Backpacking Here and Now

Back during my Troop 20 days, I was lucky enough to visit National Center West as part of a three week cross country trip that my troop took in 1987.  Because of that experience, one of my goals as a leader was to take my troop backpacking at some point.  I worked toward that goal and was lucky enough to join forces with a co-leader who was also willing and able.  At times she claims she’s not able because she’s over 50, but I just wave my hand and say, “Nonsense!  We can do this!  You’re only as old as you feel!”  The next day after some draining activity, I’m lying in bed feeling pretty old.  Don’t tell her this.  Anyway, here’s the write-up about last year’s first backpacking trip that I kept promising was coming “soon.”

When our girls moved up to Cadettes, Cheryl and I both vowed to take them backpacking by their second year, and so we started prepping early on for it.  We spoke with a friend of mine named Cathy, a former backpacking trainer for our council, and asked what she suggested for a first time backpacking trip.  She told us about a trail in the beautiful Mountain Bridge Wilderness which happens to be one of my favorite places to hike.   It’s located about an hour from us in the Upstate of South Carolina, and it’s home to two state parks – Caesar’s Head and Jones Gap.  The trail we’d be hiking is called the Jones Gap Trail which is a one-way hike between 276 and Jones Gap State Park:

Our plan was to backpack in the spring of 2018, but Cheryl and I wanted to check out the campsites first because we didn’t want to walk into this blind, and the online reservations had no descriptions or pictures.  The campsite Cathy originally suggested was no longer available due to downed trees.  So that previous August, Cheryl and I braved the hot and humid summer weather to check it out.  It’s about a 5 ½ mile trail that follows the Middle Saluda River and slowly descends from the starting point to the end, so it’s a pretty quick hike in and of itself and perfect for a backpacking trip.  But unless you want to turn around and retrace your steps, you’ll have to park one car at Jones Gap State Park and then take another one to the 276 trailhead.  Then when you finish, drive the first car from Jones Gap back to 276.  It’s a 30 minute drive from the 276 trailhead to Jones Gap, so add in another hour if you plan on hiking it one way.  Cheryl and I picked out which campsite we thought would be best and reserved it that next January.

We ended up scheduling the hike the first weekend in June (of 2018).  In South Carolina, you never know what kind of forecast the end of May/early June will bring.  It could be a perfect spring day or a blazing hot and humid one.  But we took the risk anyway, because you can always count on the mountains being about 10 degrees cooler than where we live.

Remember me writing about last year’s Encampment and all of the rain?  That weekend was the beginning of a two week deluge.  Animals started lining up two by two.  I began to stress just like I had done two weeks prior for Encampment, but behold, the forecast called only for a 30% chance of rain!  Would we have a rain free weekend?

About two months prior to our trek, Cathy came to one of our meetings and held a backpacking training for all of us.  Cheryl and I pulled her off to the side and asked her what sort of training we should have the girls do prior to the trip.  She said it wasn’t the girls we should worry about because they’re used to carrying around heavy school backpacks – it was us who needed to train.  Cheryl bemoaned being 50 years old, but I said, “Nonsense!  We can do this!  You’re only as old as you feel!”  So a few weeks prior to the trip, Cheryl and I loaded up our backpacks with gallons of water and heavy books and hiked around Paris Mountain.  We could do this!  With plenty of ibuprofen!

So the first weekend of June came, and we met up early Saturday morning to weigh our packs and figure out how to divvy up the rest of the gear.  Cathy helped us, thank goodness.  We were definitely in that nervous but excited mood.  Two parents followed us to help with transportation.  We stopped at Chick-Fil-A on the way and made our way to Jones Gap to drop off Cheryl’s car.  We then piled into the parents’ cars and made our way to Caesar’s Head State Park for lunch.  If you’re ever in the area, the view is a must see:

As you can see, we had clear skies and the weather was humid, but relatively cool.  We ate our chicken sandwiches there and then rode up 276 a little ways to the drop off point.  And here was the moment I had been waiting on for years!

The parents helped us load up and we were set to go!

The Jones Gap trail has seven water crossings along its path and is rocky for a lot of the way.  We soon found out that due to all of the rain the past two weeks, the hike was pretty much one big water crossing.  About 30 minutes into the hike, I commented that at least it had stopped raining!

And right on cue, we heard thunder.   I got some dirty looks.  So we stopped as you’re supposed to in case of lightning and took off our packs since some of them had outer frames.   Then the drops started.  Yes, it was raining.  Again.  We put our rain gear on and pulled the covers over our packs.  Jones Gap has very little cell coverage, so we couldn’t tell if this was just a short burst or a sustained system.  But with all of the recent rains, the Middle Saluda River was so swollen that it sounded like a white noise machine set to 11 with a huge set of speakers, so it was hard to tell if it was still thundering.  Due to the trees, we couldn’t see the sky very well to tell what was going on over us.  Finally, we thought we couldn’t hear any thunder so we headed on.  But first, picture time!

