Outdoor Activities

Time spent in the great outdoors hiking, backpacking, camping, fishing, paddling, and shooting. Anything well away from the madding crowd.

Overhang Campsite – When I camped here in May 2019 I ended up in the ER the next day.

Getting ready to break camp on Day Three.

Lower Pilot – from the Coy Bald Trail, Hercules Glades Wilderness. I started my day camped about three-quarters of a mile to the west (left) of the Lower Pilot. Taken with my 14-year-old Fuji Finepix digital camera. 1

The Pilots – Seen from the Coy Bald Trail.

Looking up Long Creek (east). Hercules Glades – Day Two.

I stopped for lunch and to refill my water bottle, and I learned a lesson while I was about it. One-minute read

View out of Hercules Glades Wilderness to the north. +1

About to break camp – There are three things to note in this picture…

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.

Good Morning. Hercules Glades – Day Two.

Camped by ‘Deep Hollow’ – 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. +1

Ice in ‘Deep Hollow’ – 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 – In ‘Deep Hollow.’ One-minute read, +2

A rather sluggish grasshopper.

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.

Unexpected ice – there was a lot more ice on the trail than I expected. Hercules Glades – Day One. +1

Journal: Last Backpacking trip of the year, December 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. Journal: 10   43

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.

End of trip selfie – Day Four – In total I’d hiked 27.5 miles and climbed over 2,600ft. I’m still not particularly fit, but my averages are rising.

Splashes – 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 – 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.

Beecher Spring and site of the abandoned Edward Beecher Recreation Area – my destination for the day. One-minute read, +2

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.

Poor flag etiquette – Not content with letting the flag touch the ground, it’s also in an appalling state. +1

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