Coastal Discovery Dayhike, pix

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Finally got a pack on and got back out in the woods yesterday. Caught covid about six weeks ago and was one of those lucky folks to have a bad time with it. Still dizzy/nausea a bit. Anyways! The cure is found OUTSIDE.

These woods are public day use, no camping. Lots of trails, paths, and traces. I had previously found a great overlook on the bluff with a view of the water. A couple hundred yards away is a nice beach. Both have paths, and sometimes, joggers, dog walkers, etc. I'd looked at satellite pix and inferred a place in between that would be quieter, if I could cut the brush and find it.

(Secluded beach, above) Followed a path to a trace, then a faint trace, then it was compass time.
The woods grew brighter as I reached where the water had to be. Popped out in a very interesting place...

Trash! I approached cautiously. Homeless camp? Nah. That tent has been there ten years, based on a jar label at the scene. A pair of teens may have played house there, perhaps. A happy thought. Until I pulled up the tent and found this SKELETON! Sorry. It IS Halloween. I left the tent, will bury it next time along with any other trash. Probably will harvest the poles and restring for tarp/rain use anyways.

I cleaned up the site a bit, but there's two perfect trees spaced for a hammock overlooking the water. .. Check.

Gear notes: Silky saw is a joy for minor trimming. Next time I will bring a Fiskars nipper I use for hammock-hanging cleanup and pricker vines. Maxpedition Typhoon is a tiny but tough pack. County Comm lume on zipper pull. Nalgene bottle. Indochina bush hat. I like those giant Niteyez biners for a quick pack drop. The $3 folding stool weighs little, fits straps under pack.

Compass bearing 128-deg got me home, but I'll be back. As others found, that's a neat little clearing.

Thanks for checking out the pix. Comments welcome!


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[ajkel64]

Thanks for the pix and the review of the area. Looks like a great place to hike and get away from it all.

 

[BradWorld]

Glad you got out in the trail. Nice gear report too! I enjoyed the part about the abandoned tent.

 

[Ad Astra]

Thanks for the pix and the review of the area. Looks like a great place to hike and get away from it all.

It is, and thanks! Has one drawback: Bears, and plenty of them. They come out to raid the residential areas' trashcans, then flee back into their woodsy sanctuary. I've been surprised twice, or had encounters, anyways. I generally need a snack if I'm there all day, and used to cook freeze-dried meals for lunch, but. Not any more. Typically eat a bar or something and immediately bury the trash. If I cook, I do it and move to another place.

Rattlers and cat-eaters (coyotes), too. Dog-walking man told me he lost a pooch to a snakebite on his favorite dog's nose. He carries a stick ... now.

Never a deer, not even one track. They got "et" long ago ... even the squirrels are pretty fast there.


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[Ad Astra]

Glad you got out in the trail. Nice gear report too! I enjoyed the part about the abandoned tent.

I really want to practice bushcrafting stuff there- knots, making stuff etc. The arbor knot is "the bushcrafter's zip-tie," some say. I'd like to improve the site, clean it up, but just leave it a clean, pretty clearing. No trail leads there and the bluff's too high to (easily) climb.

I didn't pull up the tent that day because I do not want to FIND a skeleton in there. I'd then have to get a ranger and the day will ... be not as good. However! For a reality-show kick, I will pull that thing up next time and find out if there's ah, anything, in it.


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