We recently finished a two-day overnight hike at South Mountain State Park, NC, which was designed for us to test some of our dehydrated meals we have been creating. The trip ended up being roughly 21 miles total, 12 the first day and 9.5 the second day.
Our neighbors accompanied us on the trip (Jay and Misty), which allowed for great conversation and comradery! I would like to thank them for the photos you see below; however, this is something I need to make a better effort in when we embark on our CDT hike, capturing the moment. Some folks probably taken photography to the extreme, limiting their experience of “living in the moment” but I seem to find myself not documenting our time on these trips enough. Jay and Misty’s presence helped remind me of this, because photos are a great way to remind ourselves of the joys we experience in nature.
The trail we executed was the Perimeter Trail at South Mountain, and really the only take away from the trip for others to know, is that particular trail does not have water access until you get to the campsites. HD and I ran out of water on the first day because we ASSumed there would be more streams, but we found ourselves hiking the ridgeline with no water access due to the altitude. Luckily the day was not that long in duration, and we were able to fill up once at camp, but this was a good reminder to not take water for granted, especially when you have large black puppy dog with you who drinks for two.
As far as the dehydrated meals are concerned, we had split pea and hamburger soup and a breakfast scramble, both of which we made ourselves. The split pea meal left much to be desired. It was too bland, and we made the mistake of placing the contents into our pot and then adding water and trying to heat the meal through, which only caused us to burn more fuel than necessary. Had we just boiled the water first and then added the contents to the boiling water, we would have saved fuel, and I wouldn’t have been so paranoid about burning the contents in the pot, which can very easily happen. The breakfast scramble though was a major sustain. We ate the meal with tortillas and hot sauce, and we had little complaints. The breakfast scramble’s contents are as follows:
-5 tablespoons of powdered eggs
-1.5 tablespoons of bacon bits
-1oz of dehydrated hashbrowns
-1oz of dehydrated black beans
-6 dehydrated slices of jalapenos
-Slap Ya Momma seasoning
-2 tortillas and hot sauce
One response to “South Mountain State Park Shakedown Hike”
Not only was this trip a shakedown for HD and MC but also an training event for Misty and Jay who haven’t backpacked in a long time. HD and MC could be professional guides! We appreciate their guidance and encouragement.