I will be posting about the Northern Cascades Volunteer Vacation with American Hiking Society when I get back.
Mid-week we will have a day off to go day hiking or whatever else we want to do. I haven't decided. There are quite a few trails around. I may go up the valley and try to set foot on the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail - west coast equivalent to the AT), or I may try and climb a mountain and see a glacier, or go down the valley to see more of Lake Chelan.
I am very excited to be going! I will miss the girl, and she knows it - but going here was planned before I met her and going to Washington State will be fulfilling dreams I've had for awhile. The amount of pictures I'll be taking is going to be amazing! I can't wait to soak in the beauty. The temperatures seem to be between 50 at night to low 80's during the day - good weather to be working and camping. The people element should also be fun, everyone seems fairly cool from the small amount of interaction I have had, all seem like they are avid hikers - but to belong and volunteer to a group called American Hiking Society, I guess you'd have to have some kind avid interest in it!
I am also looking forward to be trying out nearly my full range of equipment that I want to be taking on the Appalachian Trail. Early this year those were colder weather trips with more gear, also short travel day trips so I added more stuff 'just to be safe' or 'just in case'. This time my pack is slim and without extra items that I probably won't need. Base weight was ~20lbs, which I'm satisfied with. Also there was an abundance of room in the back for food for 5 to 7 days on the AT. I'm really psyched to try out everything! I'm hoping this trip will test my gear, myself, and my readiness.
Besides food (and that entails a LOT of expense - food storage bags, boxes, postage) and all the time and preparation that will go into that I have nearly all the gear I need for the Trail. I would possibly like new hiking poles, a SPOT device, a flip phone, extra memory card, Dirty Girl Gaiters, and a Packa. Oh, and maps! I have the all the ones from Maine and I have a scattering of VA and MD. I need to go through and make a list of maps I have to maps I need. Some hikers don't travel with maps, some will use just the guide book, others just go with it. But planning is fun to me. Pouring over maps is fun to me. I want to mark the maps as I travel for mileage purposes, to relate each day to my journal so I can be fairly certain of where I saw something or where something took place! Also it will be helpful to coordinate where I can meet people and how to get to Trail towns and Post Offices. On that note, I should probably get two sets of maps. One for me and one for the support team...
I have a couple of concepts for DIY modded equipment that I want to try out - I'm not going to even touch on them until I've tried it out - and if it really works then imma patent the ideas, and then sell them to you ;) I've looked around and they don't exist - that doesn't mean they don't. It may also mean they've been thought of but violate the laws of the universe - which won't stop me from trying to do it anyway!
I am off to finish preparations to go West! Have a great few weeks!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Trail Days!
Friday May 13, 2011
Cara and I packed the car and left Baltimore at 10am with Kaya in the back seat. I called Newman on our way out and he was still in the midst of packing subsequently he'd be a couple hours behind us - however there were already people from Washington Backpackers that had left and would be looking for a place for us to setup camp.
Cara and I made good time, stopping infrequently. The cloud laden sky followed us for several hours before breaking and letting blue sky and patchy sunshine through. After Roanoke I could see a thunder shower ahead of us, we went through a brief period of heavy rain before winning free.
Down towards RT91, the cutoff to Damascus, it became evident that a tornado had struck the area. Roofs were ripped off, houses destroyed, trees toppled, and advertisement signs gone. It looked as if the storm had happened a week prior, as clean up was well under-way. It was sobering to see the fury of mother nature.
We arrived into Damascus at 4:30. I drove us to the General Store across from the tenting area and payed $20 to park in the field next-door. We walked over to the store to use the facilities and grab a snickers. I called the numbers of the people that were supposed to be there already. On the 3rd number I got in touch with Gino. Cara and I grabbed the tent, as the sky was looking threatening again and I wanted to have a place to stow our stuff if it began raining. We came in to the far right and followed the path behind the new baseball diamonds to a field where some tents were being setup. We met Gino and he lead us from the field back to where he and Matt had staked off some areas for us to camp. A small stream lay just beyond Gino's tent.
Cara and I looked close by and found a spot we thought would hold the 4-person tent I had purchased for this trip. I needed a car camping tent for Cara, myself, and Kaya! As we cleared the area of poison ivy and stinging nettles the sky got darker and finally began raining. I decided to setup the tent quickly rather than wait it out. We hustled, pulling everything out, removing plastic and rubber-bands from the new tent. The base went together quickly, easy enough. We tossed the rain-fly over, both of us getting soaked by now, the rain having picked up the pace. We clambered into the tent, first pulling the fly this way, then that way, a couple puddles forming on the floor where rain was falling off the fly into the door of the tent. We sat there for a bit then decided that the experience would be much better if we had beers in hand!
Cara, Kaya, and I walked back up to the car, dripping wet, at this point, and grabbed the cooler and some other gear. Back at camp, with the rain lessening, and a cold beer in hand, we properly set up the tent, moved it out of a depression and staked it and the fly down. I toweled out the inside and we put our day packs and other gear inside. Cara was getting numb at this point so we walked back to the car to blast the heat and get some feeling back into hands! She also changed into dry clothing and put on a rain jacket. We carried the big blue tote down to the campsite. This trip was quite the opposite of backpacking or ultralite!! The guy at the end of the trail near our campsite made quite a few comments on all the stuff we carried back to camp!
In the blue tote was all kinds of goodies - including the tarp. I strung that up next to the tent. As I was doing that Cara noticed one of our neighbors bare-assed in the stream behind our camp, only partially hidden by some trees.
Cara and I packed the car and left Baltimore at 10am with Kaya in the back seat. I called Newman on our way out and he was still in the midst of packing subsequently he'd be a couple hours behind us - however there were already people from Washington Backpackers that had left and would be looking for a place for us to setup camp.
Cara and I made good time, stopping infrequently. The cloud laden sky followed us for several hours before breaking and letting blue sky and patchy sunshine through. After Roanoke I could see a thunder shower ahead of us, we went through a brief period of heavy rain before winning free.
Down towards RT91, the cutoff to Damascus, it became evident that a tornado had struck the area. Roofs were ripped off, houses destroyed, trees toppled, and advertisement signs gone. It looked as if the storm had happened a week prior, as clean up was well under-way. It was sobering to see the fury of mother nature.
We arrived into Damascus at 4:30. I drove us to the General Store across from the tenting area and payed $20 to park in the field next-door. We walked over to the store to use the facilities and grab a snickers. I called the numbers of the people that were supposed to be there already. On the 3rd number I got in touch with Gino. Cara and I grabbed the tent, as the sky was looking threatening again and I wanted to have a place to stow our stuff if it began raining. We came in to the far right and followed the path behind the new baseball diamonds to a field where some tents were being setup. We met Gino and he lead us from the field back to where he and Matt had staked off some areas for us to camp. A small stream lay just beyond Gino's tent.
