Day Three — Planning the day’s hike. It was a wet and misty morning. Last night, six hours of rain fell, which bodes well for water availability on the trail.
Off Trail
Hammock Camping in Irish Wilderness. If you don’t like this view of the trees, then Irish Wilderness is probably not for you. The view of 90% of the Whites Creek Trail looks just like this. +1
December 13, 2024 7:59
Day Two — Breakfast. As usual, I’m heating my water on my Fancee Feest alcohol stove. And I’m using my boxed Firebox Nano wood stove to keep the alcohol burner off of the ground. +1
December 13, 2024 7:58
Dusk in Irish Wilderness. A couple of hours later and I’d left the trail in search of a spot to stop for the night. It was just about to get dark as I selected some suitable trees for my hammock. +1
December 12, 2024 16:55
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
Heating water for breakfast.
March 29, 2024 9:28
Morning Coffee, camped off of the Big Piney Trail.
March 29, 2024 9:23
Finally, the sun reaches inside my hammock.
March 29, 2024 8:19
Enjoying the view from my hammock.
March 29, 2024 7:43
Day three, sunrise from my hammock — Well, I’m still alive! That’s a good thing. My AFIB has abated, and if I’m feeling okay, I’ll take the longer more arduous route back to the trailhead.
March 29, 2024 7:21
Enjoying the view from my hammock.
March 29, 2024 7:21
Hammock set up at ‘Paddy Creek Trolltunga’ — It’s good to be back, I had to put in a long hike (with AFIB) today to get here, but it is such a great place to set up camp.
March 28, 2024 17:40
My new Hammock Gear Circadian Hammock — My first impressions are that it is wider, and the structural ridgeline is slightly shorter than my Chameleon’s. That appears to result in my being able to lie flatter, and I’m not bashing my head on stuff hanging on the ridgeline when I get in and out of the hammock.
March 28, 2024 10:26
Camped below the shut-ins.
March 28, 2024 7:36
Day Two. It got a little frosty — The temperature last night was a lot lower than forecast, not that I was surprised — it’s not my first rodeo. At least this time I came prepared with my 10° under quilt. +1
March 28, 2024 7:34
Oops! What was that about bad decisions making good stories? I took a risky route to the campsite, misjudged my footing, nearly fell in the creek and broke a hiking pole. I may not be getting too old for backpacking, but I may be getting a bit old to try falling head-first into a deep pool in a 45°F creek while wearing a backpack.
March 27, 2024 16:41
Reflections in the pool below the shut-ins.
March 27, 2024 16:18
Looking downstream.
March 27, 2024 16:17
Pool below the shut-ins.
March 27, 2024 16:15
Shut-ins on an unnamed creek — Paddy Creek Wilderness. 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!
March 27, 2024 16:08
Frosty Morning in Paddy Creek Wilderness — Not that it is easy to see the frost in this picture, but it is there!
December 6, 2023 9:19
Spring with pools — I camped a short distance downstream from here where the hollow widened out letting me set up my hammock well away from the water sources.
December 5, 2023 14:55
Not where I expected to be, not what I expected to find, and some minor problems along the way — Finally I found a spring with lots of water. 3 2
December 5, 2023 14:51
Have a go at spotting my hammock — You should just be able to make it out. Center frame on the skyline!