[Mis]adventure in Prentice Cooper

Yesterday, my husband, dog and I set out to Prentice Cooper for a mini overnight backpacking trip. Andy is getting some training in for a Grand Canyon backpacking trip that he's leading, and I just enjoy the activity, especially when it's been wet & rainy and I can't get on the bike. Anyway...

Raider is SO ready to go!

We hit the trail about 10:45a with our sight set on Hemlock Branch campsite, an easy 5.7 miles away. We reached Hemlock relatively early, ate lunch and set up camp, then hit the trail again (sans packs)  to hit up a couple other overlooks.

Home Sweet Home. LOVE the Granite Gear White Lightnin'!

We made it to Ransom Hollow Overlook about an hour later, enjoyed the views, and decided to try to squeeze in Raccoon Mountain Overlook before it got dark.

 We hiked quickly, but were quickly running out of water, so we decided to turn around about a mile away from RMO. Pot Point loop, on which Ransom Hollow and Raccoon Mtn Overlooks are located, is not as well-traveled as Mullins Cove loop, so we felt a little more secluded, and it was awesome. We also got some pictures of an old still and a LARGE amount of scat. 

 Anyone know what animal made this? Consistent with bear poop, but seems a bit large, and a bit loosey-goosey to be bear... but maybe s/he had diarrhea?

So we headed back to camp, hoping our things were still there, ready to make some dinner and get some quality R&R. We had a full  7 miles of packs-off "dayhiking" added to our 5.8 miles of packs-on backpacking from earlier. We were definitely getting tired. About 5 minutes back at camp (and our things were there untouched!), a gentleman named Gary "sneaked" up on us from the other direction, sending Raider into complete decomposition. I don't know what it is, but if she feels snuck-up-on, it's go time. She was ready to take out Gary. About ready to get supper started, Andy asked about the fuel, to which I remember leaving it at the house. Whoops. Luckily it was me who forgot the fuel, because I'm sure Andy wouldn't have lived it down had it been the other way around. We were just going to sup on trail snacks, but Raider still was going berserk over Gary (who was innocently trying to enjoy a night in the woods) and we were quite hungry. So, we filled up water bottles, packed up, and began our trek back to the car in the dark. Oh wait, did I mention that Raider chases light? The first few minutes were interesting, but we turned off our lamps and decided we could see better light-less. Raider stayed behind us as we hiked about .5 mile to a gravel road (Whew! Hiking back on the trail in the dark wouldn't have been that fun), and another 50 minutes (we guessed 3 miles?) on the road back to the car. Those 50 minutes felt like forever.

 Tired and hungry, 16.3 miles and 9 hours later, we got to the car, mouths watering for some Waffle House. We thought it'd be 100x more epic to say we didn't make it to Waffle House until 2a, but it was only 8:15p. Andy finished the event with pecan pie, I with coffee. We drove home, I put Raider in the shower (yes, shower) with me, and we hit the hay.

We'll just chalk this one up to a great training hike.