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Savage Gulf Backpacking

April 30th, 2009 Counterpane School, First-time Backpacking, Overnight, Swimming

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For four days, from April 24-27, we took a group of 12-14 year olds from Counterpane School to Savage Gulf in Tennessee. So much happened in these four days that I won’t be able to truly summarize the trip in one blog post. We swam and waded and crawled through caves and cooked “hobo meals” and struggled across boulder fields and gazed at majestic waterfalls. We complained and joked and laughed and sang (kind of–Andrew never could convince the group to do karaoke).

Savage Gulf is a little-known “Natural Area” on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. There are over 50 miles of interconnecting trails, of which our group hiked 25. We started at the Stone Door Ranger Station, from which the trail led us through the Stone Door–a 100 ft deep, 10 ft wide cleft in the rock clift that has been used for centuries by people wanting to enter or exit the canyon. Though we started at 3 pm, the hike went smoothly, punctuated by a cold dip (prompted by a slip by Anna) in Laurel Creek. But we arrived in camp just before dark and that’s when Dana and I remembered that only 2 hikers on this trip had ever been backpacking with us before. How could we teach wood-collecting, fire-building, tent-pitching, bear bag-tossing, and water-gathering and purification before it was dark? So, for the first time in awhile, Dana and I collected all the fire wood, filled all the water bottles, and threw all the bear ropes into trees. The girls started the fire (necessary for the hobo meals - aluminum foil wrappers filled with meat, potatoes, and veggies - that we were supposed to eat that night) using sticks and toilet paper (again, not my preferred method).

Dinner was great, but as I went to bed I wondered if I had sabotaged the kids’ learning of wilderness skills by doing too much and not expecting as much from them this evening.

Luckily, my fears were unfounded. By the last night, Linus and Anna hung the bear bags by themselves, Andrew and Graham purified all the water, and Mackenzie, Lacy, and Kira started the fire using only a lighter and items they found in the woods.

This weekend was special because there was no chance of rain for the whole 4 days. We were able to relax in the woods, get soaked in the creeks and rivers, and even wear an article of cotton clothing without worry of hypothermia (or even discomfort). As a result of the 80 degree temperatures, we spent a great deal of time playing in the water. At the Collins River, the kids even asked to hike BACK 1/2 mile to swim in the river a second time! Here are some photos from the river:

Not everyone was excited about jumping in the water, but we were all at least able to put our feet in here and there to cool off. (And each one of us slipped in at least once!)

The trip was not without its share of difficulties. The second night, camped at Collins East campsite, our site was infested with ticks. Linus began count that evening and ended the trip having found over 45 ticks on himself! Though we all had a similar number crawl on us, Dana had only three tick bites and I had two. I haven’t yet heard the result of the post-trip tick-checks, but I suspect we all got off lucky. Oh, and did I mention the poison ivy? Somehow, though we tromped through it constantly, no one broke out. Thank goodness the mosquitoes hadn’t hatched in mass yet.

We saw multiple rattlesnakes. In fact, one student even told me, “Those first two days, I was hoping to be bit by a snake.” “Why?” I asked. He replied, “I wanted to get out of hiking! But,” he continued, “I see now that it was worth it.” I will take him at his word and am VERY thankful to avoid snakebites.

Though most of the hikers had low times during which it was all just “too hard or frustrating,” this was a special trip in that every difficult time was balanced by a fun, relaxing time. And we all came home liking (or at least tolerating) each other!

I was reminded that even the slower hikers are strong. In fact, hiking in the rear of the group is often harder than being in the front because of longer amount of time spent with your pack on. I was thoroughly impressed by this group of students and hope they will all have the confidence to undertake another such hike again in the future.

We’ve just created a Facebook page for Sure Foot Adventures. I uploaded all of the photos from this hike and will continue uploaded photos from previous Sure Foot hikes. You can visit our Facebook page here.

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Cumberland Island #2

April 6th, 2009 Cumberland Island, First-time Backpacking, Overnight, Tree Climbing

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Ideally we would never begin a trip with a 6-hour car trip, a late night, an early morning, or a funny-smelling hotel.

But, then right at the border between Georgia and Florida there’s Cumberland Island. Cumberland – the barrier island where you need to reserve a space in months in advance, that pristine place that scoffs at my notions of how far away a weekend backpacking trip can realistically take us and still be worth it.

And it’s always worth it, immediately. That’s what I kept telling myself last Thursday when we left Atlanta around dinnertime … and then stopped pretty immediately for what became a long dinner.

We had lovely, up-for-anything company: Odette’s a hiker, fried oreo master, and had been backpacking once or twice before this trip. Annie’s a self-taught naturalist, and took her first backbacking trip with us in the autumn. Rachel and Nick hiked up mountains in Colorado with us last summer, and are our favorite board game duo.

Though they didn’t know it, I had an alterior motive for inviting them along: none except for Annie plan on staying in Georgia for the long haul. As a native, I feel an obligation to show off the state’s best sides, so that no matter what they experience in Atlanta’s traffic or smog, they’ll still have fond memories.

At least, if we could stay awake. We ended up pulling into our hotel around 3 a.m. Friday morning, and then met the 11:45 a.m. ferry in St. Marys that would take us over to Cumberland. Here’s a picture of our group:

And then – despite our sleepiness and a strangely windy ferry ride where we jostled with a horde of boy scouts for elbow room – we landed. With one look at the island (and one climb on a favorite tree) we were once again sold.

Despite the welcome quiet, we kept busy for the next three days — walking along the beach and trail and road, roasting marshmellows over a camp stove, watching birds and alligators and horses and armadillos, touring the Carnegie mansion called Plum Orchard, eating, and, of course hangingupside down.

Of course, it turned out we weren’t the only ones hanging by our toes. The last night Jonah woke up to the distinct sound of a raccoon trying to get into our food – even though it was suspended from a tree with a rope. Before I could say “huh?” he was out of the tent, watching a raccoon try to grab at our food bag with his front claws while it hung from the tree with his rear legs. Jonah quietly scared it away, and we re-hung the bear bag out of raccoon-reach. Then, back to bed.

In all, we hiked more than 23 miles in three days (11 on the last day alone!) and it didn’t rain once. It was another late night back home, but I think we all agreed: the trip was so very, very worth it.

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