First Solo Experience

[natertot]

This last Thursday-Saturday, the sun, moon, and stars all aligned to where I could get out of the house without having to contend with work and school. The rest of the family had other obligations so I went out for my first solo trip in a part of the Wayne National Forest. There is a 15 mile hiking loop called Wildcat Hollow Hiking Trail just north of Burr Oak lake that I wanted to check out, so I did. I know, pics or it didn't happen! I will try to get a youtube video up by the end of the week and link it in.

The plan was to hike the loop counter-clockwise for about 3.5 miles the first evening and set up camp. Day two was to consist of a 8 mile hike exploring a few abandoned things along the way. Saturday morning was to finish up the last 2.5 miles and head back home. The plan also consisted of taking a lot of pics and a few video clips here and there. One caveat was that the water there is deemed contaminated so all water must be hiked in or cached at road crossings. Like I said, this was the plan......

What actually happened was I went clockwise since I missed the trail fork. Where I was planning on staying on night two was where I stayed at on night one. It was pretty uneventful with camp set up along a semi dried up stream. Lots of chipmunks in the area and a few deer. Quite peaceful. Day two I continued on the clockwise path and checked out the oil rigs. Pretty cool, actually. Hiked up to a water cache and topped of water. Had some extra so made some coffee there, changed socks, and ate a few bits of jerky and some trail mix. Continued on from there and saw plenty of chipmunks and frogs. Even came across one snake who appeared like it recently had eaten, judging by its bulge and relatively slow movement. A also stirred up a few deer along the way and saw one beaver from across a pond. Things were going pretty smooth and I was planning on staying where I intended to stay on the first night. That is where things went a little south.

I reached the camp site and decided to just sit and rest while taking in some water for a bit. I was sitting there, pondering how I would set up camp and after about five minutes I heard raccoons of in the distance. Didn't think much about it, but the playful chatter kept getting louder and louder. After hearing the fellas for about five minutes, two adolescent coons emerged from the other side of the trail and charged straight for my pack despite my standing next to it and yelling at them. They acted as if I weren't even there! I swung my hiking stick at them and they back off about 40 feet, but then they came right back for my pack! I swung my hiking stick and yelled again, to no avail. There was a few pieces of small firewood left over from a previous resident, so I grabbed a few pieces and chucked them at the fellas. They backed off, but I could tell they were regrouping. I decided to throw on my pack and head for the next site about 3/4 mile down the trail. I start walking and I hear the chatter again. I turn around and they are headed down the trail charging at me! I swung my hiking stick a few times and they backed off a little, but every time I started walking, they kept following. I get about a mile down the trail (passed up a few campsites) and these buggers are not giving up at all. I see a small pile of wood from where the forest crew cut up a few trees that had fallen over the trail. I decided that would be my Alamo! I go to the pile of wood, throw my pack down and start chucking the logs at the critters. I got a multiple hits in and one guy really got clobbered (I actually felt pretty bad about that) until they retreated up a nearby tree. At that point, I through on my pack and took off down trail. Another mile down without seeing them since the wood pile, I sat down and checked the map.

I was about a mile from the car and the campsites near the trail head were starting to get filled up by the locals for the weekend drinking session. I decided to go back to the car and head to Burr Oak State Park and camp there for night two and recoup from a 12 mile hike and the fight. The stay there was pretty nice. Picked out a nice site and set up my tent. I then went to the shower house and got cleaned up. That was followed up with a nice little meal in my new milsurp german cookset. Got a good nights sleep and headed home the following morning.

I learned a lot on this trip, here are some points I took away for solo hiking and camping.

1: Be flexible with plans, nothing goes accordingly.
2: Water caches were new to me. It is better to have them in smaller amounts and more often.
3: Campfires are nice, but extremely unnecessary most of the time. I didn't have a single one.
4: There is something to be said about keeping the pack weight down.
5: Breathable clothing that wicks water away will be a future purchase. 100% cotton in 90* temps and high humidity will wreck you.
6: Don't rely on a smart phone for video and pictures. While they do have the capability, the memory capacity sucks.
7: Be familiar with trail markings and their meaning.
8: A non-lethal self-defense item is useful. I had a pistol, but didn't want to shoot the raccoons as they weren't trying to harm me. Pepper spray would have been good.

[crashdive123]

Where are you guys headed?

Natertot's camp. He threw a stick an Junior.


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[Rick]

Can you describe the assailants?
Two guys with masks.

[natertot]

Hahaha! The trail is called Wildcat Hollow. Rumor has it that the trail was named after the elusive bobcat in the area. I really think that the wildcat is actually a coon a half-asleep camper saw from his tent!

[randyt]

adolescent coon, wonder if that would be like veal?

[natertot]

adolescent coon, wonder if that would be like veal?

After the log beating, I'm sure it is pretty tender.........

