Backpacking 101 Trip – Piney River
LyttleBryan August 9th, 2009
Over the last month the Great Smokies Hiking and Adventure Group has been putting on a series of once a week classes called “Backpacking 101.” The idea was to provide basic knowledge and some advanced tips and tricks to people who are interested in backpacking. Led by Nick Waller (Nickipedia to us) and assisted by myself, Tim, and Randy, we donated our time, gear, and experience to help make sense of the massive amount of information and gear out there. I won’t go into great detail about what the class covered, but if you’re interested I encourage you to check out the group. We’ll probably be doing it again soon!
After the 4 weeks of classes we organized a single overnight backpack for anyone that attended to join us on. We did our best to loan gear so that anyone that wanted to come could be outfitted. All told we had 12 people on our little trip. We went to Piney River on the Cumberland Plateau outside of Rockwood, TN. I had never been to this particular site, but having seen Nick’s pictures I was really excited about it. It wasn’t too bad of a drive to the trail head. Below is a Google Map of the location of the trail head. If you use this to get directions it will take you right to it.
The hike itself was a pretty easy hike. It was approximately 4.5 miles from trail head to campsite with a nice spot for lunch along the way. The only downside to the trip was the amount of nettles along the trail. I personally can’t stand the little buggers as I get a really bad reaction to them. They’re just a minor problem though and it’s kind of funny to watch anyone that hasn’t experienced them before. We did have, yet another, run in with a poisonous snake on the trail. Fortunately I wasn’t taking point this time so I didn’t have to worry about it that much. However Nick walked over the top of a Copperhead and let Jennifer enjoy the find of a slightly ticked off snake. Fortunately the snake was more interested in sunning itself than causing problems so with a little urging we got it off the trail so we could pass. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get any head on shots since I was with everyone in the middle. You will see some strange pictures that don’t look like anything in particular, but rest assured there’s the body of a snake in them. See if you can find it 
The campsite itself was quite nice. There was more than enough room for 12 people and their tents/hammocks in the area. Plus it was right next to a really excellent suspension bridge with a rope swing ready to go. Of course the first thing Joe and I did was get down there and see if it was deep enough to jump from the bridge. Fortunately it was, so the fun was ON for the weekend! We spent our Saturday using the rope swing, jumping off the bridge, and generally relaxing. I had the opportunity to go for a nice little walk by myself and found a really excellent spot along the river. It took a little bush whacking, but it just made it feel that much better to know that not many people had sat in that spot. Unfortunately getting back involved swimming/trudging down the river for a 1/4 mile, but it was worth it. After I got back everyone was settling in for dinner and a campfire. I started to work on the campfire and everyone else got dinner going. The campfire was actually quite easy to make as someone had stacked firewood nearby. With the help of some Duraflame logs I packed in we had a nice toasty fire until the rain ran us all to our beds.
Dinner was a lot of fun. I had dehydrated some mushrooms, onions, and peppers to make back country fajitas. It was my first time trying the recipe, and it was well worth it! I rehydrated them for about half an hour before cooking. Then using a skillet, some olive oil, a fajita seasoning packet, and some vacuum sealed chicken I fried them up and threw them in some tortillas. It really turned out well and will probably become one of my favorite back country recipes. The rest of the night got a little hazy at that point because I had a tad too much rum and lemonade, but it was all in good fun (I think). We did some night jumping off the bridge and then all went to bed in the rain. I think I was the only one that got wet. One of my rain fly lines was torn out sometime in the middle of the night. Not sure what happened there but I woke up with slightly damp feet. Oh well, it happens. Enjoy the pictures. We named the snail Gary!
- Backpacking
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