Backpacking Middle Prong Wilderness
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- Опубликовано: 13 сен 2024
- • Backpacking Middle Pro...
A two night backpacking trip in Middle Prong Wilderness in Pisgah National Forest. The trip starts on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail at its junction with NC State Route 215 and continues east to the Green Mountain Trail. Using an unofficial trail I leave the Green Mountain Trail and take the Buckeye Gap Trail down to Middle Prong Creek and the junction of the Haywood Gap Trail. On the third day I climb up the Haywood Gap Trail back to the Mountains-to-Sea Trail and then back to SR 215.
Hope you enjoyed the video and thanks for watching!
Backpacking With Bryan DeLay webpage: bryandelay.com/
• Backpacking Middle Pro...
Outstanding youvid
Very nice video document of the natural perfection! Gratitude
Thank you Wulf Mountain Path!
Back before GPS that area can be a challenge to navigate. Lots of lost people every year there and in Shining Rock. Good Brook trout fishing in the area.
Having finished hiking all the official trails in Middle Prong Wilderness and Shining Rock before GPS, I agree. IMO the main problem was the forest service chose to not to allow signs in these wildernesses. This was especially an issue in Shining Rock, which is heavily used and created lots of unofficial trails.
Binge watching your videos... love em, and glad I found your channel. Thanks and great work!
Thank you so much ThePatriot4freedom! Really glad you are enjoying my videos.
Bryan, another great video. I need to get in a Pisgah area hike. Just gearing up for my solo JMT Nobo thru hike. Leaving Aug. 26th for Mamouth Lakes & the 28th start at Horseshoe Meadows / cottonwood lakes. Love to do a few days somewhere up in that area or another smokys trip prior. Just tough being here in Florida & driving up.
Thank you Walkers World! This is a great area to backpack, but it is a long drive from Florida. It adjoins Shining Rock Wilderness which is also great, but more crowed and bear canisters are required. Enjoy the JMT! I'm headed back to Wind River Range the end of July and will be there to early September.
Bryan DeLay Wind River is on my list for next year. You got me very interested in that area with your videos. Really want to fish those lakes. Yeah I am planning most of my JMT in September.
Thanks for bringing us along. The trail was lush!
You're welcome Jim. Yes, lots of green. The area around the meadow is about 5,800 feet so the average annual rain fall at that elevation is about 150 inches.
Bryan, great video. I've hiked the Middle Prong around 5 times or so and like it for fewer people than Shining Rocks but great scenery. Have always camped (except once when we camped down where you camped) around the grassy areas on Green Knob where there's wonderful views of Shining Rocks to the SE, and found a spring just east of the knob area. Always an out and back except one trip when we descended down the Fork Ridge Trail to the north off Green Knob, once of the steepest descents ever and wouldn't want to ascend it. And expect that part of the trail is not in good condition as few people use it. I agree with another comment, only way to improve the video would be showing a map of your route (as Joey does and i think Zachary usually does).
Thank you Will! The lower part of Green Mountain trail from Green Knob to Sunburst is the only trail I've not done in Middle Prong. I've heard that's it's very steep. Maybe I can do that this fall. I've used a map in my videos several times in the past and will try to remember to use a map more in the future. I've focused my videos more toward entertainment rather than being a trail guide source.
Try to go DOWN the Green Mtn Trail instead of UP!
I love Middle Prong. All the beauty of Shining Rock with pretty much none of the crowds!
First time I went backpacking in there I pitched my tent, went for a walk and got lost! At one point I panicked and began to run around in circles and scream like a girl. Seriously. I'm not kidding. Sun was going down and I had left everything (including my jacket) in my tent. When I calmed down I found a landmark and made it back to my tent.
Thanks for sharing! How were the bugs in June with no mesh?
You're welcome ArbitaryLifestyle! I don't generally find the bugs to be too bad in the Southern Appalachians. Not using a bug net is not much different than sleeping in a three sided shelter common on the AT.
Great video Bryan. I live in Pisgah Forest but have never hiked that area. I will be hiking there in September 2018. You did not happen to have a .gpx track file of this hike do you? I am curious about the unofficial trail? I don't have any info on where that is. Thanks in advance
EL34XYZ thanks, glad you enjoyed the video. I do not have a GPS track.
