• Looking downstream

    Looking downstream. Solo backpacking in Paddy Creek Wilderness, March 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Pool below the shut-ins

    Pool below the shut-ins. Solo backpacking in Paddy Creek Wilderness, March 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Shut-ins on an unnamed creek — Paddy Creek Wilderness

    Upstream side of the shut-ins — Solo backpacking in Paddy Creek Wilderness, March 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    This is the upstream side of the shut-ins I discovered on my last visit to the wilderness — for some idea of the scale, it’s around 75ft wide here. The boulders are big!

  • Stopped for lunch by Little Paddy Creek

    Lunch by Little Paddy Creek. Solo backpacking in Paddy Creek Wilderness, March 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Little Paddy Creek

    Little Paddy Creek — Solo backpacking in Paddy Creek Wilderness, March 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    I stopped for lunch and to top up my water. Quoting from my trail journal again:

    1417 Second little paddy creek crossing & stop for water & lunch. 6.03 miles.
    1520 on my way.

  • Abandoned Homestead Ruins, Paddy Creek Wilderness

    Abandoned Homestead Ruins, Paddy Creek Wilderness — Solo backpacking in Paddy Creek Wilderness, March 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Taking advantage of some cell phone reception I sent Ginger this picture taken by the old chimney breast at the junction of the South Loop and the shortcut to the North Loop.

    And yes, I forgot to remove my sunnies. For the record I wear sunglasses, and come to that wide brimmed hats, a lot nowadays in an attempt to slow down the macular degeneration in my left eye.

  • Well and stock pond

    Well and stock pond — Solo backpacking in Paddy Creek Wilderness, March 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    This is good, I was last here in December and the well was dry. And when I got to the short cut junction (it links to the North Loop) the well there (below) was full too.

    Well and spring — it is good to see this well is full too. Solo backpacking in Paddy Creek Wilderness, March 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    The spring, I believe, is from an old mattress that was placed over the well to stop critters from falling in and therefore probably dates back to just after the last time the site was occupied.

  • Checked in and ready to go

    Checked in and ready to go — Solo backpacking in Paddy Creek Wilderness, March 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    I got away without any major delays, and here I am at eleven-thirty all ready to hit the trail.

    In my trail journal I noted:

    0920 on the road
    1108 at the trailhead
    1125 Signed in — selfie & then on the trail Sunny 41°F Cold wind. Lots of water in creeks on the way here. Stock ponds full. Water should be okay.

  • I might regret saying this…

    I might regret saying this… Solo backpacking in Paddy Creek Wilderness, March 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Hopefully this is not too prophetic. Today I’m leaving for three days hiking on the Big Piney Trail at Paddy Creek Wilderness. I’ve not been out this month, which means I have 20 miles and 2 nights backpacking to fit in. The Big Piney Trail is only sixteen miles, but by doing the route in a ‘figure of eight’ I ought to be able to get that up over twenty.

    Today will be the coolest with temps in the mid-fifties. After my last adventure with only summer gear and temps in the low twenties, I decided to be cautious and packed my 10°F under quilt.

    There’s been a bit of rain recently, so I’m hoping water will not be the problem it was on my last visit to Paddy Creek Wilderness.

    The above image is courtesy of my subscription to windy.com (Check out the free version, it is the best weather site I’ve found. If you are a weather nerd, subscribe! I’m not an affiliate; I just want to see them remain in business).

    Time for another trip — Solo backpacking in Paddy Creek Wilderness, March 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    I have some new gear for this trip:

    • Hammock Gear Circadian Pro Hammock.
    • Bedrock Cairn Evo PRO sandals.
    • Sit pad (and I’m leaving my chair behind — Gasp!).

    I’ve set up the hammock once in the backyard, and it is looking like a promising alternative to my Dutchware Gear Chameleon hammock.

    My plan is fairly simple.

    • Day One. Hike the South Loop to the short cut, which I’ll take and then hike to the shut-ins I found in my search for water on my last visit.
    • Day Two. Hike the North Loop to the start of the South Loop, and then back to either Little Paddy Creek, where I found a new campsite to try out. Or, if I’m feeling up for it, carry on and camp at ‘Paddy Creek Trolltunga.’
    • Day Three. Take the short cut back to the North Loop and hike the North Loop back to the trailhead.

    That should be around 22-24 miles in total. Should be good, provided I haven’t jinxed everything with that patch!

