Bag Night Challenge 2020

Night 1: Walls of Jericho, AL
Night 2: Big South Fork, KY
Night 3-5: Canyonlands, UT
Night 6: Savage Gulf, TN
Night 7: DeSoto State Park, AL
Night 8: Big Frog Wilderness, TN
Night 9: Cheaha Wilderness, AL
Night 10: Dugger Mountain Wilderness, AL
Night 11: Big South Fork, KY
Night 12: Cohutta Wilderness, GA

Did the "Penitentiary Branch Loop", combining the Hemp Top Trail, Benton MacKaye Trail, Penitentiary Branch Trail, and Jacks River Trail in GA's Cohutta Wilderness.
I did not leave the loop to hike up to Jacks River Falls, assuming that's where any people or trash would be.
Even with a 4hr drive after work yesterday morning, at only ~13.5 miles, this could easily have turned into a dayhike.
Well, that's what happened to my last couple of planned bag nights, so I intentionally killed some time before leaving to make sure that wasn't an option!
Worked out great, as I still got to do 22 river crossings(most were just under knee deep, only one got up to my thighs), AND it put me camping where I had my first ever bear "encounter" while backpacking. Joker ran partway up the ridge by my campsite when I went for my phone, so the video I have of him watching me is zoomed in from >50yds, and looks like one of those grainy Bigfoot videos...
Glorious hike, and I thought every single crossing was beautiful. Unseasonably cool, and two guys at a campsite were the only people I saw. No gnats, no mosquitoes, 1 tick, and a bear sighting. More than I could ever think to ask of a June hike in the South!

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Spent the weekend on Boulder Top. Wow, what a cool place! I hiked to Donkey Point and Fish Creek Point, and drove to Bowns Point and camped with an amazing view on a stormy evening.

Total: 15 Nights

1/17/2020 - Cañon Largo, NM
1/18/2020 - Cañon Saladito, NM
1/19/2020 - Alamo Windmill, NM
1/20/2020 - Encino, NM
2/28/2020 - Hart's Draw, UT
2/29/2020 - Hatch Point, UT
3/27/2020 - The Gulch, UT (GSENM)
3/28/2020 - The Gulch, UT (GSENM)
4/23/2020 - Silver Island Mountains, UT
4/24/2020 - Devil's Playground, UT
4/25/2020 - Dove Creek, UT
5/29/2020 - Thousand Lake Mountain, UT
5/30/2020 - East Boulder Mountain, UT
6/26/2020 - Pine Creek, Boulder Mountain, UT
6/27/2020 - Bowns Point, Boulder Mountain, UT

Near Pine Creek
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Bowns Point view
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Ok. Finally let myself get out of NYC after nearly 4 months in my apartment. Got to test a new(to me) Duplex and trail runners for the first time. Duplex was great. Trail runners destroyed my arches. Need insoles or more time to adjust to them than I thought.

Hope to start getting out some more with still being out of work. We’ll see.

Total so far...1 night.

7/1 Escarpment Trail| North South Lake Campground to Windham Rt 23

Here’s a sideways photo. I’ll try to post more later.

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Night 1: Walls of Jericho, AL
Night 2: Big South Fork, KY
Night 3-5: Canyonlands, UT
Night 6: Savage Gulf, TN
Night 7: DeSoto State Park, AL
Night 8: Big Frog Wilderness, TN
Night 9: Cheaha Wilderness, AL
Night 10: Dugger Mountain Wilderness, AL
Night 11: Big South Fork, KY
Night 12: Cohutta Wilderness, GA
Night 13: Pickett State Park, TN

Hidden Passage Trail/Double Falls spur/Tunnel Trail/Rock Creek Trail/a bunch of "other", then back to finish up the Hidden Passage loop
Crazy day today. Some major bushwhacking(4+hrs) over extremely steep and difficult terrain, plus a lot more risk than I'd ask a sane person to take, while trying to connect some trails. Sticks and leaves all around my pack and clothes, even up my shorts(there were little sticks in the seat of my car after sitting in it, and leaves under my knife's pocket clip!). That was before the torrential rain, and a bit of zero visibility hiking. Somehow, I only got one tick, though.
Before all that happened, I took care of my unfinished business on the Hidden Passage's side trails, visiting Double Falls(whose spur trail I camped on last night), and the Tunnel Trail, both for the first time. Yesterday, I hit up Northrup Falls at Colditz State Natural Area, then Needle Arch and Slave Falls at Big South Fork before hiking into the Hidden Passage at Pickett State Park.
Not bad for 1 night off out of 14. Lots of fun, and some glorious hiking!

1st use of my Solomid XL with mesh inner. Still need to dial it in a bit.
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Northrup Falls
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This past weekend I hiked to Adams Head, Powell Point, and Hilgard Mountain, plus a lot of cool stuff in between. The Hilgard area was pretty cowed up and I left with plenty of cow slobber on my Jeep after the hike to the summit.

