The laziest camping trip EVAR! And beer!

[mellymell]

Chris had been talking about it all week, but I avoided the topic hoping I could talk him into just going with Doug so I could stay home and work on my costume for ALEP. Not only that, but Jonah isn't as flexible as he once was, as far as sleeping and such goes. I was having trouble working out the logistics in my head on how he'd get all his needs met. But Chris was very insistent and I eventually agreed to go. . . on Thursday night. So Friday, he rented a tent from Vandy, since the last time we went camping we discovered one of our tents has lots of big holes in the fly from acid sanitizer (which sucks because it's only 3 years old) and the other has a broken pole segment (which sucks a little less because it's 10+ years old). It's a pretty sweet deal though, $8 for the weekend and we got a brand new, never used 4.1 person tent. It was rather huge, but we were finding that our 3 person was a little snug with the three of us and our gear, and Jonah is only going to get bigger. It also gives us a chance to try out some tents while we're looking for our next one. I will say, the Kelty Gunnison 4.1 we rented was nice, but I wouldn't buy it. Even had a gear loft, which we've always wanted in a tent.

So, feeling uninspired, I started gathering our camping gear late Friday afternoon. Chris called me in the middle of the day to tell me I should invite sailingwest. I kind of had a feeling it was too short of notice for her, but gave her a call anyway. Sure enough, presumably after work she returned my call and wasn't able to make it on such short notice, but certainly next time, we'll try to plan at least a couple of days ahead so she can come. Chris came home with the tent and did a trial set up in the living room, just to make sure we knew how everything went together. Then we proceeded to gather gear and make our lists (and yes, we check them twice, once for "gathered" and once for "packed"). As we went, we made our shopping lists for items and food we needed to finish up. As always, Jonah was a great helper:


We took a break to go grab some food at Five Guys and run our errands. We didn't get home until after 8pm. I gathered up all the things I needed for Jonah out of his room, then put him to bed. Then we proceeded to spend the next 2 hours in a whirlwind of stuffing our packs and checking off our lists. We got to bed shortly after 11pm, I think, and set the alarm to wake at 6am.

Saturday we woke up, got our showers and a quick breakfast, packed up whatever wasn't able to be packed the night before and made our way out, and only about 20 minutes late. We stopped off to pick up baka_san and cram his stuff in the car. I settled into the back seat with Jonah, the handful of toys we brought for him and the embroidery I'm working on for my costume. Jonah took a couple of brief naps in the car, after trying hard to fight it. While Chris was having fun driving on the windy roads with brand new tires and brakes on the Forester, Jonah wound up getting sick, so he slowed down a bit. Luckily he had mostly just had water and trail mix to eat, so it was an easy clean up. Even better, we were almost there, so we didn't have to spend much longer in the car. I made sure to leave the cloth I cleaned him up with tied to the top of the car so it wouldn't sour while we were out.

We pulled onto the side road where a couple of trailheads are and were a little put off by the huge number of cars we saw. Chris and I have been to this site several times and Chris even more times before we met and we've never seen so many people here. We wound up having to park on the road since the lot was full. We were a little worried we might not get our usual spot with the church vans and boy scout trailers and such that were in the lots. Luckily they were all camped even closer to the lot in a pine grove. Our usual meadow, which is about a quarter mile (if even) from the lot, was delightfully empty. There are two spots there with established fire rings and for the evidence that they are both regularly used, I'm surprised we've never had to contend with anyone else up there.

As we took the spur trail that leads up to the meadow, we noticed the blackberry brambles (yeah, I think they're blackberries now, not black raspberries, just extraordinarily sweet blackberries) were full of ripe berries. As we got up to our usual spot, we noticed they were everywhere and with no one else around to pick them, we helped ourselves to our fill during our visit and even some to take home. There were a couple of huge stands of blueberry bushes as well. Doug and I both spent several minutes picking from the same huge shrub and wound up with probably about a pint of berries and didn't even make a dent in what the bush had to offer. You definitely get tired of picking berries long before you run out of berries to pick, that's for sure.

Blackberries, the first one with Sam Knob in the background:


The blueberry bush Doug and I picked from:


We took our time setting up tents then went back to the car for the second load, including the cooler, chairs, charcoal, a couple of day packs and some other miscellaneous things. Yeah, "backpacking" with a cooler full of beer, fresh fish and veggies to cook, pillows and chairs, heh. We got everything else set up and the boys wandered off to gather scarce firewood. They came back all scraped up from the blackberries but toting a fair amount of wood (as in a tree). After they broke down what they could, we all settled in for a nice lazy afternoon with some beers (Yay, Oskar Blues is in Nashville now! We don't have to drive to Asheville to get Old Chub and Dale's Pale anymore! Awesome canned beers for camping!).

