Red River Gorge Trip

I emailed the leader of the trip to Red River Gorge. He told me that 15 people signed up and only 9 were going. And that I am on the alternate list. He also told me that he would contact me if there was a cancellation, so maybe I am next in line. I don't know.
He did mention that there might be a trip to Red River Gorge in the fall.

Yellowwood Camp

Chris Jared and I went down to Yellowwood State Forest and camped Saturday night. We got down there around 2p set up camp and went to get water and there wasn't any. I talked to a neighbor and he checked around and none of the hydrants were working. They must turn off the water in the winter. So we went down to Nashville and got a couple gallons of water and bought some firewood. I am going to email the leader of next weeks trip and tell him that we might need to take some water.

Yelllowwood Lake is now full. They must have got the dredging done. We hike the Jackson Creek Trail which was about 1.3 miles and north of the lake. We had to cross two creeks and that was fun.

I bought some wood that wouldn't burn! How frustrating! I spent hours trying to light it. I finally collected a bunch of twigs and did you last try and we had a fire for about an hour. How embarrassing. I'm glad I was just with family. I would have hated it if I was in charge in a group and couldn't get it lit.

Then it rained during the middle of the night and didn't stop until 10:15a. What a pain in the butt. I was thinking about what I would be doing during a hike. Would I got ahead and tear down while it is raining? Or wait until it stopped? How would I make breakfast?
We finally got to get breakfast at 11:30. (Bacon, Pancakes, and Fried Tators). Yum!

After breakfast, we headed home. We were going to hike around the lake in the morning but not since it rained.

The tent did well in the rain. I did have one drip along the zipper to the vestibule. Chris and Jared stayed dry too. I used my cookset for all our cooking. It did very well too.

I learned a few things about the tent and the backpack so it was good to get one under the belt so it will be better the next time I go out.

200 Days To Go

Only 200 days to go......

Backpacking Class

The Beginners Backpacking Class was pretty interesting. There was about 30 people there. I looked around at everyone and figured there was about 5 or 6 people that would be serious backpackers.

Nicole and Alex led the class. They gave out a 40 page booklet. ( I got you one). It was pretty much the same class as the outdoor cooking class. They did set up a couple of tents and showed how to hang a bear bag. By the way, I learned that you shouldn't eat tuna in bear country.

They talked about: Backpacks - fitting, loading.  Gear Essentials. Water Treatment. Stoves. Clothing. Hygiene. Cooking. Backpacking Recipes. Safety. Leave No Trace. Tents. Sleeping Bags. Bearproofing Your Camp.

If I would have taken my backpack, Nicole's husband Mark would have fitted me. He said that he would check it out at the Shades State Park Event.

I recorded the class with my mp3 player but I haven't checked yet if it worked or not. If it does, you could listen to it.

I got my tent out and set it up in the backyard. I cut the footprint for the tent also. That took some time. I  learned more about the tent. It looks like I need a couple more stakes.  I put everything in my pack and walked around the backyard. I do need some adjustments. I put a couple of sheets of Tyvek in pack to sit the pack on and to sit on.

I still need to get a pack cover, sleeping bag, hiking poles, water filter.

There is a couple hiking the Appalachian Trail from CIWC. Here is a link to their blog. http://hassbackwards.com/

Hope you are have a great time.

Yellowwood Hike

It looks like you can just meet them down there. I don't know if I will drive down or meet them at the Kroger. I will probably meet them at Kroger. That way Chris and have a additional car for the weekend. I wonder if they will hike the same trail we do. I probably wont be able to get a nap that morning. So that will be along day. I wonder where the  shelter house is? It must be over by the store.

I checked what the average temperature will be on that day. Average high is 56. Average low is 36. Record high is 80 and record low is 8. I hope we have good weather, but we will also need to train with the bad stuff too.

19 days to go for our first CIWC trip. I hope I will be ready.

I plan on taking my backpack (with everything in it) and a chair since it will be car camping.

Campmor Order March 3, 2011

I ordered the following items from Campmor:

Platypus Big Zip II Hosers 1.8 - 1.8 liter/60oz.

Web Sport Belts

ExOfficio Give-N-Go™ Boxer Brief (For Men)

SmartWool Men's PhD Outdoor Light Crew Socks

Big Agnes Insulated Air Core Rectangular Pad - Regular 72" x 20"   

I still need a few more things:
1. Sleeping bag
2. Water filter
3. Pack cover
4. Hiking sticks
5. Key chain light
6. Waterproof hat
7. Fire Starter


All in due time.