Campfire Safety

By Jessica

During our last backpacking trip, we came upon two separate campfires that had been left unattended and were still burning (not just smolder, flaming!). We were shocked and upset by the irresponsible campers that left these fires still burning. And worried that such instances could have caused a forest fire! Of course, we put the fires out to avoid that scenario, but it has prompted me to write this friendly reminder about how to properly extinguish campfires.

Before you leave your next campfire, be sure that you have properly extinguished it. This process is not hard, but it does involve more than pouring water on the flames. And remember that hot coals can reignite after you leave. Here are the steps to putting out a campfire (the RIGHT way):

1. Pour water on fire to extinguish flames and coals

2. Scatter ashes and coals and continue dousing with water.

3. Turn over large logs and rocks to extinguish any embers hiding beneath them.

4. Wait 30 to 45 minutes. Place hands over fire and be sure no heat is still emitting from the old fire. If you still feel heat, douse with more water, check for more embers and wait to check heat again.

5. Do not leave your campfire unattended and be COMPLETELY sure your fire is out before you leave you campsite.

Remember these quick tips next time you camp out. Smokey the Bear was right, “Only YOU can prevent forest fires!”

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Product Review: Sierra Designs Omega Convertible Tent

By Jessica

We recently purchased this tent after quite a bit of research and reading other reviews. We were looking for a four season tent for those cold winter backpacking trips–not that Georgia has THAT cold of winters–but that you also be versitle enough for warmer weather trips. We also don’t plan to live in Georgia forever, so we wanted a tent that would withstand harsher weather if we traveled (or moved) out west.  

We decided on the Sierra Designs Omega 2 Convertible tent because it could be used as a three season tent (by leaving the outer shell and two small sections of poles at home) but was sturdy enough to handle more severe weather conditions if need be. We decided we needed a four season tent after a night on Big Frog Mountain where I nearly froze to death. OK, maybe not literally but I hardly slept I was so cold and couldn’t wait for the sun to come up and thaw me out. We definitely could have found a lighter tent, but probably for much more than the $253 that we paid for this tent. And the weight didn’t seem to be an issue. My boyfriend carried the tent and I took on more weight of other items (food, cookware, water filter, etc.), and we both felt are packs were about the same weight as usual.

Setting up this tent for the first time is not all intuitive. Bring the instructions with you on your first trip or practice setting it up once at home before you get out in the woods. We had planned to do the latter but never got around to it, so it probably took us a little bit longer to set it up the first time that it should have. Taking down and repacking the tent was a breeze though.

We were both very comfortable inside the tent at night. We did experience some condensation, which we had read about occurring in other reviews of the tent. It didn’t seem severe and we decided we could have vented the tent more (using the inside mesh zipper areas) and prevented much if not all of the condensation. We didn’t get wet from the condensation, nor did any of our stuff within the tent.

The vestibule area (only with the four season configuration) provided a perfect area of our dog to curl up and sleep without him walking all over us to sleep in the tent itself. We set a blanket on the ground for him and unzipped to the door so that he could see us through the mesh doorway. He seemed just as comfortable through the night as we were. We will have to figure out something when we use the tent in its three season form, since the vestibule won’t be available as a doggie bed.

Overall, this seems to a be a great tent! I would definitely recommend it for those looking to buy only one tent that they can use for four seasons. If you are set on finding the lightest tent possible, this might not be the right one for you. But if you don’t mind a little extra weight and would rather save the expense of the lightest weight tents, this is a great choice!

Price: $253.74

Retailer: Randall Scott

Rating:    

(out of possible 5 boots)

Read more about my first backpacking trip with this tent, to Rice Camp Trail.

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First Vertical Caving Trip

By Jessica

Repelling into Horse Skull Cave

Last weekend I spent the day with the Dogwood City Grotto on my first (of more to come, I hope) vertical caving trip! It was a blast, and a great workout. We met at a Wal-Mart parking lot in Tennessee before carpooling to our first cave of the day, Waterworks. Appropriately named, this cave was located next to a waterfall. In fact, some of the water from the falls ran into the first pit of the cave (a nice warm-up 15-foot pit).  

First pit at Waterworks Cave

Our group of seven quickly repelled into the cave, all getting slightly wet from the incoming water. We followed the serpentine narrow pathway to the next pit. This one was a 45-foot drop into a large open room. Though I had been through vertical training, and easily repelled the first pit, I was a little nervous stepping off the 45-foot drop. But I overcame my slight fear and slowly made my way down the pit. From here, we dropped our vertical gear and explored two separate horizontal passageways, one leading to a mini cave waterfall. We then climbed out of the two pits (much more work than repelling down them!).

After a quick bite to eat, we headed for the next caves. Horse Skull Cave came next. A nice 30-foot pit into this cave. The cave had writings on the wall, some new with spray paint, others older and carved into the cave or written in carbon. (Some dated back to the 1800s and relayed names of Civil War infantry units.) One large boulder touted Cody’s Party Cave in white spray paint. This cave spurred an interesting discussion about graffiti in caves. While we hated to see the spray paint, it was interesting to see the older writings. Could the spray painted graffiti of today one day be an interesting part of history to future cavers? And were these spray-painting party “cavers” causing real damage to the cave? No real answers were completely agreed on, nor solutions rendered, but it was an interesting conversation.

