Couple months back, Bella and I hiked the Foothills trail. From past trips, I know she can be a very picky eater on the trail. She thinks she should be allowed to eat people food and will turn her nose up at any dog food you try to give her. I have gotten tired of sharing all of my dinners with her so this trip I decided to make something special for her. She loved it! Here is the recipe:
Cook some chicken breasts in chicken stock
Shred the chicken (I use my kitchen aid mixer to shred – makes it so easy!)
Put chicken in dehydrator
Cut up some sweet potatoes and green beans
Cook the sweet potatoes and green beans in chicken stock
Drain the sweet potato and green bean mixture and put in dehydrator
On the trail
Combine the dehydrated ingredients with some instance rice (I used a 1:1:1 ratio of everything)
Add boiling water and stir. Set aside until mixture rehydrates and food has cooled off
Note: I just guessed how much water to use on the trail each time – my dog didn’t seem to care if it was a little “soupy”.
Bella and I drove up to Calderwood Lake, TN last weekend for a kayak camp adventure. I have seen a few references to the lake side campsites online, but never found a lot of details. Since the weather was great, we figured it was a good weekend to finally check it out. We parked and put our kayak in the water at Magazine Branch Boat Ramp. The parking lot had a sign which showed the campsites so I snapped a quick photo before hopping on the water.
The water was incredibly clear – it was so pretty!
Our first stop was Slickrock Creek (about ~1.1 miles from put in) – where campsite number 1 is located. We paddled up the little cove where the water spills in and found another family already camping there.
I noticed a few random bird houses along trees as we paddled along the lake and this pretty tree.
Around mile ~2.4, we came across campsite number 2. It looked like it would be hard to pull the kayak out of the water, but didn’t look impossible.
At mile ~2.8, we came across campsite 3. Like the previous campsite, it didn’t look like it would be very easy to get the boat out of the water.
The old tunnel is located across from campsite 3. We paddled over to check it out. The water was too high to paddle all of the way through, but we could see some light coming through.
Since campsite 2 and 3 looked a bit difficult, we decided to keep going to campsite 4 which is located around mile 3.9. It is located up a cove where a creek dumps into the lake. I imagine it was probably a cool site, but there were a lot of trees down across the cove that we couldn’t get pass due to the water level.
We started to paddle to campsite 5, but the headwind was very strong and decided it would be better to head back to campsite 3 so the next day we would have a short paddle out.
Getting the boat out of the water and gear up the hill at campsite 3 wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I think the water level dropped some while we were paddling making it a bit easier to climb onto the rocks. We enjoyed margaritas, some delicious steaks, and mashed potatoes for dinner. I debated making a campfire, but I knew we weren’t going to stay up late (Bella even took a nap) and it was already so hot out!
The next morning was a quick paddle out (2.8ish miles). It started off sunny, but clouded up a bit.
This was my first attempt at trying out new meals for the JMT. I found turkey breasts at the grocery store and decided it would be a good item to start with. I first cooked it in some chicken stock, and then put in my kitchen aid mixer to shred (thanks to my sister for teaching me that trick!).
To recook it, I boiled some water in my jet boil. Then, I added the turkey and gravy. I let it sit for a bit and rehydrate. Since I was at home, I then boiled some water on the stove for the instant potatoes. Pour the gravy/turkey mixture on top and dig in!
I haven’t posted here in awhile, and I honestly don’t when I will have anything really worth posting about. I have a permit for the John Muir Trail this summer, but with coronavirus… who knows if the trip will happen or not… I want to be optimistic, but it isn’t looking good. I have been stuck working from home the last two weeks and it looks like it is going to be extended at least another month.
I am trying to be glass half full and assuming trip will happen…my flights and shuttle are booked so I am going to continue the planning and hope the trip will happen. From my research, it can get quite cold at night. I don’t really want to carry my super heavy 0 degree bag so I decided to take the plunge and order a new quilt from Underground Quilts. I already have one which I use with my hammock, but it isn’t quite warm enough for this trip so I making a splurge and adding another to the gear list. It is a 0 degree 950 fill down bag with extra stuffing. Yes, a major splurge! I have decided my new rule with gear is spend the extra $$ up front and do it right. Hopefully I won’t regret it 🙂
My other to do item is trying to come up with a meal plan. The trip is supposed to be 21 days and I want to make the most out of my food (will pick up resupply 2-3 times during trip – details TBD still). I have made dehydrated food before, and also used pre-made packages like Backcountry and Mountain House. I have a few ideas of meals I want to try to make before hand, and figured why not document them?!? So, posts here may take a slightly different turn upcoming months- I am going to be trialing out new recipes. I know I want dinner to include some kind of meat, and either pasta, rice or some kind of carb. Breakfast and lunch just need to be easy. So, if you have suggestions, please let me know in comments below!