Cara and I looked close by and found a spot we thought would hold the 4-person tent I had purchased for this trip. I needed a car camping tent for Cara, myself, and Kaya! As we cleared the area of poison ivy and stinging nettles the sky got darker and finally began raining. I decided to setup the tent quickly rather than wait it out. We hustled, pulling everything out, removing plastic and rubber-bands from the new tent. The base went together quickly, easy enough. We tossed the rain-fly over, both of us getting soaked by now, the rain having picked up the pace. We clambered into the tent, first pulling the fly this way, then that way, a couple puddles forming on the floor where rain was falling off the fly into the door of the tent. We sat there for a bit then decided that the experience would be much better if we had beers in hand!
Cara, Kaya, and I walked back up to the car, dripping wet, at this point, and grabbed the cooler and some other gear. Back at camp, with the rain lessening, and a cold beer in hand, we properly set up the tent, moved it out of a depression and staked it and the fly down. I toweled out the inside and we put our day packs and other gear inside. Cara was getting numb at this point so we walked back to the car to blast the heat and get some feeling back into hands! She also changed into dry clothing and put on a rain jacket. We carried the big blue tote down to the campsite. This trip was quite the opposite of backpacking or ultralite!! The guy at the end of the trail near our campsite made quite a few comments on all the stuff we carried back to camp!
In the blue tote was all kinds of goodies - including the tarp. I strung that up next to the tent. As I was doing that Cara noticed one of our neighbors bare-assed in the stream behind our camp, only partially hidden by some trees.
Home-Sweet-Home
Cara and I were getting quite hungry at this point, and the rest of the group was heading into town to catch a concert at the town pavilion - we decided to tag along in the darkening evening to grab some food in town and maybe catch the music if we found something. Kaya trotting happily along-side, we made our way into town. At the Creeper Trail the group turned left towards the town park, Cara and I continued to town. We turned right on Main, passing a few churches and hiker hostels, one church showing a slide-show presented by (or maybe ABOUT) Warren Doyle. The next church up had free coffee and snacks - we wanted real food though so we continued up to 91, turning right towards Sundog and Subway. At the edge of town we saw nothing we wanted, so I went into Dot's to check their menu - which consisted of anything in the world... deep fried. I ordered the chicken tenders, what I hoped would be the least offensive item to be fried. After getting the order I went outside where Cara waited with Kaya. Cara saw some picnic tables in front of Sun Dog so we crossed the street and asked if we could sit at the end. The hikers there said sure, then proceeded to invite us to eat bow-tie Alfredo and a fresh vegetable salad along with some bread! The cook insisted on heating the sauce for us before serving it. Then we all sang happy birthday to the cook! awesome people opening up just by sitting down! This is why I love Trail Days! Needless to say, most of the deep fried chicken from Dot's got wasted.
As we finished dinner Theresa called to let us know she just got into town and was on a pay phone since AT&T had no signal. I told her where we were and she drove down and picked us up so we could walk her into camp - and we got a ride back to camp.
She parked in the $10 lot, which I hadn't seen on our way in to town. Opps! Theresa had packed like she was back-packing. The only car camping item she had was a camp chair. We walked back to camp and she left her stuff under our tarp as she found a place to setup her tent. A few minutes later Newman arrived with his girl-friend and son. They left quite a bit of stuff under my tarp.
We crawled into the tent, cleaned Kaya off and situated her on a blanket by our feet. I brought my foam mattress and my 3/4 Thermarest - Cara got the more comfortable thermarest, of course, chivalry isn't dead! By the end of the night Kaya had the thermarest and Cara was on the ground between the two pads... apparently dogs don't prescribe to chivalry. There were drums beating and singing and revelry late into the night. I woke sometime later to a quiet camp.Saturday
Darwin came by the tent at 6:30am to tell us we were getting up for the hike soon. I lay there for awhile longer, listening to the birds singing their praises to the morning, the trickle of the stream, and mostly just the lack of noise in general. Soon Newman and others came over to our tarp to prepare coffee and hot water for tea and oatmeal. I motivated to get out of bed and we soon were packed for the hike and drinking some coffee from Newman's percolator.
We gathered all the people from the group and headed out - 4 cars full of people, including: Newman, Brandon, Kirsten, Darwin and his two dogs, Theresa, Matt, Toaha, Natalie, Barry, and Emil and his wife. Gino decided to go fly fishing before needing to head home that evening. Theresa rode with us, as we caravaned through the mountain towards Mt Rogers.
We finally made it to the parking area after a couple turn arounds. We put our packs on and headed up the trail. The sun was shining and the day was fairly clear. Off on the horizon there were some clouds, but they looked far away. We hiked up the spur trail to the AT and the we followed the AT through a patch of trees. Off in the distance we could see a horse back-rider on one side of a fence and a wild pony on the other. A pony sighting!
The Trail curved up over the hill and back down to the field we were looking at from afar. As we closed in on the gate, the same pony we saw came trotting out of some brush. He saw Kaya and started running toward her, then the horse looked over and saw Darwin's dogs and ran towards them instead. At first we didn't know what the ponies intentions were, so we drew back and distracted the pony with apples. As it turned out, the pony only seemed to be coming down to say "Hi" to the dogs - enthusiastically. The pony was completely tame, it seemed, and liked our presence, occasionally licking our hands for the salt. We took many pictures of our new pony friend before putting our packs on and heading on.
Beyond the gate the Trail split, we continued on the AT towards Mt Rogers. The views behind were spectacular, the valleys hidden by mist, the far peaks jutting through those low clouds. The clouds we had seen on the horizon were closer now.
We ascend to some more balds, over some rocky area. The AT cut off to the right, while another trail went up and over the rocky bumps on the tops of the bald. The AT chooses the easy way! The views were slightly better, and the rocks were fun to climb. Kaya is a rock climbing champ! To Cara's 'Heel' and 'Wait' commands, Kaya listens very well, not pulling on the leash.
Over the first rocky out-cropping and on to the second, the clouds were closing in on us quickly, the wind a bit more chill. Two people were having trouble on the rock hopping sections, so they went out to the AT to meet us on the other side of the hills. We stopped and ate a couple bars and took a few more pictures. In the bald around us we could see a few groups of ponies scattered around. At the base of the 2nd hill we re-grouped and took a photo of us all before polling everyone on whether we should start heading back or try to summit Mount Rogers. Everyone seemed to be trending towards going on - Brandon piped up and reminded us it would look exactly as it does now. A few other factors lead me to side with our voice of reason - the hiker parade was to start at 2pm, they close the road back to the campsites some time before that, we were getting hungry, the clouds we had seen in the distance were now rolling over us obscuring the view and spitting rain - that could potentially become a worse storm at any time. Convinced, we headed back the AT route towards the cars.
It didn't take us long to get back to the cars. Though we did stop to play with a larger group of ponies and their foal. Kaya got nose to nose to a few of them, she wanted to play with them. We had hiked upwards of four miles, not a long hike, and not particularly strenuous, but filled with ponies, good views, easy conversation, and some fun rock hopping.
