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Leatherwood Wilderness Area
Leatherwood Wilderness Area three man backpacking on bluff action4/28/18
Three men...seven bears...two badgers...one night. These are the ingredients for a hike from hell. We begin with breakfast at Huddle House in Clinton. We eat manly portions of food, washing it down with coffees, waters and milks. It is then that we move onward to the north, where we settle at Leatherwood Wilderness Area. The hike begins. Immediately we are flanked by two male black bears. They parallel our path for half a mile. Soon they are joined by two ugly-ass badgers that drop in behind us. Within a short span of time...five, we're talkin' five, five younger bears align to our left side. That's a total of nine woodland creatures coveting our loins. We take to the trees. This confuses the bastardly varmints. They, being of lesser intellect, have no idea where we have gone. We bide our time and soon our would-be attackers lose interest and wander off. The surprise pays off as each is easily dispatched over the edge. Yes, we tracked them to the bluff and kicked each to the trees below. They limped away like little girls. Yes, I said girls...for this...is Manly Outdoor Adventure, Dammit!
We made camp and lounged about our assorted lounging units, reveling in our victory. The day was of solar supremacy. The wind did blow near 5 to 10 miles an hour. That's 4.3 to 8.6 knots per hour for you sailor types. The humidity was on the low side of the gauge...you know...the humidity gauge we all carry while hiking. Clouds, therefore, were nonexistent. These factors, along with a 70° air temp, equal one fine day. We savor this. We savor this long...we savor this hard. The night promises fine conditions as well...but will this, indeed, bear fruit? We shall see.
When the sun did depart in a westerly fashion, the full moon replaced it to the east. My oh my! What an evening we had lined up! I partook of my lasagna with meat sauce while the boys seared their weenies over a fire that was skillfully made...bushcraft style, man...not. After fire watching until ten or so, we made haste to our sleeping quarters...and prepared for a night with potential avenging mammalian repercussions.. This never did happen...for these lowly animals had learned of our dominance, and feared that a second attempt would end their pitiful existence.
With dawn upon us, we rose, right on up. Preparations were made for the torturous hike out...my god! The morning had a minimum temp of 48° and the day was as fine as the previous one. A total of two ticks were found on our combined body habitus. That's damned good, considering. By 9:30 with 56° we departed the area and made way to our respective dwellings with feelings of being refreshed. The total miles hiked equalled 4.6.