  • Finally seeing results

    Finally seeing results. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    I’ve been regularly exercising for around and hour a day, five days a week for three months now. I read that it takes a lot longer to get results when you get to a ‘certain age,’ and so it has.

    My weight has remained around the same, I’ve dropped a couple of pounds at most, but the distribution of muscle to fat has changed for the better, and I’m feeling fitter. This week, for the first time the body fat percentage has dropped into the green. Also for the good, my posture has improved, and my blood pressure has dropped significantly.

    Now to keep it going.

  • The perils (and perks) of a home office

    The perils (and perks) of a home office. Dick is ‘helping’ me edit videos. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Journal: Four days R&R in Piney Creek Wilderness, February 2024

    It’s been almost a month since I was last out on the trail on my trip to Irish Wilderness. I toyed briefly with a four-day hike of the Berryman Trail, but I settled on some downtime by the lake instead.

    For details of my trip

    Journal & Photos
    Photos

  • Heading home

    Heading Home — I remembered to take an end of hike selfie just before I left the trailhead parking lot. Piney Creek Wilderness, February 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    The hike out was generally unremarkable. Just as for my trip in, I opted to not take my usual route, and hiked part of the Piney Creek Trail, followed by the Lake Trail. I agree with my previous conclusions about the Lake Trail, it’s not a nice trail to hike down. Going up I was sure footed enough with my new shoes (the main reason why I picked this route was to try them out on a steep-ish climb with a loose footing.)

    There was one minor disaster. Talking about leave no trace, I must have accidentally dropped my mechanical pencil near the stock pond on the Lake Trail (sob!). Enjoy it, anyone who finds it. On getting home I ordered a pen holder that will stick in the back of my trail journal, and hopefully I won’t lose another. I have a spare as this is not the first time I’ve lost my pencil on the trail, but hopefully the last.

    Despite the disappointment of finding the campsite messed up, and the unexpected cold weather, it was a good trip. I needed some time out in the woods.

    What worked

    • New hammock suspension and carabiners.
    • New shoes:
      • Did not need adjusting while I was hiking.
      • Didn’t pick up stones.
      • Easy on and off.
      • Great camp shoes too.
    • My adjusted pack fits much better (and the annoying squeak has gone away.)
    • Mesh bag for the odds and ends I keep in the outer back pocket of my pack.
    • Sit pad.
    • My plan to keep warm when the temps dropped way below my expectations.

    What needs to improve

    • Gaia GPS, an update has introduced a bug, and it didn’t record my track properly, and the ascent/descent calcs are way out of whack. Checking online I’m not alone in finding these problems. Annoyingly the company has been bought out, and I suspect this might be the beginning of the end. The cost has increased significantly, and the product is not getting better.
    • I wore thin sports tops. This was one occasion where I would have been better with my merino wool top.
    • Packing the wrong tarp. I may have to relabel my gear my current red=hot weather gear, blue=cold weather gear isn’t working. I’ve got it wrong several times now.
    • Hammock site. I should have moved for the high winds and wrong tarp.
    • Hiking shorts. They were okay but there was a bit of rubbing on the nethers. To quote my trail journal:

    — Shorts 50-50. Worked okay but needs some more ball room! (rubbing)

    What didn’t get used

    • Emergency items.
    • Towel.
    • I had too many firelighters (though I would have used more if it was less windy and there wasn’t a Red Flag warning.)
    • Earbuds.

    Finally … I have a new hammock coming and that will give me an excuse to get out again pretty soon. After all, I can’t spend cash on a new hammock, and not get some use out of it, can I? 🙂

  • All packed up and ready to leave

    All packed up and ready to leave. Piney Creek Wilderness, February 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    I toyed with the idea of leaving first thing in the morning, but a bitingly cold wind put me off that idea. It was very windy in the night, the trees flexing had the hammock bouncing around a bit. The temperature dropped to 24 degrees, I wasn’t toasty, but I was warm enough.

    What a well-used fire ring should look like — no left over burnt branch ends or trash. Piney Creek Wilderness, February 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    The campsite has been used since I was last here in July 2023. It’s not like I own the place! However, it must have been some aspiring Bear Grylls wannabe and friend. They cut down a couple of cedar tree saplings to make a bed, left a selection of TP flowers about seven yards from the campsite, and a load of half burnt wood and some trash in the fire ring.