[hunter63]

Great report....and about normal.
Seems funny to me seeing all the discussion on bears and big animals, ...when things like the raccoons and bugs may be a much larger problem.

Also a good reason not to carry all your gear in one pack.....them bandits grab it you are screwed....LOL

All in all sounds like a good time......

I find it hard to relax to start with, like you have been wanting to do this for so long, and now it's happening, and you don't want to waste any time......
When the "relax and let it roll happens", much more enjoyable.....Sounds like you arrived at that point.

[Winnie]

All I can think of is Jurassic Park 2, those cute little dinosaurs running in packs.....

Glad you managed to lose them and get some quality time in.

[kyratshooter]

I'll bet Burr Oak was hot as blazes !!

Having camped in that area many times I have fought the coons of Burr Oak on more than one occasion. They are a plague and I am sworn to secrecy as to how my camping group has won the battle over campsites over the years. I can only say that it involves the use of Phsyc warfare and loud music, and that is just to get them to come out of the woods so we can deal with them! We actually send a pre-event team into the area to clear out the raccoons. That group knows they will get no sleep at all for the first two or three nights.

The picture Crash posted I have seen in real life. Gives me shivers and goose bumps!

There is no cell phone coverage in that area. You can not get a call out for 20 miles in any direction. There are entire small towns with no cell coverage in that area. I have always though it would be a terrible place to be injured because the rescue would have to fall back on 1970 technology; wait for someone to find you, wait while they hike out, wait for arrival of SAR, endure the painful litter carry for miles before you get to the ambulance, realization that you are going to a third world level medical treatment facility because southeastern OH might as well be on Mars.

There are a lot of reclaimed strip mines in that area too. They have been landscaped, replanted and provide a great experience. For anyone that wants some solitude to practice skills or such there are many areas where you will be the only person for a mile in any direction and the barrier across the road has a sign that says "close the gate behind you" rather than No Trespassing.

Like Nate said, you carry all the water you need in with you. That area has been a center of the mining industry for more than 100 years and all the water is suspect, even springs and seeps.

Just check it out with the DNR.

[natertot]

The temp wasn't too bad because the entire trail is pretty much a canopy which was decently cool and shaded. The humidity was rough. More than 10 mins of any effort and my shirt was soaked. Not really hot, just wet from mild sweat and the humidity taking over. That is why more breathable clothing that wicks water away is going to be purchased in the future.

Your description is spot on for the Burr Oak area. Still no cell service, I saw no one past the trail head, and there are still traces of the previous mining and oil drilling present. Water caches are a must, and was actually pretty fun to find places to hide supplies. I will probably do more caches in the future and might include clothing and food as well.

Burr Oak is worth checking out and the Wildcat Hollow Hiking Trail is worth doing if you have a few days.

[finallyME]

I learned a lot on this trip, here are some points I took away for solo hiking and camping.

1: Be flexible with plans, nothing goes accordingly.
2: Water caches were new to me. It is better to have them in smaller amounts and more often.
3: Campfires are nice, but extremely unnecessary most of the time. I didn't have a single one.
4: There is something to be said about keeping the pack weight down.
5: Breathable clothing that wicks water away will be a future purchase. 100% cotton in 90* temps and high humidity will wreck you.
6: Don't rely on a smart phone for video and pictures. While they do have the capability, the memory capacity sucks.
7: Be familiar with trail markings and their meaning.
8: A non-lethal self-defense item is useful. I had a pistol, but didn't want to shoot the raccoons as they weren't trying to harm me. Pepper spray would have been good.

Great report! It sounds like you had fun, which is what really is important. Your 8 things you learned..... yeah, agree with all of them.

1. This one is the most important. I have found that the military's "Every great plan never survives contact" holds true every time.
2. I don't know the area very well, sooooo......
3. I actually rarely use campfires.... especially backpacking. If I am car camping with a group, then we generally have one. But, when we backpack, it just takes so much time and effort. If we plan to be there for a while, then sure. When I backpack with the scouts, I will generally not let them have one in the morning, so we can get everything done in time to break camp and hike to the next one. If you do a lot of rolling into camp late, and leaving early, campfires become more of a hassle.
4. I think about this every time I backpack. Nothing like experience to teach you... and getting old.
5. I love my nylon fishing shirt and nylon zip pants.
6. I always take a real camera. The batteries last longer, and I can easily switch out the SD card. I usually take my phone battery out and store them separate so that I have a working phone when I get back to the car. The phone doesn't work in the mountains anyways... unless I stand on a peak and get lucky.
7. I am generally trying to teach scouts and adults what these are. Most people don't notice the blazes or don't know what they are. Cairns are the same way.
8. I always carry bear spray. I think it is more versatile.

I have never really gone solo before. I am a baby, so I would at least take a dog with me, even if that means borrowing one.