We made it back into town right at 1pm. Parked back in our spot, the group split. Cara, Kaya, and I went into town directly to see the hiker parade and the gear vendors and grab some food. Everyone else stopped back through the campsite to drop stuff off. Cara and I walked up to the town green and perused the gear. We each found some stuff that could really come in handy - her a Loki jacket caught her eye, with built in mittens and face mask - good for the always cold individual! We also found a full length Thermarest for a price to good not to get for her. I found a kinetic energy charger - which would work great, but at 11 oz, really isn't needed on the AT, where you are always a couple miles from the nearest electric outlet! I could see having that out west or in Alaska. I also saw the Packa - which I had seen online, but really got a good feel for it, I want on now, and think it is one of those items all backpackers need to have. It is a raincover/raincoat/poncho all in one and at the same weight as just my rain jacket - it is feature rich with zip-pits, a flap to sit on, can be used as either just a pack cover or just a rain coat. It fits over the shoulder pads of the pack and doesn't allow water down one's back. The Packa The best part was, the guy manning the booth is the creator, designer, and sole salesman of the device - also a thru hiker. This product needs to catch on, and I don't see how it won't!
By the time we got to the end of the vendors, the parade had began - fortunately we were at the end of the street so we still got to see it all - all the fire trucks, and classes of hikers, all the different trail associations, and some random guys on horse back. Interesting parade, to say the least!
After the parade we went and finished looking at the few vendors we missed before heading down the Virginia Creeper Bike Trail towards Sun Dog. We had seen an ice cream parlor on the way into town that struck our fancy! I bought a couple little things in Sun Dog and we sat on the porch of the ice cream place. Our timing, impeccable, it began pouring rain, us covered and dry on the porch! A bunch of scouts rode up on there bikes, some getting caught in the rain. There was one boy that forgot his wallet and some of the other boys were muttering about ("i'm not his sitter"), Cara quietly offered to get him a cone - this simple act moved me. She's a good person.
We sat, finishing our cones and letting the rain slow, before putting up our rain hoods and heading back into town. We made our way eventually back to camp, stopping at the sponsor tents and getting some stickers and beer cozzies from Osprey.
Back in camp we kicked around looking for a spot to start a fire. Where Gino had camped the night before, right on the bank of the stream was clear - so I went down the stream and started chucking big rocks up, Kaya chased the rocks back and forth, and Cara put them in a circle for the ring. Go team, lol. We gathered some firewood and sawed it up, stopping to pop tops and begin drinking. I had bought a bag of firewood in MD, kiln dried, so it didn't take much to start the fire, even with all the wet wood on hand. I placed the other firewood around the fire to dry it out. After we got a good bed of coals I put on a baked potato and the hobo dinner - beef cubes, onions, green peppers, a dash of salt pepper and olive oil.
As we sat and drank we talked to various people walking or stumbling past. A friend of Kirsten and her friend Powhatan (Jonathan) stopped by. Powhatan is thru hiking for the second time this year, last time he thru-ed was in 2001. Great guy, very laid back fun to talk to, good humor. He had the long beard and an insatiable desire to drink beer. He bounced back and forth between Newman and Kirsten were under their kitchen tent, and were Cara and I were tying one on by our fire.
Eventually our food was done, and while the meat was a bit over done the potato was perfect. We savored it with a few more beers. Darwin came by and made us do a couple shots of Johnny Walker Red. The guys from West Virginia - one that Cara had seen bare-assed the day before - came by and spoke to us for awhile, they were worried their music playing was bothering us, quite the contrary!! Between the mandolin and a drum with their very Appalachian folk singing style I couldn't have asked for a better way to enjoy the evening. They were very nice guys too. Glad to have had the pleasure of camping near them.
After listening to the music, and the howls and occasional bottle rocket, beating drums, wind in the trees and trickling stream, Cara and I stumbled the few feet back to the tent. With Kaya clean we went to sleep - or rather I went to sleep - apparently Cara had to go to the bathroom and went wandering around for one all the way up close to the general store. I remember none of that; I passed out!
It began raining during the night and rained most of the way until morning. Plunking on the tent roof while we stayed dry inside.
Sunday
We were awoken by the next camp over yelling that it was 15 minutes until sunrise, they stayed up all night waiting for it! We dozed off for a few more hours. We got out of the tent and made coffee then bacon then eggs and english muffins - roughing it I know! We went over and shared some bacon with the group. Some were already packing up and getting out. After a slow relaxing morning we began packing up, the rain firmly finished. I went over and got the car and we packed everything quickly. After saying our goodbyes - we headed out. We being muddy, grimy, tired, and itchy - but happy and content at the same time. We took our time going home, stopping frequently and just generally enjoying the trip, but boy did that shower feel wonderful when we got back to Baltimore!!!
Not a double rainbow - but I will take a full on, all the way rainbow!!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Updates
It's been awhile since the last post, and nothing too exciting has happened since the last post. Awesome things have happened, just nothing adventure related!
A couple weeks ago I went on a company cruise thru Key West to Cozumel and back to Miami. In Cozumel I went on the 4-wheeler jungle excursion. It hadn't rained in 2-months there, so the dust was prodigious, to say the least. Still a lot of fun, though rather outside the bounds of what I typically do. I did see some colorful birds and some iguanas and get to hear about some ancient local history of the ruins we visited while tearing around on the ATVs.
More recently I went to San Francisco with Cara. We walked around the city, felt the cold air coming in off the bay. I met her brothers and cousins, her parents were there, as well as her sister-in-laws family. A whirlwind of new faces and conversations.
As we drove south, I was reminiscent of the last time I was in San Jose, I had been alone there for work. One day I drove east and hiked in the brown mountains on that side of the valley. Arid qualities abounded, browned grass and earth, dust with rattler belly marks, coyote scat and tracks, and signs warning of cougars. The next day I drove west, to Big Basin, where I walked among the redwoods and sequoias.
Time was short on this trip, we were there only 3 full days; the activities were all family related, as was expected! I enjoyed meeting everyone, all very good people; I know this was important to Cara. The beach was gorgeous, the afternoon temperatures excellent, and wine tasting and lunch on the cliffs fantastic!
I received conformation concerning the Washington Volunteer Vacation. The planning of it was cumbersome, but I have laid out an itinerary, which honestly I don't mind doing, but would rather not as I like going places without a rigid plan - however, on this excursion I needed to be at a certain place at a certain time, and without taking extra days off and spending extra money on lodging/car rental/etc I had to have the events line up, while trying to find decently priced flights.
I fly into Seattle and have a few hours to go north into downtown on the light rail to see REI (get fuel and whatever else I might need but don't have for the trip), from there I can sight see for a bit Pike's Place whatever else I can walk to - though I will have a full pack on all this time - so I gotta remember to pack light! Then I jump on a bus that goes east over the mountains to Wenatchee. Wenatchee does have an airport, but looking into getting a flight there was difficult, not only did all the flights come thru Seattle, they all had 6+ hours layover times from the arrival flight and I would need to get there another day in advance because of the wait times. From the bus station in Wenatchee - after a 4 hour bus ride thru the mountains - I will be in walking distance of the hotel I will be staying at for the night. The next day I will need to get a ride from the hotel to KEAT, the airport, for the pickup from the volunteers from AHS. From there we drive north to Chelan and get a NPS supply boat to pick us up and take us the ~40 miles up the lake to within 5 miles of our camp for the week.
