When I visited McLeodganj and Ladakh in the last summer, I
had kind-of made up my mind that that would be the last time I would be doing
any adventurous activity over a prolonged period, with a PhD life looming over.
Of course, it was too early to make such a call and I am glad that I was wrong.
Earlier this month, I saw a notice put up (in a toilet of all places)
advertising a backpacking camp to Apalachian mountains during the spring break.
There was just a day to register, meaning not enough time to think, just the
way I like. So I registered and the rest is --- well, you decide for yourself.
We were a group of eight lead by Duke Outdoor Adventures
center’s director, Nathan. All the equipment including backpacks, sleeping
bags, and food was arranged by him. The destination for the first day was Pilot
Mountain, a four hour drive from Durham and we were going to spend four days in
Pisgah national forest, a couple of hours drive further.
Our journey started on a Sunday afternoon and we reached
Pilot Mountain in the evening. There was no activity planned for the day, but
we decided to do a light hike around the mountain. The idea was to locate good
rock climbing spots for the next day’s activity. Incidentally, Nathan also
happens to be an instructor at Duke’s indoor climbing wall. So we had all the
expertise needed. He quickly nailed down on three spots, all varying in difficulty
levels. Post this; we moved to our
camping site.
NC State authorities have set up a number of camping sites
close to Pilot Mountain, all equipped with benches, a fireplace and a bathroom.
Everyone was very excited at the prospect of camping in the woods. For most of
us, it was a first. First, we were taught how to pitch a tent. Within no time, we had four
beautiful houses ready. Next up, we were introduced to the equipment we would
be using during camping. There were foldable stoves, small cylinders, water
filters, coffee makers and what not. There was a ‘poop kit’ too. Since the
opportunity presented itself, Nathan used as much toilet humor as he could
while ‘demonstrating’ it.
After this funny session, it was time for more fun, time to
cook. We had to make burritos. Responsibilities were distributed. Some of us set
up gas stoves and started cooking rice, beans, meat and vegetables separately.
At the same time, others set up a fire for a special dessert. Once the stuff
was cooked, we quickly gobbled up the tasty burritos. We were now looking forward to desserts. After making us wait for full 5 minutes (Yes, 5 minutes is a long time if your
curiosity is aroused.), Nathan unleashed a legendary recipe: ‘banana boat’.
Although this is a travelogue, I can’t stop the gourmet inside of me from
giving away the recipe. So here it goes:
Ingredients:
A bonfire, a banana, a handful of marshmallows, a handful of
chocolate chips, aluminum foil
Procedure:
- Set up a camp. Yes, it’s absolutely necessary; you simply won’t get the same feel sitting in your couch.
- Set up a bonfire.
- Hold a banana horizontally and (without peeling it) make a uniform dent across the edge into it with a small knife. Make sure you don’t cut all the way through.
- Fill up the opening thus created with as many marshmallows and chocolate chips as you can.
- Wrap the filled banana into an aluminum foil and put it in the fire for roasting.
- Take it out after about 10 minutes and let it cool for 5 minutes. The chocolate and marshmallow will melt and will be soaked in the banana. Take a ride in the banana boat now.
After sailing through in the banana boat, it wasn’t hard to
get a sound sleep. The pampering of our taste-buds was to be continued however,
as I found out on the next morning. Nathan had packed a
delicious pancake mix for the breakfast. While it fried, as an add-on, we
squeezed in some chocolate chips on its surface. They were simply the best
pancakes I ever had.
Rain was forecasted for the later part of the day. So we
quickly packed up and started towards Pilot Mountain for our first task – Rock
climbing.
Nathan and Mike, who has a good experience of climbing,
quickly hooked up ropes over the rocks. Mike then demonstrated us how to use
small holds in the rock. Most of us were overawed by the height initially.
There were some tough sections in all of the rocks. While two of them had an
overhung cliff each, the third had a chimney. None of us, except Mike and
Nathan, managed to conquer them entirely. However, I was happy that I could
overcome my fear and could give it my best shot. I must thank our belayers,
Mike and Nathan, for supporting us through moments like the one in adjacent
photograph.
The pancakes we ate in the morning had served us well through this
intense session, but it was time to re-charge our batteries. In keeping with
the trend of bettering ourselves in each meal, we made some delicious
sandwiches, with ample proportions of hummus, cheese, turkey, and vegetables.
The weather gods had been kind to us so far, but as soon as we started for our
next destination, it started pouring. It was raining all through our three
hours journey to Brevard town and there were no signs of it stopping anytime
soon. In such circumstances, cooking outside was not possible, so we decided to
have dinner outside; I mean, inside a restaurant. We found a Pizza hut and
feasted on Pizza. Nathan had brought a National Geographic's map of Pisgah national
forest which we were planning to explore in the coming four days. We were
taught how to navigate map by interpreting contour lines. While having
dinner, we made a rough plan for the next four days. Everyone used bathrooms
for one final time before we devoted ourselves to the nature. The camps were
set up quickly and with a sound of heavy raindrops heating tent tarps for
company, we went to sleep.