Climbing out of Horse Skull Cave

After the laboreous climb out of Horse Skull Cave– the rocks jutted out a bit making the climb more challenging– we headed uphill to High Hole Cave. This cave was really a hole in the ground. The 45-foot pit lead down a fairly small drop. While there was some exploring possible in this cave, I decided to rest up for the climb out and opted out of the horizontal exploration. After this climb, my arms and legs were sore, and I was done. I rested while a couple of experienced cavers took on Jack’s Hole. This cave had a 50-something foot pit and since the rope wasn’t long enough to reach the bottom, required a change over. Maybe next time.

And that was the end of my vertical caving trip. We saw some great caves and I had an awesome time repelling and climbing. My muscles sore and my boots filled with cave mud, I headed home. If you ever have the chance to go vertical caving, do it! I definitely advise going to a training class beforehand, and try borrowing gear before you make the investment for yourself. Thanks to the Dogwood City Grotto for the training and great experience. And a special thanks to Andy for leading the trip!

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Rice Camp Trail Backpacking Trip

By Jessica

David and I have been trying to plan a weekend backpacking trip since Valentine’s Day. But work and weather always seemed to get in the way, until this weekend, that is. So, we decided to head north to the Cahutta Wilderness … a favorite area of both of ours. My friend from the Atlanta Outdoor Club (AOC) joined us and of course, Monte was there too. From Kennesaw, the drive to the trailhead took just over an hour. We reached the trailhead around 11:30 am and started getting our trekking poles and packs ready. We paused just long enough to get a group photo at the trailhead, and then we were off.

Rice Camp Trail in the Cahutta Wilderness is a relatively short trail, only 3.9 miles, and dead ends into Jacks River Trail. The trail is rated easy to moderate by most trail books and Web sites, which we found to be an accurate account. The first couple miles follows streams (first a tributary of Rice Camp Branch and then Rice Camp Branch itself).

We tried to count the water crossings …

but weren’t sure which ones were truly stream/river crossings and which spots just happened to be really wet. Needless to say, be prepared for wet crossings. We all brought water shoes but never used them. Waterproof or Gortex boots seemed the best fit for the trail. Most water crossing were shallow or easily traversed by hopping rocks.

After the almost 2 miles along the streams, the trail takes a sharp turn to the left and starts uphill. The incline was not steep enough or long enough to up the difficulty rating from the easy to moderate level. The trail is also wide and flat, making for easy footing with a backpack. (These characteristics also made the trail enticing for horseback riders, like the ones we encountered on the trail.) The hike was pleasant although I found myself missing the sounds of running water and the cool breeze coming from the streams.

After the gradual incline, this trail heads back downhill towards Jack’s River. Just as the trail started the descent, we noticed smoke and ash in the air. We couldn’t see fire and I didn’t know of any prescribed burns scheduled for the area (then again, I hadn’t called to find out). We all tried to get a cell phone signal to contact the Ranger station and ask about the smoke, but no one had a signal (even with three different cell phone carriers being represented). So, we decided to take the safe route and head back toward less smoky ground.

Once back at the stream, we chose a nice campsite just on the other side of the stream from the trail.

You can’t miss it on the hike it but it relatively private for being so close to the trail. We set up tents, cleaned up a bit, and settled in for a nice evening by the stream. I filtered water and wrote a bit in my hiking journal while Charina rested and David prepared a place to hang the bear bag for the evening.

We ate dinner soon after. David and I had red beans and rice with summer sausage, Charina dined on gourmet Ramen noodles, and Monte enjoyed a “meaty bone” brought in from home. After we ate and cleaned up, we relaxed, chatted, and watched the sun go down. The temperature dropped with the sun, and while cool enough for a fire, we adhered to policy and didn’t start one (despite the fact that there was an established campfire ring at our camp site).

We all retired early, which was probably smart since it was daylight savings time and we lost an hour of sleep that night. In the morning, we took our time making breakfast and packing up camp. We only had a short hike back to the car, so there was no rush. It was an easy and enjoyable hike out of the woods, but we were all a little sad to leave the peaceful campsite. Once home, we all had chores waiting for us and busy Mondays looming ahead.

This trail was very pretty with the water crossings and a few small waterfalls in areas. Had we followed the trail to the end, we could have enjoyed Jack’s River Falls, which is a great place to cool off after a hot summer’s hike. This trail seemed less traveled than Jack’s River Trail, and is easy enough for beginner hikers to take on. Overall, we greatly enjoyed this trip and the trail. We hope to return to it soon, and this time we plan to complete the entire trail!

Tips for Rice Camp Trail:

Prepare to encounter horseback riders on the trail. And remember that the trail might be a bit torn up by the hooves!

Campfires are not allowed in the Cahutta Wilderness Area.

