Setting Up Your Backcounty Campsite

OK, no trails, no bugs, no water, no roots, no rocks, no water near by, no other camps setup, and no ridges.  A wonderful view is only a minute walk away, and clean water is a minute walk in the other direction.  You're ready to setup camp!  Use a drop cloth to setup your tent on.  Putting a drop cloth on the ground first helps protect the bottom of your tent, helps keep it clean, and acts as an additional barrier between you and the ground.  As children we were taught to dig a trench around our tents, no more.  Leave No Trace ethics means not ripping up the ground.  If you took the precautions above water won’t be flowing into your tent at 3:00 in the morning.

In the summer orient the openings in your tent to catch the breeze in the night.  If the site you selected has a fire ring or grate, make sure the prevailing wind doesn’t carry smoke into your tent.  Stake your tent off properly, even if it is self-erecting.  In the event of severe weather, people have been carried off in their tents as they roll along the ground!  Make sure you properly store your food products safely in a tree or in a bear canister.  Storing your food isn’t just to prevent marauding bears from coming through, raccoons, skunks, porcupines and other forest critters can wipe out your food supplies and do a lot of damage to your equipment.
Now the tent is setup, food is stored, gear set away, time to find your privy.  In the backcountry you won’t have the luxury of facilities.  If you are camping in an area where pit toilets are available, use them in favor of digging your own cat hole.  Your privy area should be downwind from your campsite and at least 200 feet from moving or standing water.  Make sure to get to the area you don’t have to pass through or near poison ivy, oak or sumac.  Also make sure the area affords some privacy as you never know when the next Scout troop will be hiking on by.  When using your privy, dig a cat hole removing a single large divot of soil, six to eight inches deep from the ground.  When you’re done, simply replace the intact divot over your waste.  If it is done right, you won’t even know where you dug the hole.  Remember to pack out all toilet paper and hygiene products if you are using a cat hole.  If you wash your dishes with soap, treat the gray water from your dishes as you would human waste.
 
If your site does not have a fire ring, grate, or fire pan, Leave No Trace ethics recommends you don’t build a fire. Don’t dig a fire pit, move rocks to make a ring, or scrape the ground bare to make a fire on the surface.  If the area does have a fire ring or grate, only use the dry wood from off of the ground.  Green and uncured wood isn’t going to burn well anyway.  Keep your fire small and under control, and always be aware of local fire regulations and burning bans.  In windy conditions seriously consider not building a fire. Try to use a lantern for light and a stove for cooking.  Take a short walk to that bluff you found could provide spectacular views of the night sky.
So now it’s time to put on your camp shoes or sandals.  Sit back, relax, drink a cup of coffee and enjoy the outdoors.  If you are camping in a group, cards, games, and good old-fashioned talk can fill the time.  If you are traveling solo you can read, draw, or write in a journal.  Respect the outdoors and try not to be too loud or boisterous.  Sound can travel long distances in the outdoors, especially if you are near water.  Avoid playing radios.  If you do bring a radio with you, consider bringing a Walkman.  A good day on the trail, a hearty meal, and natural darkness will trigger your body into being sleepy.

When you break camp the next morning the rules are pretty simple, leave things looking better than when you arrived.  If you made a fire make sure the coals have been burned down to ashes and have been completely extinguished.  Crush any embers left, as they may still be white hot inside.  Pack out all your trash and check the area to make sure you didn’t leave any valuable gear.  It is easy to leave tent stakes, knives and other small objects behind that you will need 12 hours from now.  The other thing you can do if you have found that spectacular campsite?  Mark it on your map and if you have a GPS note the latitude and longitude.  A secret spot in the woods is to be cherished, and make sure you can return to it one day in the future, or share it with a couple of close friends.
Finding the perfect camp takes a little preparation and a little time, but goes a long way to increasing your enjoyment when heading to outdoor places.

 

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Finding The Ideal BackCountry Campsite

The first step to finding a good campsite when hitting the backcountry is plan ahead.  Know where you are going and the terrain you will be expecting.  Spend some time looking at topographical maps to get an idea of the area you will be camping in while you are trekking.  Although setting up camp along a river or on a ridge isn’t the most brilliant thing you can do, identifying an area that will be comfortable and scenic will be helpful.  Maybe there is a bluff a short distance away to watch the sunset over a valley, and walk out again to see the morning fog below.  If you are going out into the southwest, maybe there are nearby rock formations that will glimmer ghostly in the moonlight.

