14 Day Backpacking Trip

[Tipi Walter]

BACKPACKING THE BALD RIVER/CITICO/SLICKROCK WILDERNESS
July 19-20-21-22-23-24-25-26-27-28-29-30-31 Aug 1 2009

MY GIRLFRIEND FINALLY DUMPED ME

DAY ONE
Little Mitten, my girlfriend of 8 years, drives me to the Bald River wilderness in Tennessee and dumps me out by the falls and I won't see again for 14 days, so my pack is enormous. My 98th trip into the Cherokee and Nantahala forest starts in the Bald River area and on the Bald River trail. Here are the fotogs: Here I am loaded down with 15 days worth of food and fuel along with two heavy books and a few q-tips.

I pass this campsite on the way in, somebody else's camp.

Near the end of the 6 mile trail thru the wilderness I reach this campsite for the night along the banks of Bald River.

DAY TWO
On my second day I leave the wilderness and reach the Brookshire trailhead where I find these horse trailers at the Sky Ranch horse camps.

Happy bugs on the B Mac trail atop Sugar Mountain.

A long backpacking day of about 9 miles gets me from Bald River wilderness and up the Brookshire to the BMT and up and over Sugar Mt to the Tellico River and one mile up the Sycamore Creek trail where I set up camp for night 2.

DAY THREE
I leave camp and begin the 2,800 foot and 6 mile climb up to 5,000 foot Whiggs Meadow. Here I am by a trailpost on one of the switchbacks up to the Whigg.

[Tipi Walter]

BACKPACKING THE BALD RIVER/CITICO/SLICKROCK WILDERNESS
July-August 2009

DAY THREE continued
Along the way I make friends with this little garter snake.

I finally reach the Whigg after a nutbusting climb and fotog my gear on the top of the bald. Behind to the left is mighty Haw Mountain at 5,500 feet.

Below the bald about 200 yards there's this pond where I went swimming and got my water for camp.

As dusk approaches I set up camp and prepare for a cool evening in a secure tent on the high ground.

DAY FOUR
The next day is windy and foggy and so I pack up my kit and prepare to head north along the BMT to Beech Gap. Which is bigger, Haw Mt or my pack?

Uncle Fungus in the Rocky Quarry which is on the other side of the Whigg past Mud Gap.

Another long 9 mile day of backpacking gets me to Beech Gap and I hoof it 2 miles down the Skyway to the Jeffrey Hell trail junction and fall into the Citico wilderness to South Fork creek where I set up by the JHell trailpost.

[Tipi Walter]

BACKPACKING THE BALD RIVER/CITICO/SLICKROCK WILDERNESS
July--August 2009

DAY FIVE
Rick Harris, Edward Ley and the Crosscut Mountain Boys. These area trail workers come down the JHell trail with their tools for some trailwork on the South Fork. Here's a group shot by the JHell trailpost.

Here's Edward Ley on the South Fork trail preparing to cut some wood.

The Crosscut Mountain Boys as busy beavers working on a South Fork blowdown.

Another fotog of the boys sawing away.

I leave the boys and turn off onto the North Fork Citico trail and go over the old footbridge and swim in a big swimhole and then set up camp by the second NF crossing. It was here I got stung on the face by a white faced hornet and it hurt!

DAY SIX
On Day 6 I begin the arduous hump up the North Fork trail and at Old Goat Falls I dump the pack and scoot over to the top lip where this fotog was taken.

I reach the top of the Death Falls where the trail crosses right across the top. Some past backpacker fell here and hit the rocks below.

[Tipi Walter]

BACKPACKING THE BALD RIVER/CITICO/SLICKROCK WILDERNESS
July--August 2009

DAY SIX continued
I leave the North Fork valley and reach Fodderstack ridge at Cherry Log Gap and go about 400 yards south where I get to this site I call Snow Camp.

DAY SEVEN
What's morning like in a Hilleberg tent? Here's a typical out-the-tent view.

I leave the ridge and climb 700 feet up to Bob Bald where I run into 3 dayhikers from Knoxville. Two of them are wearing Limmer boots made in New Hampshire.

Limmer-wearing, phlox loving dayhiker atop the Bob.

I guess this is my best shot of the trip. While the phlox-loving dayhikers hovered over their flowers, I found this set of Turk's Cap lilies near the spring on the Bob.

Since the day's too nice to leave the high ground, I decide to set up on the Bob in the trees at a place I call South Col Camp.

The next day I leave the Bob and follow Four Mile Ridge, the trail between the Bob and the Hangover, and along the way I find the dreaded sign of "unauthorized" saddle potatoes: horse back riders scarring up the trail and the rocks with their metal hooves.

