Just a short trip report from today. -- Headed out this afternoon for some conditioning on the Dry Ridge Trail , which is in excellent condition. The FS did maintenance on it recently. They didn't cut out the spur to road, and haven't cleared Grouse Point.

I started at the Roaring River campground and soon encountered the Roaring River Wilderness sign. The wilderness entry box is broken so I couldn't sign in. My heart rate soon went up as I headed up the switchbacks. The first three miles of this trail are all uphill. It was a fairly uneventful hike. Tagged the junction with the Grouse Point Trail #517 and headed back down.

The most memorable part of this outing was my encounter with humans. I hadn't seen another soul until I met a trio where the trail crosses Grouse Creek. It was a father with his two sons headed up the trail. We exchanged pleasantries and spoke for a few minutes. The sons were young teens and both of them were carrying rifles. Probably not a bad idea in case of an encounter with a cougar or bear in the wilderness. On the way up my dog had become very excited where the rhododendron begins. I'm pretty sure he was smelling some sort of wildlife that had been on the trail earlier.

I got the impression that the rifles were new to the boys because they seemed preoccupied with their firearms. As we parted, I kind of flippantly said "Happy hunting!". The father assured my that they weren't out there to hunt. About five minutes later I heard a quick succession of shots. I highly doubt they had encountered an angry bear or cougar. I picked up the pace a little to get away from the annoying noise more quickly.

On returning to the trailhead I left a note for them on their car (it was the only other car there). I explained that the trail was in a wilderness area and that I was fairly certain recreational shooting wasn't allowed there.

After returning home I did a little online research as to gun use in wilderness areas. What I've read so far leads me to believe that I was mistaken and that they weren't doing anything improper. Although I think it wasn't a very courteous place to be blasting the peaceful environs of the wilderness.

To be fair, I'm not sure they knew they were in a wilderness area. Why I think this is threefold: 1 - When talking to the father I got the impression that he hadn't meant to bring the boys to that particular area. He'd mentioned that his DeLorme led him to believe he was at a different trailhead (maybe he's not the best navigator). 2 - The wilderness sign is mounted high on a tree and could easily be missed. 3 - It sounded like he had read the trail info at the trailhead. The info posted there is outdated. It mentioned something about the trail be good for biking (I crossed that part out) and didn't mention that the trail was in a wilderness area.

I understand hunting, but I find it incongruous that recreational shooting is allowed in wilderness areas. It goes against the enacting legislation: "...has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation..." Section 2(c), and it also ignores the seventh principle of Leave No Trace: "Be Considerate of Other Visitors: Avoid loud voices and noises."

Anyway, these are my thoughts from todays outing.