfire.
  • Vargo 450ml titanium cup
  • Toaks 750ml titanium pot for water boiling.
  • Sea to Summit Long Handled Aircraft Aluminum Spork
  • EMS Longtrail 70 Backpack
  • MSR Denali Ascent Snowshoes
  • Various meals and food from Packit Gourmet.


Post-Hike Burger for this Trip

“Pig Out Burger” (Smoked Pork, Bacon & Cheese) from
Yankee Smokehouse in Ossipee, NH.

2015 Ultralight Backpacking Gear List

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A look at my current sub-10 pound, 3-Season Ultralight Backpacking Gear List.

In this video we’ll take detailed look at all of the items in my current 3-Season Ultralight Backpacking system load-out.  This is the exact same load-out that I used in West Virginia during early October for the Ultralight Backpacking in the Cranberry Wilderness video.  On this trip the overnight and morning lows got down as low as the mid-thirties and I made it by using the gear seen.  Now, I wouldn’t take this load-out for sustained expected temps in that range, but in a pinch, at least I know I can get by.  This is pretty much my go-to backpacking system for everything except for winter, from Tennessee up to Maine.

As seen in the video, I use a hammock camping system, running at 9.5 pounds, but I’ll show you some modifications for ground sleeping as well as warmer weather options to save weight (as low as 7.5 lbs), in both the video as well as my different gear lists, which are available on the Gear Lists page of my website, for those who wish to see specific weights, categories, and item descriptions.  Below is a simplified list of the items seen.

Backpack – Osprey Hornet 46
Jacket – Montbell UL Down Parka
Shirt, Long Sleeve  – Md Wgt
Underwear – Synthetic (1 Pair)
Shorts
Shirt, short sleeve
Hat – Fleece
Cookset Stuff sack
Pot Cozy
Spoon – backup, disposable
Stove – Esbit DIY
First Aid
Sunscreen -Travel Size
Spare AA Batteries
Headlamp – Fenix HL21 w/ battery
Hammock – Dream Hammock Darien w/ suspension
Under Quilt – HG Incubator 40
Top Quilt – HG Burrow 40
Bear Bag Line
Zip-lock Bag – Sandwich
Toilet Paper
Toiletry Kit
Wet Wipes
Hand Sanitizer
Compass
Knife – SOG Blink
Lighter – Eddie Bauer
Sawyer Filter Bag – 64oz
Water Bottle – 1.5 Ltr, Disposable

My New Hammock Gear Zero Quilt Set – Titanium Wide Burrow 0° w/ snaps (gasp!) and Green Incubator 0°

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HG Zero Set Laid Out
I was super excited to get my hands on my new deep winter quilt set today – Green HG Incubator 0° (26.5 oz w/ stuff sack) and a wide Titanium HG Burrow 0° (25.75 oz w/ stuff sack). I couldn’t resist running contrary to general consensus, so yes, I went with snaps instead of a sewn foot box on my wide Burrow. I’ve grown to really love the snaps on my Burrow 40° and also anticipate using my Zero in situations that it may be overkill – since my other bag is a 40, waaay at the other end of the spectrum.

Fully aware that my 40° Burrow had a bit of a gap in the foot box area when cinched, I took a bit of a gamble and expected that the Burrow 0° would have an even smaller gap, due to the increased volume of down. If I was wrong, I could simply plug it up with my stuff sack on colder nights, but as you can see in the side-by-side picture below, there’s virtually no gap present on the Burrow 0°. Nice.

Just to continue the theme of keeping things interesting, I also plan to test the Hammock Gear Burrow 0° on the ground with a sleeping pad, during an upcoming snowshoeing trip in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Hopefully, we’ll get some brutal temps up there, so I can share the results in my next video. I can’t wait!

I plan to use the weight savings to bring along my wife’s gi-normous Big Agnes Q-Core SL wide sleeping pad to test it with. Paired up with the wide Burrow, I’m hoping to be sleeping about as classy as one can on the ground. Heck, even if I brought an additional fleece throw as a top sheet, the total weight for all three would still be a couple ounces less that my previous bag alone (Kelty Cosmic Zero, 4lbs!).

Of course, after ground testing, I’ll be have to take it out for a solo trip somewhere frosty to run the whole rig on my hammock, it’s true home.

