Campsite #21 Information and Review
LyttleBryan June 10th, 2009
Update: I was speaking with my friend and fellow Organizer Tim last night (6/11/09) about this post. According to him this is the new campsite #21. This campsite was originally along the Sugar Mountain Trail, but was moved to the Husky Gap Trail at the beginning of the yearish. Since none of the trails, maps, or books have gone back for printing, it’s now showing #21 on the wrong trail. Thanks for the tidbit Tim!
I originally had a long post about the trails we took to get to this site and all sorts of other info, but I decided that this review was about the campsite itself, not the trip. So I am shortening the campsite reviews to just include the information on the campsite and not the trails getting to the campsite. Since this is my first actual campsite review, I will post my “criteria” for how I judge a campsite.
- Roominess – how big is the actual campsite? Am I on top of other tents or do I have a bit of personal space? I’m typically talking about the distance around a campsite fire ring. Sometimes Roominess can be a bad thing, but if you’re ever out with friends it can be a good thing!
- Firewood – I like a toasty campfire year round, but that requires wood to burn.
- Water Source – No one likes hiking half a mile for water after hiking to get into the site itself.
- Scenery – I’m a sucker for a pretty place
- Seclusion – There are usually multiple fire rings per campsite (#21a, #21b for example). How secluded is each of these from the next?
- Getting There – How do I get there, and it like?
- Hammock Trees – This is a personal thing, but I am a sucker for hammock camping. I love my ENO DoubleNest.
Okay now that we have that out of the way, let’s look at these criteria in regards to campsite #21.
- Roominess: Campsite #21 seemed a little cramped in my opinion. There was only room for approximately 2, maybe 3, tents in the general vicinity of a fire ring. You may be able to squeeze some more in, but that would make it a little too cramped. Additionally I saw multiple downed trees in the campsite itself. I’m sure if those were cleared, and as they’re used for firewood, more room would be available. This makes the campsite not a good option for a larger group of folks.
- Firewood: I saw a lot in the way of usable firewood. The downed trees I mentioned could easily be cut up for wood, and will help with clearing out the site some. This is definitely a good option for those that like campfires.
- Water Source: There was a water source within 200 yards of the site. It wasn’t a large source, but it was definitely big enough to filter water out of. It’s a bit of a trek in the dark, so make sure to get a lot before the sun goes down.
- Scenery: As far as scenery goes, this campsite doesn’t have much. Downed trees are about all you’ll see in some areas, and in the others it’s just trees. There’s no foliage that I saw and the Little River is only close enough to hear.
- Seclusion: You won’t find much seclusion in this area unless it’s in the dead of winter. It’s very easy to get to and the large trees ensure you’ll both see and hear your campsite neighbors.
- Getting There: You can get to this campsite from two different trails, the Husky Gap Trail (where it’s actually located) and the Little River Trail (which connects with the Husky Gap Trail). Husky Gap Trail is a rough hike. It goes up over 1,000 feet in the first 2 miles and then slowly back down. Kind of rough, but still only 3.5ish miles to the site. On the other side of that is the Little River Trail which is about as easy as it gets. For this exploration we actually came in Little River Trail
- Hammock Trees: There are definitely a lot of options for hammock backpackers. I saw at least 4 or 5 good options away from the bear cables for hanging your bed.
Conclusion: The availability and accessibility of this site makes it a tempting target for a single overnight trip. However the campsite itself offers little to see or hear other than the guy in the tent next to you snoring. I’d probably grab this site if reservations for #24 weren’t available, but all in all I would say it’s not a repeat trip.