The trip starts with preplanning. Where am i going this week, my wife asks? My reply, hesitant at first, because I am torn between going to one of my favorite places or trying someplace new. Both options require a drive, my favorite place still amazes me with new experiences every time. New sights, new wildlife and always some type of unexpected issues. Yet I still hesitate.
I have always been cognizant of the stress it puts on our family whenever I leave on one of my "adventures". Thats what she calls them anyway. So, I leave an itinerary of where Iam going, how long I will be gone, my exact gps start and end point, possible campsite locations, direction of travel, contact info for local authorities (whether that be rangers or law enforcement), cell coverage? I believe anyone who does what I do should always do the same. Not only does it give peace of mind at home, but also God forbid something does happen. There may be a better chance of rescue if necessary.
This time i screwed up. I decided to go to my favorite place. I told her where and then made a critical mistake, I did not leave a new itinerary... In my mind I figured all was good. I was going to the same place I had been to dozens of times, I even texted her right before I lost cell coverage. Excited to get in the woods, it never crossed my mind that I had made an error.
The trail head was empty. There is only one place to access this particular trail. However, months ago I had reconned the area and stashed water supplies throughout the wilderness area. (It is not recommended to drink due to heavy metal contamination and you can't always count on rain). For some reason i decided not to park my truck at the trailhead. I knew there was an access road to a well that was never locked and figured i could park there and save myself a couple hours of hiking. So, I did.
Glorious was the best way to describe my initial hike in. Packed heavy for this trip at 80# I was slowly getting back into shape after several major surgeries. Part of my load was unnecessary; I wanted to test new gear and equipment and shoot some videos as well. Hot and sweaty I decided on a new spot to set up camp. Most times I disperse camp. meaning I am not at a designated camp spot within the national forest. this time was no different. A beautiful stream surrounded by mature sycamore trees. Far enough away to not get flooded, high enough to avoid the cooler air sinking to the valley bottom at night. Protected from the prevailing winds yet catching the backdraft off the mountain behind me to provide enough of a consistent breeze to help keep the bugs away. It was perfect.
I spent the afternoon setting up camp, gathered firewood and exploring the nearby area. It always amazes me how many species of trees are in this national forest. Everything from Oak to Beech. This little spot I will call home for the next several days is covered in Sycamore. Beautiful tall and very distinguished looking. Each tree has its own attributes. I have found that sycamore is great for bushcraft projects. Relatively strong and easy to work with axe and knife. You can make anything with this wood. (Note: I do not use green wood, nor do I cut down live trees unless I am on my property) I kindly ask you do the same. It is illegal on national park and forest land. and quite honestly it isn't necessary with all the dead and down timber.
My tarp I set up in a simple lean to. Strung between two trees using my rapid deploy ridgeline it literally takes a minute to set up. For me, the less time it takes to do camp chores like set up, the more time to relax and do the fun stuff like camp projects such as tripod for cooking, or a camp chair. Typically, I use a bedroll to sleep on, for this trip i had a self-inflating mat that I found on a clearance shelf at Fin Feather and Fur for $4.00. At the time I had little hope that it would last a season. Going on three years and even having pierced it with a tent peg on accident, still going strong. I use wool blankets for almost every trip and this one was no exception. Pathfinder queen size wool blankets are the bomb. Perfect for spring summer and early fall. I have found them to be durable, sized perfectly and lighter than most others. (I do use an Arcturus and pathfinder wool blanket combo for winter). My pillow is a flannel shirt stuffed with my extra socks, shirt and rolled up and arms tied together. While not perfect, it eliminates having to carry unnecessary items. That takes care of my basic sleeping needs. Shelter and bed protected from and insulated from the ground.
Fire, Water and Food are my next concerns. i had brought with me two gallons of water, part of adding weight to my pack for training, so I wasn't too concerned about that issue for today and tomorrow. Fire would be easy I was testing out one of my new products. JKSB Fireballz, using my proprietary wax and cotton blend this would be my first field testing outside of my controlled environment at the shop. I was confident with the product but wanted to try using flint and steel, a Fresnel lens and an ember from a Bow drill to ignite. While adding enough Fireballz to do adequate testing wasn't to much to ask since i was training and adding pack weight anyways. One pack of 7 weighs less than an ounce. Food however is always a concern and I always try to pack in a good meal for the first night. It is surprising how long you can leave meat unrefrigerated before cooking and still be good. Double wrap in butchers' paper and pack it deep in your pack it will stay cool for far longer than you think. Tonight's sides would be a potato cut into cubes with chopped onions and peppers with some beef tallow, all pan fried with the chopped steak in another field test item. a skeleday steel pan 7". I am sure some of you are wondering " what is beef tallow"? well, it is simply beef fat rendered down to remove impurities. It is shelf stable for quite a while and if refrigerated or frozen can last years. It is the other main ingredient when making Pemmican. Unless you add berries but that decreases the pemmican shelf life.
Life was good, I had no concerns and was enjoying my time in the woods. Little did i know that back home things were different. Having not heard from me for 10 hours and while not out of the ordinary I hadn't communicated that i was out of cell coverage. My wife was getting concerned.
As night fell I finished my camp dinner and cleaned my skillet. No bugs to deal with and the peepers were really starting to let loose with their incessant croaks. i drifted off to sleep.
Morning came and as the sun crested the ridgeline in front of me, its rays sprinkled to the forest floor in beautiful patterns of yellow and gold. Highlighting the occasional grass clump or section of bark on a sycamore. Nature was waking up and blessing me with all its glory. There is something to be said about an alarm clock of a gentle brook babbling away and the song of a chickadee. My day was filled with bushcraft chores and projects. Equipment and product testing. To say I was busy would be an understatement. Oblivious to the world, I continued on in my utter blissfully unaware existence to anything not in my two-hundred-yard circle of nature.
Home... By 4 p.m. the rangers had been notified that something might not be right. She wasn't sure where i was, and hadn't heard from me... They had no idea where to look. And frankly even if they found my truck somewhere it shouldn't have been, i was miles and miles away from it. They couldn't find me. This National Forest covers a quarter of a million acres of Appalachia. it's like finding a needle in a haystack, especially with no place to start a search.
I continued my " adventure " another night. In the morning I packed up and hiked back to my truck. Even there I had no cell coverage and it wasn't until 1 P.M. that i texted home. Still not a strong enough signal to call and losing text coverage for another hour. When her reply finally came through, I felt sick to my stomach. She had been worried to death that something had happened and had no way of knowing. People were looking for me and they didn't even know where to look. I was in deep shit...
It was a long ride home, knowing that I had scared the hell out of the one person in this world that I love more than life itself. The half of me that I value above myself I had put through hell. I was ashamed, irresponsible and sick.
I finally arrive home, dirt under my fingernails, mud on my boots still smelling like campfire smoke and half cooked onions and peppers. It was magical to hold her and feel the stress dissipate. Her request? figure out how to never let that happen again...
So, for all of you out there like me, who go off on "adventures" and sometimes forget. Don't make the mistake I made. Don't put your family through hell. Go get yourself a Garmin in-reach device or satellite phone. (I prefer the Garmin due to it having an Sos button). While not cheap, it honestly is a necessity for anyone in the backwoods.
As always " Keep your paddle wet and your powder dry."
J
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