On the way back it's not quite the same, first we get the boat ride back, 2 hour drive to Wenatchee by 6pm, bus to Seattle, arriving at 11pm. Jet leaving 1am to fly through Houston and then back to BWI by 2pm the following day. That is the marathon day of constant travel - start the day hiking, boating, driving, bus riding, light rail riding, plane riding to finish. Reality will be crashing down on me after a full week of blissful nothingness - no distraction, just waking working, soaking in the beauty. Currently there are 5 people confirmed for the trip. The group leader and another person have the same address in Minnesota. The others are from Flint and Philly.
I'm looking forward to meeting everyone, and working on the trail. The description reads: "Volunteers will perform trail brushing and clearing, and reroute a remote trail climbing toward Bonanza Peak in the Cascades. There is a cold glacier-fed creek flowing near the camp"
In a couple weeks I will be heading down to Trail Days with the Washington Backpackers. I am an organizer, so I rather feel obligated to help out, however, I'd like nothing more than some relaxing time. I do want to go see the ponies on Mt Rogers, logistically it's going to be tough if 20+ people actually show up. I may show up later than Newman, just so I don't have to participate in carrying the 4 metric tons of equipment from his car to the campsite!!!
A couple weeks ago I went on a company cruise thru Key West to Cozumel and back to Miami. In Cozumel I went on the 4-wheeler jungle excursion. It hadn't rained in 2-months there, so the dust was prodigious, to say the least. Still a lot of fun, though rather outside the bounds of what I typically do. I did see some colorful birds and some iguanas and get to hear about some ancient local history of the ruins we visited while tearing around on the ATVs.
More recently I went to San Francisco with Cara. We walked around the city, felt the cold air coming in off the bay. I met her brothers and cousins, her parents were there, as well as her sister-in-laws family. A whirlwind of new faces and conversations.
As we drove south, I was reminiscent of the last time I was in San Jose, I had been alone there for work. One day I drove east and hiked in the brown mountains on that side of the valley. Arid qualities abounded, browned grass and earth, dust with rattler belly marks, coyote scat and tracks, and signs warning of cougars. The next day I drove west, to Big Basin, where I walked among the redwoods and sequoias.
Time was short on this trip, we were there only 3 full days; the activities were all family related, as was expected! I enjoyed meeting everyone, all very good people; I know this was important to Cara. The beach was gorgeous, the afternoon temperatures excellent, and wine tasting and lunch on the cliffs fantastic!
I received conformation concerning the Washington Volunteer Vacation. The planning of it was cumbersome, but I have laid out an itinerary, which honestly I don't mind doing, but would rather not as I like going places without a rigid plan - however, on this excursion I needed to be at a certain place at a certain time, and without taking extra days off and spending extra money on lodging/car rental/etc I had to have the events line up, while trying to find decently priced flights.
I fly into Seattle and have a few hours to go north into downtown on the light rail to see REI (get fuel and whatever else I might need but don't have for the trip), from there I can sight see for a bit Pike's Place whatever else I can walk to - though I will have a full pack on all this time - so I gotta remember to pack light! Then I jump on a bus that goes east over the mountains to Wenatchee. Wenatchee does have an airport, but looking into getting a flight there was difficult, not only did all the flights come thru Seattle, they all had 6+ hours layover times from the arrival flight and I would need to get there another day in advance because of the wait times. From the bus station in Wenatchee - after a 4 hour bus ride thru the mountains - I will be in walking distance of the hotel I will be staying at for the night. The next day I will need to get a ride from the hotel to KEAT, the airport, for the pickup from the volunteers from AHS. From there we drive north to Chelan and get a NPS supply boat to pick us up and take us the ~40 miles up the lake to within 5 miles of our camp for the week.
On the way back it's not quite the same, first we get the boat ride back, 2 hour drive to Wenatchee by 6pm, bus to Seattle, arriving at 11pm. Jet leaving 1am to fly through Houston and then back to BWI by 2pm the following day. That is the marathon day of constant travel - start the day hiking, boating, driving, bus riding, light rail riding, plane riding to finish. Reality will be crashing down on me after a full week of blissful nothingness - no distraction, just waking working, soaking in the beauty. Currently there are 5 people confirmed for the trip. The group leader and another person have the same address in Minnesota. The others are from Flint and Philly.
I'm looking forward to meeting everyone, and working on the trail. The description reads: "Volunteers will perform trail brushing and clearing, and reroute a remote trail climbing toward Bonanza Peak in the Cascades. There is a cold glacier-fed creek flowing near the camp"
In a couple weeks I will be heading down to Trail Days with the Washington Backpackers. I am an organizer, so I rather feel obligated to help out, however, I'd like nothing more than some relaxing time. I do want to go see the ponies on Mt Rogers, logistically it's going to be tough if 20+ people actually show up. I may show up later than Newman, just so I don't have to participate in carrying the 4 metric tons of equipment from his car to the campsite!!!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Meadows Cabin
I organized a Meetup group to go to a PATC cabin near Syria VA for this weekend. As is typical the flux and flow of members varied day to day leading up to the event, so it was difficult to get a firm head count beforehand - which was why I was denying no one entrance, even though the cabin only had room for 12 people in bunks.
Sixteen people showed up, between the 2 that went straight to the cabin and the few that came on Saturday or Sunday.
Friday March 4th
I wanted to beat the traffic, so I went to Tania's place to meet her new dog, Nyla. She is a very cute puppy! After hanging out for a few minutes, I left and made it to the Centreville Park and Ride a couple minutes early. Everyone else showed up within 10 or 15 - so no one was late! And that's a miracle in a group this size.
Since I was staying an additional day beyond everyone else, I drove solo and the four vehicles caravanned down, stopping in Warrenton for a bite to eat. We, then, followed 211 toward Sperryville and onto 522 and then onto 231 toward Old Rag - the cabin we stayed at was a few miles down the ridgeline from Old Rag. After a couple turn-arounds, we made it to the cabin with no issues - I unlocked the gate to the very small parking area and we started packing stuff the .2 of a mile down a stream filled road to the cabin. I unlocked the cabin and moved in for the weekend. Jim Newman, in typical fashion, had his car loaded to the gills with anything we could want. The amount of food and equipment required several trips from the car.
Everyone introduced to the few early comers that were tenting and hammocking outside, we settled in, several more of the group setup tents outside, which is just as well, though there was room in the cabin, it would've been a bit close. Most of the women setup in the bunks upstairs, while a bit drafty, the upstairs was very spacious.
Gary and I stayed up after everyone else had gone to sleep, sipping on scotch and talking. Finally crawled into my bunk at 1am. It was very comfortable.
Saturday 5th
Woke up with the sun, after hearing some voices in the main room, and hearing them stock the fire. I got up and dressed for a day of hiking. Everyone else began stirring shortly after. I made a few batches of coffee on Newman's large perkalator over my car-camping propane stove.
