Tag Archives: Tent Camping

Campfire Cooking in Alabama – We Made TACOS with Forest Finds

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2 days of Backpacking and Campfire Cooking in Alabama’s Sipsey Wilderness.

For this two day, one night backpacking and camping trip, I returned to the Sipsey Wilderness along with my wife Sara, and our dog Denali. Located in Alabama’s upper northwest corner, within the greater Bankhead National Forest, this wilderness area is true hidden gem, decorated with sandstone canyons, high bluffs, meandering creeks, and waterfall-studded hollows.

Starting from the same Borden Trailhead that I used for my previous backpacking trip, we took a shorter alternate route to a different area to try out a new campsite along the creek.  We traded mileage for time at camp on this trip, with an emphasis on lounging and campfire cooking.

Our main menu item would be campfire tacos for dinner with fresh ground beef and all the fixings. For breakfast and lunch the next day we had two options – Spicy Cilantro Jalapeno ramen and classic grilled cheese. Our dog packed in his own food in his doggy backpack, and if he played his cards right, he might even get some doctored up dog food from our supply of fresh ingredients.

Despite being only a week after my previous trip, our temperature range was much warmer this time around with a nighttime low only in the mid 60’s and daytime temps in the 70’s.

If you’re wondering how we got away with packing in raw meat and fresh ingredients, the solution was pretty simple.  We froze our ground beef the night before and packed it alongside of our fresh lettuce, cilantro, sour cream, etc in a reusable grocery bag.  We then made sure to pack that food bag deep in my backpack under all of my other gear. By the time we got it out to begin cook the beef was still slightly frozen and all of the other ingredients were still ice cold as well.

For shelter, we packed in a 4 person backpacking tent, budget two person sleeping bag, some inflatable sleeping pads and even some fluffy backpacking pillows.  There was a slight chance of rain the next day, but we took our chances and setup the tent without the rain fly on for a little breeze and a nice view of the stars at night.  With a little bit of luck, we would be out of the tent the next morning before the rain arrived.

As for the terrain, elevation gain isn’t much of an issue in the Sipsey Wilderness, but it does have it’s share of sections where the trail system that feels more like a riddle than a map. There are no trail blazes and many of the intersections are unsigned.  I also learned the hard way that when there are trail signs, they are labeled with numbers, not names, so keep that in mind when choosing your map to go off of. It’s easy to miss a turn and end up at an unexpected bluff edge, but that’s kind of the fun part, right?

Geologically, the Sipsey Wilderness is located on the southern rim of the Appalachian Plateau, where layers of 300 million year old sandstone have been carved out by the flowing creeks and streams. The result is one of the most waterfall-rich regions in the eastern US.  I only had a chance to see a handful of them on this trip, so there’s plenty more to see on future trips.

Native American tribes like the Yuchi and Cherokee traveled and lived among these same hills and waterways for centuries before the area was later logged, mined, and eventually protected under the Wilderness Act in 1975. Today, remnants of old wagon roads, homesteads, and mill sites can still be found in parts of the Sipsey Wilderness and Bankhead National Forest.

Trailhead Used:  Borden Trailhead, 34.30905, -87.38986
Bunyan Hill Rd, Moultan, AL 35650

This is an easily accessible dirt parking area with room for a half dozen cars or so with no parking fee.  No permits are required camp in the Sipsey Wilderness.

Here’s a helpful map that I found after doing the trip. All of the trails are labeled with the official trail numbers, unlike the maps I had.  Maybe it will help you avoid the confusion that I had on this trip!

Trails Used

  • FT 210 via the Borden Trailhead
  • Cross Borden Creek
  • Continue on FT 210
  • Setup Camp along Forest Trail 210 and the adjacent Braziel Creek.
    • Thera are several established campsites along Braziel Creek with firepits and easy access to water. The first one is after only 2 miles or so.  Take your pick and enjoy the view! 

High Desert Backpacking – 3 Day Camping Adventure in Northern Utah

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3 Days of Hiking, Backpacking, and Camping in Northern Utah’s Stansbury Mountain Range.

For the adventure, Kyle and I decided to do a fall backpacking loop just outside of Salt Lake City, with the 11,000 foot Deseret Peak as our main focal point.

Located about 20 miles west of Salt Lake City, the Stansbury Mountains are a 28-mile long range with an average elevation of around 8,000 feet or so.   It is named for U.S. Army Major Howard Stansbury, a topographical engineer, who led an expedition that surveyed the region back in the 1860’s.

