Return to Backpacking

  

To celebrate the long weekend, Daniel and I decided it was time for us to embark on an overnight backpacking trip, with Sophie in tow.

 

It has been about two years since we have managed to carve out time for such a trip. Over the past two years (since Daniel's chainsaw incident) we have actually tried to go on several different occasions, but something always prevented a trip.

 

After some last minute planning, we were able to get up to Carver's Gap for an overnight trip. We were not without our setbacks though...

 

  

On the front end everything seemed to go smoothly. We set up our tent in the living room, hoping that Sophie would not be afraid of such a thing. We have discovered that whatever we do or wherever we go, Soph is on board with trying. So she gladly hopped in the tent with us.

 

After packing all of our gear and checking our lists twice, we set out for an area north of Asheville. The route we took was longer than planned as we needed to stop and get a map, but eventually we made it to our trailhead.

Set Back #1:
For some reason our GPS took us a back way to Carver's Gap. As we drove down a winding country road, Daniel noticed a sign that said "Road Closed at Railroad Tracks." We were within 15 miles of our turn, so we prayed that the road closure would happen AFTER our turn.

  

We were literally counting down the miles (via the GPS) to said turn and anxiously waiting to the road closure. Sure enough, two more "Road Closed Signs" later the road closed 0.2 miles BEFORE our turn.

 

  

We briefly discussed how to proceed. Being so close to our turn and being on a country road through the mountains meant that to turn around probably meant a 1+ hour EXTRA drive. So we agreed to go forward past the road block in hopes that we could somehow get around it.

 

  

As we crossed the "closed" bridge, we noticed workers who were indeed working. Daniel rolled down the window to ask if there was a detour or if we could proceed. The worker looked at us and said "I won't tell anybody that I saw you." So we proceeded through the closed road.

Set Back #2:
We finally made it to Carver's Gap. It was 7:00 PM (later than we had intended) and 50 degrees with a strong wind. We discussed if we had warm enough clothes for the hike as we weren't expecting it to be so cold in July. We decided we would be fine, especially since we had our 0 degree sleeping bags.

 

  

As we pulled our backpacks out of the trunk, Daniel realized that he didn't have the lid to his pack. Uh-oh. We tried to remember what was in his lid: his hat, a headlamp and powerbars and maybe some other small items. We decided that we could make due with one headlamp and threw in some extra snacks into my pack. This also meant that my lid got the extra small items like the GPS and cell phone. I had a bandanna that I told Daniel he could use in lieu of his hat... this meant he got to sport a blue bandanna with white flowers instead of his beloved camouflaged hat.

 

   

We headed up Round Bald with a strong wind. I was thankful for a jacket. Sophie loved the open ridges that she could roam on. We hiked for about 2 hours, over Jane's Bald and on to Grassy Ridge where we decided to camp for the night.

 

Camping on a bald means you are exposed to the wind, but we managed to find a rhododendron bush to back our tent up to. Thankfully we still had light at 9 PM. We set up camp and then did a late night "dinner." We actually ate in Asheville but I was thankful to have hot beef stew after our cold two-hour climb over hills.
 

Sophie did great in the tent. She even slept all night with no barking. Sometime in the middle of the night, the wind stopped and it warmed up a bit. Soph woke up around 6:30 but let us sleep in til 7:30 at which point hikers with dogs came by and she went kind of crazy. We figured this was our "get up and break down camp" call.
 

  

We hit the trail by 9 and hiked down through the woods to the Stan Murray Shelter. Sophie did really well on the trail, unless with came across other hikers with dogs. I think this will just take time for her to adjust to.

 

After another half mile on the trail, we decided to head back because 1) hiking in the woods is not near as fun as hiking on the open balds (plus it is easier to control Sophie where we have more room to get off the trail) and 2) Daniel's feet were starting to bother him.

 

So we hiked out. Our mileage for our first return to backpacking trip was a little under 8 miles. The walk back across the ridges was beautiful. It was a good introduction for Sophie. hopefully we will have more trips to come.

 

I will admit that coming home a little early and getting to eat a yummy eat out meal and sleep in my own bed is nice.

Six Week Challenge: Day 32
Workout:
2 miles of backpacking, carrying a 40 lb pack over two balds, elevation gain 500 ft

Meals:
Breakfast: Frosted Mini-Wheats with 1% Milk and Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla Coffeemate
Lunch: #1 from Chick-fil-a with a Dr. Pepper
Dinner: Joey Junior with water from Moes SouthWest Grill
Late Dinner: Mountain House Freeze Dried Beef Stew
Calories: 1,844

Six Week Challenge: Day 33
Workout:
6 miles of backpacking, carrying a 40 lb pack down through the woods, back up again and back over the previous two balds, elevation gain 1000 ft

Meals:
Breakfast: Power Bar
Snack: Trail Mix
Lunch: Tuna and Multigrain Crackers and half a serving of Trail Mix
Dinner: One half serving of Monterey Ranch Chicken Fajitas, half a bowl of Chips & Salsa and Dr. Pepper from On the Border
Calories: 1,690