My sweetheart Marilyn and I are back from a 29-hour vacation with our friends David and Susan to a wonderful backcountry campsite. Here’s how it went.
6:00 am: Car packed the night before, Marilyn and I hit the road. Like you, we have dozens of camping options close to home, but we were headed about two hours north to rendezvous with David and Susan who came across from Maine.
8:20 am: Breakfast, Bea’s Café, Conway NH (603-447-4900), eggs, hash, homefries, country fried steak . . . fuel for the hike.
9:45 am: Park at the end of Sawyer River Road in Hart’s Location, start putting on boots, loading food and last-minute gear into packs, set trekking poles to length. We’ve got lots of good food and wine and all the gear we need for comfort. Marilyn’s pack weighs 22 pounds, mine about 35. You don’t have to count ounces on a short, overnight getaway.
10:10 am: Hit the trail for the easy mile-and-a-half hike to Sawyer Pond campsite. The trail climbs steadily but gently uphill all the way. There are no steeps, no rough sections, only a few wet patches.
11:00 am: Arrive at Sawyer Pond campsite on the White Mountain National Forest. This has to be one of the more popular backcountry campsites in the White Mountains thanks to the easy trail and the spectacular view across the pond. Any time from Memorial Day through the end of foliage season, you aren’t likely to have the place to yourself.
Sawyer has a lean-to shelter which sleeps eight (sardines in a can) and six tent platforms, all first-come, first-served. We had hoped to set up our mesh inner tents inside the lean-to (mosquito and rain protection with a view), but others had beaten us to it, so we set up our two freestanding tents with their rainflies on one of the large platforms. The rest of the platforms were empty. Some blogs mention litter here, but the whole place, including the outhouse, was immaculate.
11:30 am: Lunch. Bold chipmunks tried to steal from our plates. We discouraged them. Feeding wildlife is wrong.
Noon: The weather forecast had promised an afternoon shower. Right on schedule, the skies darkened and drops started pattering on the tent fly. Nap Time!
1:30 pm: With the sun back out, Marilyn and Susan lounged in camp and read, while David and I bushwhacked partway up Mount Tremont and then circumnavigated the pond through some of the nastiest sidehills, swamps (with millions of mosquitoes kept at bay by Insect Shield clothing) and hobblebush we’ve ever encountered. Great fun.
4:30 pm: Back on the trail, where we found a newly-fallen dead striped maple. Dry firewood is scarce near the Sawyer campsite, so we hauled this back and took turns sawing and splitting wood for an evening fire in the metal fire ring (complete with grill) supplied at each tent site.
5:30 pm: Wine and appetizers while enjoying the quiet and the view.
7:00 pm: Dinner (chicken, sweet potatoes and fresh broccoli in a rosemary sauce, yum!) followed by campfire and quiet conversation while we watched the sun set.
9:30 pm: Bed—warm sleeping bags on comfy inflatable pads.
1:30 am: Out of the tent for a few minutes to take care of business and admire a billion stars in a moonless sky. Too chilly for mosquitoes. Fall asleep again quickly listening to the loons calling. . .
5:10 am: Up before the sun, make tea, and coffee and spend a quiet hour watching the sunrise before enjoying a leisurely breakfast.
7:00 am: Pack up.
7:45 am: Hit the trail.
8:30 am: Back at cars.
11:00 am: Home. Vacation Over
Noon: Gear and clothes unpacked, sorted and either drying or stored, ready for next trip. I’m in the office, writing this story with a fresh perspective on the world. . . . A real vacation, just 29 hours door to door. Life isn’t a stay-at-home spectator sport. Get out and enjoy!
June in the northcountry means both blackflies and mosquitoes are out in force. You may not see many around if it’s cool or the wind is blowing, but as it warms up and the wind drops, look out.
