- Joined
- Oct 26, 2000
- Messages
- 6,104
I've got a lot of gear recently, as I finished replacing all my old stuff, so I no longer have a mix of 1-2yr old stuff and 12-15yr old stuff.
This was my first overnighter in awhile, as I've been doing mostly dayhikes. Since I had just bought a new camera(that will hopefully last longer than the last four), I had to take lots of pics for a change.
My trip got cut a little short, as I was also trying some brand new orthotics that apparently need a little breaking in, as their moldable top layer seems to be more resistant to change than the skin of my feet and toes. I got hotspots, and even a couple of blisters in some weird places on the bottom of my feet, and on the side of my foot back toward the heel...
Anyway...my 25+ mile overnighter turned into about a 9-10 mile hike in, and a mile of trail plus 5 mile shortcut up AL Hwy 281 on the way out to avoid tearing my feet up any more on rocky trail.
One of the gentler portions of the Alabama Pinhoti in this section:
I took an uncharacteristic early stop about a mile in to give myself an adjustment. This rock was just what the chiropractor ordered:
A piece of wreckage from a plane crash that I had not looked at before from a crash that happened..not sure, maybe in the 80s(I've posted pics of the main wreckage before but only got it on video yesterday):
If there's such a thing as a "good" place to crash land a plane in, this isn't it...
There's a .5 mile side trail to McDill Point:
The trail follows this line for the next several miles:
There was indeed a storm later in the day, but it was all wind and fury with no actual rain.
At McDill Point, I played with my new camera a bit, and took pictures of some lizards that had some really good natural camo:
I also got fascinated with reflections in some little puddles on the rocks:
Another thing very uncharacteristic for me-I spent about 20 minutes jawing with a guy who came along while I was there, but learned of some other local trails I hadn't heard about.
Back on the trail, it's classic Pinhoti. Note the blue blaze. This IS the trail:
A touch of narcissism in spite of my homeliness:
Probably from a red-tail hawk. Wild turkey have feathers that look like this, too, and Pinhoti literally means "turkey track", but the turkeys are usually lower, while hawks continuously ride the air currents along these ridgelines, so I don't know...
At the junction of several trails, where I was supposed to go left, I went right. I knew from the dry springs and overall conditions(fire ban since last month) that High Falls that I had planned to hike to would be Dry Falls, with only stagnant pools below, and at this point my feet were killing me, and I wanted some flowing water. Down the mountain, not quite 2 miles away, I knew there was a stream that was reliable. A mile further was another creek and waterfall that usually have at least some flow in dry conditions where I could make camp, so I headed that way.
My feet draw many admirers:
The sunlight was indirect, but extremely bright, nonetheless.
Played with the camera for a moment, trying to capture both the reflections in the water, and the color of the rocks beneath.
Also took this opportunity to try out my new Sawyer Squeeze filter, and tank up.
Brought a cup and a small funnel to simplify filling the bag:
Platy Hoser.
No fumbling when it's all connected.
You can also drink straight from the filter.
It's easy to use, but kind of a pain to keep the clean and contaminated stuff separate. Right now I'm using a couple of Zip-loc bags, plus the Sawyer 64 and 32oz bags banded together, so it's simple but complicated, if that makes any sense. The blue "water tornado" fitting turned out to be very convenient, as you don't have to hold anything, all the parts are screwed together.
This was my first overnighter in awhile, as I've been doing mostly dayhikes. Since I had just bought a new camera(that will hopefully last longer than the last four), I had to take lots of pics for a change.
My trip got cut a little short, as I was also trying some brand new orthotics that apparently need a little breaking in, as their moldable top layer seems to be more resistant to change than the skin of my feet and toes. I got hotspots, and even a couple of blisters in some weird places on the bottom of my feet, and on the side of my foot back toward the heel...
Anyway...my 25+ mile overnighter turned into about a 9-10 mile hike in, and a mile of trail plus 5 mile shortcut up AL Hwy 281 on the way out to avoid tearing my feet up any more on rocky trail.
One of the gentler portions of the Alabama Pinhoti in this section:
I took an uncharacteristic early stop about a mile in to give myself an adjustment. This rock was just what the chiropractor ordered:
A piece of wreckage from a plane crash that I had not looked at before from a crash that happened..not sure, maybe in the 80s(I've posted pics of the main wreckage before but only got it on video yesterday):
If there's such a thing as a "good" place to crash land a plane in, this isn't it...
There's a .5 mile side trail to McDill Point:
The trail follows this line for the next several miles:
There was indeed a storm later in the day, but it was all wind and fury with no actual rain.
At McDill Point, I played with my new camera a bit, and took pictures of some lizards that had some really good natural camo:
I also got fascinated with reflections in some little puddles on the rocks:
Another thing very uncharacteristic for me-I spent about 20 minutes jawing with a guy who came along while I was there, but learned of some other local trails I hadn't heard about.
Back on the trail, it's classic Pinhoti. Note the blue blaze. This IS the trail:
A touch of narcissism in spite of my homeliness:
Probably from a red-tail hawk. Wild turkey have feathers that look like this, too, and Pinhoti literally means "turkey track", but the turkeys are usually lower, while hawks continuously ride the air currents along these ridgelines, so I don't know...
At the junction of several trails, where I was supposed to go left, I went right. I knew from the dry springs and overall conditions(fire ban since last month) that High Falls that I had planned to hike to would be Dry Falls, with only stagnant pools below, and at this point my feet were killing me, and I wanted some flowing water. Down the mountain, not quite 2 miles away, I knew there was a stream that was reliable. A mile further was another creek and waterfall that usually have at least some flow in dry conditions where I could make camp, so I headed that way.
My feet draw many admirers:
The sunlight was indirect, but extremely bright, nonetheless.
Played with the camera for a moment, trying to capture both the reflections in the water, and the color of the rocks beneath.
Also took this opportunity to try out my new Sawyer Squeeze filter, and tank up.
Brought a cup and a small funnel to simplify filling the bag:
Platy Hoser.
No fumbling when it's all connected.
You can also drink straight from the filter.
It's easy to use, but kind of a pain to keep the clean and contaminated stuff separate. Right now I'm using a couple of Zip-loc bags, plus the Sawyer 64 and 32oz bags banded together, so it's simple but complicated, if that makes any sense. The blue "water tornado" fitting turned out to be very convenient, as you don't have to hold anything, all the parts are screwed together.
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Seems like I hardly see them any more. I saw one on Saturday, while kayaking a creek, but it slid off in the water before I could get a good look at it, much less a pic.