For sleep and shelter I packed in my trusty trekking pole tent, a three-season inflatable sleeping pad, and a 30 degree sleeping bag for the expected lows going down to just above freezing or so.  Kyle went with similar setup, swapping the 20 degree sleeping bag for a warmer 15 degree quilt, and a lighter trekking pole tent made of Dyneema fiber.

Standing at 11,022 feet, Deseret Peak the tallest peak on the Stansbury Range, and offers stunning 360 degree views of the surrounding Great Salt Lake and the Bonneville Salt Flats.  There’s also a nearby Air Force Base, as well some U.S. Army proving grounds nearby.  The latter made for some interesting sights on day two, to say the least…

Check out Kyle’s Channels on YouTube

Kyle Hates Hiking – for Spooky Scary Outdoor Stories
Trail Tales Podcast – For fun and in depth backpacking talk

Trailhead Used
Stansbury Front Trail – OP Miller Campground
Forest Rd 001, Dugway, UT 84022
40.52799098486984, -112.5918796076991

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I Took My Wife on a REMOTE Alpine Lake Adventure…

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Backpacking and Camping at a Remote Alpine Lake in the Dense Forest of Oregon.

For this adventure, Sara and I headed to a lesser used region of Oregon’s Mount Hood National Forest for some lakeside camping and outdoor fun with our trusty hiking dog, Denali.

Located on the shoulder of Oregon’s tallest peak and accessed via a rocky 4×4 road, the Veda Lake trailhead offers an opportunity to hike into some alpine solitude and pristine camping on the banks of a 4,000 foot alpine lake.  Considering it was peak summer backpacking season and the majority of Mt Hood’s more well known trailheads were overflowing with a multitude of  likeminded campers, we jump at the opportunity to take a lesser traveled path.

Sure, it’s not as Instagram-worthy as the more popular  Trillium Lake down below, but that’s okay.  We got those pics on drive past, then proceeded to our more course.  Sometimes it really is the “journey, not the destination” and Veda Lake didn’t disappoint.

Route Overview Oregon Veda Lake Fall 2024

If you’re curious about the reason for the name of this lake and it’s proper pronunciation, much like I was during the video, it’s actually simpler than you might think.  It’s named after two Oregon locals who packed out juvenile trout to the lake back in 1917 in order to stock it.  Their names, Vern and Dave, were eventually honored by a forester who combined the first two letters of their names. And there you have it – Veda Lake. To this very day, the lake is still a quite sought after, if not harder to get to, fishing spot with a healthy population of trout and very large crawfish.

For gear on this trip, Sara decided to bring out several pieces of budget backpacking gear that she tested out on a previous camping trip down in Arizona – a sleeping pad, two person tent, and two person sleeping bag complete with pillows.  She found each of these for about $30 a piece on Amazon.  And you know what?  They work pretty well.  Although, this was the first time we tested out this tent and gear during a sudden fall rain storm…

Trailhead Used
Dry Fir/ Veda Lake Trailhead
Government Camp, OR 97028
GPS 45.24813509493207, -121.78770434540877

This is a small parking area with room for 2 or 3 vehicles.  While 4×4 traction is not necessary, I wouldn’t advise it for low clearance vehicles.  The road progressively gets rockier and more aggressive as it proceeds, before eventually transitioning back to a flatter dirt road near the trailhead.

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Camping in Bigfoot Territory – Exploring the Dark Forests of Oregon

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3 Days of Backpacking in the Pacific Northwest Wilderness.

For this late summer adventure, I packed up my gear and headed out for three days of camping, hiking and backpacking deep in the woods of Oregon’s Mount Hood National Forest.  Utilizing a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) along with some other lesser used trails, I routed out a backpacking loop that would climb about 2,700 feet up onto the shoulder of Mount Hood.  The focal point of this loop is an alpine meadow area known as Paradise Park.

Because the total mileage of the loop was a relatively short distance of only 16 miles, I decided to do a base camping approach for this trip.  The plan was to camp both nights at Paradise Park at around 6,000 feet, with side trips further up Mount Hood on day two.

For sleep and shelter I packed in my trusty trekking pole tent, a three-season inflatable sleeping pad, and a 30 degree sleeping bag for the expected lows going down to just above freezing or so.

Standing at 11,249 feet, Mount Hood the tallest peak in Oregon and one of the highest  mountains in the nation based in terms of prominence (peak height relative to surroundings).  Starting at around 5,500 feet or so, the mountain begins to transition to a windswept landscape akin to the surface of Mars.  It’s truly an amazing place.

