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Prepping for a four-day hike in Irish Wilderness
Food for four days — Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 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 where I’ll hike the Whites Creek Trail counter-clockwise, and I’m going to take a leisurely four days to do it.
Food all bagged up — and my trail snacks for Day One. Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. In the picture above there are three breakfasts, four sets of trail snacks, four lunches, and three dinners. Spot the missing items …
There should have been three packs of Pop-Tarts, I’ll rue that omission, I love my daily Pop-Tart with breakfast, and at the end of the day as a dessert after dinner.
The Plan
- Day One. Will be a late start, so I’ll hike the North Loop for around four miles and camp wherever I end up. My only objective is to get past the first crossing of Whites Creek. There won’t be any water on the trail, so I’ll be carrying all I need for the night.
- Day Two. Continue the North Loop down to Bliss Spring and onward past the bluffs before going off trail to check out a ridge that may offer some views of the Eleven Point River, and that’s where I plan to camp. Again, I’m going to have to carry my night’s supply of water in with me.
- Day Three. Transition to the South Loop and make camp in what looked to be a promising spot near Fiddler Spring. This will be the worst day weather-wise with rain showers forecast for most of the day.
- Day Four. Hike the remainder of the South Loop back to the trailhead (5.8 miles).
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).
Gear
The temperatures are forecast to be in the forties to fifties. I’ll be fine with my summer quilts and tarp, backed up by winter clothing in case it turns chilly. This is good, as it’ll lower the weight and pack space, leaving room for extra water to be carried on a couple of days.
The last time I hiked this trail, I had AFIB on the last day. This time, I’m upping my hydration program, which should help address that. Hopefully, all the time I’ve been putting in at the gym will also help with those big climbs up onto the ridges that the Whites Creek Trail has.
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It’s a two-and-a-half-hour drive to Irish Wilderness from Springfield
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Gary at the Camp Five Pond Trailhead, Irish Wilderness
Gary at the Camp Five Pond Trailhead, Irish Wilderness. Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 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.
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Camp Five Pond, Irish Wilderness. December 2024
Camp Five Pond, Irish Wilderness. Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 
Camp Five Pond, Irish Wilderness. Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Camp Five Pond, Irish Wilderness. December 2024
Camp Five Pond, Irish Wilderness. Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. What a wonderful afternoon to be hiking in the woods! This is the view from the trail across the Camp Five Pond earthen dam.
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Dusk in Irish Wilderness
Dusk in Irish Wilderness. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 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.
It’s the first time I’ve hiked the Whites Creek Trail this soon after the leaves have dropped. As I expected, it was tough following the trail in places. It also looks like a big storm passed through at some point since my last visit. There were a lot of big trees down over the trail.
I was happy with my progress, I had crossed Whites Creek, which was dry, and climbed back up onto the ridge, which was my objective for the day. I carried on for a while before the impending sunset decided me to head off and find a spot to camp.
Day One
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Dawn, Day Two on the Whites Creek Trail
Start of Day Two. Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I was up with the sunrise, not that sunrise is particularly early at the moment 🙂 The evening and night had not been without incident.
- Setting up my hammock, I noticed it was close to a big rock. I was checking that the very pointy rock wasn’t right under my back when I managed to, once more, fall out of the hammock. Okay, so that’s just amusing to any bystanders — I’m sure the squirrels were chuckling at my expense, except I landed on the rock, fortunately, not right in the middle of my back, but on my shoulder. It was quite tender and probably bruised, though I never checked.
- Later in the evening, I was lying in the hammock reading when I heard something approaching. For some unknown reason, I froze. That’s not happened before. Previously I’ve either shouted at or got out and shooed off any encroaching critters. In the dusk and dead of night, I’ve been nose-to-nose with deer and shouted at bumbling razor-back hogs and feral hogs. Freezing quite disconcerted me.