Soon we arrived at one of the larger water crossings that Cheryl and I had completely forgotten about previously.  It consists of a log flattened on the top with nothing else to brace you.  Now when we had hiked it the year prior, the water level in the streams feeding the Middle Saluda was pretty normal.  While the log made you a little self-conscious about falling in, there wasn’t too much to worry about.  But we weren’t wearing 35+ pound packs on our backs at the time, and the log wasn’t slick, and the water level wasn’t as high.  Did I mention that there is a pretty good size waterfall right at the edge of this crossing?  We stopped and stared.  I was leading the way, and Cheryl said, “You first!”  So as to not look bad or scare the girls, I bravely headed on across and kept a straight face.  Carefully and slowly.  Very slowly.  Really slowly.  The others followed behind me:

There were some tentative moments and a few supportive words, but we all made it across.  Oh, and there’s another one.  But at least there wasn’t a raging waterfall next to it.  Or maybe the second crossing had the raging waterfall.  I’m not sure, but you get the picture.

After you continue down the trail, you’ll come out on the other side of the waterfall.  So that you can see the difference in water volume, here’s a picture side by side, with the one on the left from the previous August versus the one from our trip:

The excitement and enthusiasm started to die down after mile three.  We had stopped a few times for breaks, but we took a longer one this time.  Shoulder massage time!

As you can see, the sun came back out.  I was afraid it’d turn REALLY humid at that point, but it wasn’t too bad.

When we neared mile 4, we started hearing the dreaded, “Are we there yet?”  YES, WE ARE!!  HOORAY!  This is campsite number 12 and here are pictures of it from when Cheryl and I found it the first time around.  There’s a neat little hill where you can set the tents up, and the fire pit is below it.  Of course, it wasn’t slippery or eroded and it hadn’t been raining for two weeks when we picked it out.  But there’s a gradual slope on the other side of the hill, so most of the time we got up to our tents that way.

We wearily set up camp and got dinner going.  Here are some pictures from our stay:

Some sort of craziness always crops up during our trips.  That night, I was setting up my pack for the night near the fire pit.  After pulling the rain cover over it, I stepped backwards and tripped over a stump.  I pulled back my other foot to catch myself, but there was nothing but air where there should have been ground.  The next thing I knew, I was literally tumbling head over heels down the embankment (refer back to the first picture of the campsite featuring the fire pit and the downed tree behind it.  You can see the stump!).  You know how everything plays out in slow motion when something out of control is happening to you?  I first yelled when I realized my back foot wasn’t touching anything behind me and it was too late to catch myself.  When my back hit the ground, I saw my headlamp go flying.  I heard the girls scream out, “MRS. AMY!!!!!” All I could see at that point were leaves and more leaves, and two thoughts went through my mind:  “When am I going to stop?” and, “Dear God, please don’t let my head hit a rock.”  I think I did two somersaults and finally landed on my stomach, but I was still sliding.  I stopped myself by digging my fingers into the earth and just laid there a moment waiting for the pain.  Nothing.  I looked upwards and saw the girls and Cheryl peering over.  I stood up, still waiting for the pain, but none came.  Wow.  Everybody breathed a big sigh of relief and then the girls started laughing.  I climbed back up and thanked God.  All I had was a tiny bruise on my left shin.  My camp name is now Tumbleweed.

The next morning, we still had about a mile and a half hike to Jones Gap State Park where Cheryl’s car was waiting for us.  On the way, we stopped at the Jones Gap Waterfall for a quick picture:

We made it to Jones Gap, but wait, just ONE MORE PICTURE GIRLS, I SWEAR!  They groaned.

We threw our stuff in the car and headed home, but first, we stopped at Cook Out and met Sarah’s mom there.  Cook Out has all sorts of good for you greasy food like hamburgers, corn dogs, french fries, and onion rings.  And you get a lot of food for the price.  The combo I ordered consisted of a cheeseburger, onion rings, and a corn dog, and I said I’d just take the corn dog home because I couldn’t eat all of that in one sitting.  Once I started eating though, I realized how ravenous I was and ate every single crumb including the corn dog and washed it down with a big coke.

We made our way back to the meet up point and unloaded the gear.  The adventure was over.  But my shower and nap had just started!

The Mountain Bridge Wilderness area is an amazing place.  Here are some other sights:

The girls said they loved the trip and wanted to backpack again, but not go on quite so long of a hike.  So next up – Congaree National Park and its synchronous fireflies!