[13223]

My son & I have been trying to put this backpacking trip together for 3 years. We finally managed to make it happen this year. This is a long hike in that goes over 2 passes. Heading in, we hiked the afternoon and tackled the passes and set up camp about 9 miles in at a nice little creek. It rained a bit that night but the overcast skies the next day made for comfortable hiking.

View looking back at the first pass.

Here's our campsite the first night.

The last 7 miles of the trail was supposed to be pretty easy going and it would have been if not for the constant blow downs that we had to navigate. Even still by lunchtime the second day we made it to our destination and set up a nice comfy camp.

My son set up in the shelter.

I set up outside

The shelter was awesome. Even had a table where we could lay everything out.

We were happy to find that the fish were biting. It took us a while to find something they'd eat. We found that they'd eat anything as long as it was shrimp imitation fished near the bottom.

Its not a bad day fishing when this is a small one....

After an hour or more the fishing slowed way down. We explored some other areas and only got action from a beaver that was not happy we were around. So we went back to camp and spent some time relaxing around camp. It rained off and on the entire time but we managed to stay dry and enjoyed 1 on 1 time around the fire.

My son's friend and father accompanied us on this trip. We kept a few fish for dinner 1 night.

Some fresh fixings from home really add something special....

My son's friend packed along s'mores fixings! Nice move!

The locals were very curious of us and came to visit each evening. HINT: don't pee near your hammock in the night unless you want to be constantly awakened by deer pawing & munching on ground where you relieved yourself. They seem to be very fond of vitamin enriched pee!

My son always manages to make himself at home no matter where he is.

Ranger cabins were built back in the 50's. I assume the shelter we stayed at was built in the same time frame.

A couple shots of the lake

We stayed at the lakes for a couple of days. On the day we hiked out, we hit the trail about 6:30 am. We hiked the 16 miles out in 1 day and made it out in plenty of time to drive into town, catch a shower in the motel and grab dinner at a popular local brewery.

I hope we can continue to enjoy trips like this.

 

[Stonefish]

Great report and pictures.
Thanks for sharing your adventure.
SF

 

[Jeff Dodd]

Yes, thanks TD! Great trip

 

[TDub]

Awesome! Thanks for that report.

 

[jersey]

Nice report!

Do you have any "wet" issues using that asym tarp? Looking for some advice, want to make my gear a bit more lean.

 

[Buck]

Great report, thank you!

 

[TexBC]

LOVE reading about these types of trips - both the father/son aspect, and the back-country aspect. Looks like it was a fantastic trip. Thanks for sharing!

 

[13223]

Nice report!

Do you have any "wet" issues using that asym tarp? Looking for some advice, want to make my gear a bit more lean.

I've found the key to the Asym tarp is to keep it low. I've been in it when it is just pouring all night and stayed dry. Shine the headlamp out past the bug net and I watched the rain running off it just beyond the hammock. This spring I was out for 3 days and it basically rained constantly. After 3 days I noticed that water had worked its way down the hanging rope, past my drip line, and was starting to soak into the hammock (this can/will happen with any hammock/tarp setup). Nothing bad, and my sleeping bag and pad were still dry. Still, I can see how things would eventually get wet if it continued for a week or more. When I don't expect heavy rain, I keep the tarp a bit higher because I like the open air feeling.

The other thing to consider is wind. Wind can blow the rain under there, so keeping that tarp really low when its raining heavy with gusts of wind is important. I've been in those conditions and stayed dry. I hang my shoes on the ridge line under the tarp or put a piece of plastic over them on the ground below me (with something heavy on it to keep it from blowing off), otherwise they can get wet when the wind is blowing.

A larger rectangular tarp is on my list of things to get for those times when weight is not as much of a concern.

 

[13223]

Glad folks enjoyed the report. I love being in the backcountry and really enjoy reading about other people's adventures as well. Fun to pick up little ideas from other's experiences.

Good times...

 

[jersey]

I've found the key to the Asym tarp is to keep it low. I've been in it when it is just pouring all night and stayed dry. Shine the headlamp out past the bug net and I watched the rain running off it just beyond the hammock. This spring I was out for 3 days and it basically rained constantly. After 3 days I noticed that water had worked its way down the hanging rope, past my drip line, and was starting to soak into the hammock (this can/will happen with any hammock/tarp setup). Nothing bad, and my sleeping bag and pad were still dry. Still, I can see how things would eventually get wet if it continued for a week or more. When I don't expect heavy rain, I keep the tarp a bit higher because I like the open air feeling.

The other thing to consider is wind. Wind can blow the rain under there, so keeping that tarp really low when its raining heavy with gusts of wind is important. I've been in those conditions and stayed dry. I hang my shoes on the ridge line under the tarp or put a piece of plastic over them on the ground below me (with something heavy on it to keep it from blowing off), otherwise they can get wet when the wind is blowing.

A larger rectangular tarp is on my list of things to get for those times when weight is not as much of a concern.

Thanks so much TD

 

[Alex MacDonald]

Ah, TD, great shots, and of course, the Old Schoolhouse in Winthrop! That's a class brewery, and the burgers ain't half-bad either! You might take a look at Packit Gourmet for some alternatives to Mountain House, but I can strongly recommend the Ova Easy dehydrated eggs-fantastic! I haven't tried using some of that to bread trout yet, but it's only a matter of time........

 

[13223]

Thanks for the suggestion Alex. I'll be picking up a few to try out. Always open to alternatives when it comes to back country gourmet.

My boys have got me on a Maruchan Teriyaki Yakisoba kick for the back packing. We bring along dehydrated chicken to add to them. Not bad at all. We also will bring angle hair pasta and alfredo mix.