On reflection, I felt better when I remembered the posts of solo backpackers on the forums who wear earplugs at night so that they are oblivious to nearby critters. That’s something I don’t do. And then there are the people who flat-out refuse to go out solo backpacking for fear of the forest creatures. - Finally, in the middle of the night, some alpha doe took exception to my camp and started huffing (barking is the proper term) and stomping around in a failed attempt to drive me away. That amused me, they always seem to do this during the deer hunting season!
It was 41°F when I set up camp, and it dropped to 37°F overnight. I was nice and warm with my summer quilts.
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Day Two — Breakfast
Day Two — Breakfast. Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 
Toe Socks. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Mountain House doesn’t appear to be shipping my favorite breakfast, the South West Breakfast Skillet, so for the foreseeable future, it’s going to be Biscuits and Gravy. I cannot eat any of the egg-based products; they make me violently ill, which is not good on the trail. Reading various blogs, etc. I’m not the only one with this issue. It’s not just Moutain House. I have the same problem with other brands. I now steer clear of any processed egg products.
I no longer drink tea or coffee — though I’ve not dropped caffeine entirely. I have ‘Dew O’clock’ every afternoon, and on the trail I carry caffeine pills.
The hot drink seen here is an orange and ginger infusion from Stash.
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.
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Hammock Camping in Irish Wilderness
Hammock Camping in Irish Wilderness — Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 
Hammock Camping in Irish Wilderness — Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 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.
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Eleven Point River Scenic Overlook, December 2024
Eleven Point River Scenic Overlook, Irish Wilderness — and the only overlook on the entire trail. Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I had a lot of fun getting here. The Whites Creek Trail North Loop was tough to follow, and the downed trees across the trail made for many diversions.
Trail Journal:
1050 – Ready to go. 44°F
1115 – Bawley Pond jct. 3.9 miles – Bliss Spring.
1332 – Bliss Spring. Lost the trail many trees down. Hunters camped near the spring.
1430 – Back on the trail – with water.
Bliss Spring was very low but still running — I should have taken some pictures. I collected enough water for the night and tomorrow morning’s hike as far as Whites Creek. I’m not sure that there’ll be water in Fiddler Spring. If not, there will be water in the big pools along Whites Creek.
I saw the hunters’ camp while I was descending into Bliss Hollow. As I got near to the bottom, I saw one of them on the trail below me. I gave him a shout and checked he knew I was around. When I got to the bottom, we stopped to chat. There were two of them — brothers — They had hiked in from Brawley Pond that morning. He was hunting for squirrels for supper, and His brother was hunting deer on the south ridge of Bliss Hollow. I told him my plan to hike along the bluffs, follow the trail a short way, and then camp on the next ridge over, north of Orchard Hollow.
When I stopped at Bliss Spring to make lunch and collect water, I spent a bit of time rearranging the hunter orange on my pack to make it more visible. I must admit I was not expecting to encounter any hunters. My previous chats with people out hunting, had led me to believe that no one would want to carry a load of meat more than a mile or two. Lesson learned.
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Gary at the Eleven Point River Scenic Overlook, Irish Wilderness, December 2024
Gary at the Eleven Point River Scenic Overlook, Irish Wilderness — I must have moved, my beard is all blurred. Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Lunch eaten, and water topped up, I headed along the trail and up on to the bluffs, which offer the only scenic overlook on the Whites Creek Trail, pictured above. From there it didn’t take me too long to get to the ridge overlooking Orchard Hollow. But there were no overlooks of the Eleven Point River to be had. I could have still camped at the end of the ridge, but several potential widow makers made up my mind to head back along the ridge and find somewhere else to stop. It would also cut down — ever so slightly — on my next day’s hike. I finally settled on a spot quite near to the trail, 4-500 yards or so.
I spent ages looking for a pair of ‘Golidlocks’ trees, at just the right angle to the forecast wind and rain. It was getting quite dark by the time I finally got my hammock set up for the night.