You also need to bring the right equipment with you when camping.  If you are going to be out above the tree line on a windswept mountaintop bringing an A-frame tent with regular stakes may make for a pretty poor experience.  Bring a Tunnel tent into the rocky southwest, and you may not be able to find a place to drive your stakes through the ground!  Self-erecting dome tents afford the most versatility to conditions, but they are not perfect.  If you will be camping on a beach, in soft sand or the snow, make sure to bring special stakes that are perforated or are barbed to bite into the soft ground.  Sand and snow stakes can be 9” to 12” long, or longer.
So you get to your potential spot and it hasn’t already been taken, now what?  Evaluate the area where you are going to setup camp.  You want to find a level area free of tree roots and rocks.  Unless you are setting up camp in a prepared site, never camp within 200 feet of a standing or moving water source or in a riparian habitat.  You should never setup camp on or along a trail.  Camp should be out of sight from the trail you are traveling and out of sight from fellow campers.  Never modify an area by removing rocks, logs or vegetation to create the perfect campsite.  Always follow Leave No Trace ethics.  An area with firm soil is best.
You don’t want to be directly under a tree, in the event of a sudden storm the tree could serve as a lightning rod, it could get blown down, and the tree will drip sap all over your rainfly on your tent.  Setting up camp on a rise, slightly above the rest of the terrain will aid in making sure water doesn’t start flowing through your camp if it rains.  If you are camping near water, or where water could flow, be sure to camp above the high water mark.  Washes are very tempting areas to setup camp, but could be disastrous in the middle of the night.  Even if it hasn’t rained in your area a dam release or rainstorm 500 miles away can send water rushing through.  Don’t camp on a ridge.  The exposed area is susceptible to both lightning and wind.  Again, ridges are tempting areas as they are typically flat and offer tremendous views.

Now you have narrowed the area down further, you have found a nice flat spot in a clearing, about five hundred feet from a wonderful bluff and six hundred feet from a clean water source.  A light breeze cuts through the trees that will help keep the insects away, and there are no rocks or tree roots to keep you up with a sore back.  Now what?  You’re not quite ready to pitch camp, but your close.  Look around at the area.  Are there signs of animal activity including runs, paths or droppings?  Are there signs of insect activity including anthills, trails, or a large number of spider webs or dragonflies?  Do you see signs that water has flowed through your potential campsite during heavy rain?  Setting up camp in the middle of a deer run will increase the chances of unwanted visitors in the middle of the night.  Remember that hoofed mammals aren’t the only ones using these forest trails, and a deer can do a number to a campsite if properly startled.  Setting up camp in the middle of a  fire ant colony can bring about another kind of unwanted visitor.

Prescribed Burns of Cades Cove In GSMNP

Weather permitting, during the week of November 7-10, the park will be conducting prescribed burns in Cades Cove. The Loop Road will remain open, but delays may be possible. Fires may be visible from the roadway and visitors may encounter smoke in the valley and along the roadway. Temporary closures of the Primitive Baptist Church, the Methodist Church, and Abrams Fall trailhead are possible on Wednesday and Thursday.

Fire managers at Great Smoky Mountains National Park plan to complete a series of prescribed burns of fields in Cades Cove on Monday through Thursday, November 7-10, if weather conditions permit. Park managers plan to burn several tracts totaling about 550 acres.
The selected fields are being burned as part of a cost-effective strategy to prevent the open fields from being reclaimed by forest. The Park contracts to mow about 950 acres of fields that are clearly visible from the Cades Cove Loop Road twice a year. Other fields that are less visible from the Loop Road, totaling around 1,500 acres, are kept open by burning or mowing on a three year rotation.

Without being either mowed or burned, the open meadows of the Cove would very quickly revert to pine and hardwood forest. That process would both alter the historically open landscape which characterized the Cove during its period of settlement, and deprive Park visitors of the excellent wildlife viewing opportunities that the Cove affords.

The burn will be conducted by the members of the Great Smoky Wildland Fire Module and the Cumberland Gap Wildland Fire Module, with additional resources from Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The Fire Modules are National Park Service teams which travel throughout the Southeast to conduct prescribed burns on National Park Service units as well as other federal lands. Firefighters and a Park engine will be assigned each day to ignite the grass lands and to make sure the fire stays within its prescribed boundaries. Strips of grass surrounding each field slated for burning have been mowed short to provide containment lines.

"At this point we do not expect to have to close the Cades Cove Loop Road, but will monitor the situation for smoke or other safety hazards," said Great Smoky Wildland Fire Module Supervisor, Shane Paxton. "The public, of course, will notice smoke in the valley but it will dissipate quickly and not unduly impact their visit," he said.

Altitude Sickness

Acute mountain sickness is an illness that can affect mountain climbers, hikers, skiers, or travelers at high altitude (typically above 8,000 feet or 2,400 meters).

Causes, incidence, and risk factors
Acute mountain sickness is due to a combination of reduced air pressure and lower oxygen levels at high altitudes.

