Rainy Weekend on the Chatoogah

[Str1der]

I spent another weekend along the Chattooga with some college buddies from SC. We parked at Burrell’s Ford and hiked in about a mile or so to our favorite site with its own "private" beach on the river. "Private" because lots of other people like to use that beach too, but when this week's group was comprised of five college girls, we didn't mind too much .

It threatened rain all day Friday but didn't actually start until we had packed in about half way. We double-timed it to the site and strung up tarps only to have the rain cease. C'est la vie. We set up camp, started a fire and I prepared dinner, which was a modified version of Babblefish5's burrito recipe. Good eats! It rained almost all of Friday night, but I enjoyed the sounds high and dry in my WBBB under my BMJ. It was the maiden voyage for the BMJ, and I must say that it's a keeper! I woke up once during the night when I heard my fellow campers scurrying to get under tarps and to move the tents to higher ground. I smiled to myself and turned over to go back to sleep. I was too comfortable to care.

The rain finally broke around 9am on Saturday, so we cooked breakfast and tried to decide what to do with the day. It was still severely overcast, so we decided to stay close to camp and swim in the river. We spent the morning lounging around the river, relaxing, and just enjoying the woods. I found it nice to not have an agenda or schedule demanding my attention. The clouds finally began to part around mid day, so we changed into hiking attire and hiked out to Kings Creek Falls, making a short detour on the way back to see Spoon Auger Falls. The former was well worth the hike. The latter was rather unimpressive, but it was only a few hundred feet or so off the trail so why not?

Saturday night the clouds fully broke and a full moon greeted us along with a barrage of stars. My friend cooked beef stew and rice with cornbread. I discovered that a little bit of dry lemonade powder makes for a very enjoyable camp drink in warm weather and can make a good mixer also if one is so inclined. I slept like a log again that night, although this time without the pitter pattering of rain drops on my tarp.

Over-all, this was an excellent trip, and I learned a few things about my gear.
1. Although a properly vented winter Incubator can serve just fine in warm nights, a proper summer uq would be far less bulk and weight.
2. My unzipped sleeping bag is a fine tq, but a REAL tq would help me to further reduce bulk/weight.
3. The BMJ is definitely a keeper!
4. I need a backpacking stove so we're not forced to cook on the campfire. The campfire makes for...um...difficulties when it rains.
5. I normally wouldn't be caught dead in them, but a pair of Crocs would make ideal camp shoes. I may end up biting that bullet.
6. I need a small pad to use as a seat cushion and foot insulation for my future partial uq. Any suggestions?

[Pipsissewa]

5. I normally wouldn't be caught dead in them, but a pair of Crocs would make ideal camp shoes. I may end up biting that bullet.

HA! Don't worry about making a fashion statement in camp! Good report. Any pictures? Thanks for posting a nice narrative.

[OutandBack]

Over-all, this was an excellent trip, and I learned a few things about my gear.
1. Although a properly vented winter Incubator can serve just fine in warm nights, a proper summer uq would be far less bulk and weight.
2. My unzipped sleeping bag is a fine tq, but a REAL tq would help me to further reduce bulk/weight.
3. The BMJ is definitely a keeper!
4. I need a backpacking stove so we're not forced to cook on the campfire. The campfire makes for...um...difficulties when it rains.
5. I normally wouldn't be caught dead in them, but a pair of Crocs would make ideal camp shoes. I may end up biting that bullet.
6. I need a small pad to use as a seat cushion and foot insulation for my future partial uq. Any suggestions?

I enjoyed reading your report and lessons learned. I to have come to many of the same conclusions as you.
I started out with basic gear them progressed to big, heavy, and warm only to realize this is a ton of heavy bulky
stuff to get in the pack.
Finding that right balance of protection, warmth and weight is a challenge. Thank goodness the gear is out there.

[Str1der]

HA! Don't worry about making a fashion statement in camp! Good report. Any pictures? Thanks for posting nice narrative.

