Trip Review
George Latham Trail--Woodridge Wildlife Area—USACE—Clinton Lake, Kansas
Being in dire need of some tree-therapy, I decided (with approval from the boss) on an impromptu overnight solo-hang. The forecast was for clear skies, low winds from the south, with a predicted overnight-low in the low-to-mid 40’s (°F). So eager to go, my gear seemingly packed itself. Rubber hit the road, and I arrived on-site around 1400 to find nearly all of the trailhead campsites bustling with scouts, families, college kids, and the assorted group of weirdoes.
I headed counter-clockwise around the George Lathan [Latham] Trail. 20161008_181006.jpg Woodridge trailhead area is a great spot--especially for cold-weather car-camping style trips. Woodridge is open 365 days a year; there is a frost-free spigot near the vault toilets (also the tornado shelter). There are no camping fees; and beautiful rolling wooded-trail to explore; and few occasional brave-hearted souls enjoying the unpredictable Kansas winter clime (-10°F - +70°F). Woodridge Pocket Map.jpg
Survey in the hills, and woods I decided on a location to leave the well-worn trail and bush-whack to find a hang-site previously undiscovered. Much the infamous Kansas spikey undergrowth has begun to fall back, so the 15-20 minutes I spent meandering searching for a safe and interesting hang-site wasn’t very brutal. The rules out there that if you practice leave-no-trace and set up your camp 100 feet off the trail—you are all good. By doing so, the abundant standing deadfall makes firewood collection a non-issue.
After setting up my Warbonnet Superfly (MARPAT); diy single-layer 2.2 oz. /yd. “blackbird clone”; JRB 20°F/40°F torso-UQ/TQ; hanging my food bag; staging JetBoil Flash Ti/coffee, and stashing my ÜLA CDT on my 2 ft. by 3 ft. housewrap floor mat. I sighted-out a clearing just large enough to have an extremely modest fire—mostly burning sticks about twice the size of squirrel leg (international unit of measure).
As soon as the sun went down the night’s chill set right in. I enjoyed a MH (chicken and dumpling) and some fruit snacks before “hiker midnight” drew me into my rig. The night was crisp and clear. To my great misfortune—from off in the distance I could hear someone butchering some unrecognizable contemporary-folk song. I blocked the sound and drifted off to la-la land without too much adjustment/wiggling.
I was awoken a bit earlier that I had wished—but that worked out to be my great fortune. I leapt from my hammock as crunching crashing woodland sounds surrounded me. I unknowingly set up the day before near some wild turkey superhighway. There had to be 10-15 of the buggers skittering around apparently as startled to see me as I was them.
After some requisite coffee and oatmeal packets, I fiddle-farted around with my setup for a while, made some “lunch” and bugged out. Most of the campers/vehicles around the trailhead were gone by the time I had reached my vehicle.
Most of the campers/vehicles around the trailhead were gone by the time I had reached my vehicle.
Lesson Learned: Not enough tree time.
Here is a link to a funny (in my mind) review from my trip:
[Warning: You cannot have ^this 4:34 of your life back]
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