Christopher Ruane Awesome! Glad to hear! Yeah we got a taste of the mud during the A-100 Challenge this year. June has been one of the rainiest months in recent history, so I'm not surprised. Minister Creek is beautiful! Enjoy, its a great area of ANF.

Bill Schaffer Thanks! It really is right in your backyard! Its such a beautiful area, I love it!

Thanks Ron! The beginning of the A100 was rough, lots of holes and wet slop. I'm surprised more people didn't twist ankles and knees there. Was that the shelter with the great field of ferns in front of it? Hope to see you out there in 2014 if it happens again.

Thanks! Its a beautiful area, the Minister Creek area is also great

Thanks Mike! It's a great area for everyone, short and easy enough to hike into for the family, and remote enough for us. Just so you know, the hike out was a bit tougher. It was probably 6-6.5miles and parts of the trail weren't well maintained (lots of overgrowth and climbing over deadfalls). Not too bad though. Enjoy!

Hey Rich, thanks for watching! We hiked across the Tracy Ridge plateau on the way out, great area. Stay tuned because I'm doing a winter camping trip to this same area in a week or two.

+john kulcsar Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. I love it there in ANF

Can't recall ever hauling bottled beer on any of my backpacking treks, but always carry a flex-flask with an adult beverage... and a few stogies too.

Thanks for the info! I'll have to look into that area. I went to OU in Athens so I did a lot of hiking in Southern Ohio, but never been there

Your welcome on the info. I went to a MAC school too. U of Toledo alum. Always wanted to go to OU though! Cool campus. Anyway, thanks for the great channel, and thanks for the response. I appreciate it.

Yeah it was beautiful down there. Definitely go check out the Hocking Hills area if you've never been. Thank you for watching

Agreed! My parents took me on a trip to hocking hills when I was in middle school many moons ago. It was definitely one of my formative outdoor experiences!

Thanks! All the trails around there are great

+Alex Banks Thanks Alex! It was a bit cold at night, but still nice. There was almost no bugs, but I've never really seen the bugs very bad in ANF. I haven't done the northern trails with the lookouts, but I've done the southern ones and the North Country Trail all the way through ANF and they are great. That sounds like a good plan. It's a decent amount of hiking the cover all that for Friday and Saturday, but its doable, especially without heavy backpacks. Just know that when you're going back towards the road or tracy ridge, you'll be going uphill. The NCT through there also has some significant climbs. If it rains the trails can be pretty muddy and creeks can get high, which makes for slow going. Some of the smaller trails can be overgrown in places, but are well marked. Have fun!

Thanks

+Ian Young That was an awesome trail. We just got back yesterday. We ended up hiking to the Hopewell camp ground the first day because there were about 50 kids throughout the Handsome Lake campground. Good choice because we were the only ones at Hopewell. Campsite 3 is an amazing site. Just no place for a tarp or Hammock. You weren't kidding about the uphill. It was a tough 2 mile hike from Handsome to Hopewell.

Cool, glad you enjoyed it! Yeah it's a long, sustained climb.

cfraimondo233 It can be busy at Handsome Lake, there are people that boat in and camp. But there are lots of sites there, and I've never seen it even close to full. I've seen a few small bears, but they always take off running. I didn't hang my food when I was there, but it probably not a bad idea. You definitely don't need a canister. Thanks, have fun on your hike!

Great! Thanks for the info. I'm looking forward to exploring b the area in a couple weeks.

Just an update. Solo I saw no bears. I did car camp with the wife and dog at Willow Bay in August. During the night a black bear came to our camp and got into the cooler. Totally my fault leaving a cooler out. However, she was not afraid of me one bit. It was was a good few minutes of yelling and she didn't leave until I got out of the tent going toward her. I never seen a bear so unafraid of humans. My wife is not a backpacker so it freaked her out quite a bit. I saw neighbor campers leaving food and garbage out, so thought bear activity was minimal. Lesson learned, always be proactive in bear territory, ALWAYS.

Yep! You're always more likely to see them around established car-camping areas, because the people that stay there generally aren't aware or careful with garbage and food. Plus the bears know thats where the food always is. Backpackers are more careful with their food, and don't always stay in the same spot. That's not good for that bear that she is so conditioned to humans.

etheain Thanks! It really is, I love it

There is a camping fee ($10 per site per night, I believe), which you just deposit in a box at the campsite. There is usually a trail register at the trailhead. You can write in your car make, and how long you plan to be out, so that if you went missing, they know what your plan was.

Thanks!

+Maria Rose Puliafico I think in general it's pretty safe to bring them. Bears have a better sense of smell than dogs, and will know that you and they are there. Unless you're careless with your food around camp, bears will stay away from you mostly. Sometimes in late fall before hibernation they get desperate for food and in that case will come around even if you're careful. The dogs will hear and smell a bear coming and hopefully alert you. If they bark and seem intimidating they'll most likely scare the bear away. Very small dogs might not be a good idea to bring since they might look like food to the bear. While you're hiking during the day make sure to be noisy so any bears hear you coming. If you were quiet and walked up on a bear, a close encounter with the dogs could be bad. Keep them on leash for their safety and curtesy to other hikers.

cfraimondo233 I like just about everything that they make, but that Pumking is one of my favs! To each their own

South Tier's IPA I have to say would be my favorite and go to beer.

Their Un-Earthly IIPA is pretty darn good too