Thanks. I didn't bring a camera, but one of my friends did. I'll have to see if I can get a hold of the pictures, although most of them are of Kings Creek Falls.

I enjoyed reading your report and lessons learned. I to have come to many of the same conclusions as you.
I started out with basic gear them progressed to big, heavy, and warm only to realize this is a ton of heavy bulky
stuff to get in the pack.
Finding that right balance of protection, warmth and weight is a challenge. Thank goodness the gear is out there.

Thank goodness indeed! I just started a massive DIY project to make a summer uq, summer tq, and 3-season tq. If I can settle on a sit pad and camp stove (looking at the Bushbuddy), I'll have most of the important items covered. Of course, then the endless tinkering takes over.....

[Shug]

I have been using THIS as a sit pad and I put it in my TQ footbox as insulation. I get condensation with a GG pad on the outside of my TQ footbox...but I never do with this.
Like it slightly inflated and like to squish it between my heels.
Shug

[Man Scout]

Over-all, this was an excellent trip, and I learned a few things about my gear.
1. Although a properly vented winter Incubator can serve just fine in warm nights, a proper summer uq would be far less bulk and weight.
2. My unzipped sleeping bag is a fine tq, but a REAL tq would help me to further reduce bulk/weight.
3. The BMJ is definitely a keeper!
4. I need a backpacking stove so we're not forced to cook on the campfire. The campfire makes for...um...difficulties when it rains.
5. I normally wouldn't be caught dead in them, but a pair of Crocs would make ideal camp shoes. I may end up biting that bullet.
6. I need a small pad to use as a seat cushion and foot insulation for my future partial uq. Any suggestions?

Hey Wako,

I think I hiked past your camp on Sunday morning. We had also hiked a loop near the Chattooga over the weekend (Friday night to Sunday morning). The weather was MUCH cooler than what I was expecting for South Carolina in the middle of July. The rainy overcast weather was quite welcome by me.

This trip was my maiden voyage for my Fancee Feast alcohol stove and my DIY Jerry Chair. They both worked beautifully! I highly recommend them both. I use the same thermarest sit pad that Shug recommended. It works fantastically in the footbox of my sleeping bag (used as a quilt) and also in my Jerry Chair. My crocs were also a treat to slip into after hiking 12 miles on Saturday.

[Str1der]

The weather was MUCH cooler than what I was expecting for South Carolina in the middle of July. The rainy overcast weather was quite welcome by me.

Hi, Scout. I definitely agree with you about the weather. That was far cooler than I had expected also, but you didn't hear any complaints coming from us!

I use the same thermarest sit pad that Shug recommended. It works fantastically in the footbox of my sleeping bag (used as a quilt) and also in my Jerry Chair.

Thanks. Shug's seal of approval is just about all I need to give a new piece of gear a try, and if other forum members also agree, that's just gravy! What is this chair you speak of?

[NewtonGT]

dang I missed it haha. Im at burrells ford almost every other weekend. its my summer spot for sure. and like someone said about a catstove. you can make a really cheap alcohol stove for the price of two soda cans and cook off that. its superlightweight. when you say beach do you mean the spot with big stone seats around the fire?

[Str1der]

when you say beach do you mean the spot with big stone seats around the fire?

Yup! It has a sandy beach just upstream from a bend in the river.

I really like the idea of the Bushbuddy because I'm a huge fan of wood burning in general, so why not in my stove? Although, a compact alcohol stove to pair with it in rainy conditions would likely be prudent.

[NewtonGT]

Yup! It has a sandy beach just upstream from a bend in the river.

I really like the idea of the Bushbuddy because I'm a huge fan of wood burning in general, so why not in my stove? Although, a compact alcohol stove to pair with it in rainy conditions would likely be prudent.

yea I was lookin into the emberlit stove for my wood burnin needs. I just think you cant beat sitting under the tarp with an alcohol stove. but alot of the time me and my friends will make a fire if we are at somewhere like burrells ford. and again I still think we need to get a hang going down there!