Dave began making from scratch wheat pancakes, and Newman cooked up half the bacon that I brought. The pancakes were fantastic, Dave really knew what he was doing! After breakfast was eaten and Kirstin and Tabitha and Patricia cleaned up, we all got suited up to head out. It wasn't very cold out, but the sky was socked in with clouds that looked like it could rain at any time. The peak of Double Top, our destination, only occasionally and briefly visible. We started with our rain gear on.
All of us left for the hike at about 10:30am, only Paul, the hammock-hanger, staying behind.
The hike begins beyond the entrance of the cabin road, we took a right and followed a fire road, looking for a trail for Double Top on the left. I was walking mid group and had to shout to get the front-runners to come back to the trail. The trail got much steeper and had a few switchbacks, but you could tell these were old wagon or logging roads in the dim though not too distant past. We could see Old Rag to the north before the fog moved in and covered the view. After the couple switchbacks the trail turned up the mountain, disregarding either switchbacks or contour lines. There was a short reprieve as the trail hit a shoulder on the mountain, but after it got only steeper. I hung back with the slowest people knowing that we couldn't let them get too far behind, as the trail in places was nearly nonexistent and finding the next blue blaze in the heavy fog was challenging at times. Everyone made it to the top with no complaints, and Tabitha and I went out on to Monkey Head overlook to peer into the fog, watching it whip away in the gusty wind, the krumholtz looking trees bending in the breeze.
On the next rocky outcropping, after descending and ascending, the group stopped and started eating, we were sheltered from the wind, and there was plenty of seating for everyone. We passed around cheese and bread and some wurst that Gary and Newman had brought - everyone eating their fill of the broken bread and bars and fruit toted up the mountain.
After this brief stop we continued on the ridge of Double Top through stunning laurel forests, next coming to a very steep incline up next to some lichen covered rocks, this trail does not see much use, between the tough climb and the hard to find trail, the size of the lichen were a testament to this untrod area. Newman and I chatted through this area, stopping to take lots of pictures. On the steep area Newman was taking pictures of Kirsten and others climbing the steep section, I was taking the sweeper position. As Newman took off his lens cap it got away from him and rolled down hill - I sat down and slide after it to catch it, my REI rain pants got a rip in the butt and this the first time I used them - I will be taking them back for an exchange.
We followed the ridge for awhile longer until the trail we were looking for came in from the right - this trail was orange blazed, and very recently blazed. The sun began peaking through and the fog lifted to higher clouds. This trail was an old wagon road, many stones had been laid as a retention wall on the downward side - this trail involved a lot of historic work. We made our way down to the Rapidan River and a fire road that lay on it's shore. We passed some cabins, the Rapidan Family Co-Op cabins on our way. Soon we passed into the national park and continued on the fireroad, now winding up a hillside. A set of powerlines cut the switchbacks and I ran up one of these ahead of Gary and Dan. Then, being a ways behind those in the lead, I cut through the woods to come out ahead of them and made it to the side cut-off trail for Upper Dark Hollow Falls trail first.
As we sat and waited for everyone to catch up Erick Brandon and Ron headed out down the trail first, I called out, "look for a right turn to get you to the cabin!" as they walked away. They didn't hear me.
About 10 minutes later the rest of the group set a leisurely pace and started down the trail, also an old wagon road.
After chatting and strolling we came to the loop trail that went around the cabin, we sauntered back into camp. Jim Lantry was there and waiting. Apparently he decided to come up Saturday, rather than Sunday as he had originally told me. He had arrived at 11am, just after we left, and didn't know which trail we took. We began preparation for cooking, all of us hungry after a 10 mile hike. Newman mentioned that Erick, Brandon (his son), and Ron weren't back yet, thought they were well ahead of us. I went in the opposite direction around the loop around the cabin property thinking they may have taken the long way back. I jogged up a very large hill looking for them. About the time I got to the intersection where Upper Dark Hollow joins the cabin loop I could see the three of them coming up the trail. Somehow they took a turn and ended up by the Rose River, in the next hollow over. Some trout fisherman had redirected them and they had to climb back up a very steep hill, adding a couple miles to their days hike.
Paul and Jim had started a fire in the outside firepit, some of us popped tops and sat around that fire drinking and talking, others stayed inside and did the same, reading and talking. Paul brought out sushi and we devoured it very quickly. Newman put on the chicken and rib BBQ in the dutch-oven to simmer for 3 or 4 hours.
I went inside and laid down for a nap for an hour or so. I love naps!
I woke to Jim and Gary heckling me through a window. I got up and went back to the outside fire, passing the flask around and talking with the guys out there. Dinner eventually was done and served. The array of side dishes and main courses in the spread fulfilled all huger pangs in short order. After clean up we went sat long around the fire telling stories and drinking from the flasks there. People began dropping off to bed, until only Gary, myself, and Jim were up. The rain began falling a bit and we moved the party to the cabin's front porch. We sat and talked for awhile longer until finally retiring to or respective bunks and tents.
Sunday 6th
Before light, Christian, the guy sleeping in the bunk above me, packed up and headed out. Woke to the sound of heavy rain on the tin roof.some time later. Everyone got up at generally the same time and began packing up. I didn't yet have to do any packing! Patricia made french toast for everyone. Jim and Gary washed dishes. We helped carry some things to people's cars int he rain. About the time everyone was heading out Tania arrived. Jim and I went down to the store while Tania carried her stuff to the cabin with Nyla in tow.
Sunday was a very restful day, we sat and chatted and fed the fire, we kept hoping the rain would slack off, but it continued to be a steady rain. I made grilled cheese sandwiches for us in the mountain pie maker, and toward evening Jim put the stew on to simmer for a few hours. We read and napped and Tania worked on her laptop throughout the day.
After dark the wind was howling outside, but it sounded like the rain had stopped. Jim went on the front porch to grab a soda and noticed it was snowing and an inch had already fallen! After dinner we suited up in warm clothing and charged outside, throwing snowballs and playing with Nyla, making tiny snowmen, and lighting some Roman Candles. After getting cold we went in and got ready for bed.
Monday 7th
Nyla slept through the night and woke up late - she immediately left Tania's bunk and went and jumped on Jim's face. We rose and went outside to a beautiful morning! Sun shining, kinda warm, snow sparkling. After getting a few good pictures I went in to make coffee. Tania made breakfast omelet. After breakfast we washed the dishes, packed our stuff and cleaned the cabin. We carried our stuff to the cars and finally locked the cabin up.
We got ready for a day hike up to the top of Double Top again. Tania wanted to keep the hike short and Jim wanted strenuous, going to that peak fulfilled both. As we head toward the trail head we met with the cabin care-taker. The high winds had knocked over a tree in front of his drive-way and he was clearing it, we told him of the tree that nearly fell on Jim's car and we stood chatting for a bit before heading out on the hike.