Fully opened. You can see that the wide Burrow makes for a nice amount of coverage. You could probably ground sleep 2 people under this thing in more modest weather. Assuming your camping partner is down for some light spooning, that is.

HG Burrow 0° wide in closed configuration.

HG Burrow 0° wide in closed configuration.

Close-up view of the Burrow 0°'s cinched end in all it's lofted glory.

Close-up view of the Burrow 0°’s cinched end in all it’s lofted glory.

Side side view of HG Burrow 0° and HG Burrow 40° for loft comparison.

Side side view of HG Burrow 0° and HG Burrow 40° for loft comparison.

Side by side comparison of foot box area cinch on the HR Burrow 40 and HG Burrow 0. Notice that the 0 model has a much smaller gap – a very good thing for those frigid nights!

For more detailed info and a look at other models and options, check out http://www.hammockgear.com/  A quality cottage vendor based right here in the USA.

Winter Camping the Dolly Sods Wilderness – 3 Day Backpacking Trip

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Join the crew for 3 Days of Winter Camping, Backpacking, & Campfire Cooking in Dolly Sods, West Virginia.

For this adventure we decided to revisit the Dolly Sods Wilderness for some early December winter camping and backpacking.  Full GPS track data for this trip is available on the Trip Data page for those who like to follow along at home. Waypoints for campsites and water crossings / sources are included in the GPX file.

List of Trails Used, In order:

Day 1
Park at Red Creek Trailhead, N38° 58.372′ W79° 23.847′
Red Creek Trail TR514
Cross Red Creek at junction with Big Stonecoal Trail
Big Stonecoal Trail TR513
Set up Camp at “Tj’s Moustache Camp”
Here’s how to find it:
Heading north on Big Stonecoal, pass the intersection with Dunkenbarger trail on your left. Not to far ahead, Big Stonecoal will make an abrupt right turn to make a water crossing across Stonecoal Run. Instead of making the turn, continue straight along the banks, towards the woods. The camp should quickly become apparent.

Water is obviously plentiful. Firewood is probably another story, as this looks to be a popular area in warmer weather. We were equipped with hatchets and saws to process down tress, so all was well. However, during a warm weather trip without tools, I doubt we would have found much smaller stuff just laying around.

Dolly Sods Winter 2104 Day 1

Dolly Sods Winter 2104 Day 1

Day 1 Stat Totals
Mileage: 5.85 Miles
Gross Elevation Gain: 1,444′
Gross  Elevation Loss: 453″
Campsite Altitude: 3,613′

Day 2
Backtrack a little bit to previous day’s water crossing.
Continue on Big Stonecoal Trail TR514
Arrive at the junction with Blackbird Knob Trail and Breathed Mountain Trail
Continue on Breathed Mountain Trail TR553
Turn left at junction with Red Creek Trail TR514
**  Shortly after heading out on Red Creek Trail, we found a decent supply of running water on the trail, which was much appreciated, as there would certainly be no water up towards Lion’s Head, where we intended to camp.  As it was running in December, I’m thinking this may be a good option in other months as well. No guarantees though. It’s possible this was just snow melt run-off from up above.  If all else fails, you could bushwack down to Red Creek, as we had actually planned to do, prior to finding this little gem on the trail.
Continue on Red Creek Trail TR514
Bear to the right on Rocky Point Trail TR554
Turn abruptly right at the unofficial spur trail to Lions Head at N38° 59.243′ W79° 22.062′
** This is not an official trail and will not be found on maps, however, it is marked with a cairn (pile of rocks).  Head straight up from the cairn.  There is a false summit a little ways in, but you need to actually bear to the left in order to navigate towards Lion’s Head and the eventual campsite.  If you go straight towards the false summit, you’ll know it, as there is no where else to go but straight down.  No worries, relax, enjoy the view and retreat towards whence you came.  You’ll have to hop down some rocks, but the path should be apparent. 
Head north on the Unofficial Spur Trail Towards Lion’s Head
Pause to “ooooh and ahhhh” at the sights
Continue north towards camp
Setup Camp on the ridge beyond Lion’s Head

Dolly Sods Winter 2104 Day 2

Dolly Sods Winter 2104 Day 2

Day 2 Stat Totals
Mileage: 8.6 Miles
Gross Elevation Gain: 1,083′
Gross  Elevation Loss: 1,099′
Campsite Altitude: 3,678′

Day 3
Bushwack Northwest towards Rocky Point Tr
Continue on Rocky Point Tr TR554
Turn left to head south on Big Stonecoal Trail TR514
Take Red Creek Trail TR514 Back towards Parking lot and vehicle
Find a cheeseburger!

