The original plan was to do some camping/exploring around Michigan's Upper Peninsula / Painted Rocks but after ruminating on the drive- over 1,500 miles just to get there, common sense sort of took over and I realized that such a marathon trip wouldn't exactly be making the best use of a 5 day Labor Day weekend. Not only that but as my fiancée can attest, a marked lack of sleep on long roadtrips doesn't bring out the best in anyone- not that I would know anything about that! So in a last minute decision- like literally last minute as we were both on the road trying out best to escape the wrath of Tropical Storm Hermine, we decided to abort plans and consider something- anything really which wouldn't require a 20+ hour drive.
Having camped at Uwharrie (and poked around some of the trails off of Dutch John Rd) and Pisgah National Forest, I thought it would be appropriate to do some exploring at Nantahala. So there it was- in one fell swoop, we had increased our day count by 2 days by simply changing destinations. Additionally, with the many lakes and streams I had read about in Nantahala, I would have an opportunity to try out an ultra light spinning set up I had recently acquired as well as this basket cooker from Bass Pro Shops which I was convinced would be the easiest way to cook over an open flame.
Since I didn't have a particular location in mind, much time was spent simply driving around on paved roads looking for unpaved roads to explore. Seems that Natahala has a lot of private property abutting public lands and in some instances, one must literally drive through someone's yard to pass. The idea was to set up camp near water to do some fishing but unfortunately, Santeetlah lake has a limited number of primitive camping spots which are all first come first served. Here's a map in case anyone is interested:
The green spots are nicer but one would need to park their vehicle walk 30 feet or so down to the site itself which was about 30 feet or so from the lake. Facilities include bench, flat surface for a tent, a hook to hang trash, and a BBQ grill. Tent campers would be good to go. Me in my RTT, not so much. The mustard colored spots are the overflow camp sites didn't have benches, and were not as close together as the others, a much greater walk to water but unfortunately, by 2PM, all were taken. We ended up finding a relatively nearby spot on an unmaintained state road. At least it had a waterfall nearby.
I promised myself that the next day would be better...
After a bit of exploring, decided to try out the spinning reel set up and within a short time, caught a couple of trout. Focusing next on a place to bed down for the night and prepare dinner, we lucked out and found a place to set up camp which as it turns out, not only had enough space but also wood nearby to start a fire. I even got a chance to try out the grill basket!
Not pictured are the ears of corn which came out great.
We spent the majority of the final day sightseeing and trying to find a place which was:
a) secluded
b) had a good view
c) near water to 1) do some fishing and 2) take a shower (hence the secluded part)
Not sure if this is the best camp spot in Nantahala but I'll let all of you decide:
This spot is about 20 feet from the river, secluded, and even had 2 fire rings- perfect! The funny thing is, it almost didn't happen. This spot is on a well maintained state road which runs about 6 miles alongside the river. When we first drove by earlier, it wasn't available but seeing how most of the locals seemed to not have overnight provisions, I thought I would return. As luck would have it, we scored and quickly set up camp.
Next morning was a little chilly but beautiful. Earlier, we had caught a glimpse of a falcon which was doing some fishing of its own. After plunging into the water a couple of times, success. Wasn't able to get a picture but which I had. Here's the view.
After an invigorating shower by the river, we it was time to return back to Tampa.
One last detail in case anyone is curious:
Having camped at Uwharrie (and poked around some of the trails off of Dutch John Rd) and Pisgah National Forest, I thought it would be appropriate to do some exploring at Nantahala. So there it was- in one fell swoop, we had increased our day count by 2 days by simply changing destinations. Additionally, with the many lakes and streams I had read about in Nantahala, I would have an opportunity to try out an ultra light spinning set up I had recently acquired as well as this basket cooker from Bass Pro Shops which I was convinced would be the easiest way to cook over an open flame.
Since I didn't have a particular location in mind, much time was spent simply driving around on paved roads looking for unpaved roads to explore. Seems that Natahala has a lot of private property abutting public lands and in some instances, one must literally drive through someone's yard to pass. The idea was to set up camp near water to do some fishing but unfortunately, Santeetlah lake has a limited number of primitive camping spots which are all first come first served. Here's a map in case anyone is interested:
The green spots are nicer but one would need to park their vehicle walk 30 feet or so down to the site itself which was about 30 feet or so from the lake. Facilities include bench, flat surface for a tent, a hook to hang trash, and a BBQ grill. Tent campers would be good to go. Me in my RTT, not so much. The mustard colored spots are the overflow camp sites didn't have benches, and were not as close together as the others, a much greater walk to water but unfortunately, by 2PM, all were taken. We ended up finding a relatively nearby spot on an unmaintained state road. At least it had a waterfall nearby.
I promised myself that the next day would be better...
After a bit of exploring, decided to try out the spinning reel set up and within a short time, caught a couple of trout. Focusing next on a place to bed down for the night and prepare dinner, we lucked out and found a place to set up camp which as it turns out, not only had enough space but also wood nearby to start a fire. I even got a chance to try out the grill basket!
Not pictured are the ears of corn which came out great.
We spent the majority of the final day sightseeing and trying to find a place which was:
a) secluded
b) had a good view
c) near water to 1) do some fishing and 2) take a shower (hence the secluded part)
Not sure if this is the best camp spot in Nantahala but I'll let all of you decide:
This spot is about 20 feet from the river, secluded, and even had 2 fire rings- perfect! The funny thing is, it almost didn't happen. This spot is on a well maintained state road which runs about 6 miles alongside the river. When we first drove by earlier, it wasn't available but seeing how most of the locals seemed to not have overnight provisions, I thought I would return. As luck would have it, we scored and quickly set up camp.
Next morning was a little chilly but beautiful. Earlier, we had caught a glimpse of a falcon which was doing some fishing of its own. After plunging into the water a couple of times, success. Wasn't able to get a picture but which I had. Here's the view.
After an invigorating shower by the river, we it was time to return back to Tampa.
One last detail in case anyone is curious:
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