22 Days Into the Arctic Blast

[Tipi Walter]

Okay boys, here's a recent trip report to the mountains of TN and NC during the so-called Arctic Blast of Jan 2015.

Trip 161
Dec 26--January 16

Neatly, my trip coincides with several winter AT starts like Scruffs and Woodstock (aka Boots and Backpacks) and others hiking the AT in Dec/Jan.

For full pics of this trip see---

http://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpa...lcome-to-2015/

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS AND TRAILS

** 22 DAYS IN THE ARCTIC BLAST OF 2015

** RANDY CADENZA MEETS ME IN BEECH GAP

** MEETING MONTE AND BRIAN ON BOB MOUNTAIN

** RANDY VISITS MY WET CAMP ON BOB MOUNTAIN

** 12F COLD NIGHTS ON FOUR MILE RIDGE

** 10F COLD NIGHT ON HANGOVER MOUNTAIN

** 57 HOUR RAINSTORM ON BOB MT

** BANSHEE WINDSTORM ON BOB MT

** 18F ON THE PINE RIDGE TRAIL

** ROCKY FLATS BECOMES TORNADO FLATS THE TRAIL OF A THOUSAND BLOWDOWNS

** BACK AT JOHNNY'S SPUR CAMP ON THE ROCKY FLATS TRAIL

**MINUS 4F ARCTIC BLAST ON THE ROCKY FLATS TRAIL

** 8F ON SOUTH FORK CREEK

** 33 HOUR RAINSTORM ON FLATS MOUNTAIN

** CONNECTING FLATS MT TO BALD RIVER WITH A HITCHHIKE

** ZERO AT BLACK CAVE IN THE BALD RIVER WILDERNESS AND OUT

TRAILS
Entrance at Beech Gap in the Citico Wilderness of Tennessee
Fodderstack Ridge
54A South
**Mighty Oak Camp**
54A South
**Bob Mountain South Col Camps**
**Tipi Gap Camp on Bob's Wall**
Four Mile Ridge
**Naked Ground Landon Camp**
Four Mile Ridge
**Watauga Camp**
Four Mile Ridge
**Airjet Camp on Hangover Mt**
Four Mile Ridge
**Abbi Camp on Bob Bald (2)**
54A North
**Snow Camp on Fodderstack Ridge**
Fodderstack Ridge
Pine Ridge Trail
**Lower Pine Ridge Camp**
Pine Ridge
Warden's Field
Rocky Flats
** Conehead Flats Camp**
Rocky Flats
**Johnny's Spur Camp**
Rocky Flats
**Chimney Site**
Rocky Flats
Doublecamp roadwalk
Citico Creek roadwalk
South Fork 105
**Donner Camps on the South Fork Trail**
South Fork
**White Rock Camp**
South Fork
Beehouse roadwalk
Flats Mountain
**Flathead Camp**
Flats Mountain
**Camp Hope on top of Flats Mt (2)**
Flats Mountain
Cherohala Scarway roadwalk
Long Branch
**Lower Long Branch Creekside Logging Cut Camp**
Long Branch
North River roadwalk
Tellico River roadwalk and hitchhike
Bald River trail.
**Black Cave Camps (2)**
Bald River trail and OUT


I meet my backpacking buddy Cadenza at Beech Gap in the Cherokee NF of Tennessee. He's planning an 8 day trip and is loaded down with an 85 lb pack.


Something you won't see every day---Two Mystery Ranch packs fully loaded down for winter trips. My pack on the left is a G7000 with around a 100lbs of crap for 22 days, and Cadenza's pack is a Mystery Ranch NICE framed 6500 cubic inch monster for 8 days. My pack has a brown stuff sac on the left which is the Thermarest inflatable with the ground cloth. The top under-the-lid sack is my third food bag. And the right green sac is my Ridgerest Solar pad.



