Tunnel Bypass, Goldmine Loop--2.0 n, Lakeshore 1.3 pd & 1.4 n, Forney Creek--1.1 & 2.5 pd (7.0 mi)

Met Joel Morris and Dennis McAdams at 8:00 at Sugarlands. We volunteered to chip in for gas; Dennis drove and we arrived at the tunnel about 9:30.

We did the E-part of the Tunnel Bypass trail (0.4), Goldmine Loop (2.0), 1.3 mi of Lakeshore (PD)--at this juncture Joel went up Whiteoak Branch and Dennis and I did 1.4 mi. Lakeshore (N), 1.1 mi. section of Forney Creek (N), met Joel and then we all did ~2.5 mi. of Forney Creek (PD) and set up camp at Campsite 70. There’s the adage that the 1st hiker alerts the yellow jackets, the 2nd makes them mad as hell, and the 3rd gets stung. Dennis was leading and got stung once, Lowell was 2nd and got stung twice, guess who got stung 3 times?

My little one-person Sierra Design tent is light; however, you have to be a gymnast to turn around in it. Had a freeze-dry meal of chili and pasta—not too bad particularly when all you do is pour hot water in a bag, zip up and wait a few minutes, and then eat out of the bag. Besides forgetting my camera and pedometer, I should have brought reading material as did the others. It rained a bit too.