It was just after dawn when I left the house Sky was overcast and wind wasn’t bad. It stayed that way for the two and a half hour drive to McGee Creek. However - there seemed to be a lot of deer moving around. Saw a group of three running across one of the fields and another group of three on the side of I-75. The clouds were low and clinging to the tops of the hills as I got closer to the route 3 turnoff.
After arriving in the parking area and filling out the permit slip, I started up the trail. This trip ended up being a solo adventure because my daughter caught one of those 48-hour-make-you-miserable-at-both-ends bugs at the last minute. So,my plan was to take the South Rim Trail for 1.2 miles and then turn right onto the Boundary Trail. I’d follow that around to the Hunter’s Cabin Trail and then make camp up at the B3 campsite on the Wildcat Canyon Trail.
The trails were really nice. Wide and clear. I think I had gone about one half mile when it started to sprinkle just hard enough to pull out the rain gear. After turning onto the Boundary Trail, I spooked a couple of deer. Soon after that, I came to a stream that I had to bushwack around. It was wider that I could jump across (about 4 feet) and looked to be a couple of feet deep. No problem though, only had to follow it for about 20 yards to find a place that was gently sloped on both sides and only about 2 feet wide.
Found a couple of interesting mushrooms to take pictures of.
At the next stream crossing, I came upon a surprise. Someone had left a, uh, well I suppose it was a car at one point. I was surprised about how good the condition of it was.
So at some point, I realized that before I could get to the B3 campsite it may be dark, so I decided I could shorten the route by taking the Hog Camp Trail straight north, and use it as a shortcut to Hunter’s Cabin. I made it halfway up the trail (to the Equestrian campsite) and found a new trail to the right. I took that trail to Cabbage Head Rock and had lunch under it. I was still raining and since it was about noon, and since the ground was dry under the rock...well, it seemed like the right thing to do. Had one of those pouches of Sweet and Spicy tuna with some tortillas. Then a Climb bar for dessert.
Here’s where my plan began to deteriorate. I ended up leaving Cabbage Head Rock and rejoining the Boundary trail on the east side of the Rec Area. No problem, since that was part of the original path I planned out. But somehow..someway, i missed the intersection of Hunter’s Cabin. For the life of me, I still dunno how it slipped by. So.....I ended up walking the entire east side of the Boundary Trail. Allow me to share the epiphany I had while climbing that last incline at the end of that leg; NEXT TIME GO BACK AND FIND THAT FRICKIN TRAIL! My legs felt like jelly after I finally got to the top. I tried to take some picks of the span, but it was so foggy that I’m not sure how well they will come across.
Anyway, I followed the trail along the north end and then made it to the B5 campsite. By then it was about 3pm, and I decided that it was a good time to pitch camp, start a fire, and get some grub. This was a nice campsite. Plenty of trees for hammock folk and lots of clear, flat area for ground dwellers. It had two fire pits already built. I got to practice my fire making skills. It had rained the entire time until I finally reached the north end, so all the wood on the ground was wet. I succeeded this time. For dinner I had Packit Gourmet Burger wraps, cocoa, and another Climb bar. Pretty tasty. After all that was done, I sat back, relaxed, and had a nice cigar while I stoked the fire.
The wind blew all night, but stayed mostly in the tops of the trees. An ocassional gust was low enough to the ground to shake the tarp a bit. It was damp, but it never really got cold, so my 20* underquilt and topquilt kept me plenty warm. Rain stayed away during the evening, but when I woke up the next morning, it was still foggy, after studying the situation while eating breakfast, I decided that I’d cut the trip short by a day.
All in all, I will go back. I like the trails, and I still want to check out the center and west trails.
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