The approach from down below is an entirely different experience though. The environment prior to tree line is a dense, quite, almost eerie forest with thick foliage and towering pines trees.  The stuff that bigfoot legends are made of, from what the locals tell me.  I didn’t believe in any of that though…

Trailhead Used
Paradise Park Trailhead
Mt Hood Village, Oregon 97049
45.31218941983911, -121.81907830291594

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Facing the Elements: Joshua Tree Backpacking in a Rain Storm

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Join me for 3 days of Backpacking, Hiking and Desert Camping in the Rain while  exploring California’s Joshua Tree National Park.

For this winter desert camping adventure, I decided to do a solo backpacking trip in Southern California’s Joshua Tree National Park.  I chose the Maze zone as my primary area of exploration, with the added possibility of hiking along the storied Boy Scout Trail as well.

Due to backcountry camping permit regulations, I chose to obtain a permit for camping within the Maze Zone, with the possibility of hiking into and exploring the Boy Scout Zone by day.  This was mostly due to the fact that the Boy Scout Zone is the only JNP zone that requires you to specifically get a permit for 1 of 8 specific campsites, and I wanted to have some more flexibility to choose my campsites on the fly.

Getting a permit for the Maze zone allowed me to camp anywhere I wanted as long as I was at least 1 mile from an official trailhead, one half mile from any road, and 200 feet from any trail.  Prefect – that sounded like exactly the solitude I was looking for.

Being February in the Mojave Desert, my expected temperature range would be from roughly 40 to 75 degrees or so.  What about rain, you ask?  Well, 336 days out of the year, the answer would be a solid – “No need for rain gear over here!”.  I apparently arrived on one of those 29 other days.  No worries though. I think it provided a pretty unique opportunity to see the Mojave Desert during one of it’s most vital times for survival of plants and animals in this arid environment – a desert rain storm curtesy of El Niño.

For sleep and shelter, I packed in my Outdoor Vitals Fortius trekking pole tent, a 3-season sleeping pad and my Hammock Gear 40° down quilt.  Reliable drinking water is pretty much non-existent in Joshua Tree National Park regardless of the season, so I was tasked with packing in all of my drinking water for the entire 3 day trip.  For this reason, I decided to skip the usual dehydrated backpacking meal choices in favor of some cheap and easy ready to eat food options.

I also opted to ditch the stove and just go the no-cook backpacking food route, because why not?   Honestly, my pack was jammed to the hilt with water, and I just wasn’t in the mood to carry more fuel and cooking supplies.

Route Overview – Smoky Mountains Little River Gorge Backpacking Loop – Sintax77

A permit is required for backcountry camping in Joshua Tree National Park.  You can reserve them on the Joshua Tree National Park website here.

Full GPS track data, including campsites, water sources, etc, for this trip and many others can be downloaded on my Trip Data Page.

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My Wife Dropped me at the Mexican Border – Yuma County Backpacking

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3 Days of Desert Camping and Backpacking in Yuma County Arizona.

For this backpacking trip, I headed even farther south to a remote corner of Arizona not too far from border with with Mexico in an area known as the Kofa Wilderness.

For sleep and shelter I brought an ultralight trekking pole tent, 3-season inflatable sleeping pad, and a 40 degree sleeping bag, as the forecasted temperature range for this December adventure would range fro highs in the eighties down to as low as the upper 30’s depending on wind conditions and where I chose to set up camp in the vast array of mountains and valleys found in this corner of the American Southwest.

My choices for camping food on this backpacking trip would be pretty simple – mostly because there are no reliable water sources in this desolate sampling of the Sonoran Desert. Since I would have to pack in and carry all of my own drinking water from the start, there was little reason to spend money and effort on traditional dehydrated backpacking meals.

Instead I chose to hit the local dollar store for some calorie dense, if not nutritionally diminished, food sources. The end result? 3 days worth of calories for under twenty bucks, and no water or stove required. …there will plenty of opportunities to eat salad back in civilization. If I manage to get back there…

Trailhead Used:
King Road Access, 1/4 mile north of Yuma Customs Checkpoint on AZ Rt 95

Trails Used, Day 1

  • Horse Tanks Jeep Trail
  • None

Trails Used, Day 2

  • None
  • Random animal trail (?)
  • None

Trails Used, Day 3

  • None
  • Kofa Horse Tanks
  • None
  • King Road