Join me for 3 days of Winter Camping, Backpacking & Hiking in the Smoky Mountains.
For this winter camping adventure, I decided to do a solo backpacking loop along the Little River Gorge in Tennessee’s western region of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Little River is flanked to the south by Meigs Mountain and to the north by Sugarland Mountain. By hiking trails along the ridges of both these mountains, I was able to create a 25 mile loop with 6,000 feet of gross elevation gain.
On the first night, I chose to camp on top of Meigs Mountain at campsite 19, Upper Henderson. On day two I planned to descend into the gorge to camp along the Little River at campsite 21. On the third day, I would hike up Sugarland Mountain towards Laurel Falls and ultimately, Little Brier Gap to complete the loop.
For sleep and shelter, I packed in my Outdoor Vitals Fortius trekking pole tent, a 3-season sleeping pad and my Hammock Gear 20° down quilt. Despite it being the middle winter, my temp range was relatively mild with lows in the 40’s and highs touching the mid 60’s. This allowed me to leave my extra cold weather clothing layers at home, so I was still able to use my ultralight backpack instead of the larger pack that I typically use for winter. Days 2 and 3 had a forecast of rain and high winds, so I played it safe and packed in full set rain gear as well.
Route Overview – Smoky Mountains Little River Gorge Backpacking Loop – Sintax77
Backpacking on a Section of Pennsylvania’s Blcak Forest Trail.
Mike and I get Covid Cabin Fever and head out for a hammock camping & backpacking trip on a section of Pennsylvania’s Black Forest Trail in Tiadaghton State Forest with some great views of Pine Creek and the “Pennsylvania Grand Canyon”. We also pay a little visit to the cabin on the way back, for some camp chores and relaxation.
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Trailhead Used
End of Naval Run Road
Slate Run, PA 17769
41°27’29.7″N 77°30’57.5″W
3 Days of Winter Hammock Camping, Backpacking, & Snow Hiking in New Hampshire’s White Mountains using the Amok Draumr XL Hammock.
For this 3 day, 2 night spring snow camping trip, I’ll be hiking a section of trail in northern New Hampshire to setup a winter base camp in the remote Mt Cabot & Unknown Pond region of the White Mountain National Forest.
For sleep and shelter I packed in my Amok Draumr XL hammock, paired with the Amok Borg tarp and Amok Fjol XL sleeping pad. I had never used the Amok hammock on a winter trip before, so I figured this would be a good opportunity to test it, as the forecast called for a decent amount of snow and temperatures a little bit below it’s recommended temperature range of 20°F. More details on my winter backpacking gear can be found at the end of this post.
Unknown Pond Route Overview – Sintax77
No permit is required to camp in the White Mountains NF, but there are rules and regulations regarding backcountry camping. You can find more information on the USFS White Mountains website here.
Join us for 2 days of winter camping, backpacking & snowshoeing with a pulk sled in the deep snow of the Adirondack mountains.
For this winter camping adventure, we’ll be using a DIY pulk sled to setup up a base camp in the Giant Mountain Wilderness. Day one will be dedicated to building camp and settling in, followed by a summit attempt of Giant Mountain on day two.
Our winter pulk sled will be used for group items such as campfire cooking gear, stoves, steaks and other food, additional firewood, our tent, etc. In addition to the sled, Mike, Frank and myself each have a backpack for personal items such as cold weather clothing options and other gear. A list of notable gear can be found at the end of this post.
Route Overview – Roaring Brook to Giant Mt – Sintax77
No permit is required to camp in the Giant mountain wilderness, but there are rules and regulations regarding backcountry camping. You can find more information on the Adirondacks Park Giant Mountain Wilderness website here.
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
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
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
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.
