Join Sara, our dog Denali, & I for some Catskills hiking, trail cooking, backpacking, and hammock camping in upstate New York.
For this backpacking trip, we’ll be hiking and camping near Slide Mountain and the East Branch Neversink River in the Catskills, complete with a visit to the summit of Table Mountain and Peekamoose Moose Mountain. The mileage will be low, but the star of this trip isn’t the trails. It’s the food. Good old, classic trail cooking.
What’s on our backpacker’s menu? Well, Sara had a craving for some trail pizza in the middle of the woods somewhere, and I was up for the challenge. Were we successful? You’ll just have to come along and find out. Either way, it’s bound to be an adventure. 😉
Full GPS data for this, as well as all of my other trips, is available on the Trip Data page.
Pheonicia East Branch Trail Peekamoose Table Trail
Set up camp after second bridge (the double log one) at N41° 58.474′ W74° 25.734′
Continue up Peekamoose Table Trail towards summit of
Table Mt and Peekamoose Mountain
Lunch / Snack at summit and Return to camp on the East Branch Neversink River
Day 1 Mileage: 7.8 miles, including summit round trip (about 3 miles each way) Day 1 Gross Elevation Gain: 2,130′
Trails Used Day 2, in Order
Peekamoose Table Trail Pheonicia East Branch Trail Return to vehicle at Denning Rd Trailhead
Day 2 Mileage: 1.8 miles Day 2 Gross Elevation Gain:146′
Trip Total Mileage: 9.6 miles Trip Total Elevation Gain: 2,276
Trail Pizza Ingredients
Boboli Pizza Crust, Individual Size – 2 Pack
Boboli Pizza Sauce Individual Pack (comes in 3 pack box)
Cabot Mozzarella Cheese, Shredded – 8 oz package (2 cups volume)
Hormel Pepperoni, pre-sliced – 6 oz package (enough for 2 pizzas, plus snacking) Camp Cooking Gear Used for Pizza
Join Mike and I for for a “Train to Trail” Winter Camping, Backpacking, Campfire cooking, & Hiking adventure in Harpers Ferry, WV.
We tried something a bit different for fun on this winter camping trip – instead of driving, we decided to take an Amtrak train directly to the trailhead. This is actually and idea that Mike and I had been kicking around for a while now. The first challenge was finding an interesting trail that was actually close to a train station, without a need for secondary transportation or an excessive walk. After a bit of research, we determined that Harpers Ferry, West Virginia fit the criteria quite well. The train practically dumps you right on the Appalachian Trail. We booked our tickets, packed our bags, and hit the trail, er, I mean, train station.
With 4 days and 3 nights off, we had a decent amount of time to play with on this trip. The challenge however, would be that we needed to plan an out and back trip that didn’t put us to far away from the train station on our final morning, rather than doing a loop like we normally prefer. Fortunately, we quickly realized that to be a perfect excuse to do a a laid back, more camping, less hiking kind of trip.
The plan? After leaving the train behind,we would hop on the Appalachian trail for a few miles – just long enough to feel the seclusion of the deep winter woods, and set up a base camp for the duration of the trip. Other than that, we really had no hard set plans, other than relaxing, having a good time, and brushing up on our campfire cooking skills. Did we succeed? I guess you’ll just have to watch and see…
Trails Used
Leave Harpers Ferry via Appalachian Trail South After around 3 miles, bushwack West to unofficial campsite.
Return via Appalachian Trail North
Join Sara and I as we take our puppy, Denali, on his very first backpacking trip.
For this adventure, we were joined by a brand new hiking partner – our 7 month old puppy dog, Denali. While Denali is no stranger to walking and hiking (we’ve tried to make that a regular part of his life since we adopted him at 2 months old), this will be his very first foray into an overnight backpacking trip. Or to put it in terms from his perspective; his first time sleeping out in the woods, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, nary a shred of carpet or plush dog bed to be seen.
Denali’s First Backpacking Trip Route Overview – Sintax77
Our chosen destination was a 14 mile loop comprised of several trails in Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park. I was made aware of this trip via the super-helpful website called “Hiking Upward”. For those of you hikers along the mid-Atlantic who haven’t heard of this site before, I highly suggest checking it out some time. Since this was a bit of a last minute trip, coupled with the fact that it was our pup’s first time backpacking, I wanted everything to go nice and smoothly, and their detailed trip reports were a welcomed asset.
