-
About to break camp
About to break camp. Hercules Glades – Day Two. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. There are three things to note in this picture.
- My camp chair has been blown over.
- The hunter orange tabard hanging on the tree is being blown out horizontally.
- And finally, note how the wind is pushing on the tarp.
A windy day had been forecast, I was expecting it, but I didn’t stop to think about the implications. My plan was to finish my day camped somewhere sheltered. My lack of comprehension of the possible implications was to cause me some problems and teach me a lesson later in the day.
-
Food for the Day
Food for the day. Hercules Glades – Day Two. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I get my day’s breakfast and trail food out first thing so I don’t forget to unpack it before I break camp and put everything in my backpack.
Today’s breakfast and trail food are:
- Breakfast. a cup of hot chocolate and a cup of tea; dehydrated biscuits and gravy. (Alternatives are dehydrated breakfast hash or Oats).
- Trail Snacks. Two handfuls of almond and raisins, two mini Snickers bars, and a couple of rashers of pre-cooked bacon.
- Lunch. A sachet of tuna, noodles, and a cup of tea.
The only items missing above are my evening hot drink and my evening meal, which I won’t get out until I’ve set up camp in the evening. My evening drink is usually hot chocolate (Cadbury’s of course), and my evening meal is whatever my current favorite dehydrated meal is. On my favorites list right now are:
- Chicken and dumplings,
- chili mac with beef,
- beef stroganoff,
- lasagna with meat sauce,
- spaghetti with meat sauce, and
- beef stew.
My total food for a day weighs in at around 1½-2lbs.
-
Good Morning. Hercules Glades – Day Two
Good Morning. Hercules Glades – Day Two. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Camped by ‘Deep Hollow’
Camped by ‘Deep Hollow.’ Hercules Glades – Day One. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. After years of camping down in hollows to be near water, I am now learning the advantages of going higher and putting up with a longer trek to fetch water. The main advantages are:
- It’s warmer,
- It gets dark later and light earlier,
- the ground’s flatter.
Sunset by ‘Deep Hollow’ Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Ice in ‘Deep Hollow’
Ice falls. Hercules Glades – Day One. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Okay, so I managed to let one of my hiking poles fall into the hollow while taking the previous picture. Which meant I had to climb down and retrieve it. While I was there, I took this picture.
-
Ice falls
Ice falls. Hercules Glades – Day One. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. At the beginning of my hike I’d added a waypoint on the trail where I thought I’d need to turn north to find the top of the hollow I wanted to try and hike down to Beaver creek. I was very surprised to find that the spot I’d picked was exactly where an old forest road turned north off the trail. Ginger was initially quite skeptical that I’d found an old road, as it wasn’t marked on the current map. I checked a 1930 map and sure enough there it was.
Current Map
1930 MapPretty soon I was bushwhacking west down into the hollow, which due to the 100ft high and very steep southern side, I’ve dubbed ‘Deep Hollow.’ The hollow’s upper stretches were dry until I came across a spring — you can see all the green grass growing where the spring emerges in the top left of the above picture. The creek seemed to drop in a series of 10-15ft falls covered in ice. With the very steep sides and the ice coating, I decided that I’d found water, even if it wasn’t Beaver Creek, and that was good enough for me. The slope to the north of the hollow was much easier, and I climbed up to the top of the ridge to make camp.
-
A rather sluggish grasshopper.
A rather sluggish grasshopper. Hercules Glades – Day One. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Given the freezing temperatures we’ve been having recently, I guess it is no surprise that it was quite slow-moving and reluctant to flit off the branch and out of the sun.
-
Gurgling
Gurgling – it was interesting listening and watching the creek flowing under the ice. I stopped here to refill my water bottle. Hercules Glades – Day One. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. It was interesting listening and watching the creek flowing under the ice. I stopped here to refill my water bottle, which I did a few yards further down the creek where it wasn’t frozen. I should add that this is my old favorite, ‘Twin Falls Creek.’