The snow was fairly deep in places on the way up the hill-side, the snow gave the woods a totally different look and feel. The valley's and mountains in the distance were clearly visible as well. Up on the hill-side the wind was biting, and in places the incline slippery, generally though the snow made for an easier climb than before, allowing some traction. Tania's asthma started bothering her, and once on the top Jim got the inhaler to work to help her out. We ate a quick lunch of sausage and bars before heading out to Monkey's Head overlook and then back down the mountain. Much of it we slide on our butts, Nyla pulling Tania down the hill. We cut off some of the lower switch backs, since we were very used to going down the steep portions of the hill at that point.
Back at the cars we changed shoes and headed out, locking the gate behind us. Tania said Nyla passed out as soon as the car started moving, but she never tired while we were hiking. The three of us caravanned to an Outback steak house in Warrenton before we headed our separate ways.
It was a very good weekend, I liked the mix of a large group, relaxation, and a small group - also the rain, fog, snow, and sun all added different aspects to the same stay.
*Thanks Erick, Jim L, Gary for the pictures
Sixteen people showed up, between the 2 that went straight to the cabin and the few that came on Saturday or Sunday.
Friday March 4th
I wanted to beat the traffic, so I went to Tania's place to meet her new dog, Nyla. She is a very cute puppy! After hanging out for a few minutes, I left and made it to the Centreville Park and Ride a couple minutes early. Everyone else showed up within 10 or 15 - so no one was late! And that's a miracle in a group this size.
Since I was staying an additional day beyond everyone else, I drove solo and the four vehicles caravanned down, stopping in Warrenton for a bite to eat. We, then, followed 211 toward Sperryville and onto 522 and then onto 231 toward Old Rag - the cabin we stayed at was a few miles down the ridgeline from Old Rag. After a couple turn-arounds, we made it to the cabin with no issues - I unlocked the gate to the very small parking area and we started packing stuff the .2 of a mile down a stream filled road to the cabin. I unlocked the cabin and moved in for the weekend. Jim Newman, in typical fashion, had his car loaded to the gills with anything we could want. The amount of food and equipment required several trips from the car.
Everyone introduced to the few early comers that were tenting and hammocking outside, we settled in, several more of the group setup tents outside, which is just as well, though there was room in the cabin, it would've been a bit close. Most of the women setup in the bunks upstairs, while a bit drafty, the upstairs was very spacious.
Gary and I stayed up after everyone else had gone to sleep, sipping on scotch and talking. Finally crawled into my bunk at 1am. It was very comfortable.
Saturday 5th
Woke up with the sun, after hearing some voices in the main room, and hearing them stock the fire. I got up and dressed for a day of hiking. Everyone else began stirring shortly after. I made a few batches of coffee on Newman's large perkalator over my car-camping propane stove.
Dave began making from scratch wheat pancakes, and Newman cooked up half the bacon that I brought. The pancakes were fantastic, Dave really knew what he was doing! After breakfast was eaten and Kirstin and Tabitha and Patricia cleaned up, we all got suited up to head out. It wasn't very cold out, but the sky was socked in with clouds that looked like it could rain at any time. The peak of Double Top, our destination, only occasionally and briefly visible. We started with our rain gear on.
All of us left for the hike at about 10:30am, only Paul, the hammock-hanger, staying behind.
The hike begins beyond the entrance of the cabin road, we took a right and followed a fire road, looking for a trail for Double Top on the left. I was walking mid group and had to shout to get the front-runners to come back to the trail. The trail got much steeper and had a few switchbacks, but you could tell these were old wagon or logging roads in the dim though not too distant past. We could see Old Rag to the north before the fog moved in and covered the view. After the couple switchbacks the trail turned up the mountain, disregarding either switchbacks or contour lines. There was a short reprieve as the trail hit a shoulder on the mountain, but after it got only steeper. I hung back with the slowest people knowing that we couldn't let them get too far behind, as the trail in places was nearly nonexistent and finding the next blue blaze in the heavy fog was challenging at times. Everyone made it to the top with no complaints, and Tabitha and I went out on to Monkey Head overlook to peer into the fog, watching it whip away in the gusty wind, the krumholtz looking trees bending in the breeze.
On the next rocky outcropping, after descending and ascending, the group stopped and started eating, we were sheltered from the wind, and there was plenty of seating for everyone. We passed around cheese and bread and some wurst that Gary and Newman had brought - everyone eating their fill of the broken bread and bars and fruit toted up the mountain.
After this brief stop we continued on the ridge of Double Top through stunning laurel forests, next coming to a very steep incline up next to some lichen covered rocks, this trail does not see much use, between the tough climb and the hard to find trail, the size of the lichen were a testament to this untrod area. Newman and I chatted through this area, stopping to take lots of pictures. On the steep area Newman was taking pictures of Kirsten and others climbing the steep section, I was taking the sweeper position. As Newman took off his lens cap it got away from him and rolled down hill - I sat down and slide after it to catch it, my REI rain pants got a rip in the butt and this the first time I used them - I will be taking them back for an exchange.
We followed the ridge for awhile longer until the trail we were looking for came in from the right - this trail was orange blazed, and very recently blazed. The sun began peaking through and the fog lifted to higher clouds. This trail was an old wagon road, many stones had been laid as a retention wall on the downward side - this trail involved a lot of historic work. We made our way down to the Rapidan River and a fire road that lay on it's shore. We passed some cabins, the Rapidan Family Co-Op cabins on our way. Soon we passed into the national park and continued on the fireroad, now winding up a hillside. A set of powerlines cut the switchbacks and I ran up one of these ahead of Gary and Dan. Then, being a ways behind those in the lead, I cut through the woods to come out ahead of them and made it to the side cut-off trail for Upper Dark Hollow Falls trail first.
As we sat and waited for everyone to catch up Erick Brandon and Ron headed out down the trail first, I called out, "look for a right turn to get you to the cabin!" as they walked away. They didn't hear me.
About 10 minutes later the rest of the group set a leisurely pace and started down the trail, also an old wagon road.
After chatting and strolling we came to the loop trail that went around the cabin, we sauntered back into camp. Jim Lantry was there and waiting. Apparently he decided to come up Saturday, rather than Sunday as he had originally told me. He had arrived at 11am, just after we left, and didn't know which trail we took. We began preparation for cooking, all of us hungry after a 10 mile hike. Newman mentioned that Erick, Brandon (his son), and Ron weren't back yet, thought they were well ahead of us. I went in the opposite direction around the loop around the cabin property thinking they may have taken the long way back. I jogged up a very large hill looking for them. About the time I got to the intersection where Upper Dark Hollow joins the cabin loop I could see the three of them coming up the trail. Somehow they took a turn and ended up by the Rose River, in the next hollow over. Some trout fisherman had redirected them and they had to climb back up a very steep hill, adding a couple miles to their days hike.
Paul and Jim had started a fire in the outside firepit, some of us popped tops and sat around that fire drinking and talking, others stayed inside and did the same, reading and talking. Paul brought out sushi and we devoured it very quickly. Newman put on the chicken and rib BBQ in the dutch-oven to simmer for 3 or 4 hours.
I went inside and laid down for a nap for an hour or so. I love naps!
