Leaving No Trace Behind - In The Pisgah Trails

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:

1. Set up a camp. Yes, it’s absolutely necessary; you simply won’t get the same feel sitting in your couch.
2. Set up a bonfire.
3. 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.
4. Fill up the opening thus created with as many marshmallows and chocolate chips as you can.
5. Wrap the filled banana into an aluminum foil and put it in the fire for roasting.
6. 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.

So all prepared, we started our journey inside Pisgah. It was awkward initially, with the huge weight constantly pulling backwards. However, it was just a matter of getting used to and we had a pretty smooth walk. The trails were mostly flat, with few sections with steep ascent. Throughout the day, we had a water stream for company. It made our walk pleasant, mostly. The reason I added ‘mostly’ is because, we had to cross that stream at multiple locations during the day and it was, by no means an easy job. Thankfully, we managed well. We, in fact, covered an extra mile than what we had planned. We stopped before the sun set. At a nice sight close to water, we set up our camp. The first job at the camp was to collect water and filter it. Cooking started soon after. The menu was macaroni and cheese with chicken, a perfect food for tired souls. 

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.