And so it begins...

Standing Indian Loop            

October 9-12, 2014

Map can be found HERE

 

DAY 1 - 0 miles hiked 

Armed with my ENO Doublenest hammock and loads of recently purchased or borrowed gear, I set out to do the Standing Indian loop with JJ and Formy.  The plan was to drive to the Forest Service Campground at Curtis Creek near Old Fort, NC.  From there we would drive the rest of the way to the Standing Indian Campground the following morning.  

 

We arrived at Curtis Creek and set up our camp, unbeknownst to us, downwind from the pit toilet for this part of the campground.  Camp was made and we proceeded to drive up to Black Mountain, NC for dinner at the Trailhead restaurant.  With our stomachs full we came back to our camp and attempted to get some sleep with the smell of human waste wafting softly into our nostrils.  I used my ENO and a space blanket rigged up as an underquilt, did not keep me warm AT ALL, along with my new hex shaped tarp and spent my first night as a newly christened hammock camper.

The ENO and aforementioned space blanket.

JJ in his Hennessy, since retired, and military surplus woobie as an underquilt.

 

The ever adventurous Formy with his tarp setup.

DAY 2 - 7.5 miles hiked with 2019 ft up & 1200 ft down elevation change.

Having spent a restful but smelly night at Curtis Creek CG, we rose to pack up and prepare for our actual backpacking trip.  The plan for the day is to drive to the Backpacker Kiosk parking area at Standing Indian Campground and begin hiking.  

 

Formy's overnight guest he found while packing up his sleeping pad.

This helped cement in my mind that I'll be unlikely to camp without some kind of bug protection. 

 

JJ, Formy and myself preparing to set out.

 

We take the Long Branch Trail up to the Appalachian Trail (AT) at Glassmine Gap.  As the inexperienced hiker I am, I set out wearing cotton cargo pants.  THE HORROR.  These lasted all of about 20 minutes before I changed into some nylon shorts that I wore for the rest of the weekend.  After packing the 2 pounds of pants that I will now have to carry for the remainder of the trip, we resumed climbing the steep trail to the AT.  

 

Someone had made their feelings known about the trail we had just climbed to the AT.  

I don't condone graffiti but they were not lying.

The famous white blaze that marks the, you guessed it, Appalachian Trail.  

It's Appa-LATCH-un by the way. 😉

 

 Upon reaching the AT, we turned south and made our way towards Albert Mountain.  The tower marks the 100 mile northbound point from Springer Mountain in Georgia.  Carrying 30 plus pounds of pack, with CARGO PANTS! in it, made me feel as if I had walked 100 miles instead of 5 into my maiden voyage.

Looking up at the Albert Mountain fire tower.

JJ admiring himself and the view from atop the tower.

Looking down the ridge towards Big Butt (insert immature joke here) from Albert Mountain.

Formy deciding whether or not a paper airplane would make it to Georgia from here.

After regaining strength during our break we continued south on the AT and descended Albert Mountain.  The trail on this side is steep and rocky and can be slick in the rain.  I slipped coming down and twisted my knee, which then bothered me for the remainder of the trip and for years afterward.  We completed the day's hiking at Betty Creek Gap and pitched camp down the hill beside Hemp Patch Branch.  We crossed our fingers that the mice we saw climbing in the tree limbs where we hung our food bags did not get into our provisions and turned in for the evening.

Coming down Albert Mountain, moments before I did The Twist.

Creekside Camp below Betty Creek Gap.  

I have ditched the space blanket for a piece of closed cell foam that turned out to be only marginally better.  Breathability of the foam was horrible and I woke in a pool of sweat.

 

JJ's trusty V8 can alcohol stove.  He has used the same can on more than a dozen trips.

DAY 3 - 11.5 miles hiked with 2570 ft up & 1810 ft down elevation change.

WHEEZY IS BORN!  I thought I was dying.  I'm sure JJ and Formy were thinking "Why in the world did we invite this idiot along?"  What I now know is my sleep apnea, reared its ugly head twice during the night.  I woke up gasping for air and felt like I was choking.  Now that I know what this is I make sure to sleep with my head and neck in a position to help prevent it.  I have started to use a CPAP at home but I manage to work around it when on trail.  I'm not quite ready to tote a portable CPAP on trail.

At any rate, the plan for today was to hike up and over Standing Indian and camp south of the Standing Indian trail shelter.

I speak for the trees! TO the trees? NEAR the trees?  

Something like that.  Here's a cool tree growing on top of a rock.

And of course it rained.  This began a long string of trips with rain.  We later would joke that if you were experiencing a drought in your area, just invite us to backpack there.

 

Typical Appalachian Trail "Green Tunnel" 

Ten miles of mostly ridgetop green tunnel hiking would bring us to the short side trail up to the summit of Standing Indian.  At this point my knee is really sore and making it difficult for me to walk.  I managed to struggle my way up to the summit and I'm glad I did.  We were treated to some magical views of the sun breaking through the clouds.

Sunbeams highlighting the autumn colors near Standing Indian.

My own hitchhiker.  Thankful it's not a giant spider like the one that attacked Formy.  

OK maybe it didn't attack him, but it COULD have.

In spite of the rain we were able to get a campfire built.  

This lasted until, you guessed it, it rained and sent us to bed.

DAY 4 - 11.5 miles hiked with 121 ft up & 1370 ft down elevation change.

Today would bring clearing skies, always on the last day, and the hike back to the original trailhead thus completing the loop.  We continued south along the AT until reaching Deep Gap parking area.  Here we would begin our descent of the Kimsey Creek Trail.  I quickly realized that extended downhills are much worse on the knees than uphills.

Navigating the slippery rocks along Kimsey Creek.  Trying to avoid further knee damage.

The Nantahala River as it flows through the campground.

I SURVIVED!  I made it through my first backpacking trip.  We hiked back to our original trailhead at the backpacker kiosk, changed into some clean clothes to minimize the smell we'd have to endure on the ride home and set out for our well deserved post-hike meal.  It was at this lunch stop where I discovered the "hiker hobble" as I could hardly walk into the restaurant.  Well worth it though and something I'd look forward to experiencing again since it means I've gone on another trip.

'Til next time...