Day Two
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Day Three — View from my hammock, rain and more rain
Day Three — View from my hammock. Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. It started raining early in the morning. Over seven hours of rain. I can’t complain, I knew it was in the forecast, and we need it.
Collecting water wasn’t a problem — I decided to wait until one PM before packing up. The rain was looking to stop around two. Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I had a good, undisturbed night, and awoke to the sound of rain on my tarp. Heavy rain.
The forecast was for showers of around a tenth of an inch per hour. The reality was a lot heavier than that!
I didn’t fancy hiking in a downpour, and studying the weather radar (I had cell coverage on the top of the ridge), I could see it would ease off around 1-2 PM. I did some math, checked my notes from a previous hike of the trail, and reckoned that if I left at 2 PM, I could make it to Fiddler Spring before it got dark, though I’d have to move fairly quickly. No dallying on the way.
One good thing about the heavier-than-expected rain. It allowed me to top up my water reserves so I wouldn’t need to stop for water before I got to Fiddler Spring.
The only problem with this revised plan was that any delays would have me descending a treacherous and steep social trail in the dark. I decided that if I got delayed, I could wait the night out on the ridge above Fiddler Spring if necessary.
At 1 PM, I started the slow process of packing up camp under the tarp, and by 2 PM I was ready for the trail.
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Dry — Whites Creek was dry
Dry — Whites Creek was dry. Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I’ve seen the water level just a few feet below the cave mouth. But not this time.
The hike here was good, taking me and hour and fifteen minutes to get to Whites Creek. The rain had eased off, and I used a compass bearing to get me from where I’d camped overnight back to the trail. As is usual for this section of the Whites Creek Trail, I lost the trail often, sometimes getting misled by game trails, and sometimes just my own mental aberrations. I used the compass and set my own track as I didn’t have time to waste. Sticking to the southern edge of the ridge proved to be a good ploy.
Whites Creek in February 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I had made good time to the point where the trail drops down to White Creek, and then I somehow lost the plot, convinced myself I was going in the right direction, despite all the evidence — and the GPS — telling me I wasn’t! I went round in circles for a while until I stopped, looked at where I was, and got a compass bearing to where I wanted to be, and headed off, finally, in the right direction. Given my tight deadline to nightfall, I couldn’t afford to waste any time.
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Caves on Whites Creek
Dry — Whites Creek was dry. Bliss spring and Fiddler Spring were both running, but much less than I’ve seen them in the past. Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. It’s the first time that I’ve been here when these caves have been accessible. With two hours until it got dark there was no time to stop and explore, so I took my pictures and hurried along.
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Dry – Looking up Whites Creek
Dry — Whites Creek was dry. Bliss spring and Fiddler Spring were both running, but much less than I’ve seen them in the past. Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. After the climb up to Whites Creek Cave and the ridge, I used the compass and GPS to move along the ridge towards Fiddler Spring. There were lots of trees down, but this wasn’t a problem until the last section of the ridge trail before the descent to Fiddler Spring. There the trail is on the edge of the ridge with a very steep and precipitous drop, and there were several trees blocking the trail. Getting around them wasn’t easy in the rapidly fading light.
Once I got to the social trail that leads down to Fiddler Spring, I had to be very careful as the trail is steep, and going down, was a tad fraught with the trail and leaves being wet and slippery from all the rain. I soon saw that the primitive campsite at the spring was already occupied, with a couple of big tarps hanging between the trees.
Approaching the camp, I shouted out, but no one was at home, the occupants were obviously away hunting — which was later confirmed by some shots being fired in the distance. I filled up with water and decided to hike further along the trail to another established primitive campsite that I had previously camped at in March 2023.
My trail Journal:
1515 crossed Whites Creek. Lost the trail near the descent to Whites Creek. Despite the GPS [I] went round in circles before I got it sorted.
1530 heading up to Whites Creek Cave.
