October Sunset & Sunrise Adds Up To A Beautiful Autumn On Camp Creek Bald

It is mid-October and means the leaves are turning, especially at higher elevations. So, last week there wasn't a better time to do my aborted base camp sunset expedition on Camp Creek Bald (CCB).

I had originally planned to do this a few weeks back after my backpack to Coldsprings Mountain, but I was too tired and decided to postpone. When I went on my hike to the Channels I noticed the trees there was turning and I at three and four thousand feet. So, since I was planning to camp out I thought just go back to Camp Creek Bald and do the one I planned. 

Once I had decided where to go I had to pick a campsite. I had decided on two options one was where I originally was going to camp back in September and that was at the old Camp Creek Bald Lean-to. There are a fire ring and a place for one tent. Then there is camping at a place that a shelter stood back when I was born. This spot was closer to my sunrise spot at White Rock Cliffs, but some distance from my sunset destination. Besides the sunset distance, the biggest downside is the east end of Jones Meadow is the busiest.

The other spot was another I had thought about for some time. It is located not far from the short Blue Blaze trail on the west side of Jones Meadow. The campsite is directly on the Appalachian Trail (AT), is large, had a nice fire ring, and a piped spring close by. The downside to it locals sometimes come here because it is not far from Jones Meadow (as I hauled out a bunch of trash a few years back). It is actually a little closer to Jones Meadow than the other site, but it feels more remote. Also, it was closer to the sunset spot on the CCB Bluffs and about the same distance as the sunrise site off the AT.

So, I decided on the AT Campsite, while not as historic, it was a bit nicer and more centrally located to what I was doing. 

So, once I got my gear set up I took a break before heading to the car to cook dinner. I decided to do this instead of using my backpacking stove. It allowed me to cook steak, which was better than a dehydrated meal. While I was eating a good number of persons started to leave, except for some Enstines who decided to take a lower than normal clearance vehicle up the Jeep Road to the fire tower. This road was the route of the old AT and I had planned to go up it, but I decided to steer clear of these Brainiacs. So instead I took the AT up. 

Once up top, I took a couple of photos of the fire tower and then head for the main event at the Bluffs. I have been to some great spots for a sunset, but I don't know if there was any better than here... absolutely spectacular! 

After enjoying the setting sun it was time to head back to the campsite because I had a fire to build and coffee to drink. As soon as it got dark the temperature started to drop and the wind picked (but not too bad at the campsite) so it felt good. The cold temperatures gave me the chance to test out my cold weather sleeping bag, a Teton 0° bag, it worked great.

It was an early morning as I had a one-mile hike, on the AT in the dark, to White House Cliffs. To complicate matters my headlamp started to go out so I was glad I brought my solar Luci Light with me. Oh, unlike the sunset the previous day I wasn't 100 percent sure if it would come up where I could see the rising sun. So, I arrived as the light from the Sun began to creep over the horizon and my gamble paid off. The sunrise was just at the edge of my view...nice!

After hiking back to my camp I broke it down and headed back to the car for breakfast and preparations for the rest of my day. Since I had some steak left I decided to have it with my eggs and it was good.

I had decided my main goal for the day was heading down to Baxter Cliffs. I had done this hike a couple of times, but not with Autumn leaves. I would park at the other end of Jones Meadow and hike to the AT and on to Bearwallow Gap. Here it is a half-mile down the Jerry Miller Trail to Huckleberry Gap. While it has no official designation we can just call it the Baxter Cliffs Trail. There is still a small part of the sign that leads up and then steeply down 0.4 miles. 

Eventually, you will arrive at Baxter Cliffs and has on previous trips, well worth the effort. While always beautiful it was more so with the Autumn paint scheme.

 After enjoying the vista of the cliffs it was time to head back up. When I say up I mean it from Baxter Cliffs it is a steep climb to Bearwallow Gap in just under a mile.  When I got to the top I was spent. Over Pete's objections, we headed back towards Jones Meadow. 

However, we did have one more stop to make... Blackstack Cliffs. This is one of the more popular spots in this area and it was on this day. Five people were there when I got their and more came right as I left.

Finally, it was back to the car. I dropped off my stuff and took in the views from the old Valhalla Inn site before wrapping up this outing. Overall it was one of my favorites on this special part of the Bald Mountains.