Bella and I decided to tackle the Foothills Trail earlier this month – a 77 mile trail along the border of North and South Carolina. According to Backpacker Magazine, it is one of the top long trails in the US. I have hiked a few sections around the Laurel Fork and Whitewater regions, but most of the trail was unchartered territory for me. Since I had some extra PTO this year, I decided I would complete the trail start to finish.
My original plan was to hike the trail in 5 days/4 nights, but after not getting in as much mileage as I would have liked the first two days, it turned into a 6 days/5 nights trip. If you do this trail, I will warn you that the trail is constantly going up/down so getting in lots of miles each day may not be as easy as some other trails (or maybe I am just not as in shape as I used to be?).
I went back and forth about whether to start at Oconee State Park and hike east, or start at Table Rock and hike west. I settled on Table Rock so I could get the worst of the climbing done on the first day. Here is an overview of my trip:
Day 1: Table Rock State Park to Rock Creek Camp (Miles 0.0 to 10.4, Daily mileage: 10.4 miles)
Day 2: Rock Creep Camp to Laurel Fork Falls Camp (Miles 10.4 to 22.6, Daily mileage: 12.2 miles)
Day 3: Laurel Fork Falls to Bear Creek Camp (Miles 22.6 to 38.7, Daily mileage: 16.1 miles)
Day 4: Bear Camp Creek to East Fork Camp (Miles 38.7 to 53.0, Daily mileage: 14.3 miles)
Day 5: East Fork Camp to Licklog Campsite (Miles 53.0 to 67.2, Daily mileage: 14.2 miles)
Day 6: Licklog to Oconee State Park (Miles 67.2 to 76.2, Daily mileage: 9 miles)
Day 1: Table Rock State Park to Rock Creek Camp (Miles 0.0 to 10.4, Daily mileage: 10.4 miles)
My mom dropped us off at Table Rock State Park around 10 am. It was chilly getting out of the car, but once we were hiking, we quickly warmed up and started shedding layers. I had expected to see more people along the trail, but it seemed like we were the only ones out there. The first mile follows Carrick Creek which has a few small cascades and water slides. The trail eventually departed the creek and started ascending to Pinnacle Mountain.
Near the summit to Pinnacle Mountain, the trail opens up to a large rock face with views to the south. What a view! We enjoyed a short rest before continuing on.
Pinnacle Overlook
Shortly after the rock face, the trail splits. The Foothills Trails turns to the left, while those wanting to summit Pinnacle Mountain keep heading up. I was glad to skip the summit – we had already climbed up about 1600 feet! The trail then passes another rock face known as the Drawbar Cliffs which look more to the west. We didn’t stay too long as we still had many miles ahead of us.
Drawbar Cliffs Overlook
We made it to the Lighthouse campsite around 1:30 pm (3.5 hours of hiking). We took the opportunity to have some lunch and review the map… at this point I realized we were not moving very fast and that we were probably not going to make it to the Chimney Top Gap campsite on Day 1 (we had only gone 5 miles and Chimney was still 8.1 miles away!). I figured we still had about 5 hours of sunlight so we could still get some miles in, but probably not 8.
Creek crossing
Flowers
Cantrell Campsite
We made it to the Cantrell Campsite around 4 pm. At this point we were exhausted and I was ready to setup camp, but I was also disappointed that we had only completed 8 miles for the day instead of the 13 I had planned. There was a nice gentleman there that was setting up his camp. He had completed the trail back in September and was quite familiar with the sections. He told us the 1.1 miles from Cantrell campsite to Sassafras Mountain was pretty flat compared to what we had already done so we decided to press on to Sassafras.
