Except there has been a change of plan, now it’s only going to be three days. This morning I found out I can get a COVID-19 shot Tuesday afternoon, so I’m probably going to cut my trip short and return home Monday, rather than rushing to hike out Tuesday morning.
I cannot be bothered to unload the extra food. Anyway, I may change my mind and stay the extra night. Time will tell. Before I get to go, I have a work (Deanery) meeting to attend, then it’s off into the woods for me.
I’ve rearranged the way I pack the outside pockets of my backpack and it’s a lot easier to get to everything and I’ve got more room inside my pack too. Review, revise and improve. It’s a continuous process.
My plan
I had three goals:
- Complete hiking all the official trails at Piney Creek Wilderness. I have not hiked the entire length of the Piney Creek Trail because the western end is badly overgrown and difficult to hike. I’ve not hiked the Woods Trail at the western end of the wilderness, and I’ve not hiked the entire length of the Siloam Spring Trail, which runs between the Piney Creek Trail and The Siloam Spring Trailhead.
- Get some more miles under my belt, hopefully, 15 or more.
- Get in some downtime relaxing by the lake.
Day One. Because of a Saturday morning meeting, I wasn’t going to have a lot of time on my first day. I planned to bushwhack my way west along the Piney Creek Trail, and either stop near the start of the trail or if I did really well, try and hike along Farm Road 2185 and stop at Siloam Spring.
Day Two. Hike the Siloam Spring Trail back down to Piney Creek trail, and then take the Piney Creek Trail down to lake and my favorite camping spot.
Day Three. My original plan was to do nothing. The revised plan was to do nothing until late in the day, and then hike out via the ‘Farm Track Trail.’ I put that trail name in quotes because that’s what I call it. However, the name seems to have stuck and more people are using it now. You never know, at some point it may become its official name.
My research for this trip revealed that it is an old road, the original route of Farm Road 2150, and it served several homesteads along Piney Creek leading down to the James River. All of which was subsumed into Table Rock Lake when the dam was built on the White River.
Food for four days
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