Made it out to The Deam Wilderness Area, for probably my last trip this season, (I usually don't do the summer heat and humidity). This trip had plenty of both, and outside of the Black Gnats, the Permethrin treatment and a light application to exposed skin with Deet did the trick for the most part. No bites, no ticks.
I knew this was to be a quick in and out, due to the family schedules and such, but still wanted to make a few miles as the primary function. Wear my butt out spend the night and get back to Indy by noon. Forecast- Hot Humid, High of 80, possible T-storms. No problem. Pretty much the weather every day for the rest of the summer
Arrived at the Fire Tower parking lot at 7am, nice cool hiking for a few hours. I decided to start the Sycamore Branch Trail counter clockwise, getting off of the maintained fire trail asap. Passed the turn off for CV2, and realized I had never explored Campsite #2, so I did. Located a short distance down a side trail, and across a small branch, typical large fire ring, and the forest service has built stone tables and log benches, like they have at Campsite #4. Many side trails off of the main area for dispersed camping and plenty of trees, but smells like a latrine. Time to move on!
At this point I decided to back track a few steps and visit CV2, just to see how thing are over there, and it didn't disappoint. Very clean. Almost pristine. Seriously nice job Hoosier HFr's. After lollygagging by the fire pit a bit, I took a look at the map and started the real part of the hike, right up the spur in front of me, picking my way through the brush and dead falls, until I managed to find the wildlife pond near the top of the ridge. I circled the frog puddle, finding an over grown trail leading away from it and almost immediately hooked up with the old E/W forest trail, beautifully overgrown and unmaintained. Lots of close areas, and deadfalls to make your way around, but easy clear hiking, that parallels the SBT.(You can see it on the Sat Maps). I followed it west until meeting up with the Terrill Ridge Trail (It's behind the small stockpile of stone a 100' feet or so south of the north intersection of the TRT and SBT.) I was pretty happy to finally find a way to eliminate the dreaded fire trail hoofing!
Following a short celebratory pack off break, I walked the few remaining feet of the fire trail, and turned off onto the north section of the SBT. A couple miles of ridge walk left me at a nice breezy over look down into deep dark Jones Hollow, with a nice slab of limestone beside the trail for a dinner table/observation deck. After walking back into the woods a short way into the mature Loblolly Pine plantation, I decided this would be a nice place to hang out for a bit and accommodated that notion. Messed with some Dutch Bling and threw the Toxaway up just in time to avoid a little storm, cooled off and took a nap. Got up after couple hours and light showers, fixed dinner and checked my phone for the time, found I had a signal, called home and of course found out I would need to head back instead of spend the night. Or in other words spend a fair portion of the night hiking out. That actually suited me ok. I'd made camp a bit early for me, and daylight was burning, so I pulled stakes and hit the trail. Everything was fine and I was sailing along, even managed to make Sycamore hollow before dark and head up stream.
This was a fine walk, and I like hiking at night when it's warm, of course this is also where it really got to be great fun. Just as it became dark enough to turn on my headlamp, with little more warning than a distant rumble of thunder, the sky just opened up. Lets just call it a genuine Gulley Washer, and when the trail guide says some sections of the SBT may be muddy or completely under water in wet seasons, it really means the entire section in the hollow. After stepping behind a tree or two to avoid debris being driven by horizontal rain(not sure how that's even possible between two steep ridges like that, but it does) I proclaimed, with a shout, how glad I was to be doing this one solo, so no one had to be miserable seeing just how insanely I was enjoying myself losing the trail at every creek crossing, until I realized I just needed to pick the shallow creek, because by then, everything was flowing water. By the time I made the switchbacks at the far end of the hollow, I kept stopping at each level, and turned off my head lamp, to watch the hollow below me light up when lightening would flash. Each time I turned the light back on heavy fog was welling up from below, like it was following me out.
The last mile and a half is mostly ridge walk, but it began raining harder again, so much of that section was flowing or standing with water too (I smiled remembering walking around a few muddy wet spots earlier in the day). I would have hated getting caught out under conditions like this, with another who didn't have the capacity to just get wet and appreciate the fury and wonder of such events.
As for Gear, Everything that was inside my roll top dry bag stayed perfectly dry, and everything else only got a little damp. I was fully externally hydrated. Mileage, heck I don't know the SBT is 6 or 7 miles in a loop, plus or minus the off trail bushwhack, last 4 or so, without a real trail break, why stop? So much funs.
When I rolled in the drive way right at midnight, Anita was up and apologetic, saying she knew from the weather map I'd had to of hiked through the storm. I answered with a grin, "Was I in the yellow?" She just looked at me a shook her head, "No, Red". I just grinned bigger.
Oh yeah, no real pics to speak of, so I guess none of this really happened. Just one of my tarp and hammock set up and one of Jones Hollow from the hammock. They would only be misleading.
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