East Bank Ross Lake — Friday, Jun. 2, 2023

I scored a walk-up permit for a spot for one night at Ruby Pasture camp for Friday night. I haven’t been feeling too well, so I wanted something super chill. Skies were grey on the way up to the trailhead, but it wasn’t too cold. I loved all the interesting flowers in bloom along the trail, including luscious wild ginger with its interesting blooms, and striped coral root. Birds constantly sang in the trees, and I enjoyed trying to ID them and match their calls with the Merlin app. Despite taking my time on the way, I made it the 3ish miles to camp by noon. I had the whole afternoon before me to set up camp and relax.

There is apparently a new pit toilet for this campsite, which has lovely 360° views of the forest. There is a seep of water near the campsite, but it’s mostly mud, so later in the afternoon I strolled down the quarter mile to the water at the next camp, and the end of the trail, which has a sweet view over the lake. It’s high above the water, though, and it didn’t look like there was a way to get safely down. I filtered a bunch of water and went back to camp to make dinner. The ranger had said we are allowed to make fires in the fire pit, so I enjoyed a nice little blaze after dinner while I read and wrote in my journal. I used most of the water I had filtered to put the fire out, which I figured was a fair trade. I still had enough for coffee and breakfast in the morning, and it got me to the first stream on the way out to filter enough to get back to the car.

I had a bear canister for my food, but my stove and other scented items don’t fit in it, so I found a tree and hung all that stuff up. The ranger had especially mentioned propane as being an attractant to bears, which I had never thought of before, so I’m glad I had the cord to hang all that stuff.

It was warm enough that I never needed my coat at night, and actually was too warm overnight in my bag. I didn’t sleep well, I think it’s the heightened vigilance of camping alone, but still I was up early to pack up and head out so I could get back to town for an appointment. It was a good trip.

Favorite birds were Nashville warblers, warbling vireos, and common nighthawks.