This was an good winter hike that leaned a little toward a basecamp hiking hike rather than actual backpacking. It was low mileage and that gave us lots of options as far as where we wanted to day hike. Not to mention that it’s winter time and everyone and everything moves slower in the winter time so it was a very relaxing trip.
We left Friday afternoon as opposed to Friday morning so we didn’t have to take a day off work which was cool. We got to Alum Ford Campground about 11:00/11:30 pm and set up our tents right at the campground, as planned.
Saturday morning we got up, ate and left camp on our way to our night two campsite at Negro Creek. It is only about a 3.1 mile hike so once we got there we set up camp; collected some firewood and set out on a day hike or two. We found a shelter along the trail that we weren’t aware of so this opened up a possible new hike. We saw numerous ice sculptures everywhere but the highlight was definitely Princess Falls because I was able to walk behind it. It was massive and beautiful and well worth any cold weather we had to brave to get there.
Sunday we packed up camp and hiked up Negro Creek Trail then crossed KY 700 and headed down the Yahoo Arch Trail to Yahoo Falls to see what it had waiting for us. Well it was just as amazing as Princess Falls but in a different light. Yahoo Falls had actually formed ice stalactites and stalagmites that were beautiful and like nothing I’d ever seen before.
In the end we all agreed this trip was a success and we would do it again in the future.
I think I’d like to try a spinoff of this trip that would require three full days. It would require parking at Alum Ford Campground again but this time get there early and backpack to Princess Falls Campsite because it’s pretty awesome.
If you have a Sawyer Filter on a winter camping trip where there is a chance of it getting close to or below freezing, make sure you keep it close to you during the day and tuck it in your sleeping bag at night because if it freezes it will burst. In the winter time I take my Camelbak UnBottle 100 oz Hydration Pack, Frost Grey/Turkish Sea
There’s also a Camelbak Antidote Insulated Tube for the Unbottle but I haven’t tried it out yet. It seems to get some pretty good reviews so maybe I need to check it out. I also cut a strip of Reflectix BP24025 24-Inch by 25-Feet Bubble Pack Insulation
Now, I’m not sure if the Reflectix in my Camelbak Unbottle really works or not but I’ve never had to deal with frozen water so I go with it in the winter time. I just deal with the warm water on the warmer trips but I guess the Reflectix could insulate it against heat just as well. I just like going with a bottle set up in the warmer months because it tends to be lighter; the water stays a little cooler and it frees up space in my pack.
MY GEAR
| BRAND / MODEL |
| MSR HUBBA – NEXT GENERATION IS MSR HUBBA NX TENT |
Space All Weather Blanket GROUND CLOTH |
| MOUNTAIN HARDWEAR SWITCH 20 (NO LONGER AVAILABLE) |
| MOUNTAINSMITH FALCON 55 BACKPACK |
| BIG AGNES INSULATED AIR CORE SLEEPING PAD |
| THERMAREST RIDGEREST SOLITE PAD |
| SNOW PEAK TITANIUM MINI SOLO COOK SET |
| MSR POCKET ROCKET STOVE |
| BACKPACKS-CONTENTS & FOOTWEAR | WEIGHT OUNCES |
| SHOES/BOOTS | |
| ASOLO FUGITIVE BOOTS | 50.00 |
| BACKPACKS | |
| MOUNTAINSMITH FALCON 55 BACKPACK | 76.00 |
| TENTS | |
| MSR HUBBA 1 WITH FOOTPRINT & MUDMAT IN OR COMPRESSION SACK | 66.00 |
| SLEEPING BAGS | |
| MOUNTAIN HARDWEAR SWITCH 20 IN OUTDOOR RESEARCH 15L DRY SACK | 66.00 |
| SLEEPING PADS | |
| BIG AGNES AIR CORE INSULATED SLEEPING PAD LONG WIDE | 31.00 |
| THERMAREST RIDGEREST SOLITE REGULAR CUT DOWN TO 20X60 | 12.00 |
| TREKKING POLES | |
| EASTON TREKKING POLES | 20.00 |
| TARPS | |
| SPACE BLANKET | 12.80 |
| FOOD | |
| WINE IN SMALL OUTDOOR PRODUCTS 16OZ BOTTLE | 22.00 |
| TWO NIGHT FOOD IN OUTDOOR RESEARCH LIGHTWEIGHT 5 LITER DRY SACK | 53.00 |
| BASICS | |
| CORD BAG | 3.60 |
| MINI COMPASS AND TEMP GAUGE | 0.70 |
| ZPACKS CUBEN FIBER ZIP WALLET | 2.00 |
| SAWYER FILTER REGULAR SIZE(3OZ), TWO SQUEEZE BAGS(3 OZ), SCOOP CUP(2OZ) MESH BAG | 8.00 |
| SAFETY LANYARD – BG COMPACT SCOUT KNIFE/ADVENTURE MEDICAL RESCUE HOWLER/COAST G10 FLASHLIGHT | 2.80 |
| TOILETRY KIT – MEDICINE/TOOTHBRUSH/TOOTHPASTE ETC IN OUTDOOR RESEARCH SMALL DRY DITTY SACK | 10.40 |
| FIRE KIT: DRYER LINT/LIGHTER/LIGHT MY FIRE FIRESTEEL | 2.80 |
| POTTY KIT – COGHLAN’S BACKPACKERS TROWEL, TOILET PAPER, HAND CLEANER BOTTLE/HOLDER IN NYLON SACK | 4.30 |
| CLOTHING | |
| SARANAC FLEECE GLOVES | 3.00 |
| MARMOT VARIANT JACKET | 12.80 |
| SEIRUS WEATHERPROOF GLOVES NON-INSULATED | 4.00 |
| WINTER CLOTHING BAG 2 NIGHT SLEEPING BAG: WOOL SOCKS/LIGHT THERMAL BOTTOMS/MIDWEIGHT WOOL THERMAL BOTTOMS/SHORTS IN LARGE OUTDOOR RESEARCH DRY DITTY BAG | 20.00 |
| OUTDOOR RESEARCH ROCKY MOUNTAIN LOW GAITERS | 4.80 |
| RAVEN RAIN COAT | 23.00 |
| NIKE RAIN PANTS | 12.40 |
| COOKING | |
| GSI BOWL | 1.50 |
| MSR POCKET ROCKET STOVE/SNOW PEAK SOLO MINI COOKSET/VARGO TITANIUM FOLDING SPORK/MSR FUEL CANISTER STAND/GAS | 20.00 |
| WATER BOTTLES – BLADDERS | |
| CAMELBAK 3 LITER UNBOTTLE FULL | 114.14 |
| LIGHTING | |
| PRINCETON TECH REMIX HEADLAMP | 3.00 |
| TOOLS | |
| LEATHERMAN TOOL | 5.30 |
| MIRROR / COMPASS / MOUNTAIN LAUREL DESIGNS CUBEN FIBER BAG | 1.50 |
| GARMIN GPS | 6.80 |
| EXTRAS | |
| SUNGLASSES | 1.40 |
| MP3 PLAYER; EARPHONES; BATTERY IN HMG NANO CF11 CUBEN STUFF SACK | 5.30 |
| TOTAL SUM OF WEIGHT OUNCES | 632.34 |
| TOTAL SUM OF WEIGHT POUNDS | 39.52 |
Here is some information on the area:
http://tnlandforms.us/bsf/
http://www.nps.gov/biso/index.htm
Below are some pictures I took while I was there.
Cincinnati
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