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Terrill Ridge off the beaten path

10/25/2023

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Off trail site in Deam Wilderness, Hoosier National Forest
the Hoosier Hikers visited Hoosier National Forest again. It seems like every year we try to nail the fall colors, but between work schedules and rain, we always seem to be just a week early and find the tops of the trees are still a little green, or we are a week late and the tops of the trees have all fallen off and there’s just a little bit left underneath.
It looks like this year we're just a touch early to the Deam Wilderness area, but we still had a great time.  As usual, we started off the Hickory Ridge fire tower.
​If you have not visited this fire tower, it’s one of the only ones you can climb in Hoosier National Forest that has views of the surrounding area. We immediately climbed up and took a good look around and saw some great colors, but there was still quite a bit of green.

Since this was a one night trip, and we were planning to do a little exploration, our packs were light as we took off down the Terrell Ridge Road toward a group of really nice campsites we’ve stayed at many times in the past. However, based on the parking lot, we were pretty sure many of the spots would already be filled.

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The Berries of British Colombia

7/17/2023

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Salmon Berries, look like Salmon eggs, SCT British Columbia
Never have we been surrounded by so many berries of so many varieties while hiking on trail. British Columbia must be some sort of berry Mecca in the hiking world, and we were absolutely blown away by the sheer amounts of blooms and berries at all stages of development on the Sunshine Coast.

Whether it was on the new 2nd growth logged sections of trail or along roads and trails in town, everywhere you looked, berries were available. We were slightly early in the season or we would have been able to pick gallons of berries along the trails each day (and would have struggled to resist the urge). At first we were hesitant graze on these berries and accidentally poison ourselves, but the more we checked with local Canadians the more confident we felt. The more we picked, the more we decided if we lived here we would open a pie and jam company and make millions. Haha

Please remember to be careful before you sample any berries in the back county, we recommend a good guide book and talking to the locals before eating anything.  We personally found the locals to be the best and most reliable source on what was safe to eat and good tasting.

Here’s a rundown of what we were able to sample:​
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Wild Blue Berries, SCT British Columbia
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Black Capped Raspberries, SCT British Columbia
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Pacific Trailing Black Berries, SCT British Columbia
​Trailing black berries
Our favorite based on flavor, these were the ripest and sweetest of the ripe berries. They were low to the ground and easier to miss, but the most ripe and ready in late June for us. These were juicy, sweet, and tight.

Blackberries
These were the most plentiful bushes encountered, but were just coming on, it was hard to find a black one when we visited, but in a week or two they would be everywhere.  These most matched the flavor of what we would expect of berries in Indiana- tart and seedy.

Blueberries
These wild blueberries were smaller, drier, and less sweet than our domestic ones at home, but certainly were unmistakably blueberries.

Salmon berries
These were our favorite as they had the most unusual look and flavor for us. Ripe, these ranged from bright yellow, to red, then finally purple. They are a very mild berry with an open/juicy round shape, less seedy and with a larger juice pocket. The darker the color the sweeter the flavor. Locals seemed unimpressed with this berry for its mild flavor, but we found it an exciting different berry.

Thimbleberries
We knew of thimble berries from our time in the UP of Michigan, but this was the first encounter with ripe ones. These were more rare and spread out and seemed to just be coming on for the season. While beloved for their mild, unusual flavor, these were hard to pick as they wanted to disintegrate when picking and had a very fuzzy coating like a soft peach. We often found them in patches of blackberries that had not yet ripened.

Red huckleberries
These were not fully ripe for us, but when trying the darkest red ones we could find found them to taste like a sour cherry in Indiana. They looked like small round holly berries and made us question if they were poisonous as they resembled all things poisonous from Indiana.

