Sara Goes Hammock Camping! – Backpacking in Thornton Hollow

Posted on by
5

Join Sara and I for a spring Hammock Camping and Backpacking trip in Shenandoah National Park.

For this trip, we’ll be visiting Shenandoah National Park for a 2 day overnight backpacking trip in the Thornton River area of the park’s northern district.

Parking Location:  N38° 45.689′ W78° 16.923′
From Front Royal entrance station, take Skyline Dr. S to mile marker 21 and park in the lot on the right not too far after Hogback Overlook.

Trails Used (in order) and Route Notes

Day 1

  • Start by heading south on the Appalachian Trail from the trailhead connected to the parking lot.
  • At the Junction with Tuscarora Trail, take a right to continue on Tuscarora Trail. (Yes, this is where we took the wrong turn and ended up back at Skyline Drive)
  • Take Matthews Arm Trail towards Matthews Arm Campground.
  • Pass the campground and cross over Skyline Drive.
  • From the other side of Skyline Drive take Elkwallow Trail.
  • Continue along ridge line, via Elkwallow Trail.
  • At the next junction, hang a right on Thornton Trail to begin descending back towards Skyline Dr.
  • Cross the road to continue on Thornton Trail.
  • Decent camping opportunities become available as you approach the Thornton River.  A potential area on the right (that we skipped) is marked in my GPS data file for the trip.
  • Continue on Thornton Trail.  From this point on, the trail will cross back and forth across the river several times, before any particular decent camping areas appear.
  • Reach the intersection with Hull School Trail.  There are reportedly several decent camping opportunities within range of this intersection.  We chose to continue down Thornton Trail a little ways and camp not to far from the river as a water source.
  • Setup camp along Thornton River.
Thornton Hollow - Day 1 Elevation Profile

Thornton Hollow – Day 1 Elevation Profile

Stats for Day 1
Mileage: 12.1 miles
Gross Ascent: 1,621′
Gross Descent: 3,632′

Day 2

  • Break Camp and follow Thornton Trail back to trail junction.
  • Hang a right to head uphill on Hull School Trail
  • Continue on Hull School Trail, crossing the Piney River, and passing the Bolen Family Cemetery.
  • Take the Keyser Run Fire Road towards the Little Devil’s Stairs Trailhead Parking area, and Rt 614.
  • At the parking area, head up Little Devil’s Stairs Trail, though the canyon.  Prepare for numerous zig-zags over flowing water and potentially slick rocks, depending on recent rainfall and time of year.
  • After gaining 1,200′ or so climbing out of the canyon, reach the the intersection to reconvene with Keyser Run Fire Road once again.  At this point you can either stay in the woods by heading left towards Pole Link Bridge and Sugarloaf Trails, which will take you back to the AT and ultimately your car, or hang a right on the fire road towards Skyline Dr for a road hike along several scenic overlooks.  We chose the latter.
  • Return to the parking lot on Skyline Drive.
Thornton Hollow - Day 2 Elevation Profile

Thornton Hollow – Day 2 Elevation Profile

Stats for Day 2
Mileage: 10.4 miles
Gross Ascent: 3,133′
Gross Descent: 1,237′

Trip Totals for 2 Day Overnight Loop
Total Mileage: 22.5 miles
Gross Ascent: 4,754′
Gross Descent: 4,869′

Thornton Hollow 2 Day Loop GPS Track

Thornton Hollow 2 Day Loop GPS Track

Gear

My wife, Sara, is starting to really look at getting her base weight down, and taking a more weight conscious overall approach.  For this trip, she’s basically carrying the standard system that I usually use, seen here in my 2015 Ultralight Backpacking Gear List video and blog post.  A detailed run down can be found in that post, as well as on my Gear Lists page.  The only notable difference would be her own clothing choices, and the esbit cooking system.  I chose instead to carry a generic $5 canister stove, and a can of IsoPro canister fuel for the sake of simplicity.  I also knew that the terrain and mileage would be relatively tame on this trip, so it was well worth the extra half pound or so.

For my gear, I basically just carried all of my older gear that I’ve slowly upgraded away from over the years.  I all works great, it’s just a bit heavier – but it sure comes in handy when the wife says she wants to head out for a trip.  Eventually, Sara will probably get her own ultralight backpack to replace her larger, heavier Gregory Baltoro, but in the meantime, I’m fine with using my EMS Longtrail 70.  Once she’s decided on a new pack, I’ll put the Longtrail back into use strictly as my heavier bag for winter trips.
Notable Gear Items (For full lists, head over the to the Gear Lists Page)

Sara

  • Dream Hammock Darien Ultralight Hammock with Dutch Clips and cinch buckle suspension system.
  • Hammock Gear Cuben Hex Tarp with Zing-It guy lines and Dutch Wasps for quick tension adjustment.
  • Osprey Hornet 46 backpack.

