Camp Five Pond, Irish Wilderness. December 2024. What a wonderful afternoon to be hiking in the woods! This is the view from the trail across the Camp Five Pond earthen dam. +1
Camp Five Pond, Irish Wilderness. December 2024. +1
December 12, 2024 14:34
Gary at the Camp Five Pond Trailhead, Irish Wilderness — It’s late in the day (14:30), and I’m carrying 4 liters of water. I want to get around four miles in and camp set up before it gets dark, in about three hours.
December 12, 2024 14:32
It’s a two-and-a-half-hour drive to Irish Wilderness from Springfield.
December 12, 2024 12:37
Prepping for a four-day hike in Irish Wilderness — There’s a break in the weather and even some rain in the forecast. Tomorrow I’m driving the two-and-a-half hours east to Irish Wilderness, and I’m hiking the Whites Creek Trail counter-clockwise and I’m going to take a leisurely four days to do it. Two-minute read, +2
December 11, 2024 22:48
Christmas Table Decoration. Mild Steel. By Jim Davis.
December 6, 2024 19:42
Journal: Getting outside my comfort zone, Paddy Creek Wilderness, December 2024. Things have conspired to keep me off the trails this year. I’ll be pushing my comfort zone as I don’t normally venture out if the daytime temperature is going to drop below 40°F. Journal: 10 20
December 5, 2024 16:20
Frozen stock pond — And that’s the last picture of this trip. Plus, a trip summary. Five-minute read, +2
December 5, 2024 14:36
Keeping my feet warm at 26°F — A change of plan, I decided to hike the five or six miles back to the trailhead and go home. I ought to be able to finish the trip before it gets dark.
December 5, 2024 14:04
Frost Flower.
December 5, 2024 13:04
A bed of frost flowers.
December 5, 2024 13:03
Wrapped up warm for a cold hike — I’m going off in search of a trail that I’m sure runs from where I’m camped near Little Paddy Creek to the North Loop. Then I plan to look for a better campsite at ‘Spring Hollow’.
December 5, 2024 13:00
Imagine a hammock between those two trees. Why? Because I forgot to take a picture before I took the Tarp and hammock down. Oh well, I wasn’t going to put it up again just for a picture.
December 5, 2024 12:38
Day Three — Slushy water bottle. It dropped to around 19°F overnight, and is currently 21°F. The forecast is for it to not go above 26°F.
December 5, 2024 10:29
There are a lot of trees down across the trail. One-minute read, +1
December 4, 2024 14:58
A better place to cross. Climbing down the bank here and crossing Big Paddy Creek would have been the clever thing to do. But scouting for a good crossing point I didn’t see it. So, I crossed the hard (and cold) way.
December 4, 2024 14:22
The Big Paddy Creek Crossing has been washed out. But I crossed here anyway. It was deep and cold. How deep? Well, my trail journal in my pocket got wet.
December 4, 2024 14:20
The trail’s a mess at the bottom of the ridge, but I made good time until … Until I got to the Big Paddy Creek Crossing that is.
December 4, 2024 14:00
Enjoying the view and some lunch.
December 4, 2024 12:52
Gary at the Big Paddy Creek Scenic Overlook.
December 4, 2024 12:51
Big Paddy Creek Scenic Overlook. I love this spot and stopped for a bite to eat before embarking on what I reckoned was going to be a difficult time on the trail at the bottom of the ridge. The area flooded recently, and no doubt the trail will be messed up.
December 4, 2024 12:49
View from my hammock, with a hot drink in hand. And the water is boiling to heat up my Biscuits and Gravy for breakfast.
December 4, 2024 8:53
Day Two – Camped in ‘Spring Hollow’ — The Wilderness is very dry. Little Paddy Creek was dry where I first crossed it, and it was the lowest I’ve seen it on the shortcut between the South and North loops. I was glad to find the spring running here.
December 4, 2024 8:19
More Frost Flowers. And it is now three PM. +1