Tag Archives: solo backpacking

Summit Fever – Winter Camping on the Presidential Range

Posted on by

Solo Winter Backpacking & Snow Camping in an attempt to Summit Mount Washington.

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 headed up to the White Mountains of New Hampshire to do some snow camping with the goal of doing of a Mt Washington winter ascent.  My plan was to set up a base camp at higher elevation, followed by a lighter weight trek up to the top of  Mount Washington.

I went with a tent for shelter on this trip because I originally planned for the possibility of camping above treeline.  I had never done that before, but the weather forecast was rather good before I left home, so this seemed like a good opportunity to give it a go.  The Presidential Range had other ideas…

No permit is required to backcountry camp in the White Mountain National Forest, but a parking fee is required in some areas.

Trailhead Used: Jewell Trail Trailhead
44°16’01.2″N 71°21’40.7″W
Base Station Rd, Jefferson, NH 03538

This is a large parking lot with room for many vehicles.  A parking fee of $5 dollars per day or an annual National Park pass is required.

Notable Backpacking Gear

Camera and Nav Gear used for this episode

Winter Camping and Finding a Plane Crash – Mt Success DC-3

Posted on by

Backpacking & Solo Winter Camping in search of a 1954 commercial airline crash near the summit of Mt Success in the White Mountains.

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 headed up to a lesser traveled corner of New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest for some snowshoeing, camp cooking, and bit of New England aviation history.

My goal for this adventure was to find the resting place of Northeast Airlines Flight 792, which crashed on approach to Berlin Municipal Airport during inclement weather on November 30th, 1954. It made contact in the dense trees near the summit of Mt Success at an elevation of 3,390 feet.  More information on the details of Flight 792 and the circumstances of it’s survivors can be found in this copy of the official Accident Investigation Report

The 6.5 mile hike to get there would require a gross elevation gain of roughly 3,700 feet on potentially unbroken trail in deep snow.  The final portion of the hike would be an unofficial bushwhack through dense trees and snow.  For this reason, I chose to break up the approach up by setting up camp at roughly the halfway point along Gentian Pond and the nearby lean-to shelter with sweeping views of the Carter-Moriah mountain range.  After camping for the night, I would head up to the top of Mt Success, the first peak of the Mahoosuc Range and the Appalachian Trail’s gateway to Maine. After a few miles and a couple thousand feet of ascent with my trusty snowshoes, I would leave the trail behind in search of the DC-3.

Mt Success DC-3 Winter Backpacking Trip – Route Overview

No permit is required to backcountry camp in the White Mountains, but some locations do require a daily, weekly, or annual pass.  The parking area for this trip did not require a parking fee as of January 2021.

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

Trailhead Used: Austin Brook Trailhead on North Road,  44°24’45.1″N 71°04’05.4″W
North Rd, Shelburne, NH 03581

Continue reading →

Lost in Linville Gorge – Hammock Camping in Heavy Rain

Posted on by

3 days of Hammock Camping in the Rain and Solo Ultralight Backpacking in the Linville Gorge Wilderness.

For this backpacking trip, I headed down to North Carolina’s Pisgah National Forest for some hammock camping along the Linville River.  The particular section of river I chose was surrounded by the Linville Gorge, the upper ridges of which stand an average of 1,400 feet above the river banks below.  This terrain, combined with a dense network of  unofficial trails without signage or switchbacks, and often uncrossable river, can make for some rather challenging and exciting hiking.  Add in a forecast of fog and hiking in the rain, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for some true southern outdoors adventure.

Despite the rain, my mid-June temp range for this trip was relatively warm at 70° – 48° or so.  This allowed me to get my backpack’s base weight down to around 9 lbs by leaving my puffy jacket, base layers, warmer hat, gloves etc at home.  I simply packed a long sleeve shirt and a buff and used my rain gear for supplemental warmth at camp.

I went with a fairly minimalist hammock camping setup for this trip.  There are plenty of trees and fun unofficial campsite gems to be found in the Gorge that make ideal for hammocks.   Water is obviously of minimal concern for the lower regions of the gorge.  This allows you to save some weight on trails in those sections, but make sure to stock up when your route heads up towards the ridge.  Especially if you’re looking to camp in one the beautiful ridge side campsites up there.  The extra planning and water weight is well worth the views.

A free permit is required on weekends and holidays from May 1st through October 31st each year. You can find more information on the NFS Grandfather Ranger District website here.

If planning your own trip, I would highly recommend visiting LinvilleGorge.net for maps, info and extensive GPS data including official and unofficial trails, campsites, water sources, etc. Due to the nature of my trip and the fact that their data is so darn good, I didn’t package my own GPS file for this trip, but I did make an overlay map image from their track data that can be downloaded here. Just unzip it and copy the image file to your Garmin’s /Garmin folder if you’re using a Garmin GPS like me, or follow whatever instructions pertain to your particular GPS device. 

Continue reading →

A Walk in the Woods – Hammock Camping the Old Loggers Path

Posted on by

Join me for 3 days of Hammock Camping & Ultralight Backpacking on the Old Loggers Path in Pennsylvania’s Loyalsock State Forest.

For this 3 day, 2 night spring backpacking trip, I’ll be hiking a roughly 28 mile backpacking loop along babbling brooks, waterfalls, hardwoods and hemlocks.  Being shoulder season in north central Pennsylvania, my weather ranged from highs in the 70’s down to just below freezing at night, with a little bit of rain sprinkled in for good measure.

Due to the weather, I packed some extra layers and a full set of rain gear.  This increased my pack weight a bit, but I still managed to come in with a base weight of around 10.5 lbs or so.  Water on the Old Loggers Path is fairly plentiful, so I got by with only carrying around 1 liter of water at a time.

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.  I chose to do the loop in a counterclockwise direction, as this allowed me to camp in the Rock Run area after only about 7 miles after my mid-day start on day one.

 

Old Loggers Path – Route Overview – Sintax77

No permit is required for dispersed camping in the Loyalsock State Forest, so long as you are only camping one night at each campsite.  You can find more information on the Loyalsock State 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.

Continue reading →

Hammock Camping the Dolly Sods Wilderness – Solo Backpacking Trip

Posted on by

3 Days of Hammock Camping, Hiking, & Backpacking in the Dolly Sods  Wilderness.

For this 3 day, 2 night spring backpacking trip, I’ll be hiking a 23 mile loop 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.

For sleep and shelter system on my Dolly Sods backpacking loop, I packed in my Amok Draumr XL hammock, paired with the Amok Borg tarp and Amok Fjol XL sleeping pad.  I chose this combo based on plateau’s less aggressive terrain and the extra time I expected to be lounging and relaxing at camp.

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.

Continue reading →

Hiking Halfmoon Mountain – Camping & Backpacking in West Virginia

Posted on by
4

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.

Continue reading →