Tag Archives: solo camping

Camping in Bigfoot Territory – Exploring the Dark Forests of Oregon

Posted on by

3 Days of Backpacking in the Pacific Northwest Wilderness.

For this late summer adventure, I packed up my gear and headed out for three days of camping, hiking and backpacking deep in the woods of Oregon’s Mount Hood National Forest.  Utilizing a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) along with some other lesser used trails, I routed out a backpacking loop that would climb about 2,700 feet up onto the shoulder of Mount Hood.  The focal point of this loop is an alpine meadow area known as Paradise Park.

Because the total mileage of the loop was a relatively short distance of only 16 miles, I decided to do a base camping approach for this trip.  The plan was to camp both nights at Paradise Park at around 6,000 feet, with side trips further up Mount Hood on day two.

For sleep and shelter I packed in my trusty trekking pole tent, a three-season inflatable sleeping pad, and a 30 degree sleeping bag for the expected lows going down to just above freezing or so.

Standing at 11,249 feet, Mount Hood the tallest peak in Oregon and one of the highest  mountains in the nation based in terms of prominence (peak height relative to surroundings).  Starting at around 5,500 feet or so, the mountain begins to transition to a windswept landscape akin to the surface of Mars.  It’s truly an amazing place.

The approach from down below is an entirely different experience though. The environment prior to tree line is a dense, quite, almost eerie forest with thick foliage and towering pines trees.  The stuff that bigfoot legends are made of, from what the locals tell me.  I didn’t believe in any of that though…

Trailhead Used
Paradise Park Trailhead
Mt Hood Village, Oregon 97049
45.31218941983911, -121.81907830291594

Continue reading →

Facing the Elements: Joshua Tree Backpacking in a Rain Storm

Posted on by

Join me for 3 days of Backpacking, Hiking and Desert Camping in the Rain while  exploring California’s Joshua Tree National Park.

For this winter desert camping adventure, I decided to do a solo backpacking trip in Southern California’s Joshua Tree National Park.  I chose the Maze zone as my primary area of exploration, with the added possibility of hiking along the storied Boy Scout Trail as well.

Due to backcountry camping permit regulations, I chose to obtain a permit for camping within the Maze Zone, with the possibility of hiking into and exploring the Boy Scout Zone by day.  This was mostly due to the fact that the Boy Scout Zone is the only JNP zone that requires you to specifically get a permit for 1 of 8 specific campsites, and I wanted to have some more flexibility to choose my campsites on the fly.

Getting a permit for the Maze zone allowed me to camp anywhere I wanted as long as I was at least 1 mile from an official trailhead, one half mile from any road, and 200 feet from any trail.  Prefect – that sounded like exactly the solitude I was looking for.

Being February in the Mojave Desert, my expected temperature range would be from roughly 40 to 75 degrees or so.  What about rain, you ask?  Well, 336 days out of the year, the answer would be a solid – “No need for rain gear over here!”.  I apparently arrived on one of those 29 other days.  No worries though. I think it provided a pretty unique opportunity to see the Mojave Desert during one of it’s most vital times for survival of plants and animals in this arid environment – a desert rain storm curtesy of El Niño.

For sleep and shelter, I packed in my Outdoor Vitals Fortius trekking pole tent, a 3-season sleeping pad and my Hammock Gear 40° down quilt.  Reliable drinking water is pretty much non-existent in Joshua Tree National Park regardless of the season, so I was tasked with packing in all of my drinking water for the entire 3 day trip.  For this reason, I decided to skip the usual dehydrated backpacking meal choices in favor of some cheap and easy ready to eat food options.

I also opted to ditch the stove and just go the no-cook backpacking food route, because why not?   Honestly, my pack was jammed to the hilt with water, and I just wasn’t in the mood to carry more fuel and cooking supplies.

Route Overview – Smoky Mountains Little River Gorge Backpacking Loop – Sintax77

A permit is required for backcountry camping in Joshua Tree National Park.  You can reserve them on the Joshua Tree National 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.

Continue reading →

My Wife Dropped me at the Mexican Border – Yuma County Backpacking

Posted on by

3 Days of Desert Camping and Backpacking in Yuma County Arizona.

For this backpacking trip, I headed even farther south to a remote corner of Arizona not too far from border with with Mexico in an area known as the Kofa Wilderness.

For sleep and shelter I brought an ultralight trekking pole tent, 3-season inflatable sleeping pad, and a 40 degree sleeping bag, as the forecasted temperature range for this December adventure would range fro highs in the eighties down to as low as the upper 30’s depending on wind conditions and where I chose to set up camp in the vast array of mountains and valleys found in this corner of the American Southwest.

My choices for camping food on this backpacking trip would be pretty simple – mostly because there are no reliable water sources in this desolate sampling of the Sonoran Desert. Since I would have to pack in and carry all of my own drinking water from the start, there was little reason to spend money and effort on traditional dehydrated backpacking meals.

