This Angel Falls hike is one of my favorite local hikes because it’s within 4 hours of drive time which allows me to do overnight hikes and not feel too bedraggled from the drive. But that’s not the only reason why it’s one of my favorites because there are several reasons if you count them all up. Another reason is that it’s a fairly non-strenuous hike with big rewards all throughout the hike. Or because it passes through a really diverse landscape as well as historic landscape as well. It’s also a great winter hike because there aren’t any creek crossings of any significance. Whatever the reason the more times I do this hike the more I love it.
I also wanted to find a good winter campsite near the Litton Homestead (must be at least 100 feet away) for my nephew and I to stay in the middle of winter to see if he’s ready to do some snow hiking or backpacking.
I was able to try a few new pieces of equipment so it was the perfect hike for accomplishing that. I have a Granite Gear Leopard VC 46 I purchased from SierraTradingPost.com awhile back that needed to be tested tried out. And I recently purchased the Evernew alcohol burner that I wanted to try with just the Evernew cross stand and not the DX stand.
My Evernew alcohol burner worked great in conjunction with the Evernew cross stand so I’m really happy with the purchase at this point. Surprisingly, It is fairly stable and I was able to use my MSR Flex Quick Skillet
Overall my Leopard VC 46 worked great and stayed comfortable the entire trip. On the way there I had around 28 pounds total in my pack (with water) which is about 7 pounds below the recommended maximum on the Granite gear website. The first thing I noticed once I put the pack on was the immediate comfort of the back pad which feels outstanding because of the amount of cushion. This was off to a good start. The comfort level stayed great the entire hike and actually felt a little better on the way back because all of our food and water were gone. I’m looking forward to using my Leopard on future warm weather hikes where I won’t need an extreme amount of gear because it’s a lightweight pack of fairly lightweight materials that could get damaged with too much gear.
I looked the pack over when I got back and it’s still in fantastic shape with no sign of usage. Although I purchased it for non-winter hikes I just can’t resist to use this pack.
Below are just some of the features from the Granite Gear website…
Here is a link to the full run-down from Granite Gears website
Baptized by fire, the Leopard series packs were really put to the test by gear testers extraordinaire Justin “Trauma” Lichter and Shawn “Pepper” Forry in their epic trek through the Himalayas. The Leopard VC 46 packs feature our ultra-light Vapor Current suspension system. Compatible with our weight saving Vapor Current Air-Beam frame, the Leopard VC 46 is at home both as a minimalist backpacks or a fast-and-light alpine pack.
Features:
- Vapor Current Suspension (Same as Crown 60)
- 35 lb Load Rating
- compatible with vapor current airbeam frame (pg 10)
- 2lbs, 6 oz 1.07Kg With Frame Removed (25lb Load)
- 2lbs, 9oz with Klymit VC Frame (35lb Load)
- 4 Sizes in Men’s Hip Belt Available
- 4 Sizes in Women’s Hip Belt Available
- Roll-Top Closure
- 10mm webbing
- Removable Floating Lid
- 2 lbs, 1 oz With Lid and Frame Removed
- Mesh Pocket Inside Lid
- Flap with Ax Cinches and 2 Zippered Pockets
- Stretch Woven Zippered Pocket on Front