Shawn

  • Dutchware PolyD 1.2 Hammock with Dutch Speedhooks and Kevlar Tree Hugger suspension system.
  • Hennessy Deluxe Hex Tarp with Dutchware continuous ridge line kit (30′ Zing-It, Dutch Hook, Dutch Wasp, and two soft shackles) and Dutch Tarpworms shock corded to each corner tie-out point.
  • EMS Longtrail 70 backpack
  • Generic Canister stove and Toaks 750 ml titanium pot for boiling water needed to re-hydrate those ridiculously tasty PackIt Gourmet meals.
  • Sawyer Squeeze rigged up in gravity mode, using a few dollars worth of 1/4″ tubing and adapters that I grabbed on a whim from the Dutchware site while picking up the previously mentioned Tarpworms.  So far, it’s working great – I don’t know why I didn’t do this sooner!


Post-Hike Cheeseburger Spot

The Backseat Bar and Grill, in Winchester, VA

The vibe here was basically if you combined classic diner with a bar that has IPA on tap.  We both got fried pickles to start, followed by a classic, straight forward cheeseburger with fixins.  This paired nicely with the Devil’s Backbone IPA that they had on tap, which we thought was the obvious choice after having just conquered Little Devil’s Stairs.

Links for More Info
Info on Shenandoah Backcountry Camping Permits and Regulations.
Official Parks Service Info Sheet and Map for Matthews Arm area.

 

Post Hike Burger at the Backseat Bar and Grill.

Post Hike Burger at the Backseat Bar and Grill.

Mt Washington Winter Ascent – Backpacking in Huntington Ravine

Posted on by
3

Join me as I attempt a winter ascent of Mt Washington, while hammock camping in the Huntington Ravine.

For this trip, I’ll be heading up to the White Mountains for one more winter backpacking trip before the season ends, and spring arrives.  This will also be my first attempt to climb Mt Washington in winter.  Okay, climb may be a bit overzealous of a term, but it will be pretty aggressive compared to my other winter hikes.  Which brings up an important topic – additional gear needed.  I’ll get to that a little later, but first lets take a look at where exactly I started off from and the general route I took.  Full GPS track data for this trip can be downloaded on the Trip Data page.

Parking Location: Pinkham Notch Visitor Center near Jackson, New Hampshire.

There were a couple of nice things about parking at Pinkham Notch Visitor Center.  First, there was no parking fee, so that’s always nice.  They also leave the pack room, bathrooms and changing area open 24 hours, which I was quite happy to discover upon my arrival at 2 AM.

List of Trails Used, in Order

  • Start at Tuckerman Ravine Trailhead (located right behind visitor center)
  • Follow the Tuckerman Ravine Trail.
  • Stop at the Fire Road Junction.  Do not continue up Tuckerman Ravine!  You should see a sign stating that it is closed in winter due to avalanche danger.
    Take Huntington Ravine Fire Road towards Harvard Cabin.
  • Arrive at Harvard Cabin to setup camp and get organized.
    The cabin is open from December 1st to April 1st and a caretaker is on site.  It is $10 to stay in the cabin, complete with wood burning stove, or $15 to camp in the surrounding area.  A big bonus of staying here is the water hole behind the cabin, which is maintained daily.  This allows you to get water directly from the stream below, without the chore of melting snow.  Registration is done at the Pinkham Notch Pack Room.  Click here for more details on the Havard Cabin.
  • Once setup and geared appropriately, backtrack a bit down the Fire Road.
  • Before getting back to the junction, take the Lion’s Head Winter Route on your right.
  • Follow Lion’s Head Winter Route. This is a very steep trail opened as a safer alternative to Tuckerman Ravine Trail during avalanche season.  Be prepared to use both hands as well as your ice axe for support.  While I did not carry one, a rope could be quite useful and convenient on the way back down.  
  • Rejoin the Tuckerman Ravine Trail (you’re above of the avalanche zone now).
  • Continue on Tuckerman Ravine Trail, crossing the summer Auto Road and on to the summit.
  • Follow course in reverse to return to Harvard Cabin to camp for the night.
  • On day two, hike back out via Huntington Ravine Fire Road and Tuckerman Ravine Trail.

Extra Gear used for my Mt Washington Winter Ascent

There were two pieces of gear that I brought on this trip, that I’ve never previously felt the need for on other White Mountains winter trips:  Crampons and an ice axe.

