Cumberland Island Backcountry Experience (Nov 2010)

December 7th, 2010 Backpacking,Cumberland Island

Cumberland Island continues to be one of my favorite places in the whole United States. I feel so happy to get to live in a state that contains some of the best mountains and perhaps the most beautiful seashore.

So, though only one family joined us on our November Cumberland Island trip, I was very excited to get the opportunity to spend some time on the island.

Mina and her son Jesse came with me to Cumberland to learn to backpack, explore a new ecosystem, and celebrate Jesse’s seventh birthday. We all met up in Kingsland, Georgia, had a good night’s sleep at the Comfort Inn, and then drove to the dock to meet the ferry on Friday morning. It’s so unusual to get to travel to an island that is only accessible by ferry! It may only take 45 minutes to reach the island, but to me it always feels a world away. (read on…)

Garrett Guys Getaway

December 7th, 2010 Backpacking

After the death of his grandparents, Shane instituted a new tradition – the Garrett Guys Getaway. This would be a way for the younger men of the Garrett family to spend time with their fathers and uncles and to go on an adventure each year.

Last year, the men explored the Grand Canyon – complete with cliff diving and a helicopter ride.

This year, they hired Sure Foot Adventures to lead an Appalachian Trail backpacking experience. Roger, Shane’s uncle, first “met” me when he read an article written by my wife, Dana, in the Appalachian Trail Journeys magazine. “Zipping Up Our Lives Together” was Dana’s story about meeting and falling in love with an AT thru-hiker (me!) and eventually getting sleeping bags that zip together. At the time, it was Roger’s dream to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, and he and I had many in depth discussions about gear, hiking distances, and trail food.

So meeting Roger when I arrived in Erwin, TN was like getting to meet an old friend for the first time. And his family quickly and graciously helped me feel like “one of the guys.”

Uncle Johnny’s Nolichucky Hostel put us up for the night and did all of our trail shuttles. It’s the perfect place to begin an Appalachian Trail journey because the place oozes with AT flavor.

One of our cabins even smelled like fresh-cooked ramen noodles. We all piled into three rooms in Uncle Johnny’s cabins and organized our gear, packing clothes into stuff sacks and lining our packs and compression sacks with trash bags.

When the whirlwind of packing was over and a quick run to Walmart for bowls and sporks was finished, we bunked down for the night, hoping the space heaters provided in each cabin would keep us warm.

The next morning, we threw packs into Uncle Johnny’s van and had a gut-wrenching ride up the mountain to our trailhead at Hughes Gap. I’m thankful for the minor nausea caused by the van ride because it made us all very excited to exit the vehicle and begin hiking the three mile ascent of Roan Mountain.

As we climbed and climbed, I gained more and more respect for this family. Though backpacking was new to most of them, they pressed forward, kept their spirits up, and found the beauty in their surroundings. At about 5,000 feet, hoar frost covered the trees. At 5,500 feet, we found an overlook and then a grassy clearing at which to eat lunch. And then, after another 500 foot climb, we emerged onto the top of Roan High Knob and marveled at the blue skies and mountains as far as our eyes could see.

It was here that we reached the first road access of our hike. After four hours of hiking through the forest, we came upon the fresh-laid pavement of a mountaintop parking lot. Though the “sign of civilization” felt familiar, several of the guys noticed the disappointing irony that we completed such a steep climb only to be greeted with a road. The pavement had the ability to break the magic of the mountaintop. And why had we not just driven up here? This is the ultimate irony of the Appalachian Trail. With so many road crossings, there is no practical reason why people walk the trail.

Instead we do it out of a sense of adventure or in pursuit of a simpler life.

I hope that after our three days walking the Roan Mountain chain, the Garrett Guys found some joy in walking across the mountaintops as opposed to driving to them.

That evening, we camped at the Roan High Knob Shelter – the highest trail shelter on the whole Appalachian Trail. It is also the shelter with the lowest average year-round temperatures, as we found out that night. As the sun and temperature dropped, we found that all possible firewood was completely frozen (and therefore wet).

But with some work, we built a roaring fire and warmed our toes while eating a hot meal.