Our site:


Chillin' drinking beer and chatting while Jonah played:


And frolicked:


And took a moment to help us map our route:

Yeah, nevermind that the map is upside down.

After a little while of frolicking through the blackberry brambles and playing in the fire ring ash, Jonah was ready for a nap. I let him rest in the tent while we had another beer, then spent some time picking berries. After about 15 minutes or so of picking, the three of us had accumulated about a quart of blackberries and about cup of blueberries. The boys stopped at that point, but I spent some time changing gears from blackberries to blueberries on the same bush Doug had been picking from and picked probably another cup or so of blueberries without even making a dent in what was there.

Jonah napping:


Our berry haul:


We sat around chatting and watching some ominous clouds roll in. Jonah woke up not too much later and the guys started on dinner while I attempted to keep him occupied and out of the fire. Doug took care of preparing the veggies (red potatoes, a sweet yellow onion, squash, zucchini, some "hot banana" peppers, and some tomatoes all wrapped up in a big foil pouch with a mixture of herbs and salt and pepper, some olive oil and some Old Chub, mmmm). Chris took care of the fish (orange roughy fillets blackened with Old Bay and whatever other spice mixture was left in the container before it, probably "Doug's spice"). The veggies cooked directly on the coals in the foil pouch for about 40-45 minutes or so, with a half turn every 10-15 minutes. For the fish, we have a fish basket type thing that sandwiches the fillets between wire holding them in place so you can turn the entire thing at once with a nice big wooden handle. It's meant for a grill but works fantastically over the fire and not just for fish. This was probably one of the best meals we've eaten while camping. We've done some pretty great ones before (tuna fillets and salmon fillets with various sides), but this one was just perfect. The veggies were perfectly cooked and seasoned and so was the fish. Nothing overdone, nothing too pungent, everything just meshed very well. Not to mention it was really quite healthy. If only we could convince ourselves to cook like that at home.

Ominous clouds and neat light displays during the sunset over Sam Knob:


Jonah up and frolicking again:


Cooking dinner:


Shortly after dinner, I put Jonah to bed while the guys cleaned up from dinner. We had a fair amount of firewood and a liter bottle of Chris' Dopplebock to drink, not to mention the flask of Scotch that Doug brought. Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas. At least we finished dinner and had time to get everything mostly put up before it broke out in a rain that was a little too much to sit out in. It was no downpour, but just enough to send us to our tents for the night. Jonah was still awake once we crawled into our tent. As we sat finishing the beers we had and nestled in for the night, he regaled us with tales from the day's adventures. I'm pretty sure I heard him at some point say something about "car, *vrooom*, bleh" to indicate he was recounting getting sick in the car. Or maybe he was just spitting out random words he knows. He's not used to sleeping with us, so it took a while for him to settle down. I'm not really sure where he gets his motor mouth from but he sure can talk.

The night wasn't too unpleasant. I woke up at least once to zip up my sleeping bag and a few more times just to reposition myself. I heard Jonah wake up a few times to recover himself with his fleece blanket. He was in a nice, warm fleece footed sleeper that he's never had the chance to wear since, you know, we have heat in the house. I left his socks on too, just to keep his feet a little extra toasty. Much better than the last time we went there and had to pack up camp and head to Asheville for the night shortly after sunset because it was already in the 30s and only going to get colder. Poor Jonah was crying and miserable and I couldn't do anything more for him. But not this time. This time we were fairly comfortable. And I must say, it was a little refreshing to have to bundle up in early August. I didn't break out my fleece on this trip though. My rain gear was enough to keep me warm.

In the morning we woke up not long after dawn, I think and started packing up our bedding and clothes and such from inside the tent. Then we got dressed and got Jonah ready and got out to cook some breakfast. Doug had already been up and had some tea. Chris and I joined him, then Chris started mixing up the pancake batter for breakfast. Since we had them to use, he threw in some berries in the batter. After a couple of pancakes each, the batter was done and we cleaned up and finished packing. We carried all but the day hiking essentials back to the car and sort of repacked and refilled water for our hike.