The first half of this circuit was of the higher elevation variety, consisting primarily of a ridge walk along a the Neighbor Mountain Trail, as well as a section of the Appalachian Trail. Day two would be mostly along the Jeremy’s Run Trail. As the name would suggest, the Jeremy’s run trail closely follows the contours of Jeremy’s Run, a stream that we would traverse 14 times before returning to the metallic confines of our car. Below is an overview of our route, along with trailhead parking ocation and other points of interest. For those of you interested, I recorded full GPS track data during this backpacking trip. along with campsites and other notable POI’s which can be downloaded on my Trip Data page.
Trailhead and Parking: Jeremy’s Run Trailhead N38° 44.456′ W78° 18.716′ (by Elkwallow Picnic Gound and the Wayside Store)
Trails Used Day 1 (in order)
Starting from the Jeremy’s Run Trailhead,
Take the Appalachian Trail (south)
Turn right (west) on Neighbor Mountain Trail
At intersection, turn right (east) on Jeremy’s Run Trail
Set-up camp along Jeremy’s Run at N38° 42.629′ W78° 21.913′
Day 1 Total Mileage: 9 miles (This is the mileage to the actual campsite. My solo mileage for the day, including scouting and backtracking, totaled 13.5 miles) Day 1 Total Elevation Gain: 1,785′
Denali’s First Backpacking Trip Day 1 – Sintax77
Trails Used Day 2 (in order)
Continue on Jeremy’s Run Trail
At intersection, continue north on Appalachian Trail
back to the Jeremy’s Run Parking Trailhead and parking area.
Day 2 Total Mileage: 6 miles Day 2 Total Elevation Gain: 1,391′
Total Mileage for Trip: 15 miles Total Elevation Gain for Trip: 3,176′
Join the crew as we revisit the Red River Gorge for 3 days of hiking, hammock camping and backpacking in Kentucky.
The Red River Gorge a unique Geological Area within Kentucky’s Daniel Boone National Forest. This area hosts an impressive collection of natural arches (or natural bridges, as they’re often call), spread across some relatively young forest in the hills of eastern Kentucky, about 1 hour shy of Lexington. The Red River Gorge has the highest concentration of rock arches east of the Rock Mountains (over 100). This makes Red River Gorge a visually impressive hiking area, as well as one of the world’s top rock climbing destinations.
This is actually my second exploration of the RRG. My first backpacking experience here was a solo hammock camping trip in October, a couple of years back. On that trip, I covered more ground and saw a nice sampling of the area’s more well known arches, but helpful feedback from some of my viewers who were more versed in the area alerted me to the fact that I had missed out on some pretty cool unofficial trails and spots. In fact, I had walk right by a few of them. I made a mental note to get back down to the Red River Gorge some day and give it another go.
Finally, the opportunity arose for that trip, and to sweeten the deal, I managed to round up an outdoor posse for this renewed exploration the RRG. This time around, I’ll be joined by my wife as well as my friend Mike and his wife Danielle. And while my last trip was a 2 day, higher mileage affair, we decided to extend this backpacking trip to 3 days and to drop the mileage back a bit to create a trip with more emphasis on time to relax at camp. Actually, our night two camp site was one of the very areas that several viewers had suggested I check out on my next visit – an unofficial (but completely legal) camping spot called Hanson’s Point. The actual point has an amazing view out into the gorge, and the nearby camping opportunities are large, flat, and nicely shaded.
The route we chose for this trip starts out at the same trailhead as my previous Red River Gorge trip video, but shortly after starting, it deviates onto an unofficial spur trail for another viewer suggested feature, called Indian Staircase. This area offers an impressive view into the gorge as well. It also boasts a pretty cool feature that gives it it’s name – a series of foot and hand holds carved into it’s sandstone face to assist with traversing it’s steep grade. As the name would suggest, legend says that local Native Americans originally created these features, but who actually created these carvings remains a mystery and the source of some debate. Regardless of the true history, it’s a very cool place and well worth checking out. While I didn’t personally find the route overly steep or exposed, it should be pointed out that this trail could be a bit nerve wracking for some sensitive to heights. Leaving you pack stashed at the base is certainly helpful and will save you a few ounces of sweat as well.
