12 nights a year

**cneill13** · 07-08-2016, 10:37

I completed my July hang and the 11th (can't believe it has been that many) of the 12 Nights series last weekend again at the Gooch Mountain shelter on the Georgia AT.

When I left Atlanta, it was a balmy 95 degrees. When I got to Dahlonega, 15 minutes from my parking area, it was 93 degrees. When I pulled up into the Gooch Gap parking lot, it was 79 degrees.

There used to be a shelter near Gooch Gap but it was torn down in early-2000 (I think) as it was too close to the road and used as a party house by the locals.

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This picture is of Gooch Gap. If you look carefully in the middle, you can see the old trail that goes up to the shelter. I hiked up to the old shelter which is roughly 1/3 of a mile from Gooch Gap. The shelter's foundation is still there but nothing else. A huge tree also fell on the old shelter so it is a good thing it was moved.

I hiked south on the AT about 1 1/4 miles to the shelter area. At the 1 mile mark, you can see where the old AT goes up and over the ridgeline of Gooch Mountain. It was rerouted when the new Gooch Mountain shelter was built to replace the Gooch Gap shelter. The faint trail to the right is the old AT. The trail on the left is the current AT.

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I got to the shelter area and there were 20-25 hikers there. I was worried the water source might be dry as Georgia is in the beginning stages of a drought but it was flowing well. One of my favorite water sources on the Georgia AT. I don't even filter it as it comes right out of the ground.

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My first course of action was to saw some wood for a fire. This is a popular shelter area so wood is sparse but I know of a cove with many downed trees so I was able to gather a huge pile of wood in about 45 minutes.

Then I set up my hammock. It was hot with no rain in the forecast so I didn't need a tarp but I brought one anyway, just in case.

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I then focused on getting the fire lit. A few hikers came over but most just sat in their tents. Not a very fun crowd.

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Sunset came so I went for a quick night hike.

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I then came back to the shelter to get the fire rolling. Everyone had gone to bed by 9 pm so I had the place to myself. I wasn't intending for the fire to get as big as it did but it was huge. It lit up the entire shelter area like it was daylight. The hikers trying to sleep in the shelter must have thought Armageddon had arrived.

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The next morning when I awoke, nearly everyone was gone at 8 am. So I again had the entire place to myself. There were many new hikers here which I like but the mess they left behind I didn't like. At least they piled the garbage near a trash bag which I was able to haul out. I managed to get the shelter area pretty clean.

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I then hiked on back to the car. Another excellent night in the woods.

Carl

**Snydman** · 07-08-2016, 12:11

Last weekend in the eastern Sierras at Badger Lake just off the JMT... Cool nights still spots of snow around 9,000 feet! Great Father son trip!!

And my son developed the ability to crawl on water

**Hobopelican** · 07-23-2016, 11:43

11th hang completed! Almost postponed it due to weather. Huge line of thunderstorms as I approached Mohican State Park.
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But, hey, it's Ohio and the weather is seldom predictable, so I stuck it out and once I got setup, things cleared up and I had a nice, relaxing hang without anyone within a mile or so.
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Wow, can't believe this month 11! Such a simple idea. I might have changed plans this weekend (and a few others!), but just that little push kept me on track to a great hang. So what are we gonna do next?

**sprout703** · 07-23-2016, 20:36

Last pic is epic! Timing is everything.

Originally Posted by Snydman

Last weekend in the eastern Sierras at Badger Lake just off the JMT... Cool nights still spots of snow around 9,000 feet! Great Father son trip!!

And my son developed the ability to crawl on water

**TrailSlug** · 07-23-2016, 21:55

12 nights a year is no problem. One night a month is a big problem. There's no way I can sleep outside anywhere within a couple hundred miles in these temps. It's been way to warm since early June and the night time temps will not fall back into the lower 70's until mid to late September. You guys that can do this keep it up. I only wish I had some of this nice weather you guys are experiencing.

**high-peak** · 07-24-2016, 23:50

Completed my 11th hang (July) with a busy weekend helping at a local Scout camp and teaching kayak and canoe. One left to do, hopefully August will be in the south of France, with more Scouts.

**johnspenn** · 07-25-2016, 06:23

We went 4 for 4 in July (started in April) with a two-night trip on the AT.

Blogged about the trip HERE (her take) and HERE (his take).

Trip video:

**Scouter811** · 07-26-2016, 20:38

This seems like quite a fun little project to get out more.

I don't have a lot of pics of my campout setups, but I figured I'd share a few leading up to my first night in this challenge.

While I don't know that I would count this one as out doors I thought I would show it off as being out of a house. Let's call this a warm up for April/May.
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We did an encampment on the USS Little Rock with my son's pack. Had a great time. There were some "hammock" like racks on board, but we were stuck with the coffin racks.

For May I managed to get outside at a training event in PA.
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For June I'll call this warm up too. I didn't spend a full night in this. Too noisy.
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For July I will post this as my first official entry. Here was my setup for an eventful week at Boy Scout Summer Camp with my son.
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**slugbait** · 07-29-2016, 11:05

My July hang happened in our back yard last night. It's been too hot for me to go backpacking and a meteor shower was predicted- I saw just one but it was a nice one. 76 degrees at 10 pm and 62 degrees at 5 am. Now I'm 10 for 10.

**jamaulwall** · 07-30-2016, 11:40

July was a surprisingly tough month for me. I had a couple other vacations happen and ran out of vacation days. I had to settle for a back yard hang last night. I thought I'd test out sleeping with no UQ since the overnight low was supposed to be above 70°. Well it got down to 66° and my back got a bit chilled. I think, for me, 70° is about the lowest in can comfortably go without an UQ. That's part of why I love this challenge, it helps me test gear and limits. 11 for 12 from me, one month to go.

#12nights