First Trip! Oak Mountain State Park! 03/10/2012
I finally went on my first trip! My back is killing me today more than 24 hours later, but it was totally worth the trip. I learned a lot about what else I need, what I don't need, and how out of shape I am!
We just did one night (Saturday) at Oak Mountain State Park here in Alabama about an 40 minutes South of Birmingham. When we arrived we went to the office to check in. We heard some guys talking about back country site #2 or #4 being the best - right by a stream, tucked away - so I blurted out, "We want 4!" and off we went. We decided to go the hard way: the white trail in, and then the yellow trail out. The white trail is almost all uphill going in from the North Trail-head where we started. Our first break was on the way up.
I'm the one w/ the red face and the black glasses. lol. I was huffing and puffing up the hill w/ my probably over-weight pack. lol.
We ventured on. On the way up the hill Kevin bends over and picks up the sole of a shoe that apparently became detached from some unlucky hikers boot. We all had a quick laugh saying something along the lines of, "sucks to be that guy!" and keep going.
Our map showed our tent spot as being on the yellow-white connector trail, right before where it crosses over the horse and bike trail. When we reached the crossing without seeing the marker, we assumed we missed it, went back up the hill, and finally decided that maybe the marker had fallen, and this spot seemed like a prime one. Thus we set up camp, and dinner!
We had gone to our local outfitter (Mountain High Outfitters) here in Birmingham and purchased some of the freeze-dried-ready-to-cook deals. We purchased "chicken stew" and "teriyaki chicken". The chicken stew was okay, but I won't be going for any more teriyaki...
Then all of a sudden, Kevin picks up ANOTHER sole! It's the other sole from the poor guy who lost his shoe along the trail earlier. We're cracking up about how this guy had apparently taken the same route we did when Kevin shouts, "Note to self! Don't buy GBX boots!". John say, "Wait a minute.....I have GBX boots".....pause.....John:"Crap! I have no soles on my shoes!!!" I literally couldn't stop laughing. Apparently he had hiked approximately 3 miles on one sole to lose the other at camp. Luckily whatever was underneath his sole was able to get him out of the woods without needing to utilize our tape.
That night we set up for a few hands of cards, some quality conversation, and a little bit of heckling on Kevin, the youngster of the group.
We never lost signal, so yes there was some texting home to the women-folk, as well as watching some rather impolite youtube videos...
The next morning, the view was awesome! I'm sure you guys have been to way cooler places, but after saving up and collecting gear for over a year, my sense of accomplishment made this quite a site to see.
Dunno why, but I snapped a shot of my new black diamond lantern. It did exactly what I wanted it to do, which was to light up my tent from the inside for us to hang out without shooting each other in the eyes with headlamps...
At first, it was a bit chilly (probably 42 degrees or so). I know some of you will laugh at that number, but here the the dirty south - that's nipply. I tried out my icebreaker cap.
We had some breakfast, packed up, and headed out; not the way we came though. We were going to loop back another trail, the yellow trail. We went past the where the yellow-white connector crossed the horse trail expecting to be jetted to the right, and instead the trail went left. We went on down to find that apparently the map had changed, and there was more than one trail crossing on the yellow-white connector. Apparently, the two guys that had wanted the "best" site had passed us, seeing us in the wrong spot, and promptly relocated themselves to tent-site #4! I was SO mad! But, it wasn't too big of a deal as we still had a blast, and now we have a reason to come back!
We carried on, and came across a dam...with boats in it.
We hiked the rest of the way out talking almost constantly about our next trip - hopefully no more than a few weeks away. We plan to come in the park from the other side, and somehow FIND TENT SITE #4!
A special thanks to a good friend of mine. This trip wouldn't have been possible if not for him.
Hopefully I'll have more to come!
Wes
We just did one night (Saturday) at Oak Mountain State Park here in Alabama about an 40 minutes South of Birmingham. When we arrived we went to the office to check in. We heard some guys talking about back country site #2 or #4 being the best - right by a stream, tucked away - so I blurted out, "We want 4!" and off we went. We decided to go the hard way: the white trail in, and then the yellow trail out. The white trail is almost all uphill going in from the North Trail-head where we started. Our first break was on the way up.
I'm the one w/ the red face and the black glasses. lol. I was huffing and puffing up the hill w/ my probably over-weight pack. lol.
We ventured on. On the way up the hill Kevin bends over and picks up the sole of a shoe that apparently became detached from some unlucky hikers boot. We all had a quick laugh saying something along the lines of, "sucks to be that guy!" and keep going.
Our map showed our tent spot as being on the yellow-white connector trail, right before where it crosses over the horse and bike trail. When we reached the crossing without seeing the marker, we assumed we missed it, went back up the hill, and finally decided that maybe the marker had fallen, and this spot seemed like a prime one. Thus we set up camp, and dinner!
We had gone to our local outfitter (Mountain High Outfitters) here in Birmingham and purchased some of the freeze-dried-ready-to-cook deals. We purchased "chicken stew" and "teriyaki chicken". The chicken stew was okay, but I won't be going for any more teriyaki...
That night we set up for a few hands of cards, some quality conversation, and a little bit of heckling on Kevin, the youngster of the group.
The next morning, the view was awesome! I'm sure you guys have been to way cooler places, but after saving up and collecting gear for over a year, my sense of accomplishment made this quite a site to see.
Dunno why, but I snapped a shot of my new black diamond lantern. It did exactly what I wanted it to do, which was to light up my tent from the inside for us to hang out without shooting each other in the eyes with headlamps...
We had some breakfast, packed up, and headed out; not the way we came though. We were going to loop back another trail, the yellow trail. We went past the where the yellow-white connector crossed the horse trail expecting to be jetted to the right, and instead the trail went left. We went on down to find that apparently the map had changed, and there was more than one trail crossing on the yellow-white connector. Apparently, the two guys that had wanted the "best" site had passed us, seeing us in the wrong spot, and promptly relocated themselves to tent-site #4! I was SO mad! But, it wasn't too big of a deal as we still had a blast, and now we have a reason to come back!
We carried on, and came across a dam...with boats in it.
We hiked the rest of the way out talking almost constantly about our next trip - hopefully no more than a few weeks away. We plan to come in the park from the other side, and somehow FIND TENT SITE #4!
A special thanks to a good friend of mine. This trip wouldn't have been possible if not for him.
Hopefully I'll have more to come!
Wes
Yes, there are lots of great places to hike. Oak Mountain is great because she is close by. When your busy schedule and pesky job won't allow you to go anywhere else, she'll be there. I went hiking there in 1989 and didn't leave until 2001 She gave me lifelong friendship, loyalty and love. She sent me on to greater adventures.
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