Tag Archives: outdoors

Summer Backpacking – Fog, Rain & Shelter on the Old Loggers Path

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3 days of Backpacking, Trekking Pole Tent Camping and Lean-to Shelter Camping on the Old Loggers Path.

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 summer backpacking trip, I decided to revisit the OLP in Pennsylvania’s Loyalsock State forest.  The OLP is a 27 mile backpacking loop along babbling brooks, waterfalls, hardwoods and hemlocks. I previously did this loop counter-clockwise as a solo hike a couple of years ago, but there was so much to soak in that I decided it would be worth hiking it again. This time I would hike it clockwise with my buddy Dave from Outdoor Vitals, who recently moved out to Pennsylvania from Utah.

Dave had never camped in a lean-to shelter before, so we targeted the Sprout Point shelter for our first night, followed by some tent camping along the confluence of Rock Run and Yellow dog run on the second night.  This would also be my first time experimenting with an ultralight trekking pole tent, so I was looking forward to trying that out.

Our weather ranged from highs in the upper 70’s with fairly high humidity, and lows in the upper 60’s.  This allowed me to save weight by packing a lightweight 40° quilt and leaving my extra warm clothing layers at home.  There was a possibility of rain each day though, so I packed in full rain gear. I also brought a folding saw and some other comfort items, so my base weight was still right around 10 lbs despite the warm forecast.

Trail conditions on the OLP are a mix of nice flat dirt sections, punctuated by spurts of steep sections littered with Pennsylvania’s infamous rocks to keep you on your toes ; literally.  Despite the occasional rough sections, the average daily gross elevation gain was only around 1,500 feet per day. Potential water sources are fairly plentiful on the Old Loggers Path, but the key word is potential. When I went before in spring, I got by with only carrying around 1 liter of water at a time.  This time around things were very dry, so the only water sources we used were the two that are always flowing – Pleasant Valley Stream and the Rock Run / Yellow Dog Run confluence.

Route Overview – Old Loggers Path Clockwise Backpacking Loop – Sintax77

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Winter Camping in Pennsylvania’s Most Remote Forest

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Backpacking, Hiking & Winter Tent Camping with Snow in Pennsylvania’s Hammersley Wild Area.

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

For this early December backpacking trip, I set out to hike a 3 day, 20ish mile loop in the mountains of north central Pennsylvania.  I created my loop by using a portion of the Susquehannock Trail System, some off-trail bushwhacking, and a ridge hike along the adjacent Twin Sisters Trail.

My weather conditions were forecasted to have some fresh snow, temps mostly in the 20’s and a potential for freezing rain as the temps rose further into the trip.  While this was a pretty wide range of possible conditions, it also wasn’t terribly cold, so I was still able to pack somewhat ultralight and minimal.  My camping target for day one was down in the hollow along the banks of Hammersley Fork. On day two I planned to head up to the ridge and camp in the area devoid of trees due to a forest fire back in 1962.  Due to the potential lack of trees, I swapped out my typical hammock setup for a single person tent and sleeping pad to keep my campsite options flexible.

The Hammersley Wild Area is the most remote swath of public land in Pennsylvania, with some spots over 5 miles from the nearest road, which combined with the season, I hoped would make for some rather secluded camping.  Conversely, this area is also a haven for public hunting, so I made sure to wear some blaze orange and remain somewhat quiet and on the trail until I got further away from any road access, as it was the middle of PA deer hunting season.

This trip video was sponsored by Dr Prepare. You can get 10% off their 178Wh Portable Power Station by using code STDP10 with this link.

Route Overview – Stratton Pond Vermont Backpacking Loop – Sintax77

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

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50 Miles of Hammock Camping in 3 Days – Backpacking on Cranberry Lake

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3 days of Backpacking & Hammock Camping along Cranberry Lake in the Adirondacks

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

For this adventure, I decided to do a fall backpacking trip with some higher trail mileage than I’ve been doing lately. Nestled in New York’s Five Pond Wilderness, the Cranberry Lake 50 is a fifty mile loop hike that circumnavigates it’s namesake, and passes by many smaller ponds along the way as well. Most of these smaller ponds have campsites or even a lean-to shelter nearby, which is quite nice.

The CL50 is not really an individual trail, but a collection of trail sections from 12 other trails is the area.  The route is well blazed with blue CL50 plastic discs nailed to trees along the way.  The trails used to make up the CL50 are blazed with similar yellow trail discs, so you will often see both blazes simultaneously.

The Cranberry Lake 50 goes directly through two towns – Wanakena, where I started, and the town of Cranberry Lake.  There’s only about 10 trail miles between them, so neither really poses much logistical value for resupplying, but they are nice towns to stroll through.

