Backpacker – August 2019

JULY/AUGUST 2019

BACKPACKER.COM 77

No. 46

FIND THIRTEEN FALLS.

Pemigewasset Wilderness, NH

THIS DEEP-WOODS SANCTUARY along Franconia Brook technically holds five

swimmable water fa lls, not 13—but the cha in of burbling drops, plus a 15-foot horse-

ta il, won’t leave you wa nting. Link the Lincoln Woods a nd Fra nconia Brook Tra ils

for an easygoing, 16-mile out-and-back, camping at the Appalachian Mountain

Club’s 13 Fa lls Tentsite, a shor t stroll from the riverba nks a nd stone soa king pools.

Swim season June to September Trailhead Lincoln Woods (44.0639, -71.5879)

Regs $10/person per night caretaker’s fee for camping (first-come, first-serve

sit es) Contact http://www.fs.usda.gov/whitemountain

The biggest drop

at Thirteen Falls

No. 45

GO UNDER AT
DEVIL’S BATHTUB.
Jefferson National Forest, VA

GOOD: SOAKING YOUR FEET in a goosebumpy-
cold mountain stream on a sticky Southern
day. Better: Achieving full immersion at The
Swimming Hole, an 8-foot-deep pond. Best:
Making it a twofer with another dip in the
Devil’s Bathtub, a water fa ll-fed swimming hole
nestled in phyllo dough-like stone just west of
The Swimming Hole. A few minutes in either
one is all it takes to go comfortably numb.
Work up a proper sweat en route on the
Devil’s Fork Trail, a jade tunnel of a hike
that burrows through a dense, hemlock-
rhododendron holler. Rock-hop across the
Devil’s Fork stream at least a dozen times
before reaching The Swimming Hole at mile
1.7 and Devil’s Bathtub at mile 1.8. Make a night
of it: Continue along the Devil’s Fork loop (6.9
miles total), a route linking Corder and Finney
Hollows, and scout a campsite near the junction
with Straight Fork Ridge Trail.

Swim season May to October Trailhead
Devil’s Fork (36.8188, -82.6284) R egs None
Contact http://www.fs.usda.gov/gwj

Tell a good ghost story.

Spin an unforgettable yarn to keep long

summer nights a live.

1. Wait for full dark a nd the last
   cracking embers.


2. Make yourself the main character,
   and be reluctant to share.


3. Let the forest do the spooking.

Wind creaking in the trees? Perfect.

Did a twig just snap over there? W hat

was that?!

4. End at the part where the axe
   murderer gets away and is still on
   the loose—last seen at the trailhead
   4 miles away. –Z .G.

Devil’s Bathtub