We car-camped Sunday night. Fajitas and pineapple upside-down cake in the dutch oven. IBC rootbeer all-around. Got nice and chilly that night, which was nice. Raccoon finished off most of the rest of the upside-down cake, which was nice, but he didn't finish it, and like a typical ingrate, didn't clean it.
We lolly-gagged around that next morning, ate breakfast, packed up and headed to the trail head. Zulu spent 30 minutes trying to find a geocache at the trailhead. By the time we actually got started it was 10:30am.
The late start in general was a big mistake because it got into the 80s. At about 9 miles we got to our water cache. We had each packed 4 liters, and there were 2 gallons waiting for us at the cache. I was basically out of water by the time we go to the cache, and was dehydrated further yet.
By the time we started that next morning, I was down to just two liters (of 8 total). More on that later.
At the dry camp, there was a nice 3-walled shelter. Since my backpacking tent is so small, we decided to sleep in the shelter. Big mistake. It is very hard to sleep in the company of scampering mice. Unless you are used to it. These mice were impervious to all remonstrations and noise and banging on the walls. It was not restful. Plus it was much hotter that night. Too hot to be in the down bag, but too cold to not be in it. I had it zipped down most of the way, but I was still hot.
We didn't cook my freeze-dried dinner and dessert for lack of water. We ate our 2nd MRE instead.
We decided to head out much earlier to take advantage of the cool morning. We took off at about 7:45 and arrived at the trailhead at about 11:30. Covered 10 miles. I was out of water at the end, but wasn't too miserable. Hiking in the cooler temp was a God-send.
It was beautiful pine forests, with bottomland hardwoods in the swamps. We saw much evidence of the White Man, where some areas were clearcut, trash, empty shotgun shells, toilet paper and dump two feet from the trail.
We didn't see very much wildlife, probably due to our noisiness and clanging. But there were many promising ponds that probably held good fishing.
There was almost no one there in the entire park.
In one of the swampy areas, I took some pictures of large tracks, that I didn't recognize. A little while later we came to a road crosssing where a Forest Service Ranger had both his doors open, while some hick was standing with hands behind back and furrowed brow next to his truck. As the Ranger has a digital camera and is taking a picture of the back of the guys' truck, Zulu says "hey, maybe this ranger can tell us what the track is!"
I say to Zulu and the Ranger, "I think he's busy."
Ranger: "yes, I'm busy."
What a butthole Ranger won't take time to look at our digital camera in the middle of a poaching arrest.
If I could do it over, I would have taken more water, and stashed more water.
Zulu didn't have nearly the water requirements I did.
This was my first real backpacking thing in a long, long time. First time to use trekking poles as well. I am sold on the trekking poles. I think they help, and they can speed you up, just like a skier.