Jonah cooking imaginary pancakes after breakfast:


We walked up the road to another trailhead and followed the Art Loeb trail to the top of the very popular Black Balsam Knob. About halfway up, I decided I couldn't carry Jonah anymore. He's getting heavier and I'm so out of shape. I was doing so well with running and yoga before we went to Hawaii in May and I haven't picked back up on either yet. I'm pretty sure I've gained about 10 pounds since May, too. So Chris and I switched packs and finished the trek to the summit. Once there, we sat there for a while, each had a beer and a snack (Jonah snacked on some dirt) and contemplated whether to take the full loop to Mt. Tennet and down to Ivester Gap and back to the lot along the logging road or to take the relatively new spur trail we noticed that apparently dumps you out right at the parking lot and cut the hike short. I guess we were all feeling lazy because we decided cutting the hike short sounded ok. As Chris was taking pictures with my phone, he noticed I actually had reception there. We joked about how we could tweet from the top of Black Balsam Knob and after some prodding that I should from Chris, I did. Then of course he made fun of me for doing what he wanted me to do. He's just mad 'cause he's not as cool as me. Err, something. As we sat there, we watched a steady stream of people coming up and down the trail, all in varying degrees of devotion to the trek (anything from women with purses to backpackers and everything in between). There were several large groups, some families, some boy scouts, etc. Lots and lots of small kids seemed to be on the trail as well. Many more than we've ever seen before.

Pics from the hike:

I love how in the pictures of Jonah in the pack, Chris and I look exhausted while Jonah appears to be having a blast. That one shot of the rock face part of the trail really makes it look steeper than it is. It was taken close to ground level, but it's not even the steepest part of the trail.

We made our way down pretty quickly, packed up the car and headed towards Asheville for some late lunch and a quick stop at a beer store (Bruisin' Ales). Chris had told himself all weekend he wasn't going to go nuts and buy a bunch of beer. Of course he came out of the store with $50 worth (a growler of Pisgah's pale ale, a 6 pack of Duck Rabbit's seasonals which was half Imperial stout and half barleywine, a bottle of De Dolle's export stout, a bottle of Pisgah's Cosmos and a bottle of Terrapin's roggen rauchbier which is a rye smoked lager). I knew he couldn't be good since he'd never been to that store before. We decided on Barley's Taproom for lunch for some pizza and, you guessed it, more beer. We had a fantastic pizza with pesto, feta, sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts. Jonah really loved it and ate an entire piece (which is a lot for a 20-month-old). They had Redstone Meadery's black raspberry nectar on tap, so I couldn't pass up a glass. It's only 8% too, so I don't feel weird drinking 10.5 oz of it. Chris had an IPA that was aged in a Tennessee whiskey barrel (didn't say which distillery), I think from Pisgah, but I could be wrong. I didn't care for it much. Something about the hops and the whiskey clashed. I'm not sure what Doug had, I didn't try it.

Feeling refreshed, we hit the long road home. Jonah was not wanting to take a nap on the way home either and fought sleep with loud screams and kicks to the back of Chris' chair. I tried to keep him occupied and didn't do any embroidery on the way home. Shortly after dark and around his normal bedtime, we pulled up to Doug's place to drop him off. We weren't even back on the interstate yet when I looked back to see Jonah passed out. Unfortunately, he needed a diaper change when we got home, so I had to wake him up for that. But he quickly snuggled into his bed and I think he was happy to be in it. Chris unloaded the car while I got Jonah to bed, then made us some small quesadillas for dinner, since we had such a huge late lunch. We both went to bed shortly after eating, thoroughly exhausted from our travels and lazy hiking.

What I could get of the sunset from the car on the way home:


What we learned from our trip:
1) I for one feel very out of shape.
2) None of us really know the difference between a blackberry and a black raspberry.
3) The first couple of weeks of August are about the perfect time to go to that area
a) because of the ripe berries and
b) because of the gorgeous weather (not too cold and night and only a slight chance of rain).
4) A 10% chance of rain in the forecast for that area means, "we can't predict shit up here, so just be prepared". It's like the Ollie Williams Black-u-weather Forecast, "IT'S GOIN' RAIN!"

Comments

[arymetore.livejournal.com]

Looks like a very cool trip :) I'm glad you all had such fun :)

[mellymell.livejournal.com]

This would be a great place to take a group, since there are really nice sites so close to the lot. We might have to plan a camping moot sometime.

[sailingwest.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a great trip. The site you all stayed at is really pretty and the surrounding scenery on the hike looks just gorgeous. Nice that its so close from the car to the site too. Makes it easier if you can't squish all your stuff into a backpack or are worried about weight and stuff.

And yeah,I'm with ya. I've been feeling out of shape for a while. Fencing is helping a little bit but I need to do a lot more. I can't get the excess weight off. Now that its starting to get cooler we will all have to try and go hiking around here more often.