The ice axe is not to be confused with an ice tool, specialized for actual ice climbing, supported by ropes and typically headed straight up a wall of ice.  The ice as, or mountaineering axe as it’s also often called, is longer and straight with a pick for self arresting on one side (this is the primary reason to bring it out on the ice fields of Mt Washington), and an adze on the other side for digging and chopping tasks.  The adze is mostly used for more advanced mountaineering techniques than may be required on a Mt Washington attempt, but it does come in handy around camp for setting up a home for the night.

The crampons I chose were universal strap-on crampons, so that I could use them with my regular, flexible winter hiking boots, as opposed to the typical Automatic or semi-auto crampons that require a traditional hard plastic climbing boot, which I do not own.  It should also be pointed out that my usual winter traction choice, Kahtoola MICROspikes, are not crampons, nor are they in anyway comparable.  I love my micro spikes, but if I had them as my only option on this trip, I probably would have been in some trouble.  Or at the very least, it would have taken me twice as long to complete the route.

As seen in the video, there are some other pieces of gear that are essential for a Mt Washington winter climb.  I should also reiterate that no matter how favorable the forecasted conditions are, you should always pack and carry worst case winter gear.  This includes the ability to have all skin fully covered, no exceptions!  Conditions can change on a dime in the Whites.  Below are some highlights of gear I brought for the above treeline portion of my hike (other gear was left at my base camp below treeline).

  • EMS Packable Pack (small daypack)
  • EMS Ascent Mittens with fleece glove liners
  • Synthetic Ski Hat
  • Seirus Innovation Neofleece face mask / scarf combo
  • Bolle Mojo Snow Goggles (Lemon lense color)
  • Spare hat and gloves (in case others get wet or blown away)
  • Garmont GTX Snow boots
  • CAMP Stalker Universal Crampons
  • Black Diamond Raven Ice Axe
  • Nalgene 1 Liter wide mouth water bottle

Clothing worn was pretty much exactly what I’ve used on my previous White Mountains snow camping trips.  I cover some of the details later in the video as well.  You’ll also notice that I do not have snowshoes listed on my above treeline list.  I brought a pair of MSR Denali Ascent snowshoes that I left at my base camp, and in fact, that was the only place that they were necessary.  I did not find them to be need on the wind blown, ice covered summit cone of Mt Washington – crampons took care of that nicely.  The section of Tuckerman Ravine trail approaching Harvard Cabin traversed daily via snowmobile by rangers checking avalanche conditions, so I really didn’t need snowshoes on that portion of the hike as well.  A few steps off the trail though, and you’ll quickly find yourself in waist deep snow or more.

Notable Gear Used at Camp

  • Dutchware PolyD 10′ Hammock with Dutch Titanium Cinch Buckle suspension, Dutch Clips and 12′ webbing straps. I take a look at cinch buckles in this video post.
  • Hammock Gear Incubator 0 Underquilt
  • Hammock Gear Burrow 0 Top Quilt – Here’s my post on both HG Quilts.
  • Dutch Winter Sock for extra protection for wind and blowing snow.
  • Hammock Gear Cuben Hex Tarp, 12′ – equipped with 9′ Zing-It guy lines and Dutch Wasps for quick tension adjustment.
  • MSR Rapidfire Stove – Here’s video post for a closer look at the Rapidfire.
  • Vargo 450ml titanium cup
  • Toaks 750ml titanium pot for water boiling.
  • Sea to Summit Long Handled Aircraft Aluminum Spork
  • EMS Longtrail 70 Backpack
  • MSR Denali Ascent Snowshoes
  • Various meals and food from Packit Gourmet.


Post-Hike Burger for this Trip

“Pig Out Burger” (Smoked Pork, Bacon & Cheese) from
Yankee Smokehouse in Ossipee, NH.

When Sub-Zero Camping Goes Wrong – Winter Backpacking in the White Mountains

Posted on by
4


Join us for some frigid winter camping and backpacking along King Ravine in the White Mountains.

For this overnight backpacking trip we’ll be heading up towards Mt Adams, along the Presidential Range in New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest in early February.  This trip was done almost a year to the day after our High Winds Hiking trip during the previous season.  Only instead of temperatures in the 20’s to 30’s, we had a dramatically different temperature range the low teens at it’s warmest, down to roughly 20° below zero at night.  Ouch.  Luckily, we didn’t have the extreme winds that we encountered on that last February trip.  One or the other is one thing.  Both together, now that’s what you don’t want.