16:35 Fiddler Spring — Hunters. Hunting camp at Fiddler Spring, no one there, so I decided to carry on to [another campsite] where I’ve camped before to be well out of their way & near to the trail.
1730 Camped Previous Spot. Getting dark but I just managed to arrive while I could still see.
— Read until late.
Day Three
Day Three — Whites Creek Trail Counter Clockwise. -
Day Four — Misty, damp morning
Day Four — Misty, damp morning. Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I was planning on spending the night at Fiddler Spring, but there was a hunting camp set up there (no one was at home). I grabbed three liters of water from the much slower than usual spring and decided I’d head away from the hunters to this established primitive campsite around three quarters of a mile away.
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Mist after rain
Mist after rain — After yesterday’s rain last night and this morning were very misty. Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Spring
Spring Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. This spring pool was almost empty when I arrived, but it filled up overnight. The rain must have done some good. I’ve never taken water from this spring, for some odd reason I have never trusted it.
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Whites Creek
Whites Creek — there was water running where I camped, but I’d filled up at Fiddler Spring. Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. . Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
The Whites Creek Trail South Loop is much easier going
The Whites Creek Trail South Loop is much easier going Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I’ve mentioned this before. If you don’t like hiking through oak woodland, this is not the trail for you.
The South Loop is much easier to follow, with few opportunities to lose the trail.
Trail Journal
1150 – Ready to go. 50°F -ish.
1215 – Top of the first ridge.
1315 – Rest & food.
1407 – Loop Complete.
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Whites Creek Trail, loop complete
Whites Creek Trail, loop complete. Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Day Four
Whites Creek Trail — Day Four. -
Camp Five Pond, Irish Wilderness
Camp Five Pond, Irish Wilderness. From the western side looking towards the trailhead and parking lot. Once more, ours is the only vehicle present. Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
End of hike selfie
End of hike selfie — Whites Creek Trail, counter clockwise — December 2024. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I’ve not taken an end of hike self-portrait in a while. Here I am all ready for the drive home.
Trip over, four days, three nights, 21 miles, and 1800ft. climbed.
End of Trip Review
What worked & Lessons learned
- Taking the summer quilts and winter clothes worked well. I didn’t wear two items of clothing. My spare base layer top and spare pair of undies.
- My summer tarp was all I needed, though had higher winds been predicted the winter tarp with doors would have been appropriate.
- My cooking arrangements are just fine. I took, but, once again, did not use my wood burning stove. Nor did I have a campfire.
- All my wet weather gear and plans worked out, but I did struggle to find places to keep wet items such as my rain jacket, so that the dry side remained dry and wet side didn’t get my dry gear wet. I need to think about that some more.
- I had no plan as to how to actually use my GPS (phone) in the pouring rain. I keep it in a waterproof pocket, but that’s no help when I need to get it out to check something. I put the phone inside a spare Ziploc bag, and that seemed to work in the absence of any better ideas.
- I’m a lot fitter than I was, and the climbs were not as challenging as they have been in the past — which is very good!
- There are a huge number of trees down on the trail, and the trail is impossible to find/follow in places.
- I’m getting a lot better at not bothering to hunt for the trail and using the compass to find my way from place to place.
- I need a better way of attaching Hunter orange to both me and my pack. I really didn’t expect to meet any hunters and was quite happy with a scrunched-up hunter orange bib tucked into the back of my pack. I soon changed my tune when I realized there were hunters in the area, and I was going off-trail.
- I must be more careful getting into my hammock when I’m testing it out. If I’m not, one day I am not going to be so lucky, and I’m going to injure myself.
- I need to research what might have caused me to freeze when I heard the approaching animal on the first night. I must be able to deal with wildlife if it is necessary. I’ve a flexible plan for animal (and people) encounters and it has served me well so far. However, it doesn’t work if I refuse to engage whatever is heading my way.
All in all, it was a great trip.
