Memorial Day Backpack, 2011.
LyttleBryan June 4th, 2011
Ahh, Memorial Day. Traditionally the federal holiday for remembrance of fallen soldiers. It is also one of the best backpacking weekends of the entire year. A nice 3 day weekend on the cusp of the Summer heat. It welcomes Summer in the same way that Labor Day bids it farewell. I posted the backpack to GSHAG and Julie and I along with some old friends and a couple new headed out to the Clingman’s Dome area of GSMNP. Our route was a combination of steep ups and steep downs (what else would you expect when your starting and ending point is the highest point in the state?) through the most history rich areas of the park. Our route was Noland Divide, Noland Creek, Springhouse Branch, and Forney Creek. Originally we had planned to stay at campsites #63 and #70, but we adjusted those plans on the fly.
Day 1
We met up with everyone at Clingman’s Dome where we staged our cars to trim off a couple miles of road walking. Then we crammed into one vehicle and drove to the Noland Divide trail head. Our destination for the first day was campsite #63 along Noland Creek. This meant a lot of downhill hiking, which was fine by me. I still have fond memories of hiking up Noland Divide with Julie last year, or rather I have memories of Julie making me look like a sissy. The upper part of Noland was a beautiful hike through spruce trees and that upper tree line feeling. Flowers were in bloom and the weather was just right. Going down hill is more an exercise in supporting yourself than physical exertion. Gravity does most of the work, but it’s sometimes over zealous at 9.8 meters per second squared. Eventually we made it to Noland Creek and began our big descent.
It was my first time on Noland Creek, and I understand why everyone enjoys it. There are quite a few campsites along the way and we enjoyed stopping to check them all out. In my opinion, #61 was a clean, but small site with limited room and not many hammock options. While #62 and #63 left me with a feeling of grossness due to bugs and the smell of horse manure. As I mentioned we were slated to stay at #63, but upon arrival we were met with a group of horse campers, and along with them all the wonderful smells of the horses. We decided that campsite #64 couldn’t be worse, so we pushed to do an extra couple miles. The hike was enjoyable and we got to see the graveyard along the way. When we got to campsite #64 we were pleasantly surprised at the site. The area was full, but it was beautiful. The group wasn’t too stamped down and there was a nice little field in the middle of the campsite. Not only that, but there were picnic tables! We looked around for places to setup tent and hammock alike, and in doing so introduced ourselves to the rest of the groups sharing the site. We spoke with them for a little while and one of the women, Melissa, mentioned I look familiar. We went through all the usual places we could have met, and then she asked “Do you have a website?” I mentioned my blog, and she realized that she had actually read my blog. Apparently someone other than my mother and my fiance read this, so hello to Melissa on the Trail if you happen to read this. We finished setting up and then began the process of finding fire wood and doing the usual camp chores. As we did so, more and more people kept showing up. In fact they kept showing up until it was almost dark. By the time all was said and done there were over 30 people in the campsite. It was easily the most largest group I’d ever seen at one back country site. The night continued pleasantly, but not without incident. At one point one of the other groups came over and asked if there was a doctor or nurse in our group. One of the guys in their camp was having a seizure. Unfortunately, no one in the camp was qualified, which is unusual because usually we have a nurse or two with us. Fortunately, it wasn’t the first time it happened to the gentleman, and he was prepared for it. Nothing major came of it, but scary none the less. The night continued without incident and we eventually headed off to sleep.
Day 2
The day started off on a high note when a mother deer and her adolescent fawn decided to stroll through the camp. I had my camera handy, so we got some good shots. It was the right way to start the day. Surprisingly, it wasn’t going to be the last wildlife we came across. In fact we managed to see a couple of snakes and many frogs of varying colors. I’d never seen a red frog before outside of the zoo, so that kind of cool. Our route for the day would take us up and over Springhouse Branch to Forney Creek. The uphill wasn’t too bad and made for a pleasant enough hike. I really enjoyed this trail and look forward to using it in future backpacks. It’s a convenient cut across for several different routes. We stopped at campsite #71 along the way and was surprised at it’s size. It was easily one of the biggest flattest sites I’ve seen in the park. I suppose over use was why they turned this into a reservation site, and not limited space. I definitely plan on staying here at some point! We stayed there for a long time and actually ran into a couple of groups headed to the same campsite as us, #70. We hung out at #71 for a while relaxing and cooling off in the (ice cold) water. When we finally set out we were looking forward to the short hike up to #70. So, it was no surprise at all when the site was full of people and horses, and we decided to move on. The hike to #69 from #70 isn’t a bad hike, but the three major water crossings along the way definitely put a damper on things. I was proud to have mastered my water crossing dance and managed to do all three without getting wet, and without taking off my boots. Something a few of the others didn’t quite manage (sorry Alex!). Water crossings are tiring, and by the time we got to #69, we were all beat. #69 is a nice site with lots of options and easy access to water. The only downside is that the two crossings on each side make finding a privy difficult. It was obvious that others thought so too, because not many made an effort to get very far from the sites. Frustrating, but a reality in the back country.
The rest of the evening was passed in relative peace with each of us taking turns having a bath in the river. It was cold, but man did it feel great to get some clean dry clothes on. We made it an early evening with the intention of getting up early. I slept well for the most part except for when I woke up at 5am to the feeling of my cat burrowing in my hammock with me. Of course it was at that point I shot wide awake at the realization I was in the Smoky Mountains and whatever it was burrowing in my hammock, was not my cat. I have no idea what it was, but something had been interested in my hammock and was pawing at it. Julie confirmed that it actually happened and wasn’t a figment of my imagination when she mentioned the same critter woke her around the same time. Exciting times!
Day 3
Uphill, uphill, uphill, water crossing, water crossing, uphill. That pretty much sums up the entire day. All that glorious downhill from two days prior was now being made up for, with the added tax of being on day 3 of a backpack. It wasn’t bad, but Forney creek from campsite #68 to Forney Ridge Trail is a mixture of poor drainage and large rocks. It was a little rough going, but we got through it. We decided that instead of stopping to wait for everyone, we would just get to Forney Ridge and wait. The result was a nice hour and a half break at the trail intersection and lots of tourists on their way to Andrew’s Bald. It was humorous seeing the kids in flip flops contrasted against 6 backpackers. We had a good time relaxing and even had time to make a pot of coffee. It tasted great! Eventually everyone caught up and we made the last mile and a half out a fun time. Clingman’s Dome and that was a shock to the senses. It’s like going from pure nature, to an amusement park!
Overall it was a spectacular time and went off without a hitch. I’m already looking forward to next year, of course next year I very well may be in Alaska on my honeymoon! The many pictures I took are below, enjoy!
Memorial Day Backpack 2011