The skies had cleared up by the morning. No more rain was
forecasted for the next four days. Lucky us! Nathan taught us how to pack a
rucksack. There was a big amount of group gear to be distributed, which
included food, cooking equipments, tents, a medical kit and other small things.
Putting sleeping bag inside the rucksack was a big challenge. We must have
taken at least two hours to pack our bags that day. Utmost care was taken to
distribute weight properly and to make our hip bones carry most of the burden.
There was one last important task remaining before we retired;
that of hanging ‘bear bags’. Some wild animals like bears have strong olfactory
sensitivities. So it’s an invitation
to such animals if you keep food items inside your tent. The solution is to put your food and everything that smells
good in a bag and hang the bag high up with a rope hanging by two trees
situated at a safe distance from your tents. This was our final exercise for
every day in the forest. However, we never managed to catch sight of any wild
animal.
The next day started with a river crossing. It was a narrow
section and we managed to cross it by jumping over a few stones. It was a
smooth walk till lunch time. The next section was a steep climb over ‘Cold
Mountain’. We had a healthy lunch of a Pita sandwich, filled with grilled
chicken, bell peppers, onions, cheese, and apples. It gave us sufficient energy
for the rest of the ‘hard’ day. The temperatures started dropping as we climbed up the Cold Mountain. The water streams that provided us a good company the
previous day were missing this time. It also meant that at occasional water
bodies we encountered, we had to stock water for the night.
The camping site was on a high ridge-line. In keeping with
its name, the Cold Mountain was freezing cold. To add to our woes, it was
windy. We had to use extra pegs to keep our tents in place. It was already
getting unbearable. The first thing we did was to boil water to make some hot
drinks. It helped, but only a little. We were still shivering. I don’t know how
Nathan had so much energy that day, but he cooked some tasty and crunchy pizza
bagels for everyone. A lots of cheese, pepperoni and pizza sauce were used as a
topping. It was only 8 pm by the time we finished, but then again, it was a
survival night! There was no point in staying out. With all the layers of
clothing we had, we slipped into sleeping bags and tried to keep ourselves
warm.
We came out at around 8:30 am the next day to find deposits
of ice on tree leaves. Thankfully, it was sunny. After a quick breakfast of
oatmeal, we started on a new trail. We were walking around the Cold Mountain
and the Smoky Mountain. The surrounding view was the best we encountered in
this expedition. We stopped at multiple places for photos. Later in the day, we started descending. On the way, we encountered a lot of icicles adding
to the beauty of the mountains.
The camping site for the last night of our trip
was also the best of all. A wide stream of water was gushing through on one
side and a thick cover of Pine trees was surrounding the camp from other sides.
The climate was pleasant too. We drank some hot coffee and cooked some kuskus and
vegetables. As we were not as overly tired as we were on previous days, everyone
was relaxed during dinner. People shared memories of their past adventures. Mike had some interesting stories from his Ecuador expedition;
Nathan too shared some fascinating experiences of his. We also did some
sky-watching. It brought my childhood memories back when occasionally during summers, we
used to sleep outside under open skies, and I used to spend hours trying to
connect stars making imaginary drawings.
On the last day, Nathan suggested us to do some solo hiking.
Just over 2 miles were left to be covered for the day. We were sent one-by-one
with five minutes separating every two. It was a different experience being
alone in the woods. I don’t know whether it was the fear of being alone or the lighter
rucksacks, but everyone pushed themselves harder that day and finished the distance within an hour. Upon reaching car, everyone changed
into clean clothes stored in the car and we bid adieu to the lovely Pisgah forest.
It was an amazing experience. I had been to a few
adventurous trips previously, but they were all supervised. This was the first
time I went through the entire process, from navigating route to cooking food.
The experience of Nathan helped us throughout the journey. His motive was to make
us capable of camping on our own, so he taught us every small detail. One
important detail among other things was, ‘Leave no trace’ policy. We
took a great care not to litter anywhere in the trails. As an instance, the
night we cooked pasta, the water used to boil the pasta was buried inside
ground and not thrown away on ground or in flowing water. I must again mention
the food, some of the best dishes I had in a long time. Even after hiking for
five days, I ended up gaining a pound. Thanks to Nathan again!
Spending five days close to nature, with no access to phone
or internet completely re-charged me. Initially, I had doubts on how I would
spend so much time with nothing to do. As it turned out, we were always busy
learning something or the other from the nature. We could sleep soundly even
though they were unfamiliar territories. What the heck, even my dreams were
better! I normally see my colleagues or my adviser in my dreams, either
laughing at my work or talking at length about their research thus giving me an
inferiority complex. (Of course, they are not the only things I dream about!) But in Pisgah, I saw myself with a woman (must
be my wife whenever it plays out) and two little kids sitting around a bonfire
next to a small hut situated close to a beautiful river and overlooking a majestic
mountain. Ahaha, what a pleasure! I would love to go out for camping more often
only for such dreams, if for nothing else. :-)
Photos courtesy: Nathan, Yao, Mike.
For more pictures, please visit Duke Outdoor Adventure's facebook page.
