Cave Run Lake

Zilpo Campground
7/26 - 7/28/18 (2 nights)
2018 bag nights: 23

We met some local friends for what is turning into an annual car camping trip (I think this was the 4th summer in a row). Our plans were to relax while the kids (we have 3 and they have 3, all under 10) played together and swam in the lake. I also brought my inflatable kayak for them to play with.

I had done a little research, so we ended up with two sites next to each other with very easy access to the water. It made for a very relaxing couple of days.

Our own private beach

The kids had fun swimming ...

... and paddling the kayak, at one point all 6 kids managed to squeeze in

Waiting for the stars

Woke up to a foggy sunrise

A very relaxing way to spend a couple of days.

Dolly Sods w/ Kids

7/18 - 7/21/18 (3 nights)
2018 bag nights: 21

My wife's brother asked at the beginning of the summer if I was interested in meeting up in the Dolly Sods this summer with our kids (his oldest is 6). I had already been planning on taking my three (5, 7, 9) on a trip or two, so I said sure.

We met at the trailhead next to the campground and headed down the trail. Note the pack on my daughter's back, I had visions of this being a great pack if the weight was kept low. It ended up being terrible. Also note my camera near my hip, I barely touched it and would have been happier if I had left it and the tripod at home.

Beautiful views as we head down the Blackbird Knob trail towards the intersection with the Red Creek Trail.

We got to the "forks" area on Red Creek and there was only one other person in the area. I felt kind of bad for bringing 4 noisy kids into his solitude, but I was happy that there weren't a lot of other people.

The next day we headed towards the Lions Head, but the Rocky Point Trail was very slow going for the little legs, so we ended up saving it for next time. It was still a great hiking day.

We set up camp off the Big Stonecoal Trail

There were a bunch of deer in the area that were not afraid at all. The kids had fun chasing them though the woods for a little bit.

Just to remember that it is not all positive memories :) At about 10pm, the kids were all in bed and Doug and I were enjoying a little bourbon when I heard noises from my tent. It sounded like someone was having a nightmare, so I wandered over just in time to unzip the tent and have my five year old empty her guts just outside the tent. Only a little bit got on her and her sleeping bag. So, I got her cleaned up and gave her my sleep shirt and quilt and she went back to sleep while I tried to get puke off the outside of her sleeping bag. No issues the rest of the night and she woke up happy in the morning.

Another beautiful day for hiking, but a little bit warmer.

We set up camp for our third and last night off the Blackbird Knob Trail

The forecast was for rain in the morning and the sky doesn't look promising.

We woke up the next morning to grey skies but no rain. Time to head for the car, ended up getting lucky and never got wet.

In the end, we covered about 15 miles and other than the failure with the kids pack and the barfing, everything went great. The kids had a great time and were mostly good hikers/campers and I enjoyed having another adult to help herd my kids. I suspect we will do a similar trip next summer.

Car camping in NC

7/8 - 7/13/18 (5 nights)
2018 bag nights: 18
Van Hook Glade Campground near Highlands NC

We met friends for our annual family camping trip at one of our favorite campgrounds in NC. We spent a lot of time splashing in the creek.

We hiked up to Ranger Falls

Ranger Falls, the kids really liked climbing on the rocks

One day we drove over to Panthertown Valley for a day hike. We started at Salt Rock Gap and did a short loop to Wilderness Falls and Frolictown Falls. This area had been on my list for a couple of years, so I was glad to check out a small part of it.

Frolictown Falls

Some people refer to the area as the "Yosemite of the East" because of the granite domes. I'm not sure I would go that far, but the area is very pretty.

A great way to catch up with old friends and to just relax a bit.

Douglas Trail

4/20/18 Dayhike in Red River Gorge
7/1 - 7/2/18 Overnight with my 5 year old (2018 bag nights: 13)
8/22/18 Dayhike
Osbourne Bend Trailhead

4/20/18
I started at the Osbourne Bend Trailhead without any solid idea of where I was heading. I was thinking about the Osbourne Bend Trail since I had never hiked it, but there were a lot of cars in the small parking lot and I heard idiots yelling at each other up on the ridge. So, I headed out the Douglas Trail with the idea of checking out the Wall of Denial and Eagles Point and then maybe taking the old fire road to connect with the Osbourne Bend Trail. In the end, that is basically what I did, but I skipped the Wall of Denial.

The wildflowers are appearing which was nice since I was disappointed a couple weeks earlier by the lack of flowers.

I took my time poking around and was surprised when I got near Clifty Creek to run across a solo camper who had a fire going at 11am. I asked if he had been out the night before and he said no, but he had friends meeting him the next day. Seems kind of boring to sit around a campfire by yourself all day, but whatever makes him happy.

In my poking around, I stumbled across this trickle of a waterfall off the trail. I'm going to try to check it out after we get a lot of rain.

I then headed towards Eagles Point. It had been a couple of years since I had climbed to the top to enjoy the view. I passed a group of people up on the ridge who were leaving the overlook and I had it all to myself for about 1/2 hour before I headed to the top of the ridge and the old fire road and then down the Osbourne Bend Trail to my car.

So happy that spring has finally arrived.

******************
7/1 - 7/2/18
A couple months later the Gorge looks very different. I dropped my oldest off at camp and took my youngest (just turned 5) on her first backpacking trip. I had always thought that the intersection of Clifty Creek and the Red River would make a good kids campsite.

The Red River was very silty, so she was not interested in swimming ...

... but, she had fun playing in the sand and stacking rocks.

Right near the fire ring was an interesting looking log. My kids are obsessed with Greek mythology, so she declared that this was Pegasus. She is holding the head and she said the wings were swept back behind :)

It rained a little bit in the evening, but I had a small tarp, so we were dry for dinner. We read a story and she went to bed while I enjoyed the view.

Evidently there had been a bit of rain further upstream because the river rose quite a bit overnight. She was very disappointed to see her stack of rocks was under water.

We had breakfast and packed up to head back to the car. Along the way we both enjoyed the Rhododendron blooms.

We both had a great time in the woods.

**************
8/22/18
And another dayhike in the Gorge. This time is has been a couple months since I have hiked here and I decided that this would be a good day to creek hike up Clifty Creek to see what I find. So, back to the Douglas Trail. I ended up going up the creek a little bit, but it was turning into a bit of a bushwack and I had visions of slipping and soaking my camera/lens, so I decided to postpone that for another day.

Starting out, the sky looks a little ugly, but it is not too hot, so hopefully a good hiking day.

I always like this trail because of the views and sounds of the river so close to the trail.

There were lots of flowers

I think my favorites today were the fungi.

This one was sort of a glowing white and slimy looking, kind of ugly but intriguing

Another view of the Red River

and more fungi