Welcome to Breakfast in America
My photo journal is an eclectic mix of things; there’s no guiding theme or topic. It is whatever happens to catch my attention, what I’ve been thinking, doing, and whatever my current obsessions are. At the moment, they are clearing some of the backlog on my ‘honey-do’ list, backpacking and hammock camping.
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Camped in the snow above ‘Twin Falls Hollow’
Camped in the snow above ‘Twin Falls Hollow.’ Copyright © 2025 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I set my tarp in ‘Porch mode’ as there was no more snowfall forecast. Oops. I forgot about all the loose snow falling off of the branches above. You can see there’s some laying on my tarp in this picture. It’s not a problem. It doesn’t take a moment to shake it off every now and then.
I wanted to leave lots of time for both the hike back to the trailhead and drive home. I couldn’t arrive home any later than five and still have enough time to get cleaned up ready for dinner just after six. All this to say I’d need to be on the trail by noon at the very latest.
I had camp all packed away, and I was ready to get moving at eleven thirty.
My hiking clothes were almost the same as yesterday, but I didn’t bother with a down jacket or gloves.
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Camped in the snow above ‘Twin Falls Hollow’
Camped in the snow above ‘Twin Falls Hollow.’ Copyright © 2025 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
A snowy view from my hammock
A snowy view from my hammock. Copyright © 2025 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Camped in the snow above ‘Twin Falls Hollow’
Camped in the snow above ‘Twin Falls Hollow’ — I did ponder the potential downsides (or should that be downslides?) of camping on the side of a steep ravine. And I ignored them. I survived. Copyright © 2025 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Camped in the snow above ‘Twin Falls Hollow’
Camped in the snow above ‘Twin Falls Hollow’ — I did ponder the potential dowsides (or should that be downslides?) of camping on the side of a steep ravine. And I ignored them. I survived. Copyright © 2025 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
First Breakfast (in the hammock)
Day Three
First Breakfast (in the hammock). Copyright © 2025 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Yes, I am taking a page from the Hobbits’ playbook and having a first and second breakfast!
There is frost inside my hammock — I’ve seen this before, but only when it gets quite cold. Sure enough, according to my thermometer it was 16°F last night under the tarp. So probably even colder outside. Copyright © 2025 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. It was jolly cold last night, but my shirt had dried before lights out.
As I suspected, my down jacket was soaked, so I hung it up to dry. It just froze solid.
Despite being 17°F when I was fixing and eating breakfast, it was forecast to get up to 40°F later in the day.
As the sun reached the tops of the trees, the snow in the upper limbs began to melt and rain down. It was going to be another wet weather camp breakdown.
As for my breakfasts, the first was a cup of hot chocolate and a Pop-Tart, and the second was another cup of chocolate, biscuits and gravy. Great stuff to set one up for the day!
Over an hour after I woke up and it’s still chilly out there. Copyright © 2025 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Day Two stats
I arrived at my campsite at three-fifty, with just ninety minutes of daylight left to set up camp and finish all my camp chores.
I was a little hesitant to set up camp where I planned. It’s a spot I’ve used many times before, but it is perched on the edge of a very steep hollow, with ‘Twin Falls Creek’ running along it. I’d need to get down to the bottom to fetch water, and I’d need to be very careful not to fall or slip while in camp, as it would be a very rough slide down!
I put aside my concerns and went to fetch four liters of water, taking two trips so I had a spare hand in case of any slip-ups.
And that was it. My first hike in the snow was over.
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Glades (Upper Pilot) Trail Junction in the snow
Glades (Upper Pilot) Trail Junction in the snow. It’s odd how mine are the only tracks in the snow. 🙂 Copyright © 2025 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 
Glades (Upper Pilot) Trail Junction. A quick reminder of what it looked like yesterday. Copyright © 2025 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Pilot (Tower) Trail heading east
Pilot (Tower) Trail heading east — No trouble with the ice this time! Copyright © 2025 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
At the Devil’s Den (Lower Pilot) Trail junction
At the Devil’s Den (Lower Pilot) Trail junction. Copyright © 2025 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. The Pilot (Tower) Trail is straight ahead and should be easy to follow from here on. I stopped to re-secure my camp shoes that had come loose, and to brush some of the accumulating snow off my pack.
It took me an hour and a half to get here, compared with just an hour to hike the same trail yesterday.
My back was wet, which meant my down jacket was also soaked. I wasn’t sure if some snow had got in under my rain jacket or if it had a leak somewhere. I couldn’t do anything about it on the trail. Wet down is next to useless, I was now one insulation layer out, my Merino wool shirt was damp, and I didn’t have a replacement. My thoughts went to the spare Bass Pro base layer top I decided to leave behind… Oh well, it is what it is. Body heat will dry the shirt, and it will be much warmer tomorrow.