Bryan
Any problems with rangers making you use bear cans? Wanted to go up there last week but do not have one. They are required up in that area. Enjoy the videos as always
Hey Vince, bear canisters are required in Shining Rock Wilderness, but not in Middle Prong. I never did receive your questions about Mt. Rogers, hope I didn't overlook them. Glad you enjoyed the video!
Great video Bryan. You're getting some really nice shots. You are a very neat and tidy packer! I doubt you spend a lot of time looking for things like I do. I'm not quite as an efficient packer as you. lol. I do like that you showed us your technique. Pretty area. One thing I've noticed about all of your hikes out that way is it's always green and there are always beautiful waterfalls.
Thank you very much Catherine! To find things easily I try to put them in the same place all the time. Also with a base weight on this trip of 13 pounds I didn't have a lot of items to misplace. Lots of rain equals green and waterfalls. The elevation of this trip ranged from 4,000 to 6,000 feet and at that elevation the average rain fall is about 150 inches.
On two of your recent videos I noticed that you have played some waterfalls in slow motion, which I really like as you can tell. Maybe I'm wrong, but It seemed that the audio was also playing in slow motion. Just in case you are unaware, check and see if your editing software will allow you un-link the audio and the video. This will allow you to play the video in slow motion and the audio at 100%. Of course you'll have to trim the audio to match the length of the video.
My Galaxy S8 will record 1080 video in 60 FPS, which is relatively smooth when the play speed is reduced to about 50%. Below that, say 25%, the video gets a little jerky. Lately I've been experimenting with the slow motion function on the S8, which records at 240 FPS, which it's buttery smooth at a speed of even 15%, but it's 720 so the quality is not that great.
Thanks for watching and commenting.
Bryan,
What do you use for mosquito protect when sleeping? Never noticed you ever setting up any netting!
Chris
Chris, I have a bug net that I hang inside my tarp as described in this video: ruclips.net/video/g-95q1l2Ml8/видео.html
I use it if I'm in an area, such as out west, where the mosquitoes are bad. But we don't have much flat water in the southern Appalachians so the mosquitoes are not too bad and I rarely use it here. No difference than people sleeping in a three sided shelter on the AT.
Thanks Bryan, once I started the video I immediately remembered watching it maybe a year or so ago. I use a hammock, but I'd use your set up if I ever going camping where trees are not nearly as available as here in Florida or the Appalachians! Thanks again! Chris
I watch a lot of different backpacking channels. I really enjoy yours. Thanks for sharing
Thank you very much L23chappy! I enjoy taking videos and editing videos. It's a nice extra when people enjoy them.
Hey Bryan, I am getting ready to do a loop in MPW, Green Mountain Trail south from 215, MST west, Haywood Gap north tp form a loop. I like your music, is that original. I also like your hat, what kind is it? Thanks, Dony
Thanks Dony! The music is from the RUclips library and my hat is just a cheap one from Costco. Have fun in MPW.
Bryan, I love watching your videos. I'm hoping to hike in the Middle Prong Wilderness in October. What resource did you use to learn about permits, campsites, and water sources? Can I email you please? Thanks so much!
Thanks J! I've been going to Middle Prong and Shining Rock since the 80's so I know the area very well. No permits are required. As for campsites and water I just rely on a map if I'm unfamiliar with an area.
Bryan DeLay, I'm actually watching your hike right now with Catherine Gregory, Overnight in the woods, wind river! Thanks for your reply. I'm looking for good maps of the Middle Prong. Hoping to backpack Black Balsam Knob area in October.
The smoke was so bad in the Winds that we left right after that trip. Catherine went to Washington state and I went to the Cloud Peak Wilderness in the Big Horn Mountains near Sheridan, WY. I just finished a four day solo trip and driving out it started raining and the temperature dropped to 38. So with the weather and since I really needed a shower I got a motel room in Buffalo. Tonight will be the first real bed I've slept in since July 30th. Pisgah NF makes a real good map of Shining Rock and Middle Prong Wildernesses. You can order it through Cradle of Forestry. When I get back home about the middle of September I can get soecific info if you can't find the map. Hope this helps.
Bryan DeLay, Wow! Catherine's video turned out very well! I'll look for yours from that trip. 38 in August? Incredible! I'll look for the map. Enjoy yourself and be safe! Thank you.
Bryan DeLay in your backpacking in the Shining Rock Wilderness area, have you experienced black bear? If so, please describe. My trip to that area is coming up soon and I want to be prepared. Thank you Bryan!