As you’ll see in the video though, things still didn’t go – how should I say – well, as planned.  Thankfully, we were able to make the best of it and play things by ear.  While I certainly would have like things to have gone a bit closer to our anticipated itinerary, I think it still ended up be a quite memorable trip.  When things go as planned, that’s a vacation.  When things go awry and you have to react and adapt, that’s an adventure.  And that, after all, is what we’re truly after.  As long as know one get hurt, or suffers too much mental trauma, I’ll chalk it up as a win.

Below is a list of trails used, in order, as well parking info and other logistical items.  Unfortunately, due to the sub-zero temps, there was no full gps track recorded for this trip.  After ripping through two sets of Ultimate Lithiums in my Garmin Oregon 650 GPS on day one, I made the call to reserve my remaining rechargeable batteries for emergency route fining only.  On my last winter trip to the Dolly Sods, with temps in the low 20’s, I was able to go the entire 3 day trip on one set of lithium with juice to spare.  My performance was quite different at 15 or so below zero, though.  Once it warms up a bit, we’ll get back to recording full track data as usual.

Parking Location
Appalachia Trailhead
44.371470, -71.289391
(Not too far from the intersection of US Rt 2 and Dolly Copp Rd, in Gorham NH)

Trails Used
Airline Trail to
intersection with Upper Bruin Trail, just above treeline in the Alpine Zone
Planned Campsite:  Valley Way Tentsite or nearby vicinity, via Valley Way Trail
Actual Campsite:  Back below treeline, along the Airline Trail.

Our plan was to summit Mt Adams the following day and return cheerfully to our previous night’s campsite, base camp style.  As seen in the video, things got a bit more complicated, due to extreme snow drifting along King Ravine’s Alpine Zone, heading towards Madison Hut and the intersection with the Appalachian Trail towards Mt. Adams.  The plan was to save Adams for day two and to use Upper Bruin Trail to head back below treeline to establish a base camp, after getting some  brief views in the ravine above treeline.  Despite having been to this area twice before in milder weather, the high snow drifts and unbroken trail made navigation, umm, complicated, to say the least.  Add Mike’s little ordeal to the mix, and you’ve got yourself a very interesting little winter camping trip.  But I’ll let you find out how all that goes in the actual video…

 A Quick Overview of some of the Gear Used
Big Agnes 6p tent (yes, is a car camping tent.) Split three ways.
EMS Longtrail 70 Backpack
MSR Denali Ascent Snowshoes
Kahtoolah MICROspikes (the plan was to feel things out while ascending Mt Adams, and turn back if it felt like crampons were more acceptable)
CAMP Snow Shovel
MSR Rapidfire Stove (Inverted canister stove, no longer produced)
*Mike carried an MSR Whisperlight Universal, rigged for white gas, which we ended up using at night due to the colder temps.
Big Agnes Q-Core SL Sleeping Pad
Hammock Gear Burrow 0 Top Quilt
GSI Halulite Tea Kettle, 32 oz, for snow melting
Vargo 450ml titanium cup
Sea to Summit Alpha Light cutlery set (knife, fork, spoon)

Camera Gear Used
Sony Handycam HDR-cx380, primary cam
GoPro Hero 3, Black edition, secondary cam.
RavPower 10,000 mAH usb battery pack recharger

ThruNite TN12 – 1,050 lumen LED Flashlight Review

Posted on by
Reply

A review and my thoughts on the ThruNite TN12 (2014) LED Flashlight.

Features As Per Manufacturer :
– Improved UI for more lumens
– Cree XM-L2 U2 LED with a lifespan of 50,000 hours
– Uses one 18650 rechargeable battery or two CR123A batteries.
– Max output:1050 lumens with XM-L2 U2
– Working voltage: 2.7V-9V
– 143mm (Length)*25.4mm (Diameter)
– 82g weight (without batteries)
– Reverse polarity protection design to protect from improper battery installation
-Versatile mode 1050lm(90min) 800lm(1.5hour) 280lm(5hours) 20lm(74 hours) 0.3lm(1585hours)
– Aircraft-grade aluminum body
– Premium Type III hard-anodized anti-abrasive finish
– Toughened ultra-clear glass lens with anti-reflective coating
– Smooth reflector gives perfect beam and throw.

Operation
Turn ON/OFF
Press the tail switch gently for momentary on or until it clicks to turn on the light. Press again to turn the light off.

Changing Modes
With the light on, press the side switch to circle through five different modes outputs from firefly mode, low, medium,high and Max.

Strobe
With the light on, press and hold the side switch for about 1 second to enter into strobe mode (13HZ).
A single press on the side switch will return the flashlight to general lighting mode from strobe.

2015 Ultralight Backpacking Gear List

Posted on by
9

A look at my current sub-10 pound, 3-Season Ultralight Backpacking Gear List.