I woke to Jim and Gary heckling me through a window. I got up and went back to the outside fire, passing the flask around and talking with the guys out there. Dinner eventually was done and served. The array of side dishes and main courses in the spread fulfilled all huger pangs in short order. After clean up we went sat long around the fire telling stories and drinking from the flasks there. People began dropping off to bed, until only Gary, myself, and Jim were up. The rain began falling a bit and we moved the party to the cabin's front porch. We sat and talked for awhile longer until finally retiring to or respective bunks and tents.
Sunday 6th
Before light, Christian, the guy sleeping in the bunk above me, packed up and headed out. Woke to the sound of heavy rain on the tin roof.some time later. Everyone got up at generally the same time and began packing up. I didn't yet have to do any packing! Patricia made french toast for everyone. Jim and Gary washed dishes. We helped carry some things to people's cars int he rain. About the time everyone was heading out Tania arrived. Jim and I went down to the store while Tania carried her stuff to the cabin with Nyla in tow.
Sunday was a very restful day, we sat and chatted and fed the fire, we kept hoping the rain would slack off, but it continued to be a steady rain. I made grilled cheese sandwiches for us in the mountain pie maker, and toward evening Jim put the stew on to simmer for a few hours. We read and napped and Tania worked on her laptop throughout the day.
After dark the wind was howling outside, but it sounded like the rain had stopped. Jim went on the front porch to grab a soda and noticed it was snowing and an inch had already fallen! After dinner we suited up in warm clothing and charged outside, throwing snowballs and playing with Nyla, making tiny snowmen, and lighting some Roman Candles. After getting cold we went in and got ready for bed.
Monday 7th
Nyla slept through the night and woke up late - she immediately left Tania's bunk and went and jumped on Jim's face. We rose and went outside to a beautiful morning! Sun shining, kinda warm, snow sparkling. After getting a few good pictures I went in to make coffee. Tania made breakfast omelet. After breakfast we washed the dishes, packed our stuff and cleaned the cabin. We carried our stuff to the cars and finally locked the cabin up.
We got ready for a day hike up to the top of Double Top again. Tania wanted to keep the hike short and Jim wanted strenuous, going to that peak fulfilled both. As we head toward the trail head we met with the cabin care-taker. The high winds had knocked over a tree in front of his drive-way and he was clearing it, we told him of the tree that nearly fell on Jim's car and we stood chatting for a bit before heading out on the hike.
The snow was fairly deep in places on the way up the hill-side, the snow gave the woods a totally different look and feel. The valley's and mountains in the distance were clearly visible as well. Up on the hill-side the wind was biting, and in places the incline slippery, generally though the snow made for an easier climb than before, allowing some traction. Tania's asthma started bothering her, and once on the top Jim got the inhaler to work to help her out. We ate a quick lunch of sausage and bars before heading out to Monkey's Head overlook and then back down the mountain. Much of it we slide on our butts, Nyla pulling Tania down the hill. We cut off some of the lower switch backs, since we were very used to going down the steep portions of the hill at that point.
Back at the cars we changed shoes and headed out, locking the gate behind us. Tania said Nyla passed out as soon as the car started moving, but she never tired while we were hiking. The three of us caravanned to an Outback steak house in Warrenton before we headed our separate ways.
It was a very good weekend, I liked the mix of a large group, relaxation, and a small group - also the rain, fog, snow, and sun all added different aspects to the same stay.
*Thanks Erick, Jim L, Gary for the pictures
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Update: Volunteer Vacation
January 11, 2011
I just signed up for my first (official) volunteer vacation through American Hiking Society. I assisted in building and maintaining trails since I was a kid. I helped build a trail on a hill over looking the Susquehanna River for one of the Eagle Scout projects in scouts. Later I went on an Order of the Arrow work trip to Philmont, and while that trip showed me a lot of things about myself at the time and how weak I could be if I let myself, the work was great fun, I should have been in a better place to enjoy the trip more.
The trip is in Washington state. I have wanted to go there for a very long time, but one thing or another always seemed to stand in the way. This year had looked like it was also going to be a bust, as most of my days off had been planned for other adventures. But then a miraculous thing happened and my calendar is my own again, to be filled with other adventures; though the companionship will be missed.
Going on the volunteer vacation will do several things for me. The trip will get me out to Washington, give me a destination and a reason for going also since I'm paying now I won't back out. I will not need to depend on coercing anyone from the east to go with me, to align our schedules and hope we'd still be friends. I enjoy having things planned, it's impossible to plan things with people that you can not depend on for anything.
The trip is difficult, in the back country of the Cascades. Looking at the map I want to plan to fly into Seattle and rent a car a few days before the trip, drive around see the area, maybe Couch Surf or hostel around. From there take a bus to the pickup location do the trip and spend the weekend after backpacking close by. I am very excited for this opportunity! Also it will be nice to meet some new people. It is still several months away, but it gives me something to look forward to!
Update 2/24/2011:
So I am looking at the map of where the Company Creek Complex Trail lies... apparently from Wenatchee it's not far north to another town, Chelan, and from there 50 miles of a dammed river or float plane are the only means of accessing the Trail. There is a resort at the end of the lake where the dam is, close to where our trail work will be done, with rates of $200+ with min of 5 day reservation. And I'll be in the, it seems like, very wild mountains that surround this end of the lake for practically free!
From Wikipedia:
"There is no road access to Stehekin, though several miles of road exist there. It is reachable by passenger ferry, by foot over the Cascade Pass, the Lady of the Lake, or private boat from Chelan, or by floatplane. The vehicles in Stehekin have been barged there on Lake Chelan."
I just signed up for my first (official) volunteer vacation through American Hiking Society. I assisted in building and maintaining trails since I was a kid. I helped build a trail on a hill over looking the Susquehanna River for one of the Eagle Scout projects in scouts. Later I went on an Order of the Arrow work trip to Philmont, and while that trip showed me a lot of things about myself at the time and how weak I could be if I let myself, the work was great fun, I should have been in a better place to enjoy the trip more.
The trip is in Washington state. I have wanted to go there for a very long time, but one thing or another always seemed to stand in the way. This year had looked like it was also going to be a bust, as most of my days off had been planned for other adventures. But then a miraculous thing happened and my calendar is my own again, to be filled with other adventures; though the companionship will be missed.
Going on the volunteer vacation will do several things for me. The trip will get me out to Washington, give me a destination and a reason for going also since I'm paying now I won't back out. I will not need to depend on coercing anyone from the east to go with me, to align our schedules and hope we'd still be friends. I enjoy having things planned, it's impossible to plan things with people that you can not depend on for anything.
The trip is difficult, in the back country of the Cascades. Looking at the map I want to plan to fly into Seattle and rent a car a few days before the trip, drive around see the area, maybe Couch Surf or hostel around. From there take a bus to the pickup location do the trip and spend the weekend after backpacking close by. I am very excited for this opportunity! Also it will be nice to meet some new people. It is still several months away, but it gives me something to look forward to!
Update 2/24/2011:
So I am looking at the map of where the Company Creek Complex Trail lies... apparently from Wenatchee it's not far north to another town, Chelan, and from there 50 miles of a dammed river or float plane are the only means of accessing the Trail. There is a resort at the end of the lake where the dam is, close to where our trail work will be done, with rates of $200+ with min of 5 day reservation. And I'll be in the, it seems like, very wild mountains that surround this end of the lake for practically free!