Hi Bryan- when you are setting up your tarp, what considerations do you take in when deciding on the set-up configuration? Are there many setup choices for good and bad weather?
Hey SectionHiking The AT, if I think it will rain hard with a lot wind I'll stake down all 5 corners and use a hiking pole on the center of one side for access. Otherwise I only stake down 4 corners and the 5th corner is up for access. Sometimes I might only stake down 2 or 3 corners and use hiking poles or sticks to raise up 2 or 3 corners if the weather is nice. There are many options even using a tree to tie up a corner. Hope this answers your question.
Great video, very well done 👍 and a beautiful place !
Thank you waterfallmadman! Middle Prong's a little greener than the areas you backpack.
Hey Brian! I know this video is a year old but I was curious what kind of water bag you are using. I’ve been looking for something that I can hang and fill with.
Currently I'm using a CNOC 3 liter dirty water container and I screw a Sawyer Squeeze filer onto the CNOC. The water filters into a Platypus 3 liter Hosier bladder via the tube, which I cut off and push it onto the Sawyer filer.
The Middle Prong Wilderness trails can be confusing since they receive less use than neighboring locales. You should've checked out my post before doing this, if you kept pushing north the Green Mountain Trail becomes very obvious. It's just the first few hundred feet around the conifers that are confusing because of all the dispersed camping. And almost everyone misses the MST turn at the Green Mountain Trail junction, then they follow the connector down. I'm not sure why they haven't changed the official route at this point. The connector trail receives more use and goes by the best view. The MST is in worse shape on that section. Great video nonetheless!
Thanks Zack! It's been 10 years or longer since I did the Green Mountain Trail so I should have checked out your video first. For some reason I was thinking the Green Mountain Trail continued north out of the meadow, but it obviously went north in the fir trees around all the campsites. I could see Green Knob from the meadow, but it was thundering like crazy and starting to rain, so curiosity about where the unofficial trail went and the desire to get off the meadow with all the thunder got the of best me. I agree with you the unofficial connector trail should be the MST.
I've rarely seen anyone correctly follow the MST on their GPS tracks. It disappears in the trees off of the Mt. Hardy summit trail.
That's a tricky intersection indeed. I've been going up there for about 4 years now and have only succeeded in finding it once, and I'm a (former) land navigation instructor!
Hey Bryan, just noticed this video. i must have been backpacking when you posted. Looks like a great trip into a beautiful area. I love all the waterfalls. Your editing skills continue to impress. take care..
Thank you Martin! Really appreciate you watching my videos.
Well, Bryan, your videos just keep getting better and better! I really enjoyed the beautiful scenery and it looked like you had great weather. I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the little close ups of your camp activity. When you got off-trail I would have liked to see a map of your location to accompany your verbal description of how you got off trail. Question- I noticed your crocks- do you stop to put them on to cross streams? Especially deep ones? I think if I faced a deep thigh-high crossing I’d rather do it in crocks than hike for the next 2 days in wet shoes and socks. Which do you prefer? Thanks again for a wonderful video!
Thank you so much SectionHiking The AT. The weather wasn't too bad, a little rain, but lots of thunder. In fact when I was looking for the continuation of the Green Mountain Trail in the meadow it was thundering a lot and about 30 minutes before that lightening struck not too far away and it was so loud I think my heart skipped a beat. Just before the meadow there were a lot of campsites in some fir trees and I think the formal Green Mountain Trail turned north through one of the campsites. It was at least 10 years ago that I did the Green Mountain Trail and for some reason I thought the trail turned north in the meadow. But with all the thunder I just decided to continue on the well used path down the meadow, plus I was curious where it went. It had been a few years since I had done Buckeye Gap Trail and Haywood Gap Trail so I'm really glad I ended up dropping down to Middle Prong Creek. Another thing I will add is that Middle Prong Wilderness and the adjoining Shining Rock Wilderness do not allow any signs or blazes in the wilderness. I disagree with that policy, especially in Shining Rock Wilderness which is very crowded, because people hike without a map and end up making trails that aren't on the map, so it can be confusing in places. Your right I probably should have included a map.
Regarding creek crossings, if I only have one or two crossings I'll change into crocs for the crossing. But I have many crossings I just cross in my boots. It can be too time consuming if you've got 8 or 10 crossings.