Total: 17 Nights

1/17/2020 - Cañon Largo, NM
1/18/2020 - Cañon Saladito, NM
1/19/2020 - Alamo Windmill, NM
1/20/2020 - Encino, NM
2/28/2020 - Hart's Draw, UT
2/29/2020 - Hatch Point, UT
3/27/2020 - The Gulch, UT (GSENM)
3/28/2020 - The Gulch, UT (GSENM)
4/23/2020 - Silver Island Mountains, UT
4/24/2020 - Devil's Playground, UT
4/25/2020 - Dove Creek, UT
5/29/2020 - Thousand Lake Mountain, UT
5/30/2020 - East Boulder Mountain, UT
6/26/2020 - Pine Creek, Boulder Mountain, UT
6/27/2020 - Bowns Point, Boulder Mountain, UT
7/17/2020 - Sevier Plateau, UT
7/18/2020 - Hilgard Mountain, UT


Sevier Plateau camp
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Hilgard Mountain camp
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Hilgard Mountain camp and a cow
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Total: 16 Nights

Jan 15 | Silver Reef | 1 Night
Jan 18 | Table Mesa Arizona | 1 Nights
Jan 19 | Outside Page Arizona | 1 Nights
May 22-30 | Desolation Canyon | 8 Nights
July 17-20 | Hell's Canyon | 3 Nights
July 20 | Payette River | 1 Night
July 21 | Salmon Falls Creek | 1 Night

Spent some nights up in Idaho recently with @Dave and @Collin rafting Hell's Canyon and then taking my time getting home. Crazy to only have 16 nights under my belt so far this year, but it is 2020. We're done remodeling though, so hopefully I can pick my numbers up a bit from here on.

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Total: 2 nights

7/1/20 Escarpment End2End
7/29/20 Burroughs Loop

Went out and did Slide/Wittenberg/Cornell last week. Managed to roll up to camp just as a thunderstorm dumped on us.
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July 14 - July 20. 7 nites. Stateline , Utah. Big Summit fire. ...IMG_20200715_160109770.jpgIMG_20200715_204610021.jpg

August 7 thru August 12, Phillips Creek fire, Idaho, 6 nites.IMG_20200809_091658046.jpgIMG_20200807_152656518.jpg

Windrivers, Aug 27 thru Sept 3, 7 nites.... 20 total

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Looks like youre all having a better time than I did
 

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So, I completely forgot that I did get two bag nights in earlier this year that I forgot to include. January feels like 4 years ago.

Also put in a few more photos not from my phone.

Total Nights: 4

1/7/20 Keauhou Beach, Big Island, Hawaii
1/8/20 Halape, Big Island, Hawaii
7/1/20 Escarpment End2End Catskills, NY
7/29/20 Burroughs Loop, Catskills, NY

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Escarpment:
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Burroughs:
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Just one night for August, not counting five nights in the RV two weeks ago in the Tushars. Two weeks ago I took the family and camped with a few friends at Big Flat and hiked Circleville Mountain and Blue Lake, but didn't have the energy for Mount Belknap after those two hikes. Yesterday I returned just to hike Belknap (bit of a drive for a 24-hour trip) and slept in the WJ near the trailhead, and summited Belknap at 10AM this morning. Totally worth it!

Total: 18 Nights

1/17/2020 - Cañon Largo, NM
1/18/2020 - Cañon Saladito, NM
1/19/2020 - Alamo Windmill, NM
1/20/2020 - Encino, NM
2/28/2020 - Hart's Draw, UT
2/29/2020 - Hatch Point, UT
3/27/2020 - The Gulch, UT (GSENM)
3/28/2020 - The Gulch, UT (GSENM)
4/23/2020 - Silver Island Mountains, UT
4/24/2020 - Devil's Playground, UT
4/25/2020 - Dove Creek, UT
5/29/2020 - Thousand Lake Mountain, UT
5/30/2020 - East Boulder Mountain, UT
6/26/2020 - Pine Creek, Boulder Mountain, UT
6/27/2020 - Bowns Point, Boulder Mountain, UT
7/17/2020 - Sevier Plateau, UT
7/18/2020 - Hilgard Mountain, UT
8/27/2020 - Beaver Creek

Camp spot just off FR-123
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Steep, ugly (but still pretty) climb up Mount Belknap
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Mount Baldy viewed from the summit of Belknap
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Total: 20 Nights

Jan 15 | Silver Reef | 1 Night
Jan 18 | Table Mesa Arizona | 1 Nights
Jan 19 | Outside Page Arizona | 1 Nights
May 22-30 | Desolation Canyon | 8 Nights
July 17-20 | Hell's Canyon | 3 Nights
July 20 | Payette River | 1 Night
July 21 | Salmon Falls Creek | 1 Night
Aug 12 | Temple Mountain | 1 Night
Aug 13 | Mount Ellen | 1 Night
Aug 14 | Cedar Mountain | 1 Night
Aug 15 | Eastern Uintas | 1 Night

Forgot to post up my nights from a couple weeks ago. I broke my truck, my wife, and my dog on this trip, and we ended up in wildly different places than we expected. It was still awesome.

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