View from Sassafras
SC/NC State line
We reached the summit of Sassafras around 4:45. There is a nice viewing area at the top with a full 365 degree view (fun fact: it is the highest mountain in the state of South Carolina). The sun was getting low in the sky so I knew we needed to hurry to find a campsite (camping is not allowed at the Sassafras summit). My guidebook showed a campsite about ~.7 miles alway, but I wasn’t sure about water (at this point, we were getting low). If there was no water there, we would need to keep going. We made it to the Rock Creek campsite and found a tiny tiny stream. It wasn’t much, but it would do!
Rock Creek Campsite
Tired puppy
Bella’s dinner of sweet potatoes, green beans, chicken and rice before being cooked
Day 2: Rock Creep Camp to Laurel Fork Falls Camp (Miles 10.4 to 22.6, Daily mileage: 12.2 miles)
We woke up fairly early and were able to hit the trail by 8:30. We made it across US 178 road crossing fairly early in the morning, but then things took a turn. The hike from US 178 to Virginia Hawkins was much tougher than I had anticipated. I am not sure if it was because we were still tired from the day before or what. We made it to Virginia Hawkins area around lunch time only to find that we had to take a detour around the falls because a fallen tree made the bridge above the falls impassable. The detour follows an old logging road and added extra mileage we had not anticipated, plus required some back tracking if you still wanted to go view the waterfall. We decided to skip the falls and not backtrack since I have seen it multiple times before (once with Daniel, and another time with just Bella).
We followed the creek down through Laurel Valley reaching the Laurel Fork campsite around 2:30. We were exhausted and my feet hurt so we decided to call it a day. The campsite was empty when we started setting up our tent, but 2 or 3 other groups of people arrived by night fall. The Laurel Fork area is a popular area for weekend hikers.
Day 3: Laurel Fork Falls to Bear Creek Camp (Miles 22.6 to 38.7, Daily mileage: 16.1 miles)
We once again got up early on Day 3 and were out of the campsite before any of our neighbors had awoken. We briefly stopped at the overlook of Laurel Fork Falls. If you ever visit the area, I would suggest coming in from the lake – only half of the falls is visible from the overlook. From Laurel Fork, we weaved in and out of a trail path and old logging roads. This section was not very exciting. What was also not very exciting was the climb up Heartbreak Ridge – so many steps! You climb up to the top of a ridge, only to come right back down. There must have been over a hundred steps!
At the bottom of Heartbreak Ridge (along the lake/Toxaway Creek) are some really cool campsites. We took a short break by the creek and I soaked my feet in the cold water. We then crossed the large suspension bridge that spans the Toxaway River as it spills into Lake Jocassee.
Toxaway Creek
Lake Jocassee
Toxaway River
The trail follows the shores of the lake for a mile or so. It then starts to depart the lake and climb up… and up… and up. It seemed to go up forever (maybe we were just extra tired from Heartbreak Ridge?)! The rest of the day was not too exciting – mostly just walking along more logging roads. There were a few short “trail” sections, but not many.
We had a quick lunch at Bear Gap Campsite but then back to walking along a logging road. We did eventually drop back down into the valley for a short bit to cross the Horsepasture River, but then it was back to a logging road again. We did come across a sign for the halfway point – YAY! We made it halfway!
Not far after the halfway point is the Bear Camp Creek campsite where we stopped for the night. One thing I must say is that all of the campsites along the Foothills are quite nice – almost all have benches and proper fire pits.
Day 4: Bear Camp Creek to East Fork Camp (Miles 38.7 to 53.0, Daily mileage: 14.3 miles)
The first stop of Day 4 was Hilliard Falls.
Somewhere between Hilliard Falls and the Thompson River we spotted a mama bear and her two cubs in the distance. We made some noise and they quickly scurried away. I wish I could have gotten a photo!
Just past the Thompson River crossing we passed another hiker who warned us about a bad blow down near Whitewater Falls. He was not kidding! It was quite tough to get around with my pack, but we managed to squeeze through.
Thompson River
Whitewater Corridor Region
We took a quick break at Whitewater River to filter some water before our climb to the falls overlook. The climb to the top was not easy, but I had expected it to be tougher. We snapped a few quick photos of the falls and then continued on.