In this video we’ll take detailed look at all of the items in my current 3-Season Ultralight Backpacking system load-out.  This is the exact same load-out that I used in West Virginia during early October for the Ultralight Backpacking in the Cranberry Wilderness video.  On this trip the overnight and morning lows got down as low as the mid-thirties and I made it by using the gear seen.  Now, I wouldn’t take this load-out for sustained expected temps in that range, but in a pinch, at least I know I can get by.  This is pretty much my go-to backpacking system for everything except for winter, from Tennessee up to Maine.

As seen in the video, I use a hammock camping system, running at 9.5 pounds, but I’ll show you some modifications for ground sleeping as well as warmer weather options to save weight (as low as 7.5 lbs), in both the video as well as my different gear lists, which are available on the Gear Lists page of my website, for those who wish to see specific weights, categories, and item descriptions.  Below is a simplified list of the items seen.

Backpack – Osprey Hornet 46
Jacket – Montbell UL Down Parka
Shirt, Long Sleeve  – Md Wgt
Underwear – Synthetic (1 Pair)
Shorts
Shirt, short sleeve
Hat – Fleece
Cookset Stuff sack
Pot Cozy
Spoon – backup, disposable
Stove – Esbit DIY
First Aid
Sunscreen -Travel Size
Spare AA Batteries
Headlamp – Fenix HL21 w/ battery
Hammock – Dream Hammock Darien w/ suspension
Under Quilt – HG Incubator 40
Top Quilt – HG Burrow 40
Bear Bag Line
Zip-lock Bag – Sandwich
Toilet Paper
Toiletry Kit
Wet Wipes
Hand Sanitizer
Compass
Knife – SOG Blink
Lighter – Eddie Bauer
Sawyer Filter Bag – 64oz
Water Bottle – 1.5 Ltr, Disposable

My New Hammock Gear Zero Quilt Set – Titanium Wide Burrow 0° w/ snaps (gasp!) and Green Incubator 0°

Posted on by
4

HG Zero Set Laid Out
I was super excited to get my hands on my new deep winter quilt set today – Green HG Incubator 0° (26.5 oz w/ stuff sack) and a wide Titanium HG Burrow 0° (25.75 oz w/ stuff sack). I couldn’t resist running contrary to general consensus, so yes, I went with snaps instead of a sewn foot box on my wide Burrow. I’ve grown to really love the snaps on my Burrow 40° and also anticipate using my Zero in situations that it may be overkill – since my other bag is a 40, waaay at the other end of the spectrum.

Fully aware that my 40° Burrow had a bit of a gap in the foot box area when cinched, I took a bit of a gamble and expected that the Burrow 0° would have an even smaller gap, due to the increased volume of down. If I was wrong, I could simply plug it up with my stuff sack on colder nights, but as you can see in the side-by-side picture below, there’s virtually no gap present on the Burrow 0°. Nice.

Just to continue the theme of keeping things interesting, I also plan to test the Hammock Gear Burrow 0° on the ground with a sleeping pad, during an upcoming snowshoeing trip in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Hopefully, we’ll get some brutal temps up there, so I can share the results in my next video. I can’t wait!

I plan to use the weight savings to bring along my wife’s gi-normous Big Agnes Q-Core SL wide sleeping pad to test it with. Paired up with the wide Burrow, I’m hoping to be sleeping about as classy as one can on the ground. Heck, even if I brought an additional fleece throw as a top sheet, the total weight for all three would still be a couple ounces less that my previous bag alone (Kelty Cosmic Zero, 4lbs!).

Of course, after ground testing, I’ll be have to take it out for a solo trip somewhere frosty to run the whole rig on my hammock, it’s true home.

Fully opened. You can see that the wide Burrow makes for a nice amount of coverage. You could probably ground sleep 2 people under this thing in more modest weather. Assuming your camping partner is down for some light spooning, that is.

HG Burrow 0° wide in closed configuration.

HG Burrow 0° wide in closed configuration.

Close-up view of the Burrow 0°'s cinched end in all it's lofted glory.

Close-up view of the Burrow 0°’s cinched end in all it’s lofted glory.

Side side view of HG Burrow 0° and HG Burrow 40° for loft comparison.

Side side view of HG Burrow 0° and HG Burrow 40° for loft comparison.

Side by side comparison of foot box area cinch on the HR Burrow 40 and HG Burrow 0. Notice that the 0 model has a much smaller gap – a very good thing for those frigid nights!

For more detailed info and a look at other models and options, check out http://www.hammockgear.com/  A quality cottage vendor based right here in the USA.