WOW! I would have thought I had died and gone to heaven with all those berries just there for the picking. I love berries. Yum.

Yep, you and Chris definatly look more tired that Jonah who really does look like he is having a total blast.

You all are inspiring me to try and find my camping stuff after Alep.:-)

[mellymell.livejournal.com]

Well, this might be the last chance we get to go this year, unless perhaps we can squeeze in a trip in September. October is pretty cold there already, which would be fine for us, but I can't keep Jonah warm in such conditions. But come spring/early summer, we'll definitely be ready to go back out there and I kind of want to make it a new year resolution to do much more camping/hiking/backpacking next year. Maybe we could do an October trip somewhere not so high (and therefore a little warmer). Know any good places that are perhaps not 4 hours away?

[arymetore.livejournal.com]

Savage Gulf, Fall Creek Falls, and South Cumberland Recreation Area are all places I used to stomp around in that are closer and while cool, wouldn't be as cold as the mountains in October.

[mellymell.livejournal.com]

Yeah, we've spent a lot of time in Savage Gulf and Collins Gulf at the South Cumberland Recreation Area. Though the last time we went (mid-March of '06) we had snow. Never been to Fall Creek Falls though, but I've heard great things about it. Ever been to Big South Fork? Curious about that one.

[baka-san.livejournal.com]

i think you'd love the views and hate the crowds at fall creek falls. :)

[arymetore.livejournal.com]

I don't really like Big South Fork. It has a large area, but the trails are often shared by horses which makes them really muddy and stinky. Course, you also have to watch out for the boar there. We encountered one there with piglets... luckily we stayed back enough that the piglets ran off and mother followed them...

Fall Creek Falls has two main trails with some potential sites along them, but not a lot of camping on the trails. However, they do have set sites and then you can wander all over the park as day hikes :)

[baka-san.livejournal.com]

i want to take them to virgin falls or big south fork sometime, but virgin falls is a heck of a walk, and i've mostly just done day hikes in big south fork.

[arymetore.livejournal.com]

Virgin Falls is a cool place :) Its not that bad of a walk and can be fairly isolated. Hehe, I remember it actually made the top 10 list of places in the US where people skinny dip though ;)

[baka-san.livejournal.com]

well, i was thinking of doing the walk out with a jonah on someone's back...

[lordofhaladin.livejournal.com]

that looks lovely!!!! (pst, black raspberry plants have a silver underleaf and more seeds, black berries are bigger with harder seeds. ;) theya re usually slightly sweeter)

[mellymell.livejournal.com]

Good to know! I've always thought raspberries didn't have as many seeds and were sweeter, though. Or are black raspberries different than red ones. I've grown up with blackberries growing wild near our house, so I thought I was familiar with them (ours were always tart and full of fairly hard seeds that get stuck in your teeth). I just chalk up the differences in the ones I'm used to and the ones we found there to different varieties and growing conditions. I'm growing a red raspberry right now (Heritage Red) and it has considerably more thorns to it as well as that silver color on the underside of the leaf you mention, but won't bloom until next year (this is the first year for it). I would assume the black plants look pretty similar to the red ones and these didn't have nearly as many thorns.

But hey, who cares what they are? Right? Ripe fresh berries for the picking! YUM! ;)

[lordofhaladin.livejournal.com]

I think it has to be the conditions they grow in and the type of plant. but yep, who really cares so long as they taste good? ;)

[branflake.livejournal.com]

i wish we lived closer. when we get short periods like we did, i feel akward the whole time. i miss saturday night dinners. i miss my best friend. i love that little boy and i hate that i'm missing him growing up into a gorgeous talker :) oh, and now you have someone picking on you like i always had.... oh sweet pay back hehehehehehehe karmas a bitch hu?

[mellymell.livejournal.com]

I hear ya! I feel like when we see each other, I've got to try to cram in all the important stuff and in an effort to filter out the mundane, I wind up not saying anything because it all seems mundane. I miss it all, too. I mean, I enjoy living here and there's so much to do and we've met lots of great people, it's just life is very different since we moved. We don't have dinner parties like we used to or as strong of a network of friends. It takes time to build that sort of life in a new place and 25 years in the same place will get you pretty established! I guess it's all part of the growth, right? New discoveries are never made by staying in the same place and doing the same thing for your entire life. We're still here for each other as much as we can be and make visits when we can. I kind of feel like we're both biding time, doing what's necessary for now until our paths cross again, or at least cross a little closer than they are now. Thank god for technology at least to keep in touch!