GPS track data along for each day’s hiking route, along with waypoints for campsites and other points of interest, can be downloaded on my Trip Data page.
Trails Used, in order (with Trail Numbers):
Park at Bison Way Trailhead 37.83685,-83.609546
Day 1
Bison Way Trail 210
Unofficial Spur Trail to Indian Staircase at GPS coordinates
Sheltowee Trace Trail 100
Cross State Road 715 and River via suspension bridge
Rough Trail 221
Set up camp along Chimney Top Creek
Stats for Day: 9.2 Miles ; 1,413 feet of elevation gain
Day 2
Rough Trail 221
Hanson’s Point Spur Trail (unoffcial)
Set up near near Hanson’s Point
Stats for Day 2: 3.2 Miles ; 731 feet of elevation gain
Day 3
Hanson’s Point Spur Trail (unoffcial)
Rough Trail 221 (short segment towards Sheltowee Tr )
Sheltowee Trace Trail 100
Road Hike along Red River back towards Bison Way parking area.
Stats for Day 3: 5.9 Miles ; 377 feet of elevation gain.
Grand Totals for Trip: 18.3 Miles ; 2,521 feet of elevation gain
Join Sara & for some backpacking, hiking and hammock camping along the Appalachian Trail in Virginia’s James River Face Wilderness Area.
For this fall backpacking trip we’ll be dipping into the world of the Appalachian Trail while testing out some new hammock camping gear – most notably, the Amok Draumr 3.0 Hammock system. The Draumr is a rather unique flat hammock that I touched on in a previous blog post and video, ‘Amok Draumr 3.0 – A Super Flat Hammock? – First Look‘. As discussed in that video, the Draumr works in conjunction with an inflatable sleeping pad to create what is essentially a floating bed. It can also be used in a chair configuration for lounging at camp. In addition to testing out the Draumr, I’ll be trying out some whoopie slings rigged up with some Dutch Whoopie Hooks. The hooks allowed for a really quick and simple way to attach and detach the whoopie slings to my trusty Darien Dream Hammock.
With our shelter and sleeping methods squared away, we were ready for some exploration of the east coast’s most fabled long distance hiking path – the Appalachian Trail, the “AT” as it’s affectionately called by those of us who prefer a nice acronym now and the. While I’ve incorporated pieces of the AT into many of my trips before, this particular hike seemed to really capture the spirit and flavor of the Appalachian Trail.
James River Face Wilderness – Route Overview – Sintax77
Along the way, we bumped into and chatted with some friendly southbound Thru-hikers (or “SoBo’s” as they’re commonly called), checked out a classic example of an Appalachian Trail Shelter (Matt’s Creek Shelter), got some great laughs and stories out of the shelter’s trail journal, and got a healthy dose of rolling ridge line views. While it was obviously no comparison to the experience of actually being out on the AT for five to seven months over the course of it’s roughly 2,200 miles, it was a great little 2 day crash course of what life might be like for the some of the 12,000 or so alumni who have hiked the Appalachian Trail since it’s inception back in 1937.
Who knows, maybe some day Sara and I will be among those dedicated hikers as well, but for now, the occasional appetizer version is quite tasty too! Below is are some details on the section that we did. GPS track data, along with waypoints for our campsite and other points of interest are available for download on our Trip Data Page as well.
Trailhead and Parking: James River Footbridge N37° 35.819′ W79° 23.474′
The James River Face Wilderness Area is a protected area located within the Jefferson National Forest, about 1 hour north of Roanoke, Virginia.
Route Taken and Trails Used, Day One
Access the James River Foot Bridge by heading out of parking lot and passing under the railroad trestle. SinFact: This is the longest pedestrian ridge on the entire Appalachian Trail
Leaving the foot bridge, turn left to continue following the AT along the banks of the river for a while.
The trail will eventually turn away from the river and and head deeper into the woods,following along Matt’s Creek.
