Pisgah National Forest backpacking
C and I returned from our four day/ three night backpacking trip yesterday. Today my body feels stiff and the world outside of the woods feels like a haze.
Pre-trip
I was coming off a rounding week and didn’t have much time to think or prepare for the upcoming trip. I was worried that my “training” was insufficient, which included two short hikes at Umstead, with a pack not nearly the weight of what I was expected to be carrying, Burn boot camping, and some casual climbing. I didn’t have much of an idea of what I would be eating for lunches or snacks. I looked at the weather report and also realized that it was predicted to rain all four days! After C got off work, we made trips to Publix and REI. Then, we packed, questioned decisions and repacked, until around 10:30pm before going to sleep.
Day 1
We woke up early, took our showers, leaving around 5:30am to get to our meeting location, the Asheville REI store. Our stops along the way included breakfast at Starbucks, and not one, but two poop breaks. Once there, we learned that our third travel companion wasn’t able to go, so it was just C, me and the guides (Raechelle and Corian). They went through our travel plans, leave no trace principles, and then helped us go through our packs to cull down on what we actually needed for the trip. They even taught us how to put on/take off our packs, which was very helpful. Bob drove us to our trailhead – Looking Glass Overlook. We walked to a little creek for snacks, but we had to pack up early, as it started to rain and continued to rain until we got to our campsite (Yellowstone Prong). We had our freeze-dried meals (A: mushroom risotto, C: buffalo chicken mac) and settled in for the night.
Day 2
We woke up around 7am, and had more freeze-dried meals (A: breakfast scramble, C: biscuits and gravy). We did a short hike to Second Falls, which we missed yesterday due to the rain. Then, we hiked for about 7 miles in on and off again rain. We did some amateur bushwhacking, as we slushed around. Our guides decided it was safest not to walk along the ridge line due to the poor weather. We learned about the lightening position and the cone of protection. We took a break at a parking lot with pit toilets, and surprising to all including me, I preferred to pee in the woods, instead of the pit toilet. When we started walking again, a woman had slipped and fallen on the trail. Raechelle stayed behind a bit to help. We eventually made it to our next campsite. We couldn’t set up camp by the intended creek, due to concern for flooding, but we still had a nice campsite. The highlight was really the pee spot. It passed a berry bush, for a tasty snack to/from doing your business. Dinner (A: Thai curry, C: fettuccine alfredo). At night, we could hear the coyotes, which was a bit scary for me. It was also storming a lot. I woke up in the middle of the night, and said to C, “It’s dark! It’s darker!” to which he replied, “It’s nighttime, what are you talking about?” Luckily, our tent held up to all the rain.
Day 3
We woke up around 7:30am. It was still storming, so we had to pack up pretty quickly. Breakfast (A: breakfast skillet, C: granola w/ bananas). We crossed two creeks and even the trail itself was a flowing stream. We scrambled up a rock (maybe VB climb) for a nice view. By the time we got to the bluff, we had beautiful views of the mountains. I learned a bit about survival foods in the woods, and tried dog pelt lichen (leather-like texture with a light mushroom flavor) and wood sorrel (citrusy and refreshing). I also saw cucumber root and chicken of the woods (day 4). Remember, don’t eat the white mushrooms. They look so benign, but the Destroying Angel is lethal! We hiked up to Sassafras Knob, where we met the perfect rhododendron at the summit. We also encountered some scary barking dogs, but our guides protected us! This was one of the harder hiking days for me! We were definitely pretty stinky at this point. I was sitting in the tent, commenting on how bad it smelled, and C pointed out that my shorts I suspended from the ceiling of the tent were dangling right by my head. C’s socks were also stinking up the tent. Dinner (A: zesty miso broccoli slaw, C: chicken pho).
Day 4
Last day! I definitely enjoyed the experience, but I was looking forward to getting home, showering, and sleeping in a real bed. Breakfast (A: granola and blueberries, C: granola and bananas). We were back on the Art Loeb trail. We started from Deep Gap and hiked up to Pilot Mountain. C found a nice pee spot with a view of the Blue Ridge mountains. We descended down toward Gloucester Gap maneuvering our way over some downed trees. There were a lot of switchbacks and descents, which were hard on my knees. We also saw some signs of life, now that the rain had subsided. We saw a toad, centipede and salamander. We poked some more mushrooms (puffball and puffball-in-aspic) and pet some lichen (reindeer “moss,” old man’s beard, and foliose). We saw a bloodroot plant, where its veins leaked out a red substance. I was tired, and mentally prepared to hike at least another hour, when we neared a road, heard a van turning in, and learned that it was coming for us! Yay! I realized, again, how stinky we were when flies started surrounding our packs. Cade came with cold drinks, which was very luxurious. What an odd feeling of being out of the forest and back in civilization.
Post-trip
We changed into some fresh clothes, and then started the 4-hour drive back home. We stopped at a McDonald’s along the way. Once we got back home, we enjoyed our modern conveniences of flushing toilets, squatty potties, hot showers, temperature controlled buildings, and mattresses.