Dutch Fields, just to the northwest of the Big Frog Wilderness provided the base camp for our October backpacking trip. Our campsite was only ½ mile from F.S. 221 and allowed us plenty of time to set up camp before dark on Friday after school. Plans to camp next to the creek were quickly modified when Zach discovered a "basketball" sized Yellow Jacket nest. A suitable campsite was quickly found a short distance away from the creek and setup began. Each Pathfinder was responsible for his or her own meals, cooking, and shelter. Friday evening found us rested and fed with our messkits cleaned and time for a short devotional and conversation around the campfire. The six Pathfinders and two staff made an early night of it in anticipation of the hike up Big Frog Mountain the next day.
Sabbath
morning dawned sunny and bright and it was time for pancakes. Two skillets helped
move things along and everyone got something to eat, although perhaps not to their fill. A lesson
from this breakfast was, however many pancakes you thought you would need, double the
quantity and you will be about right.
Jeff and Zach are cooking here while Luke eats, Erin hides from the smoke, Graham hides from the camera, and Jean and Gene look on. Nikki is the one behind the camera.
After breakfast and cleanup it was time for worship and then off to Big Frog. Since we were going to be away for most of the day we packed all of our food out and stored everything except our lunches in the cars. We do love wild things, but we prefer not to come back and discover that supper is over.
With our food safely secured in the cars there was time for a group photo and then up the
mountain we went.
Tennessee provided us a perfect hiking day with clear blue skies and a temperature that made you glad to be out of doors. There were a few other hikers on the trail and we had a chance to say hello to a group of Scouts we met at the junction with the Chestnut Mountain trail as well as a group of day hikers camped by the Conasauga river. Lunch time found us just below the crest of Big Frog and we stopped and ate and then had a short story. Concern for the amount of available daylight remaining convinced us to head to camp and we found the going much easier on the way back. The group leader managed to "misplace" the trail on the way up so the trip back was shorter as well as downhill.
Supper was a leisurely affair as each hiker dealt with hunger in his or her own way. The various menus would give a dietician nightmares, but brought no complaints from the campers. We'll have to work on healthy menu planning a little harder next time. The water from Dutch Creek was clear and sweet, although we took no chances and either filtered it or treated it. With nothing planned for Sunday but an early departure, the campers were in a lively mood and the socializing was energetic and prolonged. The lantern ran out of gas before the Pathfinders did, but quiet finally ensued around midnight. This quiet was a temporary affair, as a coyote began a serenade about 2:00 am a couple of hundred feet from our campsite. Most of the food was hanging in a bag from a tree, but it wasn't exactly clear in the first moments of awakening what our visitors plans might be. The next morning the staffers discussed the 2:00 am wake up call while the kids said "what coyote". Sometimes life just isn't fair.
Sunday breakfast was done quickly over the stoves without a campfire and then it was time to break camp and head for the cars. A last look around for any missed trash and we were on our way. October is bird season in Tennessee and as we were leaving the campsite we could hear a couple of bird dogs calling to each other. So much for our coyote. Or perhaps not. Coyotes and bird dogs are not mutually exclusive. And really now, doesn't a coyote at 2:00 am sound better?
by Gene Roll