Call the Ranger station before your hike or backpacking trip. We discovered that the Ranger station wasn’t open on the weekend and there was no cell service either. Had we called ahead of time, we would have known there was a scheduled burn that weekend, and would not have been alarmed by the smoke and ash we saw on our hike.

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Soaring High Over Lookout Mountain

By Jessica

(And My Experience Being a Human Tick Drag)

Lookout mountain offers great views, but the best views can be seen from the sky. I’m not talking about a helicopter ride or airplane—I’m talking about hang gliding. If you’ve never been, this is an experience you don’t want to miss out on. Hang gliding is absolutely amazing. It’s not scary or thrilling (in case you were scared of that or seeking it). Being in the air, soaring above the trees, is a serene, peaceful feeling. You really feel like you are gliding through the air like a bird. Everything is quiet and you can connect with the world in a way you never have before.

Summer of 2007, my dad and I decided to try hang gliding out. We both imagined it would be scary (especially since he is scared of heights) and thrilling. It was neither. But it was an experience we haven’t soon forgotten. Since we figured this was going to be a once in a lifetime experience, we decide to go all out and opted for the “full package” service. While you can decide to just go for a tandem hang gliding “ride” with no previous experience (after watching a short safety video), we decided to try hang gliding on our own first. Well, sort of on our own. We had a group lesson put we were “flying” our own hang glides. OK, so we were on the bunny slopes, and yeah, I didn’t get air many times—OK, OK, only once!—but still, it was way cool.

Our instructor taught us the aerodynamics of the hang glide. He said the glider was “meant to fly”—like that was it’s one and only mission in life. Our job was to let the glide fulfill it’s mission, which is easier said than done. We started by running with the glider on flat ground, and behold, the glide started to lift off. It didn’t have enough momentum to take flight on flat ground, so we moved up to the bunny slope. Running off the bunny slope with a glider on your shoulder is not the easiest task. It’s cumbersome, to say the least, and can easily cause tip-overs. As you try to take flight, you are supposed to keep you head up (toward where you want to go) and your grip loose (to let the glider fly). Well, that goes against all natural tendencies. As you begin to feel yourself lifting off the ground, two things happen—you look down to see how high you are and you grab tightly onto the glider to make sure the glider takes you with it (even though you are attached with a harness). As soon as you look down and grip tighter, the nose of the glider points down, and you and the glider follow. Soon you are sliding down the hill on your belly with a glider on your back. I seriously felt like a human tick drag, constantly swept down the hill picking up grass and whatever else came in my path.

Oh, but the time I got air,

that I let my grip of the glider go and kept my head up—WOW! It was amazing! The group cheered wildly each time anyone got even the slightest bit of air. My dad was much more successful at this than I. He even landed on his feet once! Speaking of landing, they never really taught us how to do that. I asked once, “so, how do we land?” The instructor replied, “Don’t worry about that part.” I guess because it usually takes care of itself. Most of us barely got off the ground in the first place. And those that got air, were soon enough skidding to a stop on their bellies (the harness you were is padded in the front, so you don’t get banged up TOO badly when you crash, I mean land).

NOTE: If you choose to do the Introductory Experience , which is what my dad and I did, wear old clothes, pants and take the knee pad when they offer them to you! Be prepared to come away with a few bruises and grass stained clothing. Bring sunscreen and water too, as you are outside for training the whole morning.

After an exhausting day of attempting to hang glide on our own, we all went to lunch and waited for our tandem flight that afternoon. Our excitement built as we watched others suit up and soar off for their tandem hang gliding flight. Everyone loved it! I was soon on deck for my first true flight experience. I was suited up with a harness and helmet and strapped to my instructor. We were pulled behind and ultra-light (experimental) aircraft to 2,000 feet. The ride up was load (being behind the motor of the aircraft) and bumpy.

At 2,000 feet, my tandem instruction released us from the aircraft and we started gliding. The ride instantly became smooth and as the aircraft circled around to land, the noise subsided. Soon it was quiet, serene and beautiful. I took control of the glider as my instructor taught me how to turn left and right, how to go faster and slower. We glided over a lake and could see the reflection of our glider in the lake. It was amazing.

I gave the reigns back to my instructor as we came in for a landing. It was as smooth a landing as the ride itself (and this time I wasn’t landing on my belly!). We all shared stories about our flights and talked about when we could go again! It was truly an amazing experience.

Interested in hang gliding, check out where I went: Lookout Mountain Hang Gliding. If you have a group of friend interested in hang gliding (or that you could convince), ask about group discounts. You can also camp out near the site the night before your hang gliding experience. If you don’t live near Atlanta/Tennessee area, look for a hang gliding place nearby. Ask around for suggestions of good places or look for an outdoor/adventure club in your area that might be leading hang gliding trips. The Atlanta Outdoor Club leads an annual (usually) hang gliding trip to Lookout Mountain.

Want more of a thrill than hang glide, SKY DIVE! It’s a rush like no other! Check out my blog on skydiving coming soon.

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