Instead I chose to hit the local dollar store for some calorie dense, if not nutritionally diminished, food sources. The end result? 3 days worth of calories for under twenty bucks, and no water or stove required. …there will plenty of opportunities to eat salad back in civilization. If I manage to get back there…

Trailhead Used:
King Road Access, 1/4 mile north of Yuma Customs Checkpoint on AZ Rt 95

Trails Used, Day 1

  • Horse Tanks Jeep Trail
  • None

Trails Used, Day 2

  • None
  • Random animal trail (?)
  • None

Trails Used, Day 3

  • None
  • Kofa Horse Tanks
  • None
  • King Road

 

 

Escape Your Comfort Zone: Backpacking Mount Rushmore

Posted on by

4 Days of Solo Backpacking, Hiking & Camping in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

For this late summer backpacking adventure, I decided check out two places I had never been to before – the Mount Rushmore Memorial and the adjacent Black Elk Wilderness within the Black Hills National Forest.

I was surprised to discover that there’s actually a trailhead right at the base of Mount Rushmore, so it seemed like to perfect opportunity to create a unique backpacking experience.

Speaking of those looming presidential faces, I should make an important point – While the Mount Rushmore statue, parking lot and visitor center, etc. is a National Memorial  (managed by the National Park Service), the surrounding area is National Forest, so dispersed camping is all good!

With that in mind, I mapped out a roughly 30 mile hiking loop using the available trails, packed my tent, sleeping pad and some backpacking food into my backpack, and got a ride from my wife to the trailhead.

Due to the close proximity to the National Monument, the trailhead parking lot is closed off to overnight parking. This probably makes this a lesser used starting point for backpackers, but it’s well worth it if you have someone nice enough to drop you off and pick you up after a few days of camping in the Black Elk Wilderness.

Route Overview – Mt Rushmore Black Hills Backpacking Loop – Sintax77

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 →

Camping in the Middle of Nowhere – Jeep Tank on Empty

Posted on by

Cold weather backpacking and hammock camping in Central Pennsylvania’s Tiadaghton State Forest.

For this adventure, I decided to grab my tarp and hammock and hike into the woods with not much of a plan other than to do some random exploration, find a suitable basecamp, and maybe have a little fun with some campfire cooking. Instead of relying on dehydrated backpacking foods as I usually do, I packed in a bunch of “real” food and a frying pan with the intention of skipping the backpacking stove and cooking exclusively on a good ol’ open campfire.

My backpacking load-out for this trip was relatively lightweight and minimal, but I did spend a few extra pounds on some fun camping items like a hatchet, cooking gear, and some cold weather clothing to deal with the forecasted 20° temperatures at night.

In addition to the camp food, I’ll give you a full look at the items that I pack in on a typical colder weather backpacking trip as well as my go-to tarp and hammock camping setup.

While I didn’t really use an official trailhead for this trip, I did stumble upon Pennsylvania’s orange blazed Mid-State trail before going off trail to look for my campsite for the night. The nearest town was Waterville, PA, which does have a very nice general store and parking for anyone interested in doing a proper backpacking loop with Pine Creek as the center piece. It’s an awesome area for fishing, hiking and backpacking.

In my case, I ended up on the upper ridges of gorge instead of down along the creek where I usually go, but it did make for a memorable experience somewhere deep in the woods of Pennsylvania…

Backpacking the Smoky Mountains – Wind, Rain & Solo Camping

Posted on by

Join me for 3 days of Winter Camping, Backpacking & Hiking in the Smoky Mountains. 

For this winter camping adventure, I decided to do a solo backpacking loop along the Little River Gorge in Tennessee’s western region of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  The Little River is flanked to the south by Meigs Mountain and to the north by Sugarland Mountain.  By hiking trails along the ridges of both these mountains, I was able to create a 25 mile loop with 6,000 feet of gross elevation gain.

On the first night, I chose to camp on top of Meigs Mountain at campsite 19, Upper Henderson.  On day two I planned to descend into the gorge to camp along the Little River at campsite 21. On the third day, I would hike up Sugarland Mountain towards Laurel Falls and ultimately, Little Brier Gap to complete the loop.

For sleep and shelter, I packed in my Outdoor Vitals Fortius trekking pole tent, a 3-season sleeping pad and my Hammock Gear 20° down quilt.  Despite it being the middle winter, my temp range was relatively mild with lows in the 40’s and highs touching the mid 60’s.  This allowed me to leave my extra cold weather clothing layers at home, so I was still able to use my ultralight backpack instead of the larger pack that I typically use for winter.  Days 2 and 3 had a forecast of rain and high winds, so I played it safe and packed in full set rain gear as well.

Route Overview – Smoky Mountains Little River Gorge Backpacking Loop – Sintax77

A backcountry permit is required for all campsites in this area. You can reserve them for $8 per night on the Smoky Mountains National 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.

Continue reading →