Arrive at Matt’s Creek Shelter for a snack break at the picnic bench, and an entertaining peek at the shelter log.
Leaving the shelter, head up the ridge to continue on the Appalachian Trail and get some views of James River, flowing below.
5 miles into the hike there will be a decent lunch spot (marked in my GPS data) with a nice, flat sunny area for lounging before ascending further up the the ridge. This spot was also the last flowing water source we encountered for the rest of the day. If you plan to camp up on the ridge in the same area that we did, make sure to stock up on enough water for the rest of the day, as well as tomorrow for breakfast and the hike out, to be safe.
Continue on the AT until arriving at the three way junction with Balcony Falls Trail and Sulphur Springs Trail. This is where we departed the AT and headed down the Sulphur Springs trail in search of a campsite for the night.
Note: Sulphur Springs trail does not appear to be officially maintained and may be quite grown in and harder to navigate in the summer.
Trip variation Option: If you continue on the Appalachian Trail for another half mile you will reach a junction with the Belfast Trail. About a half mile or less down the Belfast Trail is a possible campsite near the intersection with the Gunter Ridge Trail. It’s important to note that I haven’t personally been to this site, so I’m not sure how legit it may be. It’s location is approximated based on comments I’ve seen posted online, combined with topo map data and may not actually be a suitable site. We chose not to venture that way, but from looking at a photo I found online, it looks like a rather flat, alternate site for camping. Approximately a mile beyond Gunter Ridge campsite is the Devil’s Marble yard, a potential side trip that I hear has very nice views. Nearby is another possible site, marked in my GPS data as well.
Continue along the Sulphur Springs trail for a little less than a mile.
Camp at either of the site’s listed in my GPS Data. We chose the smaller spot labeled “JRF CS Night 1” for it’s better views off the ridge for sunset. On the other side of the trail there is also a larger potential camping area labeled “JRF Hickory Stand CS”. This spot lacks the views down the ridge, but is larger and offers potentially better wind protection, depending on conditions.
Day 1 Total Mileage: 6.8 Miles Day 1 Total Elevation Gain: 2,297′
Sintax77 – James River Face Wilderness Loop – Day 1 Elevation Profile
Route Taken and Trails Used, Day Two
After packing up camp, you have two options. While it’s possible to continue down the meandering Sulphur Springs Trail for a couple until it runs into the AT, we chose instead to immediately start our day back on our old friend, the AT. This was possible by doing a very small “bushwack” west from the campsite until you run into the adjacent campsite then head south on the AT by turning left. The campsite is literally right smack between the two trails, so the AT should be super easy to spot.
Continue along the AT until you hit the triple junction with Sulphur Springs, the AT and Piney Ridge Trail.
Head down the Piney Ridge Trail, towards Hunt Club Road, which will eventually bring you to Rt 501 Lee Jackson Highway.
Turn left (north) to do a road hike along Lee Jackson Hwy for a short bit, at which point you have two options:
After a mile or so, the Highwater Trailhead (the old AT) will appear on the left side of the road. The sign will actually be for Matt’s Creek, where we were the day before. You can take this trail all the way back to the shelter, then backtrack to the parking lot on the AT, the same way you came in on day one. From trailhead to car looks to be about 4 miles.
We chose to make a more expedient route back to the car, by continuing to walk along the road, over the auto bridge’s pedestrian sidewalk. This route gave us a pretty cool view of the man made waterfall, as well as an alternate view of the rail trestle and footbridge that we had traveled over the previous day.
Arrive back at the Jame River Foot Bridge Parking lot and prepare yourself for cheeseburger time.
Day 2 Total Mileage: 8 Miles Day 2 Total Elevation Gain: 486′
James River Face Wilderness – Day 2 Elevation Profile – Sintax77
Trip Mileage Grand Total: 14.8 Miles Trip Elevation Gain Grand Total: 2,783′
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)
backpack
stove
with fancy lightshow
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/ Plate
tanto blade pocket knife
Hammock – 
for use with Draumr Hammock (30D Double Silicone Coated Ripstop Nylon, Fully taped seams, Reflective guy lines)
LED Flashlight
Headlamp (
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w/ cheap dollar store utensils for cooking