Wow! What a weekend. My goal this trip was to learn more about my new GPS unit and to get off the beaten path. I did all that and more! I started at the Borden Trailhead Friday and camped at what I'm calling "Cave Camp" on my map. I can't sleep without some noise and the waterfall was much better than my faux rain machine at home...lol. My plan was to follow 209 to Wolfpen Creek, follow that its end and cut over West to Hemlock Creek and explore that whole area. I ran into Smokediver along the way and talked about gear, books, and Bear Grylls of course
We parted ways with me standing at the Sipsey's edge looking for any sign of Wolfpen or Little Ugly. My GPS showed it straight ahead but I saw nothing. I decided not to ford the river just to possibly find nothing. I'll save that for the fall when I can see better. If anyone reading can confirm my waypoints to be accurate please do (The visual markers match the Cart O Craft map Lat & Long).
It being almost lunch time and still unsure of where to go now, I decided to eat and regroup. Over Cajun beans and rice I thought The Needles Eye and Ship Rock sounded cool. Off to 206 I go! This is where I encounter another problem. I ford across the river at the private property area because the map shows the POI on the left side of the Thompson Sipsey junction....but my GPS with its preloaded map shows the POI to be on the right side??? I choose to follow the GPS and as you can see on my tracks, I went in circles up and down that hill looking. I did find an 800+ elevation bluff and what I'm calling "Hole" is a large hole in the rock wall. Is that the Eye of the Needle?
Pretty tired from hiking and rock climbing all day, I pitched camp near the river junction. I had a ripping fire going and was about ready to settle in when I noticed three lights bobbling around about 80' to the rear of my camp. Confused, I watched the lights as they worked their way towards me. As they came within clear sight I saw three guys coming my way. It turned out they were lost with no map or any navigation device. There were no other camp sites in that area so I invited them to camp where I was. I can't remember the names but those guys were funny! I laughed in my tent as I couldn't help but hear them discuss the likelihood of Big Foot being around and the plausibility that Big Foot was actually the spawn of Frankenstein's Monster and the girl monster that no one knew about.
In the morning we all parted ways as they headed farther up 206 and I replenished my water supply. With everything wrapped up, I headed North to find White Oak Hollow. I passed through an area that I think has a lot of birch trees in it (marked on my tracks). I lit some of the bark when I got home and it burned well. Anyhow, I followed Thompson Creek though the hollow. There were a few camp sites at first, but the trail grew less and less discernible as I walked. After a while there was no trail that I could see and the debris from flooding was almost impassable. I pushed through moderately thick bush and came upon one last camp site with a stone type table or seat before loosing any sign of humanity. For the last few miles I switched between walking in the stream bed, to hog trails, to bushwacking. Creek dissipates after a while and I continued to follow the hollow to Bunyan Hill Trail.
Aside from no interesting view, I was glad to be on a well worn trail! I followed this down to the Borden Trailhead, regaining energy as I noted the frequency that I was encountering more people. More people = close to a trailhead. I got a kick out of the fact that someone had left four bottles of an odd named beer sitting on the bridge for fellow wary hikers to enjoy. Kudos to you who ever you are!
I still have much to learn about my GPS and have a lot more ground to cover before truely knowing the Valley.