Marilyn, Susan and David are all bug magnets, I’m not. So my bug-avoidance strategy is to always stay near one of them and use a little DEET-based Ultrathon insect repellent only as necessary. They need more severe measures. Marilyn wore a top-to-toe suit of armor from The Original Bugshirt Company, which she loves since it completely protects her from both sun and bugs with a combination of mosquito-proof, high SPF fabric and mesh. Excellent product.
David and Susan had bug-repelling shirts, hats and bandanas from Ex Officio. These use InsectShield fabric which is impregnated with Permethrin. The protection is supposed to last through 70 washings. More testing needed, but they sure worked well on this trip.
Beast Protection
There’s an ongoing problem at most established campsites, not only here in the east, but world-wide. People are careless with their food, animals discover an easy new food source, become habituated, and lose their fear of humans.
Those bold chipmunks we saw at Sawyer are an example. So are the mice which overrun most backcountry campsites. We took care no food was left out where they could get it easily. Putting your food in your tent or your pack is a bad idea—nylon fabric is no match for sharp rodent teeth. Food kept overnight should be stored in sealed, hard plastic or metal containers.
Bears are a different matter. A simple screw-top jar won’t stop them. I admit we were lax on this trip about protecting our food supply from bears overnight. Fortunately, we didn’t have a problem, but we could have—even though we kept a clean campsite and put our food away in mouse-proof containers.
Our neighbors did it right, hanging their food sealed in dry bags high between trees where bears can’t get it. They had it down to a system with throw lines, biners and bags all set up. Definitely worth considering if you frequent busy, established campsites in bear country.
GEAR NOTES:
Tents:
Marilyn and Tim: REI Quarter Dome 2. Long one of our go-to tents; spacious, free-standing 2-person, 4.7 lbs., easy set up once you done it a time or two. Mesh body, big doors, good zippers, handy internal pockets, easy-on fly with small vestibule.
Susan and David: MSR Carbon Reflex 3, 5.7 lbs, Spacious 3-person freestanding tent–space to spread out for two. Easy set up, mesh body, full coverage fly, vestibules, all the bells-and-whistles. Nice tent.
Sleeping bags:
Tim: Eureka Silver City +30 synthetic, 2 lbs, 2 oz lbs. Inexpensive lightweight synthetic mummy. Second outing, impressions still entirely positive, more testing needed but it looks like this is a real value winner.
Marilyn: Coleman Klickitat +40 synthetic. Very lightweight, inexpensive synthetic summer mummy. Alas, no longer made. The Eureka Silver City looks like a good alternative.
David and Susan: A 20-year-old pair of Sierra Designs down mummies that zip together.
Pads:
Marilyn: Therm-a-rest Staytec UltraLite 3/4, since replaced by Women’s Prolite.
Tim: Therm-a-rest Z-rest, older model, replaced by Z-lite, and Insulmat Thermalite, older model, replaced by the Peak Oyl.
David and Susan: A pair of Thermarest pads; being flat and fairly wise, they’re perfect for use with the double sleeping bag.
Stoves:
Coleman F1 PowerBoost A real blowtorch on high setting with big, stable post supports, good simmer control. Piezo igniter works well most of the time
Primus Express w/piezo ignitor. Small and light, good pot support, fantastic simmer control. Piezo ignitor is the most reliable one we’ve tested yet.
Cookware:
GSI Pinnacle Backpacker Four person compact set with small frying pan. Stay tuned for a complete review.
Lantern:
At this time of year, we can’t stay up late enough for it to get fully dark!
Hydration:
Platypus Clean Stream Gravity Filter. This let us use water directly from the pond without fear of contracting any water-borne diseases. Easily supplied camp water for all four of us in just minutes without pumping. We’ve used this a couple of times now, the heavy-duty plastic “zippers” are finicky and hard to use, but despite that issue, it’s become our go-to water purifications system when we need a lot of water fast. Stay tuned for a complete review.
SteriPEN. Lightweight unit uses UV light to quickly sterilize a liter or two of clear water at a time. Perfect for fast and light hiking. Stay tuned for a complete review.