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.
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On The Devil’s Den East (Upper Pilot) Trail
On The Devil’s Den East – a.k.a Glades Trail (Upper Pilot) Trail. Hercules Glades Wilderness. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. The fall light is wonderful. However, I need a blaze orange cap or a blaze orange hatband, because the low angle of the light makes it impossible to see where I’m going at times.
I also have a stereo version of this image (below).
On The Devil’s Den East (Upper Pilot) Trail. Hercules Glades Wilderness. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Long Creek, Hercules Glades Wilderness, Fall 2021 #1
Long Creek. Hercules Glades Wilderness. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I set myself a deadline of 2 p.m. to arrive at Long Creek. If I made it by then, I’d stop for lunch at The Falls. Otherwise, I’d carry straight on and head up the creek and the Pole Hollow Trail, to head for my campsite for the night.
I arrived at Long Creek at 12:18 so I had plenty of time to stop for lunch.
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Long Creek, Hercules Glades Wilderness, Fall 2021 #2
Long Creek. Hercules Glades Wilderness. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I did my usual trick of combining two or three shots to get a wide view of Long Creek.
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Lunch break by Long Creek
Long Creek – a couple of hundred yards west (downstream) from The Falls. Hercules Glades Wilderness. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 
Lunchtime cuppa – Enjoying a cup of tea and drinking in the view. Long Creek, Hercules Glades Wilderness. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. The Falls on Long Creek are a popular destination, so I normally stop a couple of hundred yards or so further downstream to keep away from people. Today was no different. Although it was deserted when I arrived, at least half a dozen people turned up while I was taking a break.
Lunch was a cup of tea and some chicken teriyaki. I don’t like the Mountain House chicken teriyaki, it’s too sweet for my liking, so I’m using up my stocks in half-sized lunch portions. I’ll be glad when it’s all gone. I have four packs left, that’s eight yucky lunches. Maybe I can find someone who actually likes the stuff.
By 1:30 p.m. I was back on the trail and heading towards the Pole Hollow Trail. I’ve not had a lot of luck hiking that trail. On several previous hikes I’ve lost the trail and ended up bushwhacking. Hopefully, that won’t happen today.
Stopped for lunch. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Hercules Glades Wilderness from the Pole Hollow Trail – Looking east
Hercules Glades Wilderness from the Pole Hollow Trail – Looking east. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. It took me a little over an hour to get from Long Creek Falls to this open ridgeline on Pole Hollow. I encountered another five people on the trail, well sort of. Two were on horseback, and just joining the trail as I went past, and the other three I’d seen earlier, were very slow-moving, and when I encountered them they were obviously lost. In the loud way (it seems) only Americans, can manage, I clearly heard them realize they were not on the trail and debate about what to do about it. I left them to it, as I didn’t want them in front of me slowing me down.
Once on the Pole (Pete) Hollow Trail, I managed to find where the trail climbs out of the hollow for a change. The trail was very obvious and it’s a mystery how I’ve managed to miss it in the past. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Pole Hollow Trail cairn – from the south for a change. Hercules Glades Wilderness. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. A five minutes hike from here took me back to the Pole Hollow cairn, only approaching it from the south this time, and back on the Pilot (Tower) Trail, heading east towards the trailhead and my camp for the night in Pees Hollow.
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Fall color on the Pilot Trail (heading east) – Hercules Glades Wilderness
Fall color on the Pilot Trail (heading east) – Hercules Glades Wilderness. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Seven Miles – and just under a mile to go before I set up camp for the night
Seven Miles – and just under a mile to go before I set up camp for the night. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I ended up hiking a total of 7.76 miles with 730 ft. of elevation gained.
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Four-thirty and it’s starting to get dark – it’s a problem with camping in hollows
Important things first – Unpack my chair and have a rest. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I love my camp chair … it is also arguably the most dangerous piece of backpacking gear I own.
The sun is still catching the top of the hill opposite. There’s rain in the forecast for tomorrow, but I decided not to set my tarp tonight. I wanted to fall asleep enjoying the stars from the comfort of my hammock.
I love my camp chair. It’s generally the first thing I’ll unpack and it’ll be the last thing to be put away. However, it is also arguably the most dangerous piece of backpacking gear I own. The problem is not so much with the chair, as with where I’m using it. I’m often on soft ground and hillsides where one (or more) of the legs will sink in making it unstable. I’ve fallen out of this chair more often than I would like to admit. On day one of this trip, I got the chair out when I stopped for lunch. It tipped over and I impaled the fleshy part of my left palm on a sharp stick. That’s probably only the second time in nearly twelve years of backpacking that I’ve had to get the first aid kit out. Then there was the time it tipped over when I had a cup of hot cocoa in my hand. The hot cocoa went all over me and my gear. So, much as I love it, I do have to be very wary when I’m using it. Anyway …
I decided to spend my last night here so I could be close to the trailhead to get out early tomorrow, as Ginger needs the car early in the afternoon. It’s a 30-40 minute hike from here to the car.
Four-thirty and it’s starting to get dark – it’s a problem with camping in hollows. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Camped in open oak woodland
Camped in open oak woodland – I found this spot while searching for a spring a couple of days before. Hercules Glades Wilderness. . Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Day Four
It was the warmest night so far, so a good night not to have set the tarp. The day began overcast with tantalizing glimpses of the sun that lit up the woods. I wasted a huge number of electrons trying and failing to capture the wonderful light.
My plan was to get underway about eleven so that I ought to get to the trailhead well before midday, which gave me plenty of time for the hour-and-a-quarter drive home. I should arrive long before Ginger needs the car at about one-forty.
Glimpse. The sunshine kept breaking through the clouds, but so quickly I never really caught it. This is the best I could do from around 20 pictures. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Reptilian
Reptilian – I don’t know what this type of rock is called, but it is very reptilian in appearance. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I suspect it’s a conglomerate of some sort, but I wonder if it has a specific name?
