Went hiking with a friend this past weekend over at Cloudland Canyon in north west Georgia. The weather was awesome. Highs in the 60's, lows at 39.
Prior to the trip I bought a 9.5x12 Chinook tarp, and Walmart blue pad. My setup consists of a Dutch bridge, no sew PLUQ, and a 0 degree (more properly rated for 15-20) el cheapo sleeping bag.
The drive up was spectacular. Clear skies and I could see the rising mountain VERY far away.
We got there around lunch. We set up in the primitive area campsites. They are located on a 2 mile loop trail. We only had to hike in about 3/4 mile though. We got camp setup and fixed lunch.
My friends' tent...
My setup....
After lunch we set out for the waterfalls. This was the view from the East Rim before we descended to the falls.
Falls #1
Falls #2
The foliage colors were quite brilliant...
After the falls I decided we should head back to camp to make sure that we could get a fire going as the temp was falling quickly. The wind picked up just before I went to bed and with it it was COLD. Temps only said 40's and wind gusting to 10. I'm here to tell you it was atleast 20 mph. It was howling like crazy!
On my setup I had left a small (1 foot) gap to the ground. Well around midnight I awoke and adjusted it down tight to the ground and closed in the ends. Once I did that I was a happy camper. I awoke several times to do my business but instantly fell back asleep. That bridge is OH SO COMFY!
The blue pad and PLUQ combo kept me nice and warm all night. In fact I had to shed clothes as I was sweating at one point.
Me sleeping away...
The next morning we awoke, broke camp and headed to the west rim loop. The views were nothing short of breath taking.
All in all an awesome trip. It is now one of my new favorite places to go.
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