On a little bit of a whim, I decided to take a backpacking/camping trip somewhere in the United States. I knew that I wanted to camp somewhere and do some hiking, but I did not have a specific place in mind. So I researched a few places and made a list of possibilities. Trying to narrow the list down was harder than I thought. It included national parks, state parks, and national forests. Each had pluses and minus. National parks are large and well documented and when the map says there will be a campsite in a place, it will be there. State parks range in size and are generally set up more for day trips than ongoing overnight adventures. National forests are less restrictive in what you can do. For example, you can hunt, bring pets on trails, and sometimes bring a motorcycle through a National Forest.
I came up with eight possible states to visit. To the east: Tennessee, North Carolina, Virgina, and Kentucky. To the west: Colorado, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Each presented very different situations, but the goal was the same for every one of them: arrive, park, register, hike, camp, hike, camp, hike, leave. Two nights spent out under the stars with no one else around for miles. Continue reading “Coin Flip Road Trip”
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