Tag: trail head

August 19, 2018. Cat Creek Loop to Dear Creek Trail Head

I was slow to get up. The soft mulchy forest floor turned out to be a haven for critters. First, a mouse scratched at the side of my tent around 11:00. I smacked the area where the sound was coming from and apparently delivered a direct hit. However, a couple carpenter ants persistently tried to get in, with one actually succeeding. The forest was truly so quiet I could hear the ants crawling on my tent.

I knew I would have a short day. Instead of entering ONP and camping illegally, I would just take a short hike this day and camp just outside the park.

More Forest Service roads were the order of the day. Mostly I was going up. I saw very little traffic. However, I did come to realize this area is very popular with people who shoot.

My first two shooting areas were large turnouts. It looked like folks just took any old thing out there (a dryer, a old television, etc.) and blasted away. My third and final site was a large abandoned gravel pit. The ground by the road was almost completely covered with shell casings, mostly shotgun. I did not go in to the target area, but could see appliances, printed targets, and even what looked like a propane tank.

Up one forest road, somebody had burned and abandoned a vehicle. I found no bodies. Hopefully the insurance proceeds went to a good use.

By noon, I had reached my destination, the parking lot of the Trail Head for Deer Creek. My heart sunk a bit as I saw about ten cars. There was a lady who had built a fire on the gravel in the middle of the parking lot. Part of me wanted to go remind her there was a ban on campfires (as it clearly stated on the bulletin posted), but then part of me said to let it go. I went past her and towards the creek. Much to my surprise and delight, there were four good campsite and all were empty.

I chose the nicest one. It was nice because of the terrain, the 100 yard distance from the parking area, and because it was near the creek.

The creek had a curious creature in it. It was dark and shaped like a tadpole. However, it clung to rocks in fast moving water.

Diligent readers may recall that one of my rules is to avoid camping near a road or trail head, doubly so if it a weekend. The rationale is that some people like to party at these locations and make noise and, if the mood is right, fire weapons or throw beer bottles.

As the afternoon wore on, people gradually came off the trail and got in cars. Even Mrs. Pyromaniac’s partner came down. I washed some sweaty hiking gear and studied my maps.

As the sun was setting, all the cars had cleared out. However, a van pulled in to the parking lot. I heard a few doors slam. After about five minutes I heard somebody rustling in the bushes near my camp. I called out “Hello” and two people ran back through the bushes to the van and it took off. I must’ve scared the hell out of them.

I fell asleep but was awakened around 11:30 by a car screeching to a halt on the gravel. It stopped and nothing happened. However, after about 15 minutes, a car door opened and I was forced to listen to snippets of a very heated domestic argument. This went on for 20 minutes. Finally, the car door closed and the car sped off. Silence.

Never, ever sleep by a trail head parking lot.