[Two Speed]

So, Tipi, when you gonna start spending so much time on the internet and get outdoors for a while?

[Tipi Walter]

BACKPACKING THE BALD RIVER/CITICO/SLICKROCK WILDERNESS
July--August 2009

DAY EIGHT
Here is another sad reminder of hairy muscled ATVs invading the high country. Guys who can't carry their own gear instead use horses to do all the work, so I call them Saddle Potatoes.

Finally, at the end of their horse abuse, they leave a fitting memorial to their ride, an empty booze bottle in the Hangover clearcut. After what the forest service did to this wilderness gap, I guess leaving a Jim Beam bottle is a fitting final act and homage to a chainsawing spree.

I drop off the Hangover ridge and fall down the Deep Creek trail to this fine campsite next to the creek and the little wooden footbridge.

DAY NINE
Here I am on the Deep Creek trail making my way towards Haoe Lead. This section of trail is great and every backpacker should do it. What comes next though is a living hell and no one should attempt it.

As the Deep Creek trail reaches its end, you get to this trailpost as it junctions with the Haoe Lead trail. Here I veered right and entered Satan's kingdom of briars. Walls of high briars. All backackers attempting the Haoe Lead trail should wear protective lexan cups and keep all dangling appendages secured. Expect copious blood loss.

What do you get for a reward after struggling thru the briars and bramles? An excellent high elevation camp on Haoe ridge in the Jenkins Meadow area, a wide flat tableland with water down the slope on the right. Love it. Want it. Got to it. Needed it.

DAY TEN
I leave Toad Camp on Haoe Ridge and pull a thousand foot climb to Haoe Peak and turn left to reach this campsite at Naked Ground.

[Tipi Walter]

BACKPACKING THE BALD RIVER/CTICIO/SLICKROCK WILDERNESS
July--August 2009

DAY TEN continued
While I'm camping in Naked Ground at 4,840 feet, a cold rain comes in and with it comes two friendly backpackers from NC. They set up a tarp camp and we socialize.

North Carolina backpackers A.J. and Noah. These guys brightened up an otherwise dreary and miserable day.

Tarp living in 2009: A.J. cooking up a meal with his MSR stove.

DAY ELEVEN
I leave the boys at Naked Ground and climb up and over the Bob and turn left on the old Fodderstack trail and drop a thousand feet to Cold Spring Gap and the BMT. Then I stay on the B Mac to Beech Gap and Mud Gap, and pull the final 500 feet up to Whiggs Meadow where I set up a great camp next to the pond. Can you see the tent? The bullfrogs kept me up all night.

DAY TWELVE
I leave the Whigg on the BMT and drop off about 1,500 feet and reach this pretty trailpost where I turn left behind the post and set up a fantastic camp next to Sycamore Creek. Probably the best campsite in the whole Cherokee national forest.

And here it is: Hobo Camp! Who needs an expensive overbuilt house when you have a simple nylon tent and a place like this to put it! It's the solution to the mortage crisis.

DAY THIRTEEN
Since leaving Naked Ground in the rain a couple of days before, I get walloped at Hobo Camp and follow Sycamore Creek down in flood conditions.

[Tipi Walter]

BACKPACKING THE BALD RIVER/CITICO/SLICKROCK WILDERNESS
July--August 2009

DAY THIRTEEN continued
More high water along the B Mac and Sycamore Creek.

Uncle Fungus heading down Sycamore Creek trail to the Tellico River.

Here's a neat sight: Sycamore Creek footbridge which isn't part of the trail but heads over the creek to a little vacation cabin sandwiched between Sycamore and Tellico River.

Tellico River welcoming bug: I reach the river and find this buddy sitting on the bridge waiting for me to pass by.

I pass thru the Green Cove community on foot and after about 2 miles reach the cabin where my girlfriend will come on the next day and pick me up. I set up the Staika tent by the cabin for my final night of the trip.

DAY FOURTEEN
Here I am at the tent by the cabin.

A wet rodent visits my campsite and spends some time on my stove.

[Tipi Walter]

BACKPACKING THE BALD RIVER/CITICO/SLICKROCK WILDERNESS
July--August 2009

DAY FOURTEEN continued
The little rodent visits the top of one of my boots.

The little rodent straddles my fuel bottle.

The little rodent curls up on Shunka's face.

The little rodent investigates my backpack.

The little rodent checks out my tent poles.

The little rodent discovers Shunka's dog food.

My ride arrives! Little Mitten and her dad Arrants standing by the cabin and so I bid farewell to the mountains for a bit and head off to end another great backpacking trip.

[hoz]

That wet rodent looks suspiciously dead.