The faster you climb to a high altitude, the more likely you will get acute mountain sickness. Your symptoms will also depend on the speed of your climb and how hard you push (exert) yourself.
You are at higher risk for acute mountain sickness if:
•You live at or near sea level

•You had the illness before

Symptoms
Symptoms range from mild to life-threatening, and can affect the nervous system, lungs, muscles, and heart.

In most cases, the symptoms are mild. Symptoms generally associated with mild to moderate acute mountain sickness include:
•Difficulty sleeping
•Dizziness or light-headedness
•Fatigue
•Headache
•Loss of appetite
•Nausea or vomiting
•Rapid pulse (heart rate)
•Shortness of breath with exertion
Symptoms generally associated with more severe acute mountain sickness include:
•Bluish discoloration of the skin (cyanosis)
•Chest tightness or congestion
•Confusion
•Cough
•Coughing up blood
•Decreased consciousness or withdrawal from social interaction
•Gray or pale complexion
•Inability to walk in a straight line, or to walk at all
•Shortness of breath at rest
Signs and tests
Listening to the chest with a stethoscope (auscultation) reveals sounds called crackles (rales) in the lung, which may be a sign of fluid in the lungs.
A chest x-ray may be performed.
Treatment
Early diagnosis is important. Acute mountain sickness is easier to treat in the early stages.
The main treatment for all forms of mountain sickness is to climb down (descend) to a lower altitude as rapidly and safely as possible. You should not continue climbing if you develop symptoms.
Extra oxygen should be given, if available.
People with severe mountain sickness may need to be admitted to a hospital.
Acetazolamide (Diamox) may be given to help improve breathing and reduce mild symptoms. This drug can cause increased urination. Make sure you drink plenty of fluids and avoid alcohol when taking this drug.
If you have fluid in your lungs (pulmonary edema), treatment may include:
•Oxygen
•A high blood pressure medicine called nifedipine
•A type of drug called a phosphodiesterase inhibitor (such as sildenafil)
•Lung inhalers beta agonists
•A breathing machine, in severe cases
Dexamethasone (Decadron) may help reduce swelling in the brain (cerebral edema).
Portable hyperbaric chambers allow hikers to simulate conditions at lower altitudes without actually moving from their location on the mountain. These devices are very helpful if bad weather or other factors make climbing down the mountain impossible.
Expectations (prognosis)
Most cases are mild, and symptoms improve promptly when you climb down the mountain to a lower altitude.
Severe cases may result in death due to lung problems or brain swelling.
In remote locations, emergency evacuation may not be possible, or treatment may be delayed. This can have a negative affect on your outcome.
Complications
•Coma
•Fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema)
•Swelling of the brain
Calling your health care provider
Call your health care provider if you have or had symptoms of acute mountain sickness, even if you felt better when you returned to a lower altitude.
Call 911 or your local emergency number if you or another climber have any of the following symptoms:
•Severe breathing problems
•Altered level of alertness
•Coughing up blood
Climb down the mountain immediately and as safely as possible.
Prevention
Keys to preventing acute mountain sickness include:
•Climb the mountain gradually
•Stop for a day or two of rest for every 2,000 feet (600 meters) above 8,000 feet (2,400 meters)
•Sleep at a lower altitude when possible
•Learn how to recognize early symptoms of mountain sickness

If you are traveling above 9,840 feet (3,000 meters), you should carry enough oxygen for several days.

If you plan on quickly climbing to a high altitude, ask your doctor about a medication called acetazolamide (Diamox). This drug helps your body get used to higher altitudes more quickly, and reduces minor symptoms. It should be taken the day before you climb, and then for the next 1 to 2 days.

If you are at risk for anemia, ask your doctor if an iron supplement is right for you. Anemia lowers the amount of oxygen in your blood.

While climbing:

•Drink plenty of fluids

•Avoid alcohol

•Eat regular meals, high in carbohydrates

You should avoid high altitudes if you have heart or lung disease.

References
1.Hackett PH, Roach RC. High-altitude medicine. In: Auerbach PS, ed. Wilderness Medicine. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier; 2007:chap 1.
2.Schoene RB, Swenson ER. High Altitude. In: Mason RJ, Murray JF, Broaddus VC, Nadel JA, eds. Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2005: chap 65.
3.Wright A, Brearey S, Imray C. High hopes at high altitudes: pharmacotherapy for acute mountain sickness and high-altitude cerebral and pulmonary oedema. Expert Opin Pharmacother. 2008;9(1):119-127. [PubMed: 18076343]
4.Yaron M, Honigman B. High-altitude medicine. In: Marx, JA, ed. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa : Mosby Elsevier; 2006: chap 142.