-
Unexpected ice
Ice – there was a lot more ice on the trail than I expected. Hercules Glades – Day One. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 
Ice – there was a lot more ice on the trail than I expected. Hercules Glades – Day One. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Journal: Last Backpacking trip of the year, December 2020
The Pilots – Seen from the Coy Bald Trail, December 27, 2020. Lower Pilot to the left, Upper Pilot to the right. I started my day camped about three-quarters of a mile to the west (left) of the Lower Pilot. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I’m planning on staying out three nights, finding my way to Beaver Creek to the north of the bluffs, and hiking the only trail here that I haven’t hiked yet.
-
Last Backpacking trip of 2020
Last Backpacking trip of 2020 – I’m planning on staying out three nights, finding my way to Beaver Creek to the north of the bluffs, and hiking the only trail here that I haven’t hiked yet. Hercules Glades – Day One. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. When I added the figures of my last trip to my year’s total, I realized I was just 10 miles short of hiking 200 miles this year. A short break in the weather and a few days off work decided me on a mid-week hike at Hercules Glades, where I could push my mileage up over 200 and I had some unfinished business. I wanted to get down to Beaver Creek to the west, and I wanted to hike the only trail in the wilderness I’ve not hiked yet. The Blair
WitchRidge Trail.I planned to stay three nights, and just like my last trip, I was starting with some nice weather, and it was going to get progressively colder and cloudier, ending up with snow and rain in the forecast for the final night and the hike out. I quite fancied getting a picture of a snow-covered hammock tarp.
I’ve made a couple of minor gear adjustments.
- Gone is the hammock winter cover. I’d experimented with leaving it off on the Berryman trail, and I liked how much nicer it was to sleep in the open air. So now to try it in some colder temperatures.
- I’ve taken so many pictures at Hercules Glades I decided to leave my usual camera behind and for ‘old times sake’ take along my 13 year-old point and shoot camera.
- I’d realized that my old down jacket was actually lighter and more compressible than my fleece jumper, so I left the fleece behind and brought two down jackets.
- I also packed a pair of fleece pants that I’ve not tried out before.
- Finally I’d bought another merino base layer top in what I think is a rather fetching mustard color, which I plan to use as my winter hiking shirt. We’ll see how that goes.
My plan:
- Day One. Hike the six miles down to the bluffs on the western side of the wilderness, and try and get to Beaver creek to the north of them. I’d spotted a hollow on the map that looked like it would make getting down to the creek possible.
- Day two. Hike to Long Creek, another six miles, and camp near the creek (and water), ready to hike the Blair Ridge Trail on Day Three.
- Day Three. Hike the Blair Ridge trail out to the Blair Ridge Trailhead and back again. Camp near Long Creek. That should be another six miles.
- Day Four. Hike out, around three miles.
Total around 21 miles.
-
Recycling
Recycling -It’s been a long time. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. It’s been a long time. We bribed one of the kids to do it earlier in the year; at that time, there was a huge amount because it included all the packaging for Ginger’s studio remodel.
We’ve had the car for over a year, and thanks to COVID-19, it’s never been cleaned…
-
Working and bopping
Working and bopping. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved Preparing some social media posts ready for Christmas. I’ve just got to get a week’s worth of evening prayers prepared and scheduled, some loose ends to tie up, and I can take a week off work. I might even go and spend some time in the woods.
-
Geek Moment
Geek Moment – Work Laptop (L) Personal laptop (R). switched 21:9 widescreen monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Recently my computer of nine years died, and I decided to replace it with a gaming laptop (right). At the same time, I found a deal on the LG ultra-widescreen monitor, so I replaced my nine-year-old monitor as well.
I’m looking forward to my office refurb when I’ll replace my desk’s top with something purpose-built with better cable management, drawers, and built-in stands for the laptops. The speakers will be wall-mounted so I can have a nice clear desk.
-
Ginger & Gary December 2020
Ginger & Gary Copyright © 2020 Ginger Allman, all rights reserved. There I was standing at my desk working when in strides a purposeful Ginger, phone in hand. The rest was pretty much as Ginger describes it herself…
Gary: “What are you doing? Why are we doing this?”