- Stretch Woven Wand Pockets
- Dual Density Hip Belt and Shoulder Straps
- Cordura High Tenacity Nylon Throughout (100D and 210D)
- Lifetime warranty against defects in material and workmanship
We started at the backpackers overnight lot at the Bandy Creek Campground as usual but were surprised to see it empty. There were no cars at all so we were pretty excited to have the trail to ourselves. On the way to our campsite on Saturday we didn’t pass a single soul on the trail. We did spot a person at the Angel Falls overlook which is about 2 miles from except for a long distance
Maps
I have this book as well and it has a lot of good information pertaining to the Big South Fork
Gear List
| FOOTWEAR/BACKPACKS/CONTENTS *WATER NOT INCLUDED* | WEIGHT OUNCES | WEIGHT POUNDS |
| SHOES/BOOTS NOT INCLUDED IN PACK WEIGHT | ||
| VASQUE SCREE LOW SHOES | 36.00 | 2.25 |
| TREKKING POLES NOT INCLUDED IN PACK WEIGHT | ||
| BLACK DIAMOND FL ULTRA DISTANCE TREKKING POLES | 16.00 | 1.00 |
| BACKPACKS | ||
| GRANITE GEAR LEOPARD VC 46 | 46.00 | 2.88 |
| SLEEPING BAGS | ||
| COLUMBIA LINER BAG | 10.20 | 0.64 |
| QUILTS | ||
| ENLIGHTENED EQUIPMENT REVELATION 40 DEGREE QUILT W/ STUFF SACK | 17.78 | 1.11 |
| SLEEPING PADS | ||
| THERMAREST RIDGEREST SOLITE REGULAR CUT DOWN TO 20X60 | 12.00 | 0.75 |
| THERMAREST NEOAIR TREKKER LARGE | 26.00 | 1.63 |
| TARPS | ||
| STAKES & CORDAGE FOR TARP | 10.00 | 0.63 |
Grabber Outdoor Space Blanket |
12.80 | 0.80 |
| ENO HOUSEFLY | 25.00 | 1.56 |
| LARGE GROUND TARP | 10.00 | 0.63 |
| FOOD | ||
| 1 NIGHT FOOD – 2 PEOPLE – LOKSAK ODORPROOF BAG/ZPACKS BLAST FOOD BAG | 74.00 | 4.63 |
| BASICS | ||
| BEAR BAG KIT-CORDAGE/BLACK DIAMOND NEUTRINO CARABINER | 4.50 | 0.28 |
| SAFETY LANYARD – BG COMPACT SCOUT KNIFE/ADVENTURE MEDICAL RESCUE HOWLER/COAST G10 FLASHLIGHT | 2.80 | 0.18 |
| MINI COMPASS AND TEMP GAUGE | 0.70 | 0.04 |
| SAWYER FILTER MINI(2OZ), ONE SQUEEZE BAG(1.5OZ), SCOOP CUP(2OZ)/BEARPAW DESIGNS WATER CARRIER/MESH BAG | 6.50 | 0.41 |
| TOILETRY KIT – MEDICINE/TOOTHBRUSH/TOOTHPASTE ETC IN OUTDOOR RESEARCH SMALL DRY DITTY SACK | 10.40 | 0.65 |
| FIRE KIT: DRYER LINT/LIGHTER/LIGHT MY FIRE FIRESTEEL | 2.80 | 0.18 |
POTTY KIT – Coghlan’s Backpackers Trowel /TOILET PAPER, HAND CLEANER BOTTLE/HOLDER IN NYLON SACK |
6.00 | 0.38 |
| CLOTHING | ||
| MOUNTAIN HARDWEAR ORKO GLOVES | 1.50 | 0.09 |
| MOUNTAIN HARDWEAR MICROCHILL PULLOVER HOODY | 10.00 | 0.63 |
| VIVOBAREFOOT ULTRA SHOES | 6.00 | 0.38 |
| FIRST ASCENT DOWN VEST | 9.00 | 0.56 |
| FROGG TOGGS UL JACKET | 5.80 | 0.36 |
| FALL-SPRING CLOTHING BAG 1 NIGHT QUILT: WOOL SOCKS/MIDWEIGHT WOOL THERMAL BOTTOMS/REI PILLOW STUFF SACK | 29.00 | 1.81 |
| COOKING | ||
| MSR SKILLET | 4.70 | 0.29 |
| EVERNEW ALCOHOL BURNER/EVERNEW TITANIUM CROSS STAND/ALCOHOL | 9.00 | 0.56 |
| WATER BOTTLES – BLADDERS | ||
| SOBE BOTTLE EMPTY | 1.50 | 0.09 |
| LIGHTING | ||
| UCO ARKA LANTERN/CHARGER | 10.00 | 0.63 |
| BLACK DIAMOND STORM HEADLAMP IN HMG NANO CF8 CUBEN STUFF SACK | 4.30 | 0.27 |
| TOOLS | ||
| MIRROR & COMPASS | 2.00 | 0.13 |
Bahco 396-LAP Laplander Folding Saw, 9-Inch Blade, 7 TPI |
6.70 | 0.42 |
| EXTRAS | ||
| POWER CHARGER | 6.30 | 0.39 |
| GERBER JUNIOR GATOR MACHETE | 14.30 | 0.89 |
| TOTAL SUM OF WEIGHT OUNCES LESS WATER | 397.58 | |
| TOTAL SUM OF WEIGHT POUNDS LESS WATER | 24.85 | 24.85 |
Below is a video of Fall Branch Falls along the Sheltowee Trace enroute to Angel Falls Overlook
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