My campin pics(may be lg files)

[FatMatt1981]

It's been awhile since posting any pics....as promised in my no smoking thread.....here's me and my buddy in the deep woods. Relaxing....
Sorry for the poor quality and wrong date on pics.....

Here's me at the trailhead

Doesn't this tree look like a person stuck up to his belly in the dirt?

I just had to go up to it for a pic....ain't I perty

Here's my best bud Minger a.k.a Yao Ming "the flyin chinaman" He does a funny Bruce Lee impression

We found this huge 'geode' rock in a small creek....very rare around the house, but everywhere down here. Full of small crystals....some worth money.

AFter about 4 miles into it...we came upon a thick pine grove. There's none like this by the house....only a few cedar trees. I liked this place the best. The smell back here was unreal...especially after we went past a pine that was exploded apart by lightning. WoW!

I still can't get over the size of these trees. There's somethin bout pine trees that's really relaxing to me.

Here's a small pond we camped next to.....which turned out to be noisy with frogs after dark.

My surplus tent I bought offline...only $20.

"Hey Matt I've got somethin for ya"

Just sittin by the fire. We just finished up some M.R.E's and a cup of canteen cup coffee. Nothin better at around 11pm

Minger thought this stick looked like a doobie.....my Mom thought so too! "It was just a stick Mom geez"

Some breath taking gulleys back here....couldn't see the bottom of some.

I was sore, but still in good spirits at the end of the trail.

I fell on my ass after slipping on the old steps here.....had to take pic. There's an abandoned house on the top of the hill...only thing left is the basement.

We parked next to this........very nice view from the top.

The trail was down there somewhere.....

Caught a nice sunset from up there.....you can see for miles.
Thanks for viewing

[lYxFizzyl]

Cool Pictures bet it was a blast

[FatMatt1981]

http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/hoosier/recreation/ccdw.htm
This is where we were.....

[cyberstarseven]

Isn't camping great?

[bd]

Nice pics Matt.

That's some pretty country out there.

I need to get out backpacking again. All I've done over the last 10 years was car camp, I used to do a lot of packing. I think I've got my wife talked into it if I can find an easy trail for us to start with.

I've still got a lot of my gear, but there's a few things I'll need to buy.

I'll start working on that stuff, I guess for a fall trip, It's about too hot to sleep outside now unless you're in the high mountains.

Gotta have that A/C.

bd

[aiformula]

BD,

Whatever you do, don't pick the portion of the AT that runs by Fontana Lake. I will remember that hike till the day i die. Was probably in the best shape of my life and the first day of it about killed everybody in my scout troop. First day, first 3 miles you climbed around 4k feet iirc. Now once you were up on the ridge, it wasn't so bad, and the views were absolutely breathtaking, but that first day made it a trip from hell. Everyone was hurting.

I can't pack much anymore. My knee won't handle it. I miss it, and I will often pick a camping spot in Kentucky that will be a couple miles away from parking if possible just so I can keep some of my old packing skills in tune.

[FatMatt1981]

The trail I was on is the only "hiking only" part of em. The rest are torn up pretty good from horses....
I'm tryin to figure out how to be able to take enough water to stay more than just over night. I had 3 canteens on my pistol belt, and we ended up only havin one for the hike back.(we put too much salt in our M.R.E meal and ended up thirsty the night before)
I could prolly go further by myself, but I wanna get some buds to chill out with me at "my places" first.
I bought one of these http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=137467 but should I trust it enough to use outside of an emergency?
There's some quick runnin creeks back there, but I'd hate to come down with bad water poisioning.....a.k.a the runs.
If I go by myself my heavy tent won't be goin along....along with only about half the food.
I found this website very very helpful for those who are interesting in "light packing" http://www.monmouth.com/~mconnick/index.html
His setup is dang near exactly what I plan on using....other than the light windbreaker clothing. I've gotta wear heavy duty army clothes and boots to tuck em into....helps fight bugs and I'm very allergic to poison ivy!
Thanks for the info....one of these days someone close to me outta go.

[Delija]

Hell, you ain't fat. Your just big, that's all!



Peace,
D.

