Every year, on Easter weekend, I treat myself to a weekend in the woods. Usually, I do this trip with a friend, but this year the friend I scheduled this excursion with had to cancel last minute. We were planning on setting up camp at Tunica Hills WMA in SW Mississippi and day hiking the trails at Tunica Hills. We still want to hike these together, so I opted for a solo trip to check out a site in Kisatchie National Forest (one of the few places not shut down for the covid-19.)
I parked at the Caroline Dorman/Backbone Trail, donned my pack, and then headed north to the eastern terminus of the trail. It was 1pm and I hadn’t eaten lunch yet, but was anxious to get on trail, so I planned to stop about a mile in to eat.
The first mile of the trail was quiet, not a soul around. It was sunny and mild with temps right at 70F. I found that I took in more of the scenery than I normally do while hiking with others. I suppose I am more focused on keeping pace or keeping conversation that I forget to look around. Thirty minutes from starting in, I came upon the first clear flowing creek. The spot was shaded, with a fallen log for me to sit on and make some Knorr pasta and tuna. Just the right spot as I knew it was just before the first big climb on the trail.
I lit my cat can stove and boiled some pasta. I could hear voices of young children nearby, a family of four appeared from around a bend in the trail. This trail is not one that you normally see a family with a six and four year old braving, it can be a bit of a tough hike for little legs, but I guess with the few options available, they thought this would be a good one. They hiked through, and my lunch was ready. I ate my lunch, cleaned my pot and moved on.
It was only fifteen minutes of hiking before I caught up again with that young family. The four year old was crying because he had stepped in water and his shoe was wet. With a chuckle, I wished them luck with the remaining three-and-a-half miles, hiked on. It was only another 30 minutes or so when I came to the Backbone trail/Turpentine trail intersection. I headed south down the Turpentine. Keeping my eye out for the spur trail that led to my planned destination, I found it about a quarter-mile from the split. I am not sure if this spur has a name, but I have read that there is a short trail in the area named Explorer Trail with scenic views, I can’t be sure this is one in the same. Let me know if any of you know.
This trail leads to a nearly vertical ascent up at least a 100ft hill. Followed the trail south-east and just around a bend and you come to one the best views in the area. There is a fire pit made with sandstone rocks and enough trees for one! The spot is not very hospitable for a tenter, though there was a small area just enough for a single person tent. We aren’t on this forum to talk about ground dwelling anyway, so I’ll continue on.
There was plenty of firewood left from someone before me, so I quickly had camp set up.
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With nothing left to do, I opened a still cool IPA, and took in the surrounding views. It was a breezy afternoon and the hawks were out circling the skies.
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I watched the birds circle for a few hours, pondering the value of true social distancing. Before long, I started to feel hungry again. The fire lit quickly as it is all semi-burnt pinewood from previous burns. As the fire turned into coals, I enjoyed another beer and watched the setting sun behind me change the color of the valley before me. Eventually, the sun had set and I had had enough of the fire, so I headed back into the hammock. The skies were clear, there was a light breeze, and after hearing a nearby own hoot for some food and the distant coyotes roll call for the night, I dozed off to sleep.
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I woke to the morning birds and looked out to the east at the gorgeous sunrises. It was a cool 49F, so I rolled over to sleep another couple of hours. The sun was out in full force by 8:30am and my ASYM tarp was no longer blocking the sun from my eyes, so I crawled out of the hammock and made breakfast and coffee. I didn’t linger in camp much longer, it was my 11th anniversary, and I was looking at spending it with my wife and children, of course.
I packed up and hit the trail by 10am. It was only two and a half miles back to the truck, and the last part of the Turpentine trail is fairly flat and the last mile was a road walk. I was back on the road by eleven. This was about as perfect of a trip as someone could get, thanks for reading!
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Originally Posted by ufdigga
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