Cadenza and I split up near the base of Bob Mt and I spend alot of energy climbing the thousand feet to the top and rest with a half mile to go. I find I can do a half mile in an hour with a hundred lb pack. Useless info for most people.



On top of Bob Mt at 5,300 feet I meet two backpackers from Chattanooga---Brian and Monte. We have an excellent one hour talk and then I go to find my camp for the night.



I organize my trail snacks for Day 6's hike to another campsite.



I spend New Year's Eve on Hangover Mt and look into the GSMNP on New Year's Day 2015. It's a great start to the new year.

[Tipi Walter]

After a long cold 53 hour rainstorm I leave the high ground on Day 9 and fall down to Fodderstack Ridge and the BMT near Cherry Log Gap.



I take Fodderstack Ridge to Pine Ridge trail and follow it down about 4 miles to the Rocky Flats trail and follow it about 4 miles to this old homestead chimney where I set up camp on Day 13 and prepare for the Arctic Blast to hit that night and into Thursday Day 14.


My coldest day of the trip is Thursday Jan 8 where I got -4F on the Rocky Flats trail. I pack up (with the help of a hot water bottle) and climb out of Rocky Flats on a long loop back into the Citico wilderness.



As I hike back into the Citico I see a neat sight---two main creeks joining each other. The left one is Doublecamp Creek and it feeds into the Citico Creek, all high with recent rains.



I follow Citico Creek upstream and reach a campsite near the creek and find it frozen in places.



You always know how cold it is in the morning by looking at the rhodo leaves. This morning is cold.



And if that's not enough just look at the South Fork of the Citico and see the ice encrusted rocks.

[Tipi Walter]

I leave the South Fork and climb to the top of Flats Mt and get caught in another 40 hour butt cold rainstorm where I have to pull an in-tent zero and then by Day 19 I'm leaving Flats Mt and showing off my nice new Mt Laurel Designs eVent shell mitts---used to keep my warm fleece gloves dry. And they work.



Flats Mt takes me to Long Branch trail in the Brushy Ridge backcountry and I stop on it to rest and eat a snack.



Long Branch takes me to North River which takes me to Tellico River which takes me into the Bald River wilderness where I spend my last two nights of the trip before evac.



On Day 22 I pull a final 6 mile roadwalk and stop here in the sun to wait for my ride out and back home. A long, wet rainy cold trip.

[TNhiker]

nice.....

i always dig that sittin rock at the bob tee intersection........

[rocketsocks]

Very nice Walter, thanks. What does 22 days worth of food roughly weigh, that would really encourage me to eat...well.

[Praha4]

Tipi: awesome trip report and pictures, as always! I also got those MLD Event rain mitts recently, they do work and definitely save feeling in your hands in those kinds of conditions. Also, curious, what was your footwear, I could not make out the brand/model on your boots? Also noticed you're taking Probars, I love those for snacks and meal bars. I also started using ClifShots in hot weather hikes.

cheers!

[Tipi Walter]

Very nice Walter, thanks. What does 22 days worth of food roughly weigh, that would really encourage me to eat...well.

Depending on your tongue and palate needs, a 22 food load can go from 35 lbs to 50 lbs, including stove fuel. The high end number means more snacks and fun foods like fruit and cheese and peanut butter, while the lower number would reflect more reliance on dehydrated meals and cooked foods.

Tipi: awesome trip report and pictures, as always! I also got those MLD Event rain mitts recently, they do work and definitely save feeling in your hands in those kinds of conditions. Also, curious, what was your footwear, I could not make out the brand/model on your boots? Also noticed you're taking Probars, I love those for snacks and meal bars. I also started using ClifShots in hot weather hikes.

cheers!

My fave probars are the Almond crunch and the peanut butter. My boots are the old standbys Asolo fugitives---used together with Kahtoola microspikes when needed.

Most backpackers use some sort of fleece liner gloves (like North Face power stretch) in the winter but these get soaked fast and so the eVent mitt shells keeps my liner gloves dry much longer so my hands stay warmer longer.

