GetBackpacking! Intermediate Skills: Wilson Creek

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Welcome to the first of our Advanced Backpacking Skills weekend trips scheduled for summer 2017. All trips are Friday afternoon through mid-afternoon Sunday, and focus on different skills. Each class is limited to 12 participants. These are not boot-camp type classes: we’ll practice specific backcountry skills, but the overriding goal is what it always is on a backpack trip: have fun!

The classes are:

Wilson Creek: July 28-30. Skills: water crossings, setting up camp at night. (See below for a more detailed account.)
Linville Gorge: August 25-27. Skills: water crossings, navigating a wilderness area. (See GetBackpacking! Advanced Skills: Linville Gorge entry.)
Pisgah National Forest, location tbd: September 15-17. Skills: solo backpacking (See GetBackpacking! Advanced Skills: Going Solo entry)

For this, our first session:

Wilson Creek Backpack Trip

Skills: water crossings, setting up camp in the dark

Agenda:

Friday

Noon Carpool departs from Durham

2:30 p.m. Arrive Morganton

3:30 - 4 p.m. Arrive Hunt-Fish Falls trailhead, Wilson Creek

We’ll hike in the 0.8 miles to Hunt-Fish falls, then continue down Lost Cove Creek Trail 0.4 miles to our campsite, a flat area beneath a hardwood canopy that can accommodate at least 30 tents. We’ll set up camp, then head back up to the Hunt-Fish Falls pool for R&R.

Saturday

10 a.m. We’ll leave camp and, in daypacks, head down Little Lost Cove Creek to it’s confluence with Gragg Prong. We’ll hike up Timber Ridge Trail, then return to the upper reaches of Gragg Prong via the Lost Cove Trail. We’ll have several water crossings on our descent down Lost Cove Trail, and take some time to explore the pools and falls along the way.

In places, the trail is eroded, in other places it is steep, rocky and rooty. We will work on balance, situation evaluation, good judgement and patience. At our main stopping point I counted three drops and six pools. Expect four significant (knee-high water) crossings along the way. Hike distance: 6 miles

4 p.m. We will head back to camp, have dinner, break camp and hike back up to the Hunt-Fish Falls trailhead. We will drive 4 miles up FR 464 to the Big Lost Cove Trailhead.

7 p.m. Begin hiking 1.7 miles to campsite

8 p.m. Arrive at camp. Enjoy sunset.

8:30 p.m. Set up camp. In the dark.

Sunday

9 a.m. Depart campsite

10 a.m. Back to trailhead

10:30 a.m. Optional hike to South Harper Falls

1 p.m. Off the trail, on the road

For this trip, you'll also receive:

• eguide, including: Maps and elevation profiles of the three days hikes, descriptions of each hike, with mileages, overview of the trip, with key logistic information What is a “Wilderness Study Area”? Gear Guide: What, specifically, you need for a water-based backpack trip: recommended footwear, hiking/swim trunks, quick dry tops, day pack, sunscreen, bug spray, etc.

• Quick-dry camp towel for continually drying off after creek crossings

•There will be a planning meeting for this trip on Wednesday, July 26 at 6:30 p.m. at the Great Outdoor Provision Co. in Raleigh's Cameron Village.

Class size is capped at 12.

Cost: $75