unsystematic

25 Feb 2009

Hiking and camping Mount Mitchell

This past weekend I went hiking and camping with a group of friends, one of which being one of my best friends Melissa. We went to Mt. Mitchell, which just so happens to be the highest peak east of the Mississippi River, which was a pretty daunting thought the days leading up to the hike.

I arrived in Charlotte – a 3.5 hour drive from my apartment in Athens – around 6:45pm and unpacked and repacked equipment with part of the team. After getting our effects together, packed up, we took a trip to REI to purchase any last minute articles such as S-biners, socks, and headlamps. Then it was dinner at the adjacent food court in the mall. McAlisters Deli.

We went back to the house and picked up Melissa’s pup, Breanna, a 8-year old fun-loving dog who’d be accompanying us on the trip and then were on our way to basecamp, two and a half hours away in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. It was dark by this time and the last leg of the trip was up the mountain in extreme curves (we’re talking near-180s) and down a long dirt path to the basecamp parking lot.

There we set up camp in relative darkness, the light being only our LED headlamps and the soft glow of the fire and settled in for the night. Temperatures dropped into the teens that night and our water bottles had frozen over. Spit turned to ice not too shortly after leaving the mouth and water began to freeze as soon as it was melted.

Having overslept the next morning we ate frozen Krispy Kremes, warmed over campfire, made freshly ground coffee, and packed up camp for the trek up the mountain. My pack contained a tent, a blanket, a sleeping pad, four liters of water and other small knick knacks, and on a fresh pair of legs wasn’t terribly heavy.

At close to 11am we had begun the 2.5 mile hike to the location where we’d set up camp for the night. It was cold, but hiking with well insulated clothing made us hot really quick. To prevent freezing later while sweat evaporated from our clothes we took off outer layers.

A few hours later we arrived at our camp location, which was a nice little grove with a fire pit made by a previous group. We pitched the tents and began collecting firewood for the cold night ahead. Unfortunately, due to our late start we didn’t have time to follow through the original plan of setting up camp, hiking to the summit and then back to camp before darkness fell. So we decided to just spend time enjoying each others’ company around the campfire.

For lunch we military MRE’s and Lunchables, and drank water and alcohol we had secretly kept in flasks. We spent a considerable amount of time gathering firewood, by chopping fallen hardwoods. One particular stump gave all the men a good bit of grief, but we finally got it. And it was a good thing too, because that one log lasted through the snowy night and into the morning.

Yes, I said snowy. That night, after both the flask of whiskey and the flask of rum were polished off, we made our way to our respective tents. All was quiet until the early morning hours.

Among the (imagined?) footsteps and rummaging outside of the tent, snow began to fall with little “tinks” on the outer shell of the tent. Breanna later squirmed as she needed to use the bathroom, and I took her out, but was sure to make it a fast trip. Unfortunately I forgot to zip up the outer shell door so snow and ice came in sideways and dusted our equipment and shoes, but being that it was so cold it shook off without leaving wetness.

In the morning, amid the snow and ice, we rebuilt the fire, made more coffee, and enjoyed oatmeal and watery (rehydrated) eggs and bacon. Afterwards we packed up camp and decided that with the bad weather, the summit would be best viewed from the windows of a vehicle and we headed back down the mountain.

A few hours later we were down and unpacking our gear into the vehicles and ready to make our way up to the summit until our plans were foiled by a road block and a sign denoting the closing of roads due to bad weather. What’s left but a stop at Waffle House and a two-hour drive back home.

I’ve been camping before but this trip was by far my favorite, and not only because of said company, but because of the challenge of it all. It felt … extreme, and in some ways I guess it kind of was. And in fact, I’ll be investing in my own equipment so weekends in the wilderness won’t require much more than tossing equipment into the back of the car.