Sat, Sep 22 2012 - Joyce Kilmer Wilderness (View Original Event Details) Trip Leader(s): Kristi, Michael Johnson Participants: Michael Johnson, Kristi, Sarah Y, DeAnna, Mike Pawloski, Jon Miner, Katie Morris, Scott, Laura, Greg Pries, Christopher Bolton

What a great weekend backpacking in the beautiful Joyce Kilmer Wilderness -- which always  delivers a soul-satisfying time in wilderness.  On Saturday ever-present dark clouds flying through the sky never produced any rain, the wind was breezy which sounded great, sometimes gusty making the fire go horizontal later in the evening.  After arriving at our camp location at the bald area of Bob Stratton, we set up camp and gathered firewood, Michael doing some tree climbing to get at the dry dead limbs of some trees, other guys sawing it up, and the rest of us gathering smaller pieces and breaking them up so we could easiler pile it on later.  Mike's dog Cedar helped break up some limbs as well!  Then we embarked on the trail to "Hang Over" - a 6 mile round trip; we met a huge wild jacket nest, many were stung multiple times; fortunately there were no major reactions; I'm sure a few of you are still scratching at those bites.  The views from Hang Over were awesome.  Sunday was bright and calm; we relaxed over breakfast until late morning, some reading books in the warm sun and simply "being" with nature.