That night and the next day, the guys got to participate in many of the common Appalachian Trail thru-hiking experiences: a mouse ate Nelson’s sock, Cecil and Darren missed the turnoff to our shelter and had to backtrack, we met and talked with several southbound thru-hikers, the men were introduced to “mountain money” (toilet paper) when we can across an unlocked and fully-stocked bathroom at Carver Gap, and everyone’s body began aching as we developed the “hiker hobble.”

Day two of our journey was absolutely beautiful. Much of our hike was across bald ridges and mountaintops.

We crossed Round Bald and Jane Bald and even took a day hike (without packs) to the top of Grassy Ridge. Though our mileage was twice that of the previous day, we were all more confident and arrived at the Overmountain Shelter before dusk. This shelter is an old barn sitting in a mountain hollow overlooking the valley. Sunset was gorgeous, and with the dry grasses and wood collected by Cecil and Darren, Fred had a roaring fire going in no time. We settled in for a dinner of tortellini, french bread, and cheesecake for dessert and enjoyed conversation with the thru-hikers and weekenders who shared the hostel with us.

As the sun rose over Little Hump Mountain to the east, I pulled back the rainfly of my tent to reveal yet another stunning sunrise. Wind was whipping through the mountain hollow containing our shelter and tents and clouds soon rolled in to cover the skies. But we strapped on our packs and pushed on towards the Hump Mountains, beyond which was our campsite for the night.

By the time we reached the Little Hump ridge, the wind was blowing in 30-40 mph gusts. We had to lean into the wind and try not to allow our packs to act as sails. Though the views from Little Hump Mountain were spectacular, the wind kept us from enjoying them fully. Yesterday we had been able to lounge on Jane Bald and eat a leisurely lunch. Today, we passed up spot after spot where we could have stopped for a meal because the wind was too strong.

Finally, looming before us was Hump Mountain – almost as tall as Roan Mountain, but bald and completely unprotected from the wind. We leaned forward and began our ascent. Every time we found a large rock, we crouched behind it to take a breather. Cecil and Darren eventually pushed ahead and were out of sight. But the rest of our group took our time, slowly putting one foot in front of the other with the patience and deliberateness of Everest climbers. All of a sudden Cecil and Darren appeared having left their backpacks at the summit, whisked the packs from Nelson and Roger, and were off. Without the “medieval torture devices” (as I like to call our laden packs), the walk suddenly became more enjoyable and we reached the pinnacle of Hump Mountain to find 360 degree views and significantly less wind. From this vantage point, we could see every mountaintop of our 12-mile hike. Looking back on our journey, I felt a sense of pride and adventure which I hope was shared by the other men.

We sought out a low point on the mountain peak, finally ate lunch, and even took naps. From here it was all downhill.

After leaving the bald ridgeline, the guys huddled and made the decision to finish their journey that evening. Instead of walking six miles, we walked nine and were picked up at the highway at dusk, and enjoyed warm beds at Uncle Johnny’s hostel and juicy hamburgers for dinner.

I feel blessed to have been able to share the Garrett Guys’ journey.

To view more photos, please visit our Facebook page.

Fall Kingfisher Backpacking Trip

December 6th, 2010 Backpacking,Camping,Kingfisher Academy

This year, we’re leading two overnight trips with the students in the High Adventure Club at Kingfisher Academy. Usually, we design Kingfisher camping trips around a campsite that is no more than a half mile from the bus. But since we’ve been working with Kingfisher for more than a year, we decided to plan a backpacking trip this year.

As usual, during the week before the trip, we helped the students pack their clothes and other gear into backpacks. I was excited to see the students who had experience on last year’s camping trips teach the new students. “We put all of our clothes in plastic bags to protect them from the rain.” “It’s best to strap your sleeping pad to the bottom of the pack.” “Using a headlamp is a ton easier than a flashlight.” This was the easiest pre-trip experience I’ve had at Kingfisher Academy, thanks to the students!

