Channel: sintax77

Category: People & Blogs

Tags: campingultralight backpackingpisgah national forestrain campinglinville gorge backpackingsolo campingbackpacking tripcamping in the rainrainytrailhammock campinglinville gorge campingcamping in rainrainnorth carolinasintax77hikingwild campinghammock camping in the rainhawksbill mountaincampbackpacking in the rainlinville gorgebackpacking in rainoutdoorsbackpackingsolo backpackinglinville gorge wildernessbad weather backpacking

Description: 3 days of Hammock Camping in the Rain & Solo Ultralight Backpacking in the Linville Gorge Wilderness. For this backpacking trip, I headed down to North Carolina's Pisgah National Forest for some hammock camping along the Linville River. The particular section of river I chose was surrounded by the Linville Gorge, the upper ridges of which stand an average of 1,400 feet above the river banks below. This terrain, combined with a dense network of unofficial trails without signage or switchbacks, and often uncrossable river, can make for some rather challenging and exciting hiking. Add in a forecast of fog and hiking in the rain, and you've got yourself a recipe for some true southern outdoors adventure. For an easier read, check out my full blog post: sintax77.com/lost-in-linville-gorge-hammock-camping-in-heavy-rain Despite the rain, my mid-June temp range for this trip was relatively warm at 70° - 48° or so. This allowed me to get my backpack's base weight down to around 9 lbs by leaving my puffy jacket, base layers, warmer hat, gloves etc at home. I simply packed a long sleeve shirt and a buff and used my rain gear for supplemental warmth at camp. I went with a fairly minimalist hammock camping setup for this trip. There are plenty of trees and fun unofficial campsite gems to be found in the Gorge that make ideal for hammocks. Water is obviously of minimal concern for the lower regions of the gorge. This allows you to save some weight on trails in those sections, but make sure to stock up when your route heads up towards the ridge. Especially if you're looking to camp in one the beautiful ridge side campsites up there. The extra planning and water weight is well worth the views. If planning your own trip, I would highly recommend visiting LinvilleGorge.net for maps, info and extensive GPS data including official and unofficial trails, campsites, water sources, etc. I did make an overlay map image that can be found on my blog post above. teespring.com/stores/sintax77-official-merch-store Trailhead Used: Linville Falls Visitor Center Trails Used, Day 1: Plunge Basin Trail Yoricks Trail Gulf Contour Trail Gulf Ridge Trail Gulf Ridge Connector Trail Hill Trail Red North Trail Brushy Ridge Trail Spur trail to Reference Rock for a view of the gorge Red South Trail Devils Cliff Trail Jonas Ridge Trail Hawksbill Trail Setup camp on the summit of Hawksbill Mountain This is a dry campsite. I saw a few campsites with room for a couple tents or hammocks in each one. Day 1 Mileage: 11 miles Day 1 Gross Elevation Gain: 3,613 feet Trails Used, Day 2: Ledge Trail Backtrack to Red South Trail Camp near the intersection of Red South and Brushy Ridge Trail Day 2 Mileage: 6.4 miles Day 2 Gross Elevation Gain: 2,613 feet Day 3: Continue to backtrack towards Linville Falls Day 3 Mileage: 5.1 miles Day 3 Gross Elevation Gain: 1,109 feet Grand Total Mileage: 22.5 Miles Grand Total Gross Elevation Gain: 7,335 feet Notable Backpacking Gear: Gregory Optic 48 Backpack, medium amzn.to/2zX0DGx Dutchware Gear Half-Wit Hammock dutchwaregear.com/product/half-wit-hammock Simply Light Designs Trail Winder Underquilt / Underquilt Protector simplylightdesigns.com/collections/wind-blockers-bug-nets/products/trail-winder-asym-uq Hammock Gear Burrow 40 Top Quilt hammockgear.com/premium-burrow Hammock Gear Dyneema Hex Tarp hammockgear.com/dyneema-fiber-hex-tarp DIY Cat Can Alcohol Stove amzn.to/2M3uRuG Vargo Windscreen Pot Stand amzn.to/2M3uRuG Toaks 750ml Titanium Pot amzn.to/2GR7AJX Sea to Summit Long Handled Spork go.magik.ly/ml/v9xv Katadyn BeFree Water Filter amzn.to/2WcjfYZ Outdoor Research Helium III Rain Jacket amzn.to/2BiSnB1 Outdoor Research Helium III Rain Pants amzn.to/2MkuI5F Outdoor Vitals Satu Adventure Pants satu-adventure-pants-comfort.kckb.st/sintax77 Outdoor Vitals Adventure Jacket, Loftek version bit.ly/2WHh940 Buff head wrap amzn.to/2NZoQ2y Adidas Terrex Swift R2 GTX Hiking Shoes amzn.to/2VUJ7KW Wright Socks (I love these for blister prevention, particularly in wet conditions). amzn.to/2XqbOSP Dutchware Sit Pad dutchwaregear.com/product/folding-sit-pad Nitecore NU25 Headlamp amzn.to/2YVsp0A Garmin Oregon 650 GPS unit amzn.to/2WFzsps Spot Gen3 GPS Messenger & SOS device amzn.to/2EJLQhC Casio ProTrek FR-30 Smartwatch amzn.to/3dtY7Xj Peak 2 Backpacking Meals (my fave was the Chicken Alredo) amzn.to/38CdYAV Mountain House Granola Breakfast amzn.to/2ZK95Sx Korean Coffee Sticks amzn.to/2VXijcS Oria Digital Thermometer amzn.to/3dqi54M FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through some of my links. Free Stickers sintax77.com/free-stickers