Whitewater River
Whitewater Falls
From Whitewater Falls, the trail crossed Whitewater Road where it continued to climb up. There are a few benches at the top where we had a snack and caught glimpses of Lake Jocassee down below.
The rest of the day the trail winded through the woods with glimpses of mountains in the distance. We called it a day at the East Fork Camp which is just past Sloan’s Bridge along the Chattooga River.
Day 5: East Fork Camp to Licklog Campsite (Miles 53.0 to 67.2, Daily mileage: 14.2 miles)
We followed the Chattooga River for the majority of Day 5. There were some really cool campsites along the river that I would love to come back and stay at one day.
We ended up setting up camp in a large campsite near Licklog Falls.
Day 6: Licklog to Oconee State Park (Miles 67.2 to 76.2, Daily mileage: 9 miles)
We woke up early on our final day of hiking. We skipped breakfast so we could get on the trail faster. It was just light enough out that we didn’t need a headlamp when we started hiking. The final ~9 miles went by pretty quick as it was almost all downhill. We made it Oconee State Park around 10 am. The only photo I got for the day was Bella in front of the sign staring at my car not far away. I think she was ready to go home 🙂
We ended the hike with a stop in Cashiers where we stocked up on ice cream 🙂
Our bus arrived to El Calafate around lunch time. Our first stop was the visitor center where we told about the park rules and given a map of the area and surrounding trails.
The trails for Los Glaciares National Park start in the town of El Calafate which makes it super easy! I didn’t have much of a plan since reservations are not required for the park. I figured I would see how the weather looked and then decide my route based off that.
Since it was nice and sunny, I decided I would head to Laguna Torre, have lunch, and then cut over to Camp Poincenot.
The hike to Laguna Torre wasn’t too bad from a difficulty standpoint, but there were a lot of people on the trail which got annoying after awhile. I made it up the lake where I had lunch. I didn’t stick around too long as the wind made it quite chilly, and I knew I still had a couple hours of hiking ahead of me if I wanted to make it to Camp Poincenot.
The hike to Camp Poincenot seemed like it went on forever, but that was mostly because I was tired from numerous days of hiking. I was glad to finally make it to camp and setup my tent. When unpacking my bag I also realized I had never thrown out my water bottle which had a cup of wine in it – score! That made dinner much better 🙂
I went to bed fairly early, but did set an alarm. I wanted to get up early hike to Laguna de los Tres for the sunrise, but when I awoke, the wind was blowing quite hard and it was drizzling. I decided to go back to sleep and would re-evaluate in a couple of hours. The rain did eventually stop, but it was cold and there were still clouds covering the mountains. I was exhausted and decided I would rather hike back to town and try to catch an earlier bus back to El Chalten.
The cloud eventually did start to clear up on my hike out, and I caught glimpses of the mountains.
At some point on the trail, it started to lightly snow.
The snow didn’t last long, and with the sun out, it started to warm up.
Most of the trail back to town was downhill so I made pretty good time. I went to the bus station and found out about bus departures. I was able to switch my ticket to the 1 pm bus (I was previously scheduled for 6 pm). I had two hours to spare so I found a cafe with wifi, and grabbed some food. Yummm… carbs…
I got back to El Calafate around 5 pm. I grabbed my bags and walked to my hotel where I took a much needed shower. I then ventured into town. I walked around a little, but my feet were so tired! I found a nice rooftop restaurant and enjoyed some empanadas and wine.
The next morning consisted of breakfast, and then it was off to the airport where I began my long journey home.
I returned to Puerto Natales in the afternoon. I checked into the Florence Dixie and grabbed some tiramisu from the bakery just around the corner.
I washed some clothes in the sink, used the wifi, and then headed around the corner to grab some dinner. I walked around a bit not sure where to eat, but ended up settling on Kawesqar Café. I highly recommend!
The next morning, the bus company Turismo Zaahj picked me up from the Florence Dixie to take me to Argentina. The bus was fairly nice and I was able to get in a nice nap 🙂
Once in Argentina, we went to Perito Moreno Glacier. We walked along the walkways and checked out the overlooks, and then hopped on a boat that took up close to the glacier.
After the boat ride, we all hopped back on the bus and headed to El Calafate. I had the bus drop me off in the main part of the town so I could grab dinner. I found a pizza restaurant with free wifi.