[Driftwood-1]

Looks like a great trip, really enjoyed the pics. I really like that area. I have run into some strange character's around Citico creek though.

[harnasb]

Thank you for posting and I am glad you had a safe trip.
I very much enjoy your trip reports.

[Tipi Walter]

Thank you for posting and I am glad you had a safe trip.
I very much enjoy your trip reports.

I'm glad I ran into you and I see you are doing repeat trips so I hope we can see each other again.

[harnasb]

I'm glad I ran into you and I see you are doing repeat trips so I hope we can see each other again.

Actually headed up there this morning. Hoping to see some snow. I am going to do the loop we talked of, depending upon conditions

[double d]

Once again, great trip report (and pictures) Tipi Walter!

[inspectorgene]

Are you CRAZY? Just kidding. Wish I had the cojones to pull off a trip like that!

[Ktaadn]

Tipi, do you put together a formal itinerary before these hikes or do you just pick a general area and walk around? I noticed that you are never concerned with taking a zero or several zeroes if needed.

I always have a written itinerary that I have spent hours researching beforehand. I get antsy when weather or other events push me off schedule. Maybe just a personal problem.

[Dogwood]

Right now the TN black bear population is formulating a strategy to jump your arse for all that abundant yummy food.

Looks like you had some nice sunshine though.

[Dogwood]

Tipi, do you put together a formal itinerary before these hikes or do you just pick a general area and walk around? I noticed that you are never concerned with taking a zero or several zeroes if needed....

You're missing the way Tipi does these trips. nearly everyday is close to a nero.

[Dogwood]

Are you CRAZY? Just kidding. Wish I had the cojones to pull off a trip like that!

See those rhodo leaves? That resembled Tipi's cojones on this Arctic Blast trip.

You should start naming these trips.

The Winter Vortex, Arctic Blast 1, Arctic Blast 2, Citico Creek Downslide, Butt Cold Traverse, The MLD eVent mitt Experience, Brushy Ridge Backcountry, Fodderstack Blues, Walkin a Winter Wonderland, Wandrin Around, etc

[July]

Yet another stellar trip report from TiPi, great posting...

[Tipi Walter]

Tipi, do you put together a formal itinerary before these hikes or do you just pick a general area and walk around? I noticed that you are never concerned with taking a zero or several zeroes if needed.

I always have a written itinerary that I have spent hours researching beforehand. I get antsy when weather or other events push me off schedule. Maybe just a personal problem.

Most of my recent trips have a goal and this trip's goal was to stay at 5,000 feet or above to see snow but I never did see a single flake of snow the whole trip, so the goal sort of fell thru and after 9 days on the high ground I found other things to do. I carried my microspikes and snow shovel the whole time w/o using either.

Other trip goals are to explore a certain newish area like the Big Frog/Cohutta, or to hike half of the BMT, or to return to Mt Rogers etc. My next trip goal is to tackle several bad trails blocked with blowdowns and spend a week or two clearing each one with some simple tools while also camping nearby.

Zeros are used only for crappy weather days like 40 hour rainstorms or severe coldstorms and/or blizzards. I like to pack and move everyday if possible with one day going a mile and another going 12.

Occasionally I set up a day-by-day itinerary which helps to keep me more focused and allows backpacking friends to meet me according to the schedule I set up beforehand.

My shuttle ride knows the area well and I can get picked up at one end of the wilderness or at the other end, from Ocoee River to Hiwassee River to Hiway 68 in Coker Creek to Bald River Falls to Brushy Ridge to the Citico wilderness on up to Huckleberry Knob and the Snowbird backcountry. One good sweet spot with the cellphone and I can change my pickup location with a quick call. If not, we have pickup prearranged and even have a blizzard with closed roads factored in (I hitchhike out to a predetermined spot).

[Cadenza]

Tipi,

I concur with others above,.....another neato trip report. Glad to have been a small part of it.