    I cleared up the TP, and was going to break up the bed, but decided against it. If they returned and it was gone, they’d probably just cut down another couple of saplings and make another. I had a campfire on my second night and burned all the half-burned wood and tidied everything up.

    Lots of people haven’t heard of or cannot be bothered with a “Leave no trace” ethic around here. I’m probably being a bit hypercritical. It’s not like I’ve removed the table and fire ring I found here and restored the place to its pristine state. And I have moved a few rocks around too. That said, I have tried to keep the place pretty much as I found it though.

    I spent a lot of the morning in the hammock staying warm out of the wind. I used up the last of my fuel heating water for lunch and a cup of tea. It was far too windy for the wood burning stove. The mess left by the previous user(s) of the site had cast a bit of a pall over my visit. But today it was bright, clear and cold, and it felt more like home again. I felt sad to be going, but come two-ten, I was on my way.

  • Doe! A deer…

    Doe! A deer… — Piney Creek Wilderness, February 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Despite being 1-200 yards upwind from me they heard me creeping down to a spot where I could grab a picture through the trees. It was nearly dark, and I had to use the max zoom on my phone, hence the very poor image.

    And yes, I realize there’s a buck there too. There was also another doe out of shot to the right.

    To get an idea of how far away they were, look at the picture I took earlier today.

    The lake is low… It’s almost the lowest I’ve seen it. The change in lake level has caused all the silt to be washed out of the creek mouth. Piney Creek Wilderness, February 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • The lake is low… It’s almost the lowest I’ve seen it

    The lake is low… It’s almost the lowest I’ve seen it. The change in lake level has caused all the silt to be washed out of the creek mouth. Piney Creek Wilderness, February 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Comparing this picture with those I took during my stay here in September 2022, the lake was about 4-6 inches lower then.

  • Piney Creek Wilderness at Table Rock Lake

    Piney Creek Wilderness at Table Rock Lake — Yup, another picture of one of my favorite spots. Piney Creek Wilderness, February 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Comparing this picture with those I took during my stay here in September 2022, the lake was about 4-6 inches lower then. So, the lake isn’t the lowest I’ve seen it — but darned close!

  • Video: Piney Creek Wilderness at Table Rock Lake, February 2024

    A quick pan of the south shore from Piney Creek towards Table Rock Lake. Table Rock Lake is low. Almost the lowest I’ve seen it so far. On the good side, the change in lake level has caused all the silt to be washed out of the creek mouth.

  • Hammock Camping in Piney Creek Wilderness, February 2024

    Hammock Camping in Piney Creek Wilderness, February 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Some things will remain a mystery. Like why I had the foot end of the hammock set so much higher than the head end — the general wisdom is to set the foot of a hammock around six-inches higher than the head. Whatevs, I cannot say I noticed it until I got home and looked at this picture.

    The first night was chilly — 33 degrees. And I guessed wrong on the forecast, tonight it is now likely to be 24 degrees. That’s a lot lower than my quilts are rated, and to make it worse there is more wind forecast (it’s been very windy today), and rain too.

    I realized I’d packed the wrong tarp when I started setting up camp. Because of the low temps and wind in the forecast, I meant to pack my winter tarp, which has ‘doors’ on it. If the wind shifts round to the northwest, like it is supposed to, I’ll be more broadside on to it. If not, the cold air is going to blow straight through! I’ll snug down the tarp as best I can, put on all the clothes I have, and set the blue sleeping bag liner — airing out on my chair — underneath me. Worst comes to the worst; it will be a chilly and uncomfortable night, no real problem.

    There are also high winds and temps in the low forties predicted for tomorrow, with a predicted wind chill starting at 15 degrees, which may make the hike back to the trailhead a little uncomfortable too. It is what it is.

  • ‘Red Flag’ Warning — so I shall not be using my wood stove

    Firebox Nano Stainless steel wood burning stove — I just liked the way it looked. Piney Creek Wilderness, February 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    High winds, dry conditions, and unseasonable temperatures have resulted in a ‘No fires’ advisory today. And given how windy and dry it is, that makes sense. Hopefully I have enough fuel for my stove to keep me in hot meals until the burn ban finishes. The wind dropped away completely last night, and there was not a burn ban in effect, so I had a campfire in anticipation of not being able to have one tonight.

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