Ginger: “I need a new profile picture.”
Gary: “No, not like that. You’re holding the camera wrong. Wait, I look terrible. Move your hand.”
Ginger: “My wrist doesn’t go like that.”
Gary: “I don’t like the door in the background. Let’s move.”
*shuffle shuffle*
Ginger: “Okay, that will do it.”
*checks camera*
Gary: “That’s quite cute. Just like us.”I don’t think I’ve mentioned recently how much I love my wonderful wife. I do. Lots! 🙂
-
End of trip selfie – Day Four
End of trip selfie – It was cold. Lower forties cold on the hike out. Berryman Trail – Day Four, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. In total I’d hiked 27.5 miles and climbed over 2,600ft. I’m still not particularly fit, but my averages are rising. I have to remind myself that I’m doing this for fun and some light exercise, and not to take the stats too seriously and want to push the results.
It was a good hike on a trail in wonderful condition, but the downside was the very few views of the countryside.
I learned that if instead of wearing the hood of my waterproof jacket, I decide to keep my hat on in the rain, I must carefully tuck the hood down inside the jacket. If I don’t, the hood will fill up with water and at some point I’ll get a lot of very cold water poured down the back of my neck. 🙂
-
Splashes
Splashes. Berryman Trail – Day Four, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. As anticipated, the hike out was cold and damp. So I ‘poured on the coal’ again and got moving. I wanted to get to the warmth and heated seat in the car as soon as possible.
-
Packing up after the rain
Packing up after the rain. Berryman Trail – Day Four, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Everything including the hammock has been packed away leaving just the tarp which I kept up so that the occasional rain shower and drips from the trees didn’t get me and the gear wet. My campsite selection must have been okay, because although there were some quite heavy gusts in the night, and the sound of the wind in the trees on the other side of the hollow had been impressive, I was fine, I only heard one biggish limb fall down in my vicinity.
Somehow, I’d managed to get ready for the trail before nine-thirty, a record! All I had to do now was pack up the tarp and make my way down the steep hill to the spring, where I would collect my water for the trail. Today was going to be cold, low forties cold, and damp too. After six-plus hours of rain the trail was going to be wet going, and I was wondering how full the creek at the bottom of the hill, that I had to cross, was going to be–just over ankle deep as it turned out.
-
Beecher Spring and site of the abandoned Edward Beecher Recreation Area
Beecher Spring and former site of the Edward Beecher Recreation Area. Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I wasn’t expecting to arrive here quite as quickly as I did, and I was caught off guard. It started to rain and I dumped my pack to put my waterproofs on. It was only when I looked around that I realized I’d arrived at my destination for the day. There was a lot of rain, and gusty wind from the south (left of frame) in the forecast so I planned to find somewhere up on the ridge to the left to give me some shelter.
I followed the trail around the corner looking for a less steep route up the ridge, and then spent half an hour or more in the pouring rain looking for a suitable place to camp. I ended up about 150ft above the spring (up the hill left of frame in the above picture). The ridge gave me good shelter from a very gusty wind that made a lot of noise. And it rained hard for six or more hours straight. I was glad that I’d recently practiced setting up camp in wet weather.
Despite the wind and rain, I was nice and cozy, though I did have to deploy my rain skirt around one end of the hammock to stop the rain from driving in.
Beecher Spring
Is not a spring, but an artesian well, the water comes out of a small spigot for human consumption, and via a pipe into a trough, presumably for horses, livestock, and other animals.
Okay, technically it’s an artisian well and not a spring. Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Horse/stock trough – Edward Beecher Recreation Area. Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Berryman Trail sign
Berryman Trail sign – Anyone know what the logo at the bottom is? Ginger reckons it’s a bong. I think it means potable water. Again Google has let me down. Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Anyone know what the logo at the bottom is? Ginger reckons it’s a bong. I think it means potable water. Again Google has let me down.