After eating, I grabbed my bags and walked to the Cyan Calafate Hotel. The walk wasn’t too bad – less than a mile.
The next morning, I grabbed breakfast at the hotel and then walked across the street to the bus terminal. One of the companies will keep your extra bag(s) for just a few dollars. I had brought a bag with my spare food and some t-shirts (before I had left at the Florence Dixie hotel since I would be returning there). The only issue with this is you have to pick up your bags when they are open – if you return late in the evening, you may have to come back the next day. I have heard there are also places in El Calafate where you can do this, but I didn’t know much about it and the bus terminal was easy enough.
Since I was a bit early getting to the station, I was able to hop in line early and get a front row seat on the upper level – not a bad view!
I arrived in Torres Del Paine late in the afternoon of my second day. After completing the safety briefing, I grabbed my pack and started the short ‘hike’ to Central Sitio Suelo where I would be camping the first two nights.
After a 10 minute walk, I arrived at the campsite and checked in. Since it was late, most of the good campsites were taken, but I was able to find a small spot along the river.
The refugio was located just on the other side of the river so after setting up, I headed over there and grabbed some wine and enjoyed the wonderful weather.
Day 3
I woke up to find it overcast and rainy. I wasn’t sure how great of a view I would get, but I still wanted to get an early start on the hike to the base of Las Torres.
About an hour into the hike I had to stop and put on my rain jacket and pants. Looking back at the storm had me a little worried, but I continued on.
It continued to drizzle a bit. After an hour or so, it did start to clear up a little… less rain, but still a lot of low clouds… the sun did poke through every now and then which was promising.
I finally made it to the top. The last part of the hike seemed like it went on forever… a lot of uphill through a rock garden!
I hung out at the top for a bit, but it quite windy and chilly. The number of people up there started steadily increasing so I decided to go ahead and head back down beat the crowds. The weather was much better on the way back down!
Day 4
I woke up and packed up my stuff and began my hike to Los Cuernos. It was already sunny out which was nice.
Most of the hike was along a gorgeous turquoise lake.
I made it Los Cuernos around 1 pm – quite early! I checked into my cabin for the night and unpacked my bag. My cabin was up on a hill overlooking the lake, and not far from a fairly large waterfall.
Since it was so early and the weather was so perfect, I decided I would go ahead and hike to the Britanico overlook. It was going to make for a super long day, but I didn’t want to risk waiting until the next day and possible having horrible weather.
I didn’t take too many photos the first hour or so as I was in a rush to get to the main trailhead by 2 pm (the park rangers will not let anyone start the hike after 2 pm). I made it to the trailhead with 5 minutes to spare!
I finally made it back to Los Cuernos and was exhausted. My cabin looked even more inviting after a long day of hiking.
I decided to grab a bottle of wine from the refugio and enjoy the sunset from my front porch.
Day 5
When I woke up and saw the weather outside, I was immediately happy I had hiked to the Britanico lookout the day before. With that said, the storm clouds caused a rainbow to form over the lake! I went ahead and started my hike to Paine Grande in hopes the weather would clear up, and maybe I could make it Refugio Grey and go kayaking.
The wind was incredible – there were times I thought I was going to fall over! It was also causing water to spray up from the lake. Brrrrr
I made it away from the lake and crossed the river.
I was hoping the weather would improve once away from the lake, but boy was I wrong. It got much colder and much rainier. At one point, I had to stop and put on all of my winter gear – gloves, hat, etc. I turned back at one point and saw the storm I had hiked through. I felt bad for the hikers I passed headed that direction. Glad I had the worst behind me!
I made it over the ridge and to the next lake and could see blue skies. Yessss!
An hour or so later I could see the lake Pehoe where I would be camping.
I checked into camp and setup my tent. They had some windshields setup which I took advantage of.
I debated hiking to Grey Glacier, but I knew kayaking was out of the question due to the high winds and constantly changing weather. I decided to grab some wine and hide out in the refugio.
Day 6
I woke up super early on the last day to hike to Grey Glacier.
The hike goes through a small little valley with super high winds. At times, I had to stop and put my poles down to brace myself so I wouldn’t fall over!
The intense wind continued along the lake to the point that little white camps were forming!