Heh, Chris and I were just discussing last night how it appears you might not have anyone picking on you out there. . . yet. ;) Give 'em time, they'll realize you're an easy target soon enough, muwahahahahaha! At least I was good and left your electricity invention entry alone, LOL.

[padawansguide.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a great trip! Thanks for sharing the pictures! I can't believe how big Jonah has gotten! :-)

[mellymell.livejournal.com]

I know, I can't believe it and it's happening right in front of me. Seems like everyday he looks more like a little boy and less like a baby.

[beenabutterfly.livejournal.com]

Looks like so much fun! I loved the pictures. Thanks for sharing!

[mellymell.livejournal.com]

Anytime!

[petullant.livejournal.com]

You were so near my home - I'm jealous! I miss muh mountains. And I know all those places and Ivestor's gap is a sweet sweet sweet thing when you're tired. That's why I love hiking there - that road is always a great backup if something happens and you don't feel like hiking the 12 miles back the way you came.

I grew up hiking that area and eating berries. We always ate blueberries there though. Nom nom nom.

Also also also isn't sam's knob on the OH DEAR HEAVENS I NEVER REMEMBER THE INITIALS... SB6K? list. It's on my to hike list and I'm pretty sure that's why.

[mellymell.livejournal.com]

I know! I thought of you and Jess as we were up there, but it was such a whirlwind trip, we didn't have time for going much further out of the way than Asheville. We've got some other friends in Greenville that just recently moved there from Nashville, as well, that we mean to visit on one of these trips someday. If we get a chance to do a longer (and better planned) visit, we'll have to come through Greenville and spend a night or something. I want to make Jess make me some sushi! ;)

Indeed, that logging road has been our haven many times when we had to hike out really fast in the rain. I don't know how many times that's happened. It always kills my feet though, all that coarse gravel and usually at fast paces because we're trying to get the hell out quick. You can get back to the lot from Shining Rock though in a couple of hours or less if you have to. The last time we did it, I had a wet, cold, tired, hungry, crying, 7-month-old Jonah on my back. Extra incentive to get out quick!

Sam Knob is indeed one of the SB6K (had to look it up). Usually we go to the top of it the first night, but we were lazy asses this time. Also, Tennent Mountain, Black Balsam, and Shining Rock are on the list, all of which I've been on top of, in some cases multiple times. Almost had Cold Mountain too, but was too near the end of the day and the end of the trip. Joyce Kilmer (Bob Stratton Bald and Hangover) used to be our normal haunt for quick overnights like this, but we find this place much easier to get to now that we have Jonah (no hiking up Wolf Laurel). I swear, if I lived an hour or so away, I'd be up there all the time! Of course, I can say that since I live 4 hours away, heh. Chris and I spent a week in the Shining Rock Wilderness back when we were all in shape and stuff.

[petullant.livejournal.com]

Oh! I meant my home - where I grew up which is just minutes from the entrance to the Pisgah National Forest which isn't far away at all from Shining Rock (comparatively). That's where we always hike when growing up because it was the closest.

Greenville is just an hour away from there BUT it seems like so much further. I wish I could live in the mountains of NC - it's my favorite place ever. My family settled that area (right near the entrance) and I feel some odd blood claim to it - like "This is where I belong!" and I kind of ache when I'm away from it.

Last time I lived at home, I'd go up there at least once a week (but that was before gas was so high) as that's where I'd walk my dog every Sunday morning. The logging road route also makes it really good for when you're trying to get in shape so you know you have an easy exit if you've pushed yourself too hard the first half.

Sunday morning was the best time to hike b/c I'd hit the scouts coming back from their campouts. I remember would chubby boy breaking away from the group and warning me. "It's further than you think. They lie when they say it's just right around the curve. They LIE!" Then his troop leader caught him and made him stop talking to me. Funniest thing ever.

Except for Sam Knob, I've been to the rest of the SB6K points in that area in the past year (except Cold Mountain which I never plan on going. No thank you. Seriously - it's not pretty. It's hell.) I don't even think Sam Knob is that bad of a hike (is it?). It was the next on my list -- but now gas is so high that I haven't been driving to hike lately.

Mmmm berries. Also, your little boy is adorable.

[petullant.livejournal.com]

Oh! And Jess makes AWESOME sushi. Nom nom nom.

[buttahcheeks.livejournal.com]

what would we do without aluminum foil? :) Oh, and I very much enjoy Jonah's Auburn colored shirt.