Money$hot goes backpacking in mountains for 4 days - lots of pics!

[Money$hot]

After suffering from severe porra depletion, Dr. Waffles recommended that to fully recuperate, I needed to fly back to the states for some R&R. I decided to go backpacking in one of our wonderful state parks here is south western, NC in the Smokey Mountains. I've hiked up the mountain to what I call my "base camp" before but have never continued up the trail to the top of the next much higher mountain ridge since the trail was just too fucking steep (like 45 degrees the whole way) and treacherous with broken limbs and fallen trees all over- plus there was no water up there (or so I thought) and I'd have to hump all my water up there with me to boot. My full pack with 2 days worth of water for me and my dog weighs in at about 55 lbs....yes, heavy as a MF...especially for 45 year old Money.

But this time I got adventurous and decided to go for it....besides, with all the good living I have been doing in Guyana, aside from the beatings, I'm not getting a lot of cardio of late.

So off I went. My wife has hiked up to and camped at my "base camp" a couple of weeks ago with me and did okay. I tried to con her into going on this trip w/me to the top but she said fuck no...she knew that shit got steep as hell. I was hoping to get her ass to hump some of the gear...but noooooo......so it was just me and the dog. Into the wild we went.

These mountains have plenty of deer and bear, so I didn't go unprotected, I packed my S&W .40 caliber semi-auto with 14 rd mag in a tactical leg holster. And yes it's legal here in parks, and besides I have a concealed carry license as well. I tell my wife I always take my gun in case of bear attack, but quite frankly - a bear is the least of my concerns, I'm more worried about the psychos and fucked-up hillbillies that seem to be attracted to trails and state parks. If they rolled up on me with some BS out in the middle of nowhere, they would leave with a face full of hollow points.

Anyways, so off I went. I got to my base camp in a couple of hours since I took a shortcut to the trail up an old fire road and parked my SUV there - shaved off a lot of trail time. Since I knew (thought I knew...see pics later) there was no water up there, once i got to my base camp I emptied my pack and hiked back down to my SUV to load up on 4 gallons of water and a couple extra blankets which I intend to cache/hide at my base camp for future use as I am a cool/cold weather hiker only....I don't deal well with sweating my ass off, fighting bugs and mosquitos and sweating in a screen tent all damned night. so I stick to early Spring, Fall and my favorite - winter. I'm just comfy in 10-20 degree weather and the campfire is just so much more enjoyable when it's cold out.

Hiking back up the 4 gallons of water was a MF and heavier than I thought. Plus I was already a little tired from the first trip up with a fat ass pack...this whole entire section of trail is all up hill and very steep in some places. Since I was sure there would be no water source at the top (or anywhere else along the section of trail that I was familiar with) I left my PUR hiker water purifier in the SUV to save weight. Turns out that was a mistake.

I camped over night at my base camp which has a great view of the mountains. This is essentially a small widened spot in the trail at the top of a knob with a nice view. Any further up the trail lies the hard seriously uphill hiking...more like climbing.

Here's some pics of my base camp , my destination acamp at the top and my wonderful trail dog Flea - who is a daddy's girl.:

First of all a pic of my exquisite AK-47 so you noobs know what a real AR actually looks like:



My over stuffed backpack and flea:


Keeping Flea warm with my down jacket...it got pretty cold that first night there at my base camp:


My camp site:




The View of the mountains:




My 1-Man (plus dog) Bivy tent:




4 gallons of pain:




Flea going "WTF daddy?"




A little test of a wood burning stove plan I got off the interwebs to conserve gas on the trip:




Forced air furnace made possible by a money designed and rigged 11.1v 3cell 1300mah LIPO battery from one of my model airplanes and a 4 inch 12V PC case fan....got it hot enough to forge horseshoes up in that MF:






Pretty Sunset:








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Now onto the second day.......




A small part of the steep uphill (looking back down) and things to cross with a heavy pack on:




Looking up the trail from that point....shit laying in the way everywhere....I got tripped up on a damned stick and almost went over the edge of trail....almost...ole money don't go down like that:




More steepness: (trust me, this was way steeper than it looks in the photos...:




Some Bear poop...now I'm getting a little scareded...(I opened the thumb break on my leg holster at this point to draw faster if necessary) that was some big poo...:








Finally at the summit in a sweet soft camping spot. Took me 3-1/2 hrs to make it, my legs were wet noodles when I met the summit. Spent the rest of the day gathering rock for the fire pit, fetching firewood, setting up camp, getting my gear out and organized, and pretty much took it easy and enjoyed the peace and quiet:






Not as good of a view, but now much higher in elevation (about equal to the mountains in the background):




Flea standing next to my awesome firepit I built lugging rocks from everywhere (just look at the expert bushmanship of that teepee fire just waiting to be lit):




Flea in my tent taking a little nappy-poo:




Next morning, went exploring with Flea and look what I find 1/8th mile further up the trail...a nice cool swiftly running creek....I humped  a day and a half worth of water up there for nothing  - can't drink it cuz of potential bacteria in water...could boil it to sterilize, but only brought a small pot and was scared of running out of gas in my 8oz cannister just sterilizing water:




Some nice hot, fresh brewed coffee to warm me up the next morning as I watch the sun rise:




Next day I hiked back down to my base camp to spend another night....only took me and hour or so going down hill!! Dug out my 2 bags I had stashed for some more food and soft blankets to line my tent with, plus 2 gallons of water I had also hidden.




Flea warming up by the fire. She is kinda thin cuz she has insulin diabetes-i had to bring along her insulin and needles in a cold pack for 2 shots per day:






Got cold and damp that night notice tent sagging and wet a bit:




Flea chilling in the warm sun in the morning:






Sunrise over the mountain tops that morning:




Flea chilling next to my bivy shelter:




Overall, I had a great time (and so did my dog). Theres just something about still being able to find a place in this country where you can hike and camp for days and not see another living soul - and I didn't either. This park is kinda out of the way and is not a huge tourist spot or anything, plus in winter time, the place is practically vacant and I practically have it all to myself. The park is about 45 mins from my house, so not too bad of a drive for me. Now that I know there is water available up top, all I have to hike up is like one 32oz bottle full - enuff to drink on the way up and get me there, then I can filter all I need for cooking, washing and rehydrating my dehydrated camping meals.

Now I have to get on my private plane and head back to my teabag training camp in Guyana....I only hope the place is still together...I left itsBRITNEYbitch in charge...I hope it wasn't a mistake.

Hope U enjoyed my trip!

M$