Tag Archives: tent camping in the rain

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.

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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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Camping in Heavy Rain – Pinchot Trail South Loop Backpacking Trip

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Join Sara and I for some Spring Backpacking, Camping in the Rain, and Trail Cooking on the Pinchot Trail southern loop.

 

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 spring camping trip, my wife Sara and I set out to do some backpacking  with our dog and explore Pennsylvania’s Pinchot Trail southern loop.  I had done the northern loop a couple of weeks before and it was quite nice, so I was looking forward to seeing what this new section had to offer.

For shelter, we packed in our 4 person tent as well as a huge tarp to give us some extra living space during the rain storm that was forecasted to hit in the afternoon and turn into snow by the next morning.

The bottom of the Pinchot Trail South loop runs along Choke Creek, which offers a string of 6 or so beautiful waterside campsites over the course of a mile or so. Legend has it that the last of those campsites is the most picturesque, so our goal was to hike in a few miles to the creek and get to that coveted campsite before the afternoon rain started. If the weather broke early, we would aim to take one of the earlier campsites.

Route Overview – Pinchot Trail South Backpacking Loop – Sintax77

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Camping in the Rain – Sara’s Secret Campsite

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Backpacking, Camping in the Rain, and Trail Cooking in Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park.

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

For this overnight backpacking trip, Sara, Denali and I decided to do some early spring camping on the Shenandoah’s Rocky Mount Trail and Gap Run trail.  Combining the two would create a roughly 10 mile backpacking loop with sweeping mountain views on the first day, and peaceful babbling brooks on the second.

We had our dog with us on this trip, so we returned to using our budget tent to keep the group together.  The weather on day one had a 100% chance of rain, so I also brought along a huge tarp to give us a common area with a view of the impending storm without being stuck inside the tent the whole afternoon. More details on our gear can be found at the bottom of this post.

Off course all of this would depend on whether or not we could find Sara’s elusive secret camping spot before the rain began to really come down…

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Shenandoah Rocky Mount Loop – Route Overview – Sintax77

There is an entrance fee for Shenandoah National Park to access Skyline drive.  Backcountry camping is free, but you need to self register for a permit at the entrance station.  You can find more information on the official SNP 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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