All my posts about Hercules Glades Wilderness presented in chronological order. Click here to see the pictures of Hercules Glades Wilderness without all the text.
-
Flowering Prickly Pear Cactus
Flowering Prickly Pear Cactus. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 
Flowering Prickly Pear Cactus. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Ginger’s new tent
Ginger’s new tent – we splurged a lot of cash on an ultralight (20oz) DCF tent. Now Ginger or the kids can come out with me. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. We have been very pleased with the Zpacks products we’ve bought to date (Arc Haul Backpack, trekking poles, and various DCF bags), so when Ginger started looking at tents, Zpacks was high on our list. Our decision to purchase a Zpacks Duplex tent was also helped by the many positive reviews we found online.
In use we’ve had no problems. It’s simple and quick to setup and breakdown. We have also bought the Duplex Freestanding Flex kit for hard surfaces when we are car camping.
Ginger’s new tent – we splurged a lot of cash on an ultralight (20oz) DCF tent. Now Ginger or the kids can come out with me. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Updates
- May 2025 — I realized I hadn’t said what tent we’d bought! I’ve added some text about it based on our experience with it over the past four years.
-
Saturday evening, camped on ‘Ant Hill’
Camped on ‘Ant Hill’ Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. We called this place ‘Ant Hill’ because of the huge number of carpenter ants. We couldn’t decide if the ants killed the trees or they moved in because the trees died.
We had a very relaxing day with nothing much done except sitting around talking and enjoying the woods and sunshine. When the forecast rain arrived, it was just a very light sprinkle, but that was enough for us to shift our seats under my tarp, which I had already set up in porch mode just in case it rained.
Arriving yesterday evening, we had first tried to set up camp in one of my usual sites on the edge of ‘Twin Falls Hollow,’ but the ground wasn’t flat enough. Some searching around found this spot a couple of hundred yards west. We were lucky and found a small spring nearby, so we didn’t need to slog all the way down the hill and back up again to get water.
-
Sunday Morning at ‘Ant Hill’
Camped on ‘Ant Hill’ – So named (by us) because of the huge numbers of carpenter ants. We couldn’t decide if the ants killed the trees or they moved in because the trees died. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. We put most of our gear away after breakfast, leaving the tarp up in case it rained — it did, but only a few sprinkles. We sat around chatting and looking at the trees until noon, when we packed away the last of our gear and headed back to the trailhead.
No pictures of us because we were slopping around in comfortable clothes, and I couldn’t be bothered.
Camped on ‘Ant Hill’ – So named (by us) because of the huge numbers of carpenter ants here. We couldn’t decide if the ants killed the trees, or they moved in because the trees died. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Camped on ‘Ant Hill’ – So named (by us) because of the huge numbers of carpenter ants here. We couldn’t decide if the ants killed the trees, or they moved in because the trees died. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Camped on ‘Ant Hill’ – So named (by us) because of the huge numbers of carpenter ants here. We couldn’t decide if the ants killed the trees, or they moved in because the trees died. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Small spring and creek near ‘Ant Hill’
Small Creek near ‘Ant Hill.’ Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. The spring we found can be seen right at the bottom of the frame. The water was pouring out of a small one to one-and-a-half-inch hole in the bank. How well the spring holds up in dry weather will have to be seen.
Looking down the ravine, I saw evidence of how intrusive ‘first world’ trash can be. There was a highly reflective helium balloon caught in the scrub. You can’t see it in the pictures because I ensured it wasn’t in the shot.
Spring – The water was rushing out of a tiny 1″-1.5″ hole (center frame where the weed is collecting). It was putting out several gallons per minute. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 
Spring pool. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Small Creek near ‘Ant Hill.’ Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Ginger disappearing around a corner on the Pilot (Tower) Trail
Ginger on the trail. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Journal: Gary & Ginger, a couple of nights at Hercules Glades, June 2021
Gary and Ginger at the Pole Hollow Cairn. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I know how to treat Ginger to a good time, 🙂 I made sure she had plenty of exercise, time to relax, and her own room with a forest view.
-
Fire ring and campsite
Fire ring and campsite – someone is making themselves at home. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I showed Ginger a little scenic overlook on a hidden trail (no pictures). It looks like someone has been making themselves a nice little home from home here, just off the short trail leading to the overlook. There was lots of firewood stacked neatly, and the fire ring had been used recently.
-
View to the southeast from the Pilot Trail, and the hike out
View across Hercules Glades from the Pilot (Tower) Trail. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. We had a nice gentle hike out — albeit uphill most of the way. Going slow suited me as Ginger had requisitioned my hiking poles again. We were all packed up and ready to go by 12:20, the hike started with the bushwhack back to the main trail, after that it was business as usual. We finished our hike shortly after three. There was just one family camping at the trailhead, and apart from the six people on horseback we encountered on our hike in, we didn’t see anyone during our visit. As you can guess, that suits us fine.
There are no end of hike pictures because it rained hard for twenty of our final thirty minutes hiking. We each had a change of clothes in the car, so we didn’t bother with waterproofs and were soaked to the skin. In the 80°F temperatures it was quite nice to be cooled down a bit.
-
Three days backpacking in Hercules Glades Wilderness, October 2021
Sundown at Hercules Glades, looking east – this was my final glimpse beyond the trees on the edge of the glade. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I took a couple of days off work so I could fit in a three-day, backpacking trip starting on Sunday. My main plan was to sit around and watch the trees, and maybe try and explore a little bit of Mores Branch.
