[at-l] WAS Off List: Trail access question.

[astrogirl at aol.com (Nicole Markee)]

I've been chatting with Steve Adams about some arcane trail access 
questions for SNP (non-AT trails), and when I started talking about my 
shake-out camp-out on a local hill this Friday night, we strayed back 
into list territory.  I camped in the open high meadow south of VA55 
before County Rd 638 and Denton Shelter.  It's my very favorite spot 
near my home, and I hike up that mountain every couple of weeks because 
I adore that meadow and think it's just beautiful.

I have a new pack, a Gossamer, and as a result I have cut my Z-Rest to 
8 sections.  This was, I thought, a big sacrifice for me, but it wasn't 
too bad.  I was really afraid I'd freeze my tail off.  I also wanted to 
see if I was forgetting something I needed.  I did, of course, but it 
wasn't a deal-killer and it's now been noted.  (vitamin I, toothpaste 
was dried out and wouldn't exit tube, need fresh saline, watch battery 
was dead)

I use a Nunatak Backcountry Blanket to which I had added some more fill 
(I've had it for a couple of years and I'm used to what it can and 
can't do).  It weighs about 24 oz.  I cannot remember how much fill I 
had added at this point.  I sleep on my belly, which really changes 
one's sleeping bag requirements -- believe me.  My car, at road level 
(and I camped 700 feet over that) was covered with so much frost that I 
had to scrape it off all the windows to drive it.  The grass in the 
meadow on the mountain was frosted over, and I was not cold.  I was not 
a toasty cinnamon bun, but I was warm *enough* that the cold didn't 
wake me up or keep me from sleeping.  I wore my polar fleece, and most 
important, a fleece hat.

I pitched my tarp with a single pole and no tree for a tie off.  This 
is a big step for me, as I had previously needed a tree, but now I can 
do it with just the pole.  Yay.

A picture of my campsite is here:  
http://www.astrogirl.com/tarp_in_meadow_sm.jpg

Yes, that tarp is huge :) (8x10, 14 oz).  I love that about it.  I 
carry a mosquito net , but there was not a bug to be seen up there.

I'm doing Erwin to Damascus the first week in May, and I have a 
question for locals:  are the trees going to be leafed out down there?  
some of  ours here have proto-leaves and some are still not leafed.  I 
ask for reasons of sunscreen.  I'm a fair-skinned blond, and if the 
trees are all naked, I really need to take that into consideration.

I still don't have my Damascus to Erwin shuttle lined up.  I'm planning 
to stop at Dennis Cove Rd, and I hope to get a shuttle form Kincorra or 
Laurel Creek Lodge and leave a box there with supplies for the last bit 
of the trip. What do you guys think?  Kincorra or Laurel Creek?  I know 
this shuttle is going to run me some $$$, but I figure that backpacking 
is still a pretty cheap vacation.  I'll probably make phone calls 
tomorrow, so any advice is welcome.

-Nicole