Project Choose Your Own Adventure

[ScottyB]

As most campgrounds in the southeast are now in a state of closure after Halloween with the dropping temps, here's our last trip of 2020.  we got our final round in a few weeks back over the weekend of October 16 at Unicoi State Park in the little alpine town of Helen GA.  COULD NOT have asked for better weather.  after a sweltering Sept and early Oct here in Augusta i seriously felt like i was back in my element with the nighttime temps dipping into the high 30's and a distinct lack of humidity.  we had planned to camp further away from people given the insane leafer/octoberfest/harvest season tourists that always plan their mass exodus from Atlanta in autumn, but as it turns out, you can't wait until the last minute to reserve a campsite in the fall like we somehow did, and by pure magical timing we managed to grab a great spot at Unicoi that someone must have cancelled on.  amazing luck!

picked up the kiddo after school on Friday, and towing was a no-drama affair but we got in after dark that night.  getting settled was a bit of a PITA because our site wasn't level, but as it so happens i keep a grungy collection of bits of lumber in the underfloor storage for leveling and we were able to park the camper on top of those to jack it up to the necessary heights.  we brought a ton of blankets to prepare for the cold, and it turned out our insulation was good enough to keep us nicely cozy even with the windows open.  we were greeted with a blast of sunlight in the morning as it rose over the mountain range.

here's a view of the galley mid-breakfast.  we carry 2 water containers that store 2-deep into the cabinet; one is "potable" the other is "filtered".  we keep the potable on our picnic table as a wash station, the other stays in the galley for cooking and tea/coffee.  the Yeti makes a pretty handy prep counter and our go-to breakfast is hot ham + cheese on a toasted english muffin (you can make the whole thing in the skillet).  i know its sacrilege but i prefer ham over bacon when camping, its way less messy and you get more meat out of it.

next up, hiking!  did a 3 mile loop down to the Smith Creek.  i love the crunch of leaves underfoot with a clear October sky above.

unfortunately, after seeing that water Jen and i cannot deal with keeping the fly rods dry.  after lunch we geared up, and went up to a different spot and fished until sunset.  ideal conditions. 

wife landed a great looking trout nearly as long as her forearm (no shot of that unfortunately).  my trophy was of a different sort; Sam is too young to have his own rod outfit yet but he is super interested and has his own waders.  so, i've promised him for some time that whenever i hook one, i'm letting him land the fish.  last time out we got nothing, so the pressure was on for me to deliver on my side of the bargain.  i sent a cast right to a nice, deep cut that i just KNEW had something in it.  cast after cast, i was off just enough that i knew i wasn't presenting the fly right but stayed glued to the spot.  after about 8 casts i got my drift just right and with a silver flash deep in the water, the rod tip started dancing wildly.  i quickly passed it back to Sam and let him play the fish into the net.  he was so overzealous that he ran the line up under a rock and it got stuck; i felt awful for him as i was certain the fish had freed itself at this point.  i reached down to unsnag the line and sure enough the line went alive again, fish on!  we were able to net this modest little guy but neither of us could care less about the size, it was "his fish."  we admired it briefly (they are amazing animals, superbly adapted and very colorful up close but disappear in the water) and like nearly everything we catch, sent it back home after dislodging the delicate barbless hook. 

phew.  after all that bushwhacking to get up and down the stream, i had to kick back a bit after some burgers.  one of the great rewards of fall camping is being able to warm up next to a fire as the night air cools off.  no bugs, no sweating, and your beer stays colder longer!  This weekend's flavor was Sweetwater "Guide Beer."  make that 2, bartender.

another glorious cool night and clear skies.  doggo slept next to me both nights in the camper to keep him warm.  woke up and headed to the north end of the park for a short, but beautiful hike up to Anna Ruby falls.  a little crowded for my liking, but i'll pay that price to see something like this.


after lunch we called it a wrap and headed out.  on the way out though, we hit up Unicoi's archery range.  Jen is an experienced shot (who just got a new bow for her birthday) and Samuel is picking it up too, so we couldn't miss it.  their facility is awesome!  standard target lanes + full 3D gallery with a raised platform.   nice bathrooms and everything.  met some super nice people there as well.

this is why i need to keep my head down around my wife.  she's deadly!  the circled part are the feathers of the arrow as it flies to the target (a pretty good shot it turned out to be)

you can see Sam working out the range of his bow as he walked a dozen arrows to his target   top 2 came from my wife's bow.

Link didn't want to leave...

leaving town was a disaster - traffic was so bad due to Octoberfest, it took us almost an hour to go about 2 miles.  i should have known better but, deep down i didn't want to go home anyway.  we packed a lot into 2 full days and had the ride home to really think about the adventures we went on this year.  

we had planned for maybe 2 or 3 trips this year but turned out to be 5, as the wild events of this year forced us to pursue the only options we really had for socially distanced family time - being in the great outdoors.  we never thought we'd end up on all these adventures this year, and we're certainly grateful for it in light of so many other social things being denied to all of us these days.  from the mountains to the coast, we had a unique experience each time and we've really started to perfect our setup now.  

i have a few small projects over the winter: some better fastening on the fenders, better waterproofing over the hatch hinge, and keeping an eye on the frame around the tongue (more in-depth story on that another time).  i'm also preparing for my inevitable eviction from my nice mattress onto a cot in the awning room as my son outgrows his bunk in the next year or two.  probably temporary though since he'll want his own camping space as a young teen as mom and dad become seriously uncool.  

anyway, hope you enjoyed the adventures this year.  next year...let's go west!