Project 52 Date Nights: Bob Bald

 

 Shakedown at the camper.

How has it been a year and a half since our last backpacking trip? As soon as we get moved into our new home, we plan to remedy this and make an attempt to go at least once a month {there was a time when we went EVERY WEEK}.

Road "not suitable for passenger cars."

For our initiation back into the world of backpacking, we decided to do a short overnight to Bob Bald in the Joyce Kilmer Slickrock Wilderness Area. We cheated and drove up to the Wolf Laurel Trail to start {almost at the top of the mountain} and hiked 3-ish miles across Stratton Bald to our campsite on top of Bob Bald. 

 Pre-hike picture.

We arrived just in time for sunset and were thankful to see that we had the bald to ourselves. This was a good thing since when we stopped I stripped down because my skin started itching terribly. We changed into dry clothes, set up camp and started cooking dinner. Just in time for a father/daughter and their dog to come up on the bald. We told them they were welcome to pitch their tent at our site, but they said they didn't want to invade our privacy.

Sunset at our campsite.

So in the end, we had the bald to ourselves. The stars were AMAZING. We even saw some shooting stars. The temperature was PERFECT – cool and comfortable {not freezing}. Sophie did really well {she only freaked out when the people walked up to our camp site in the dark, but who can blame her since we really couldn't see them}.

View from our campsite in the morning.

We are really looking forward to more camping trips. Next time we will be sure to go to Naked Ground and The Hangover {get your mind out of the gutter – these are real trails that branch off of Stratton Bald}.

View from the Cherohala Skyway.