Stokes State Forest, 10/10-12/2003

We had to change our plans because all the sites were taken at Worthington State Forest. Unseasonably warm weather must have brought out a record number of campers for a holiday weekend. We went instead to the Steam Mill campground of Stokes State Forest (site 203).

Only two people ended up going. Some had to work, others got sick, some couldn’t get Monday off.

We arrived late on Friday. After setting up our tents, I headed out to a clearing to see the full moon with my binoculars. Unfortunately, I found a drunk playing a harmonica. I tried to avoid him but he came up to me and wanted to shake my hand. I told him he was drunk, that it was quiet hour, and that I was there to hear the river and not his instrument. He wandered off talking to himself and playing.

On Saturday morning, I got up and headed thirty feet into the woods to heed the call of nature. As I relieved my bladder, I saw black shapes moving around in the woods: it was a mother bear and three cubs. We watched each other from a distance. I was in awe; they took it in stride.

After breakfast, Stephen and I headed off towards Sunrise Mountain. We had trouble finding the northbound trailhead of the Parker Trail, but the marsh that we explored had some gorgeous red trees. The hillside in the distance was a kaleidoscope of fall colors. We decided instead to take the Swenson Trail south to Cartwright to the Appalachian Trail to Sunrise Mountain, but we missed the turnoff for Cartwright (the trails should be better marked) and continued to Tinsley. We turned left on Tinsley and left again on the AT, doubling back to our destination. At the shelter on Sunrise Mountain we found more great views but hordes of people (there is a parking lot nearby). Stephen’s ankle was hurting, so I offered to walk back to the campsite and drive to the Sunrise Mountain parking lot. I took the AT north, passed Cartwright, but couldn’t find the trailhead for Howell. Eventually, I turned around and made my way back to Cartwright and followed it down to Sunrise Mountain Road. The best views of the weekend were on that stretch of Cartwright. It was getting late, so I hiked on the road instead of the trails back to our site and drove to Sunrise Mountain to pick up Stephen.

The weatherman was wrong about Sunday--it didn’t rain. Stephen and I packed up and drove along Sunrise Mountain Road to the trailhead of Cartwright. We parked on the shoulder and hiked up Cartwright to the AT to Sunrise Mountain. Then we retraced our steps back to the car and headed home.

David Levner