Dolly Sods Winter 2104 Day 3

Dolly Sods Winter 2104 Day 3

Day 3 Stat Totals
Mileage: 3.6 Miles
Gross Elevation Gain: 127′
Gross  Elevation Loss: 1,332′

Trip Totals
Mileage: 14.49 Miles
Gross Elevation Gain: 2,654′
Gross  Elevation Loss: 2,884′

Dolly Sods Trail Map Color Coded

 

Ultralight Backpacking in the Cranberry Wilderness

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Come along for 3 days of ultralight backpacking and fall camping in West Virginia’s Cranberry Wilderness.

For this adventure, I’ll be taking my newly refined ultralight backpacking loadout for a three day overnight hiking and camping trip in West Virginia’s Cranberry Wilderness.  After my last couple of vista-packed trips, I’ve had some requests for more footage & discussion once we get to camp – site selection, shelter setup, fire making, cooking, etc.  Well, this video has plenty of all that, and then some.  In fact, this ended up being my longest feature length video so far.

For those of you looking for something a little lighter, there’s a full back catalog of shorter videos that might hit the spot, but if you’re ready to get into the finer details of ultralight backpacking gear and spending time outdoors (from my own warped perspective of course), then this is the video for you.  A little gift for the hardcore fans 😉

Overview of the route I took. Recorded with my Garmin Oregon 650 GPS.

Overview of the route I took. Recorded with my Garmin Oregon 650 GPS.

Parking: North South Trailhead on State Route 150
38.276530, -80.237829

 

Trails Used Day 1
Start at North South Trail Head on West Virginia SR 150
TR 688 North South Trail
TR 267 Laurelly Branch Trail
TR 271 Middle Fork Trail
Setup Camp on Hell for Certain Branch
This is a large campsite across from trail on opposite side of the Middle Fork River with plenty of fresh water available from the nearby river.

Cranberry Wilderness Day 1 Elevation Profile
Day 1 Total Mileage: 13.2 miles
Day 1 Gross Ascent: 1,102′

Trails Used Day 2
Backtrack on TR 271 Middle Fork Trail towards junction from previous day
Continue on TR 271 Middle Fork Trail
TR 207 Big Beechy Trail
Setup Camp just after summit of Sugar Creek Mountain.
This is a medium-small Campsite, in a beautiful mossy area.  Make sure to pack in enough water, as there are no nearby sources.  The elevation was around 4,400 feet and the landscape was somewhat conducive to wind, so be prepared for temps that are possibly quite a bit lower than locally forecasted.

Cranberry Wilderness Day 2 Elevation Profile 
Day 2 Total Mileage: 9.06 miles
Day 2 Gross Ascent: 2,405′

Trails Used Day 3
Continue on TR 207 Big Beechy Trail
TR 272 North Fork Trail
TR 688 North South Trail towards SR 150
Return to North South Trailhead Parking Lot

Cranberry Wilderness Day 3 Elevation Profile
Day 3 Total Mileage: 3.17 miles
Day 3 Gross Ascent: 367′

Total Mileage for Trip: 25.39 miles
Total Gross Ascent for Trip: 3,974′

Click Here to Download a PDF Copy of the Gear List used for this Trip
or visit the Gear Lists Page for detailed notes and weights for each item.

Notable Pieces of Gear seen in this Video:
Dream Hammock Darien Hammock
with cinch buck suspension and Dutch Clips
Hammock Gear Cuben Hex Tarp 12’x8.5′
Zing-It Guy lines with Dutch Wasps for tensioning
Osprey Hornet 46 Backpack
Hammock Gear Burrow 40 Top Quilt
Hammock Gear Incubator 40 Underquilt
Frogg Toggs Rain Jacket
Esbit Solid Fuel Cubes
Toaks 750ml Titanium Pot with lid
Vargo Windscreen / Pot stand
Sawyer Mini Water Filter
Montbell UL Parka – 850 fp down
Adidas Terrex Swift-R trail runners