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- Feb 8, 2004
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Well, my wife signed me up to help out our Church's youth trip (they take two a year, spring and fall) to the Pisgah National Forest (specifically in the south area with a camping area named Kuykendall). We went up Friday morning and came back late Sunday afternoon.
It’s a nice little valley that is gated for reserve only camping. All the men had 4x4 trucks but they weren’t really needed. This is “red-neck” camping as we drove right into the camp area. These guys have been doing this for several years, so it’s more of a “guy’s weekend out”. They have a “chuck-wagon” trailer that is really pretty cool along with another trailer with a massive gas grill and a separate circular griddle grill for pancakes (one year, these guys were cooking for over a 100 people on a two-church trip). Regardless, it was a blast; my son was one of the “older” boys and they were allowed to run free like boys should be! There was about a dozen kids and since he was leading the pack with the directions to just “stay in the valley”, he carried a whistle for emergencies. It had a main little creek on one side and a small one on the other.
I had my new Emmrod fly-rod with an Orvis reel and really wanted to try it out. The creek was small and I was able to get a bight from a little brook trout, but failed to land any…despite my rusty skills, the creek was beautiful.
Weather was beautiful, however Saturday night dipped into freezing temperatures in the small valley where we camped. My son was sleeping in his Hennessy Scout hammock with an inflatable sleeping pad and a light summer sleeping bag…needless to say, he woke up about 0130 freezing his butt off. I had a small tent set up and he climbed in with a much thick sleeping bag. I was using my Warbonnet Blackbird hammock and my new large (10x12 foot) Equinox silicone tarp. For the second night where it froze, I did use my sleeping pad and I also used my Swanndri Ranger shirt under my hind quarters. I also put on my Polartec silk-weight long johns, Icebreaker wool hoodie shirt and my fleece watchcap. I was just using a very light Snugpak, Softie-3 sleeping bag (comfort rating around 40+ degrees)…it’s really my summer bag and fortunately I has my Kifaru Woobie for a little extra insulation. We weren’t set up for such cold temps, but made it through okay. That morning, Mother Nature called at about 0530, so I just go up and got the fire going. Another gentleman brought a trailer of seasoned oak which I had roaring with a radiating bed of coals by the time the kids all woke up.
I spent some time wandering up and down the creek dropping my fly into holes and under rocks, logs and banks. I was using a new little “Flash” REI pack and wore my Chaco sandals when I was hiking in the creek. There were a million crawfish and the boys had a blast catching them.
There weren't any classes or anything like that for the boys, but I talked with the men about it and will do some basic classes for the fall trip...fun and simple stuff such as what to do when lost, how to properly handle a knife, how to make a fire (I'll stick with matches and firesteel before attempting primative methods as I'm still learning) and cover some basic knots. I'll get a tuff-box full of supplies and bring them along in the fall...should be a little more educational and they can still have fun exploring the area.
All in all, a great trip; here’s a few of the pictures:
ROCK6
It’s a nice little valley that is gated for reserve only camping. All the men had 4x4 trucks but they weren’t really needed. This is “red-neck” camping as we drove right into the camp area. These guys have been doing this for several years, so it’s more of a “guy’s weekend out”. They have a “chuck-wagon” trailer that is really pretty cool along with another trailer with a massive gas grill and a separate circular griddle grill for pancakes (one year, these guys were cooking for over a 100 people on a two-church trip). Regardless, it was a blast; my son was one of the “older” boys and they were allowed to run free like boys should be! There was about a dozen kids and since he was leading the pack with the directions to just “stay in the valley”, he carried a whistle for emergencies. It had a main little creek on one side and a small one on the other.
I had my new Emmrod fly-rod with an Orvis reel and really wanted to try it out. The creek was small and I was able to get a bight from a little brook trout, but failed to land any…despite my rusty skills, the creek was beautiful.
Weather was beautiful, however Saturday night dipped into freezing temperatures in the small valley where we camped. My son was sleeping in his Hennessy Scout hammock with an inflatable sleeping pad and a light summer sleeping bag…needless to say, he woke up about 0130 freezing his butt off. I had a small tent set up and he climbed in with a much thick sleeping bag. I was using my Warbonnet Blackbird hammock and my new large (10x12 foot) Equinox silicone tarp. For the second night where it froze, I did use my sleeping pad and I also used my Swanndri Ranger shirt under my hind quarters. I also put on my Polartec silk-weight long johns, Icebreaker wool hoodie shirt and my fleece watchcap. I was just using a very light Snugpak, Softie-3 sleeping bag (comfort rating around 40+ degrees)…it’s really my summer bag and fortunately I has my Kifaru Woobie for a little extra insulation. We weren’t set up for such cold temps, but made it through okay. That morning, Mother Nature called at about 0530, so I just go up and got the fire going. Another gentleman brought a trailer of seasoned oak which I had roaring with a radiating bed of coals by the time the kids all woke up.
I spent some time wandering up and down the creek dropping my fly into holes and under rocks, logs and banks. I was using a new little “Flash” REI pack and wore my Chaco sandals when I was hiking in the creek. There were a million crawfish and the boys had a blast catching them.
There weren't any classes or anything like that for the boys, but I talked with the men about it and will do some basic classes for the fall trip...fun and simple stuff such as what to do when lost, how to properly handle a knife, how to make a fire (I'll stick with matches and firesteel before attempting primative methods as I'm still learning) and cover some basic knots. I'll get a tuff-box full of supplies and bring them along in the fall...should be a little more educational and they can still have fun exploring the area.
All in all, a great trip; here’s a few of the pictures:
ROCK6
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