Gear Check Out Hike

I’ve gone round and round on my gear this year. I have several tents, but they’re 3-person tents and I’m solo hiking now that Bunny and I are divorced. It was actually Bunny who convinced me to splurge and buy the new tent–“It’s your home. This is where you’re going to live (for the rest of your life).” So, I did buy the Z-packs duplex. I still haven’t found the tent of my dreams. If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.

I opted to combine my checkout hikes with my swing through the South visiting family and remaining friends. I’ve made a discovery that when someone tells you they aren’t taking sides in your divorce, that means they aren’t taking YOUR side.

This also gave me the opportunity to allow my brother-in-law some freedom in his own home (“spread the wealth of my presence” is what people I’m currently with, always tell me). When I got back from last year’s trip through Europe, I had intended to continue living in Decatur until my dad died. I just never thought he would only live for a couple of months after I returned. By no means do I consider it a bad thing to be out of Decatur, I just wasn’t expecting my exodus to happen so quickly. I stayed long enough to reconnect with a few friends from growing up, meet a new group of drinking buddies through my cousin, and settle up my dad’s estate.

First up on my journey was a trip through the Smokies. It was much easier to drive to Klingman’s Dome than the way I’ll be getting there the next two times I visit it. I stopped by the backcountry office and secured a couple of nights on the NC side of the park.

I planned a short 22 mile loop with 2 nights of camping. It gave me the opportunity to find any issues with my set up and gave me the opportunity to hang my first bear bag of the year. The only problems I had were not gear related. 1) I’m too fat. I’ve put on almost 30# since my dad died. And, 2) I was too hot–the hair must go (what whisps of it there are still remaining).

I made it back to my car on the third day just in time to avoid the rain. I don’t really feel a need to verify my rain protection at this point. I’m confident that my umbrella works just fine. The rain did help provide some smoke which the area is known for.

A few days later, after my niece in Charleston kicked me out of her house, I headed to Savannah, Georgia. I wanted to try camping on Tybee Island, but they wanted $60 to pitch my tent in a campground. Skidaway Island State Park which sits on a nearby island turned out to be more to my liking.

The state park sits on the outer side of the intracoastal waterway. During prohibition, the land the park occupies was home to 16 stills. Before that, it was an outpost during the Civil War with earthen fortifications still visible.

I spent an awkward night out in the “Pioneer Camping” area. The reason it was awkward to me is that I have not camped in alligator area before. The campsite I chose was between a couple of ponds. I kept hearing loud crashing noises throughout the night. Every time I did, I thought an alligator had emerged from the pond and was going to check out my campsite.

In the morning, I heard the same crashing sounds and was able to identify the culprits. It was squirrels jumping around in the palm fronds which are quite stiff and make a deep smacking sound. The next time I camp in alligator area, I’ll be prepared. (In my defense, there are more than 5 million alligators in the southeastern US and I’m sure I appear quite tasty with the extra fat I’m sporting.)

I had plenty of time to kill. I wasn’t supposed to get to my brother’s house in the Everglades until friday and it was only Wednesday. I made use of the time to walk all the trails in the state park. I didn’t get much training on elevation climbs–my total walk was about 7 miles with a total elevation gain of 6′ (3 of which can be attributed to my tripping).

Rather than stay a second night and have a long drive on Thursday, I opted to head down to cental Florida and try my luck with a new, more dangerous setting. I was no longer afraid of alligators, so I was ready for the next step–rednecks with guns who hate yankees. I was heading to the swamps of Ocala.

I just wanted to spend another night out. I just did a short 4 mile out, camp, and 4 mile back to the car. I chose this area because I wanted to test my confidence with my new friend the alligator. The area was supposed to be filled with ponds, but they were all dried up. I stayed an uneventful night without incident although, there was a surprising amount of elevation gain on this hike. At one point, I came to a rather large descent where I could look in front of me and see the middle of the trees instead of the base. I didn’t know Florida had elevations in the tens of feet.

EFG