Unfortunately, when Sarah (the second Sure Foot guide for this trip) and I arrived at school on Monday morning, we found out that one student was sick and another couldn’t go on the trip because of her grades (report cards had come out on previous Friday). With sadness for the loss of these two participants, but excitement because of the great weather forecasted for our trip, we loaded gear onto the bus and set out for the Panther Creek Falls trailhead.

Prior to this trip, we did have some experience backpacking with a group of Kingfisher Students. Last year, one of our groups of Kingfisher campers chose to backpack to a campsite one mile further down the trail rather than stopping at the one we planned to camp at. But only one of those students was still at the school this year. So I really didn’t know what to expect from this group.

But I knew the hike would be difficult: the Panther Creek Falls trail is rugged and has a few significant uphills. Plus this group of students are young (some as young as 10 years old) and still learning how to behave in the woods. But this was the perfect trip to try something more difficult. Since no rain was predicted for our trip and the temperatures were to be mild, a difficult hike wouldn’t destroy morale. Instead, it could challenge the students to learn more about their abilities and grow their self-confidence.

When we arrived at the trailhead, the kids all hoisted their backpacks and set out at a fast clip. They were on the trail so quickly that I had to corral them for a group photo a quarter of a mile down the trail. One young man was so energetic and excited about the hike that he asked if he could walk (with his pack) forward and back on the trail while everyone else rested.

Fatigue set in quickly and the pace slowed. After a downhill, one student stumbled and twisted his ankle. So, a little more than an hour into the trip, I was already using an ACE bandage. Luckily, this mishap happened less than 100 yards from our campsite, and it’s amazing what lunch and rest can do for an ankle. But early afternoon, everyone in our group was back up on their feet, tents pitched, bellies full, and off on a day hike to Panther Creek Falls.

The Panther Creek Trail is special because, as you near the falls, the trail climbs up onto the cliffs above the creek and winds through beautiful and rocky passages above the water. Trail crews have built cable railings to add safety to the route, but the hike still feels adventurous. Unfortunately, a little too adventurous for some of our campers. While Sarah went ahead with one

group (surprisingly, the younger students) who flew down the trail, I stayed in the back with a group of kids who clung to the rocks and cables as if every step was towards doom. On many of our other day hikes and outdoors activities over the last two years, these students have been more than capable and often excelled. But today, their confidence was low. There’s definitely a different feel to a hike when you begin at a primitive campsite as opposed to when you begin and end at your vehicle?

Despite the trepidation and slow pace, we soon arrived at the waterfall – one of my favorite in all of Georgia. I still have yet to come here in the summertime, but the pool under the falls looks excellent for swimming. This time, we only waded in the chilly water, exploring the falls and then quickly going back to shore to bring our numb feet back to life.

The walk back to camp tired us all out – for good reason. We had walked 6 miles! But I told stories and as usual, a good story acts as a tether, pulling hikers down the trail.

That evening, though it was cold, the students collected firewood, cooked dinner, made s’mores, and completed all of our camp tasks. Compared to our first night on Cumberland Island last year (where we had the privilege of running water and bathrooms), this evening was a cinch. The students knew what had to happen before bed and got it all done efficiently.

The next morning, we awoke to golden sunlight streaming through the trees. We spent the morning searching for geocaches hidden nearby and removing a large human-built campfire structure. This was the largest “service project” Sure Foot has ever done. Our goal was to reduce the human impact on an already high-use campsite by removing the rock structure that draws so many campers to this area. Here are the “before” and “after” photos:

Overall, the beauty of this trip was in watching kids who do not have a great deal of wilderness experience gain more and more confidence. I usually believe I’m being an activist by teaching people to be conservationists. And though I believe many of these students will continue to care for their environment and spend time in the outdoors, my biggest hope for this trip is that it influences these kids to be confident adults – in no matter what activity they do.

I don’t think the students realize what a symbolic act we accomplished on this trip: we each put everything we needed to survive (and even thrive) on our backs and walked away from civilization, only to create a small home in the woods, live without walls, running water, or electricity, and emerge from the experience successful!

This is how Sure Foot Adventures facilitates personal transformation. Sarah and I did not deliver drastically different kids home to their parents on Tuesday evening, but a backpacking experience cannot help but shift them internally. I am thankful have shared this time with such good kids.