I made it to lake Grey and could see chunks of the Glacier. I knew I was getting close.
I made it the first overlook for Glacier Grey. The wind was so intense I had to sit on the overlook to avoid being blown over!
Looking at the weather and knowing how intense the wind was, I knew that kayaking was out of question for the day. I decided it would be better to turn back and catch the early catamaran back so I could get back to Puerto Natales early evening and try to get a good hot meal.
The first day or two of my trip was spent traveling down to Patagonia region. I stayed the first night in Puerto Natales, arriving in the evening just in time to catch the sunset.
The next morning I grabbed breakfast at the Florence Dixie hotel, and then wondered around town a bit until the grocery store opened around 11 (since it was Sunday, most stores were closed). The morning was very overcast, but still allowed for a nice walk along the water.
By midday the weather improved and the sun started making an appearance.
I grabbed some last minute snack items, and fuel canister, and then got on the bus to take me to Torres Del Paine.
In November, I flew down to Patagonia to embark on what would be my first big solo hiking trip. Planning the trip took a lot of time! You have to make reservations months for campsites and buses months in advance for high season (November to March). I relied on numerous blogs to put my trip together. Below is an overview of transportation companies I used, hotels, campsites, etc.
Day 0
Fly from Atlanta to Santiago (Delta Airlines)
Day 1
Arrived Santiago early morning – it took over 2 hours to get through passport control! Give yourself plenty of time!
Fly from Santiago to Punta Arenas (Sky Airlines)
Take bus from Punta Arenas airport to Puerto Natales (Bus Sur – make sure you email them and tell them you want to be picked up at Airport and not at the main bus terminal in downtown Punta Arenas)
Walk from Puerto Natales bus terminal to hotel (stayed at Lady Florence Dixie)
Day 2
Picked up some food (snickers, cashews, etc) at grocery store across street from Florence Dixie – WARNING: not all stores are open on Sundays, and those that are, do not open until 11ish
2:30 pm bus to Torres Del Paine (Buses María José)
Paid park entrance fees, listened to safety brief, and then hopped on another bus which takes you further into the park (the second bus does not require reservations – just walk up and pay)
Camped at Camping Central Sitio Suelo – Fantastico Sur (campsite less than 1/4 mile from where bus drops you off)
Day 3
Day hike Las Torres Base
Returned to Central Sitio Suelo – Fantastico Sur
Day 4
Hiked to Los Cuernos – Fantastico Sur – checked into cabin and dropped off stuff
Day hiked to Britanico lookout (my original plan was to do this the next day, but the weather was great so I went ahead and did it – not for the faint of heart)
Returned to Los Cuernos
Day 5
Hiked to Grande Sector – Vertice
Day 6
Day hiked to 1st overlook for Grey Glacier
Returned to Grande Sector and packed up stuff
Took midday ferry across lake Pehoe
Bus back to Puerto Natales (Buses María José)
Walk from bus terminal to hotel (stayed at Lady Florence Dixie again)
Day 7
Bus picked me up from hotel and took me to Argentina. We went to Perito Moreno Glacier along the way (Bus TURISMO ZAAHJ)
Bus dropped me off in downtown El Calafate
Had dinner in town before walking to Cyan Calafate Hotel
Day 8
Walked to bus terminal (across the street from Cyan Calafate Hotel) and caught bus to El Chalten (booked bus through Bus TURISMO ZAAHJ, but ticket for Cal-Tur). I left one of my bags with one of the other bus companies.
Hiked to Laguna Torre, and then to Camp Poincenot (camped at Poincenot)
Day 9
Hiked back to El Chalten
Took bus back to El Calafate (booked bus through Bus TURISMO ZAAHJ, but ticket for Cal-Tur)
Walked from bus terminal to Lagos Del Calafate hotel. From there was able to walk into town and have dinner.
Day 10
Hotel booked a shuttle to airport for me night before – I do not recall the name. You can also take a taxi
Flight from El Calafate to AEP BUENOS AIRES (AEROLINEAS ARGENTINAS )
Had to take bus to get to main airport (do not recall bus company name, but you can walk up and buy a ticket in the airport – the buses run every ~ hour or so)
Flight from Ministro Pistarini International Airport to Atlanta (Delta)