Black Capped raspberries
These were the rarest and we really on found them in 2 locations and with only a few ripe bushes, but these were a very typical raspberry flavor.
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Thimble Berries, SCT British Columbia
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Assorted Salmon Berries, SCT British Columbia
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Red Huckleberries, SCT British Columbia
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SCT Day 11 - Anthony Island to Powell River

7/17/2023

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Haywire bridge near the Haywire park, SCT British Columbia
On this last day of adventure, we were in for a lot of kilometers. The terrain would prove to be some of the easiest of the trip, and with the lightest packs as well. However, the compounded issue time out and sore joints as always made for a long day full of anticipation of showers and hot meals and cold drinks.

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SCT Day 10 - Confederation Lake to Anthony Island

7/17/2023

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A great campsite on Anthony Island, SCT British Columbia
​We really enjoyed the day at Confederation Lake. Getting there ahead of everyone and having time to swim and dry out everything felt luxurious.

The afternoon clouds kept us cool while allowing bursts of sun to dry back out. We met more nice Canadians and spent the evening finding out about the history of Townsite in Powell River and the mill community.

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SCT Day 9 - Fiddlehead Landing to Confederation Lake

7/17/2023

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Confederation Lake, SCT British Columbia
Powell Lake at the Fiddlehead Hut does not have the prettiest of views, but the full shade and floating houses made for a buzzing night with more of a civilization vibe.

After a night of boat watching as local Canadians rushed out to their Powell Lake floating houses for the Canada Day weekend we were eager to move on to more peaceful spots.

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SCT Day 8 - Tin Hat Mountain to Fiddlehead Landing

7/17/2023

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Views of Haslam Lake as we descend Tin Hat, SCT British Columbia
What comes up must come down was the theme of the day. Our knees screamed at us as for hour after hour we twisted and wound our way down fiddlehead mountain through roots and rocks and switchbacks.

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SCT Day 7 - Elk Lake to Tin Hat Mountain

7/17/2023

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Sunset from the top of Tin Hat Mountain, SCT British Columbia
With heavy hearts we ate a last leisurely breakfast with our old and new friends, swapping stories and having some great laughs. They filled our bucket list with lots of ideas for BC camping and Vancouver Island adventures. We discussed all their camp gadgets and meal prep philosophies and we shared ours. At last it was time for them to head up Walt Hill and for us to head up Tin Hat- big days for us both.

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SCT Day 6 - Walt's Hill to Elk Lake

7/17/2023

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The unique dock at Elk Lake, SCT British Columbia
​After perhaps the best night of camping we’d ever had, we were sad to leave Walt Hill, but the miles and miles of hard hiking ahead of us called us forward.

We enjoyed our morning views as we packed, had the best morning coffee spit, and then said goodbye to Walt Hill.

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SCT Day 5 - Lang Bay to Walt's Hill

7/17/2023

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The view East from Walt's Hill, SCT British Columbia
Refreshed, clean, and fully loaded down we awaited our shuttle pick up at the hotel for what would be one informed the longest stretches of remote backpacking we’ve ever done.

7 days of food felt like a ton of bricks in our packs, but it was the minimum of everything we could bring. Our base weights were the lowest ever despite the food weight. We had dialed in our clothing, stripped any non essentials, and fought for simplicity. Even though I wanted to bring one more shirt or one more snack, I resisted the urge knowing anything in my pack would be traveling miles and Miles uphill. …simply not worth it. It would be a real experiment in minimalism.

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SCT Day 4 - Appleton Creek to Powell River

7/17/2023

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Slaimmon Lake, SCT British Columbia
Waking up on the lush moss forest floor at Appleton Creek was a treat. The sunlight at dawn and dusk streaming through the high pines and illuminating the forest floor makes it come alive and feel vibrant and otherworldly.

After a slow 6:15 wake-up, we felt behind schedule and quickly packed and hiked up a small ridge along the creek and began to follow it for the next few miles.

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  • Home
  • Backpacking
    • Hoosier National Forest
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    • Midwest >
      • Shawnee National Forest
      • Daniel Boone National Forest
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      • Chugach National Forest
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