Cliff Dwelling at High Falls

This Christmas break we spent most of the time outside, despite cold rain the entire time. Today marked the end of my break and so I decided to go backpacking to finish.
We went to High Falls and climbed the cliffs to the top.

We went around and climbed up a ramp-like rock on the side. It was a bit of a climb, but it was worth it. The campsite we ended up on was on top of the cliff in the picture.
The waterfall and creek flowed in the valley at the base of the cliffs.

As the sun set, we set up our camp in front of the view.

Olivia and Leah were my companions on this trip.

I started a fire using a flint and steel.

Due to the cold, I used my hammock as a ground sheet and slept on the earth.

It was warm enough, but I should have tied the tarp lower to break some of the wind. I did not have any issue sleeping though.
As the sun set, the view became spectacular.

We ate dinner, freeze dried Mountain House, and went to bed not long afterwards. It was an early night, but I was pretty tired.

That rock marks a roughly seventy foot drop down to the creek and the waterfall. The sound was very peaceful.

The sun had not yet risen over the mountain behind.

I found a fallen tree and Leah and I sawed and chopped it into logs.

We had a pretty good breakfast, Leah had bacon and I ate grits. Olivia ate a freeze dried hash brown and egg thing, which she says wasn't good. Freeze-dried eggs.

We stayed up there for a while, it wasn't too cold and we wanted to relax. The wind began to pick up, and we packed up our stuff.

I didn't think descending the cliff would be safe with all our stuff on our backs, so I made a paracord pulley on a tree and lowered our stuff to the bottom of the cliff, then climbed down.

This cliff.

It was a great trip, and an excellent way to end the break. 

Turkey Day Camp 3 at Tree Farm

After two consecutive years of camping on Thanksgiving, it has become a sort of tradition. This year, Olivia, my cousins Elizabeth and Michael, and myself all jumped into the Jeeps and drove into the wild dark. It was after sunset when we departed, and the road was very atmospheric. We stopped at the Cheaha scenic overlook, and then drove down the road until we reached the subtle turn to the field which constitutes the Tree Farm camping area.

We set up the big tent and got a fire going.

For dinner we ate hotdogs and I made a large packet meal of hamburger meat, green beans, and cream of mushroom. I got some complements on the taste, though it could just have been the cold.
Dad and Ashley brought Rowan and Lydia to join us for a time, and we conversed for a time. It was a very quiet night, with a clear sky and millions of stars. There were owls and coyotes vocalizing throughout the night, and I heard a deer walk through the camp. My three companions were apparently very cold throughout the night, as it got well below 30 degrees. I stayed warm, as I set my hammock up on the ground and made a tarp shelter against a fallen log, and then used the underquilt with my 20 degree mummy bag and was quite warm. I also remained fully layered upon going to bed.

It was quite cold.

The next morning we loaded up and went to Ihop.

Halloween Family Campout

Halloween, Hallow's eve, Samhain, whatever you want to call it, its one of my favorite yearly events, this day is the day of horror, of the macabre, of the celebration of dark humor. It's also the day of candy, trick or treating, and costumes. My family from Birmingham came over to go trick or treating at Anniston's main street for such things, Glennwood Terrace. The next day, despite cold weather predictions, we went camping out by the pond. I donned my 'coonskin cap and we set up our tent city in the field just south of the pond, which is dry this time of year.

Dad and the kids set up the big tent, and we made a fire in the middle of camp.

We're a pretty close family, and it's nice when we're all together. 

We started the fire earlier than usual due to the cold. The recent rains brought with them a sudden cold front.
As the light lowered, Clarence started grilling.

Leah arrived just before dinner to join us camping. She's pretty awesome. We have been going out for 3 years now.

The kids were full of energy, as kids oft are. They ran and played. The field was perfect for such things.

We ate dinner as night fell. Sophie wished she could have Dad's dinner.

Cassiopeia is visible in this one.

We all sat around the fire and hung out for a while longer, until we all trickled off to bed.

The next morning, we ate bacon at the house.
Leah and Rowan played chess on the Kindle. He has gotten pretty good at chess.

After breakfast, we went up to Cheaha to explore a bit.

Talladega is visible in the distance from the restaurant.

This is looking toward Mcdill point, which we have hiked to several times before.

It was a wonderful weekend, full of family and laughter and nature. It doesn't get much better than that.
Perhaps next time we can go camping on the island of Trucks & Tacos. Won't be so cold there.