[FatMatt1981]

BTW long before I became so involved in this forum...I posted a "trip report" about last years trip to the same place.
It was awhile since I have written any stories.....hope ya'll can get a mental picture of things. My teacher's used to say I could write somethin special someday
By Matthew Day ( - 64.77.157.70) on Friday, July 16, 2004 - 08:39 pm:
Monday,July 5 2004
This is the first actual "trip" I ever took while on vacation from work. I had this trip planned for months, and my father managed to be able to take off work the same time. I had everything I could think of ready to go weeks in advance;military style pack, new army pants, M.R.E's, new Ka-Bar knive, etc.
Let me start of by saying the beauty of this place is what made me decide to come. I visited briefly last fall, and I knew I had to come back.
Anyways, we started at the firetower, and worked our way counterclockwise around the loop. I was astonished as to how fast the terrain changed, and as to how out of shape I was! The trail was in very good condition, with handy logs to prevent washouts put in by the forest service I'm guessing. They helped for traction sometimes too on them steeper grades. I've never seen such terrain closer to home only 40 miles away. We worked our way around and came to several small creeks, where I noticed an abundance of Geode rocks. Since they're rare at home, I was taken buy surprise to see them everywhere! The largest I saw was the size of a basketball.
About halfway through the trail it takes you through some very, very, nice pine groves. The feeling of solitude, that I so very much needed, was begining to sink in. A huge tree just happened to decide to fall as we made our way onwards. The chaos of snapping branches, and scared birds broke the silence for a moment. All ending with a very loud thud.
The trail seemed to get more narrow around the third quarter of the loop, and the terrain seemed to be a constant uphill climb. We came to a small pond to rest, and since it started to thunder, we made a mad dash to set up my tent. Only for the sun to come back out after sprinkling for 10 minutes. I was so tired I decided I wanted to stay. I took a nap until dark came. So we made a nice fire and chowed down on some of the M.R.E's. Which are actually really good by the way.
The fire was about to run down, so we decided to bed down for the night. Only to be awakened about 10 minutes later by the Severe Thunderstorm that moved through!! It was a very interesting experience. The wind and lighning was very intense, but my tent held it's ground; a military style canvas one. The feeling of the ground shaking when claps of thunder came was very, very, neat.Plus it drowned out the sound of the dang frogs that we griped about all evening. I slept like a baby for the rest of the night.
The last leg of the trip was the best. How the terrain went from normal hills, to seemingly endless gorges still astonishes me.
As we finally made our way back to the road leading to the cemetery, we decided to call it quits. I was running low on water anyway, and my lungs were about to explode. (probably from years of smoking cancer sticks)
It turned out to be a really nice day for a hike back to the truck. The storm cooled the air off, and the water dripping from the trees added to the tranquility of the place.
I wish I had some pictures to put on here , but sadly they're only in my mind.
I will definately go back to this place and work on another trail. I highly recommend this place for everyone. Only thing I say to bring for sure is Repel's new 100% DEET bug repellant. Camping next to a pond is a perfect spot for bugs. Also you might need earplugs for them darn frogs!
Matthew Day
North Vernon Indiana

[bd]

Originally Posted by aiformula

BD,

Whatever you do, don't pick the portion of the AT that runs by Fontana Lake. I will remember that hike till the day i die. Was probably in the best shape of my life and the first day of it about killed everybody in my scout troop. First day, first 3 miles you climbed around 4k feet iirc. Now once you were up on the ridge, it wasn't so bad, and the views were absolutely breathtaking, but that first day made it a trip from hell. Everyone was hurting.

I can't pack much anymore. My knee won't handle it. I miss it, and I will often pick a camping spot in Kentucky that will be a couple miles away from parking if possible just so I can keep some of my old packing skills in tune.

I have never hiked that particular part of the AT because of what you described. I've heard many people say it was one of the hardest stretches of the entire trail. The area around Fontana, Bryson City and Franklin is some of the most beautiful in North Carolina. We still go up to Bryson City occasionally for a little hiking and fishing.

My wife would kill me and like you my knees are shot so a couple of miles on relatively moderate terrain with a pack is about all I can do anymore.
I still get out and day-hike several times a month with a local outdoors organization... just enough to keep the knee swollen .

Twenty years ago I spent more time outside than I did inside, I miss those days.

bd