I chose to do the loop counter clockwise from Wanakena because the last 10 miles traverse some muddy wet sections due to beaver dams, so I figured it would be best to save that for the last afternoon.

I typically like to hike my backpacking trips on a 3 day, 2 night timeline, so that meant my daily trail mileage had to be around 17 miles or so during the shortened daylight hours of October.  On the upside, this hike is primarily along the perimeter of a lake, with minimal elevation changes, but did I mention that I hadn’t done a high mileage trip in a while? Yeah, the headlamp got a good amount of usage on this one. Let the night hiking begin…

Route Overview – Cranberry Lake 50 Backpacking Loop – Sintax77

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Camping with Wild Ponies – Solo Backpacking in the Grayson Highlands

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3 days of Solo Backpacking, Hiking & Tent Camping on a section of the Appalachian Trail in Virginia’s Grayson Highlands.

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 headed out for some hiking and solo camping in the Lewis Fork Wilderness and Mt Rogers National Recreation Area, within the larger George Washington and Jefferson National Forest.

With an emphasis on exploring the wild pony grazing areas surrounding Pine Mountain rather than grinding out mileage, I created a modest loop by combining a portion of the Appalachian Trail with the Virginia Highlands Trail. This gave me a super laid route with my campsites for the first and second nights located in the same general area, separated by less than a couple of miles.

I had a backup plan to do a larger 22 mile loop similar to the one I did in this area a few years back, but I knew from that trip that there was a good possibility I would want to slow things down and soak in the sights in this particular area.  Overall, I was very happy with my choice, but keep in mind that there are many more spots to explore if you’re planning your own trip to the Grayson Highlands.  The details of my previous larger loop can be found here if you’re interested.

The Grayson Highlands are known for their high winds and unpredictable, rapidly changing weather, but luckily for me, the mid September forecast called for an ideal temperature range of 55 to 80 degrees. This allowed me to get by on an ultralight backpacking setup with minimal extra clothing and gear.  My shelter for this trip was my Outdoor Vitals 1p tent in “fast and light” mode –  which just means that I left the main tent body with bugnet at home and set it up using only the tent fly, poles and ground cloth.

Thank you to Revtown Jeans for sponsoring this trip video!

Grayson Highlands Backpacking Trip – Route Overview – Sintax77

Trailhead Used: Elk Garden Trailhead Parking,  36°38’46.7″N 81°34’59.0″W
Whitetop Mountain Rd, Troutdale, VA 24378

This is an easily accessible grass and gravel parking area with room for a decent amount of cars. No fee or permit is required for parking or backcountry camping.  There are pit toilets without running water on site.  I began my hike at the gate on the other side of the road.

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

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Stone Shelter Camping in a Snow Storm

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Backpacking & Solo Winter Camping during a Snow Storm on the Appalachian Trail and New York Long Path.

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 camping trip, I decided to do a backpacking loop in New York’s Harriman State park.  Despite being just a half hour north of New York City, Harriman SP offers hundreds of miles of trails, rugged mountain terrain, and rustic lean-to shelters built in the 1920’s.  Covering over 47,000 acres, it stands as the second largest state park in New York and feels more like a national forest shortly after hitting the trail.

Because I did this trip in mid December with a forecast of possible snow and a temp range of just above freezing down to the teens, I figured the crowds would be at a minimum.  The shelters in this area also appeared to have some great personality, so I decided to do something different – go minimal and just sleep in the shelter with a sleeping pad and a down quilt.  This is a convenient and common practice for most Appalachian Trail hikers in fairer weather, but it would be a first for me in winter.

Route Overview – Harriman State Park Winter Backpacking Loop – Sintax77

No permit is required to backcountry camp in Harriman SP, but there are rules and regulations regarding backcountry camping. Most notably, you may only setup camp within 100 yards of one of the park’s lean-to shelters.  You can find more information on the official Harriman State 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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The Madness of Going Outside – Quarantine Backpacking & Cabin Trip

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Backpacking on a Section of Pennsylvania’s Blcak Forest Trail.

Mike and I get Covid Cabin Fever and head out for a hammock camping & backpacking trip on a section of Pennsylvania’s Black Forest Trail in Tiadaghton State Forest with some great views of Pine Creek and the “Pennsylvania Grand Canyon”. We also pay a little visit to the cabin on the way back, for some camp chores and relaxation.

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

Trailhead Used
End of Naval Run Road
Slate Run, PA 17769
41°27’29.7″N 77°30’57.5″W

Notable Backpacking Gear (used by Sintax77)