Tag Archives: survival

Hammock Camping the Sipsey Wilderness | When the GPS Dies, the Adventure Begins

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3 Days of Hammock Camping and Solo Backpacking in Alabama’s Sipsey Wilderness.

For this 3 day, 2 night backpacking trip, I headed out to the Sipsey Wilderness within the greater Bankhead National Forest.  Located in Alabama’s upper northwest corner, this wilderness area is true hidden gem, decorated with sandstone canyons, high bluffs, meandering creeks, and waterfall-studded hollows.

Starting from the Borden Trailhead, I stitched together a loop using some more well known trails to get started on day one.  For the second and third days, I gradually moved into some of the more remote and rugged hollows in the area, with a mix of unofficial trails, river crossings, and unmarked shortcuts that are par for the course in Sipsey. Along the way I would find plentiful water sources, creek side views, and  campsite opportunities.

The partially cloudy spring forecast gave me a moderate temp range in the upper 70’s down to the low 40’s at night.  This gave me a break from the daytime and heat and the temp drop at night was welcomed, as it kept the bugs away during sleeping hours in my hammock.  There was a chance of rain in the forecast as well, so I packed a lightweight rain jacket, but not much else in terms of raingear due to the warmer daytime temps.

For shelter, I packed in my DutchWare Chameleon hammock with integrated insulation, paired with an ultralight Hammock Gear Dyneema Hex tarp. This provided a lightweight, fast setup.  A 40 degree underquilt paired with a 40 degree top quilt provided me with decent warmth while keeping the weight down as well.

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.

Sintax77 Sipsey Wilderness Backpacking Loop Route Overview

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Hammock Camping in a Flooded Forest

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Join me for 3 days of Hammock Camping, Backpacking and Camp Cooking in the Wetlands of South Carolina.

For this off the beaten path backpacking trip, I headed down to South Carolina’s lone National Park. Located roughly 100 miles west of coastal Charleston, South Carolina, Congaree National Park is a dense wetland providing a rich habitat for dwarf palmettos, towering loblolly pines, cypress trees, wild hogs, owls, bobcats, and even the occasional alligator.

While often referred to as a swamp, Congaree National Park is actually a floodplain old growth bottomland hardwood forest.  With an average canopy height in excess of 100 feet, it’s the tallest deciduous forest in the world.  To put that in perspective, that’s taller than even the Amazon Rainforest.

For sleep and shelter I packed in a new hammock with integrated bottom insulation, a 40 degree top quilt to deal with the unseasonably cold winter temps, and my ultralight backpacking tarp. According to the forecast, I would most likely be able to skip the tarp, but I still brought it along as a backup, just in case some rain popped up at night.

My backpacking food consisted of some “real” food for camp cooking, a handful of typical backpacking snacks, and a military issued surplus MRE (meal ready to eat) for a little variety and fun.

A free permit is required for backcountry camping in Congaree National Forest, and you must specify a specific zone for each night.  To keep things interesting, I chose Zone 9 for both nights. In addition to being the largest zone, a unique thing about Zone 9 is that it has no actual trails.  This allowed be to do a bit of a “choose your own adventure” experience.  I could explore and navigate freely based on the everchanging flood zones in Congaree NP as came across them.

I had a rough plan to set up camp at a historical site know as Cooner’s Cattle Mount if I could find it.  I saw this listed on an old map, but information was scarce online. In fact,  the South Carolina Department of Archives and History report actually redacted the actual site location.  Luckily, I could simply camp wherever else I saw fit if I didn’t manage to find it.

I also used some LIDAR maps (also known as “Shaded Relief Maps” on Caltopo) to do a little historical scavenger hunting on this trip.  LIDAR is a form of ground penetrating radar that allows you to see through the trees to identify anomalies on the ground such as water flows, unnamed trails, and even the remnants of long forgotten structures.

Trailhead Used
Kingsnake Trailhead
Gadsden, SC 29052
33°49’09.7″N 80°47’16.2″W

While not actually located in Zone 9, the Kingsnake trail offers a gravel parking area and convenient access to Zone 9 after hiking south for a couple of miles or so.

Season / Time of Year
Winter – February

FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through some of my links.

Notable Backpacking Gear Used on this Trip

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

 

 

Military Surplus Camping Pt 2 – Finding the B-47 Crash Wing

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Hiking & Backpacking with Military Surplus Camping Gear in the Adirondacks Eastern High Peaks Region

For this 2 day, 1 night adventure, I’ll be returning to Wright Peak to continue my search for the B-47 wing. I’ll be using the same milsurp backpacking load-out (with some additional cold weather gear), along with MRE (Meal Ready to Eat) food to keep me fueled up while I search for the remnants of a cold war era B-47 bomber that crashed on Wright Peak during the night of January 2nd, 1962.

If you haven’t already seen Part One, where I explored the summit impact zone, you can check that out here.

My “big 3” for this backpacking trip are a medium sized ALICE pack, USGI Modular Sleeping bag with USGI Term-A-Rest sleeping Pad, and a USGI Poncho for shelter / rain gear. I scored each of these items for around $30.  A gear list can be found at the end of this post.

No permit is required to camp in the Adirondacks, but there are rules and regulations regarding backcountry camping. You can find more information here.

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Military Surplus Camping – B-47 Crash Site – Adirondack Mountains

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Hiking & Backpacking with Military Surplus Camping Gear in the Adirondacks Eastern High Peaks Region

For this 2 day, 1 night adventure, I’ll be testing out and demonstrating my milsurp backpacking load-out, along with MRE (Meals Ready to Eat) food to keep me fueled up while I search for the remnants of a cold war era B-47 bomber that crashed on Wright Peak during the night of January 2nd, 1962.

My “big 3” for this backpacking trip are a medium sized ALICE pack, USGI Modular Sleeping bag with USGI Term-A-Rest sleeping Pad, and a USGI Poncho for shelter / rain gear. I scored each of these items for around $30.  A full gear list can be found at the end of this post.

No permit is required to camp in the Adirondacks, but there are rules and regulations regarding backcountry camping. You can find more information here.

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Winter Camping with a Pulk Sled – Adirondacks Deep Snow & Icy Summits

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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.

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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