From Wikipedia:
"There is no road access to Stehekin, though several miles of road exist there. It is reachable by passenger ferry, by foot over the Cascade Pass, the Lady of the Lake, or private boat from Chelan, or by floatplane. The vehicles in Stehekin have been barged there on Lake Chelan."
I am very excited! Even more so than before.
So once we get to Stehekin there is a 5 mile hike to where we will be going. I know it's on Company Creek Complex Trail, which is visible on the NPS website, though I will need to get a better map with some topo. Google Earth allows me to see a bit better detail, it looks like a creek runs up through a valley towards Bonanza Peak, the elevations looks easy, actually. We'll be at 3600' while the peaks surrounding us will loom to 9200' (WOW that's huge!!!) I cannot wait! this actually may change things, depending on expense of using the ferry and timing, I may opt to stay up there afterwards and do some exploring, or even hike out over the Sierras, hmmm.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Dolly Sods in feet of snow
Saturday February 12th
There was a Meetup group that had been setup for Dolly Sods this weekend, to include around 10 people. Midway through the week after everyone had looked at the forecast and heard about the amount of snow on the ground, people started dropping or worrying about conditions. Thursday, after speaking with Newman, he decided to split the group - those that wanted to rent or buy snow shoes and do the hardcore trip, and those others that would opt for a less intense trip. Of course Jim and I don't back down from any challenge, we firmly stated that no matter what we'd get to Dolly Sods. Turns out everyone else that didn't completely drop out, opted to go to North Fork Mountain with Newman.
This was fortunate in a way, as I ended up working until after 7pm on Friday night and hadn't packed yet - I was also dragging all day from a fantastic late Thursday night. So we decided to go up Saturday morning after a good nights rest. I came home and we both packed, figured out food and got to sleep at a reasonable time.
We woke up around 5 and hit the road not soon after, going out 70 to 68 to Cumberland, coming into Dolly Sods from the other side of the mountain to access Laneville, WV without having to go over unmaintained forest roads. What wasn't accounted for was the very elevated high plateau we would traverse coming in from the north. Once we hit 220 we steadily started climbing, little snow resided on the ground, but soon the wind picked up and the snow got deeper, drifts covered the roads at some points, and the sky darkened and began snowing more. Two things of note, a liquor store called, "O'beery McLiquor Store" and a coffee shop with the name "Hypno Coffee" - AWESOME to both! Most of the gas stations were closed, with no fuel, fortunately we had plenty to get us in and out.
We were stopped by a train right by a coal power plant on the plateau, a traffic jam in a snow storm in the middle of no-where West Virginia.
We turned on to the secondary road to get to Laneville, it was mostly covered in snow a bit treacherous on the very tight corners as it wound down into a valley and alongside a river. We made it to the trail head and threw on some layers, and gaiters. We strapped the snow shoes to our packs because it didn't look too deep. After a couple hundred yards away from the car we decided to use our snow shoes, I had bought a set online and Jim had rented a pair from the REI in Columbia. We wanted to try them out regardless. Flurries were still flying, and the temperature was below freezing, the wind making it colder still. Clad in our snow shoes we hiked up Red Creek, crossing over several streams. In a sheltered valley a dozen or so deer bounded easily through the snow ahead of us.
The trail follows the creek, but briefly goes up the valley wall in a bend in the river, the snow shoes did an excellent job of us not breaking through the deeper snow in the bottom, and gave us great spiky grip into the hillside and where drifts covered the trail. I feel we could have done the hiking without the snow shoes, but they were really fun and the snow depth was right on the verge of needing them, so I have to say I'm glad we had them.
After coming back down level with the creek, we decided to follow Big Stone Coal Trail across the creek, up to Rocky Summit and around back to where we wanted to camp - that way we'd get some elevation, go on trails we hadn't been on and get us to a really nice camping spot. The crossing of Red Creek proved tricky. Mostly it was ice covered, and the ice seemed flaky and prone to breaking through. Jim spied a downed tree across to an island, and immediately went to it and shimmied his way across. I threw my snow shoes across the creek and followed suit.
We had been following some rather old, and mostly hidden snow shoe tracks from a previous adventure, but they hadn't gone over the creek. All the snow was fresh and pure, trail blazing was difficult, we searched for small deviations on the hillside and a slight clearing of brush, mostly guessing we were headed on the correct path - occasionally a cairn was placed to confirm our suspicions of there being a trail. We quickly ascended the hill in a long slope, hitting a couple switch backs towards the top. We had the right amount of layers on to balance heat and cold, though stopping for breaks the wind whipping snow particulates in our faces, quickly chilled me. The sun came out as we made our way, making for beautiful sights down into the valley and of the mountain above us.
At the top of the hill we hit an intersecting trail and followed it around to the right, staying fairly level as we went around the mountain. The drifts were the deepest yet, occasionally getting probably close to 3 feet deep. The top layer of snow was light and soft, but somewhere about 4 inches below a crust had formed that we would rarely break through. The trail began sloping down again and re-intersected with Red Creek Trail (514), we headed to the right and back level with the creek we came to a known great campsite. This was the campsite that we'd first discovered on our first trip here with a larger group - we hadn't stayed, but went and had lunch and swam in the river. Also this was the site that I'd stayed with Goose and a friend later in the year. Now covered in snow, the fire pit only discernible by a slight lump.
We dropped our gear and began preparing the site. I began digging into the fire pit, hoping to hit rock to build a fire on, Jim went and collected trees for firewood, wanting to give a try to his new saw. I was hitting pay-dirt about the time he brought the first wood back. We went up the hill and cut a monster that was downed and then carried and threw it down the hills into camp. Very soon we had enough to try our hand at starting a fire in these conditions, I was speculating the fire would make a mud puddle under the rocks I'd set as a base and kill it.We had gathered birch bark on our journey to camp and laid that out along with the driest sticks and a big ball of vaseline covered cotton balls. We both put flame to kindling from different sides. After some coaxing the fire gathered itself and started doing well. We were both VERY pleased to have some merry warmth!
There was a Meetup group that had been setup for Dolly Sods this weekend, to include around 10 people. Midway through the week after everyone had looked at the forecast and heard about the amount of snow on the ground, people started dropping or worrying about conditions. Thursday, after speaking with Newman, he decided to split the group - those that wanted to rent or buy snow shoes and do the hardcore trip, and those others that would opt for a less intense trip. Of course Jim and I don't back down from any challenge, we firmly stated that no matter what we'd get to Dolly Sods. Turns out everyone else that didn't completely drop out, opted to go to North Fork Mountain with Newman.
This was fortunate in a way, as I ended up working until after 7pm on Friday night and hadn't packed yet - I was also dragging all day from a fantastic late Thursday night. So we decided to go up Saturday morning after a good nights rest. I came home and we both packed, figured out food and got to sleep at a reasonable time.
We woke up around 5 and hit the road not soon after, going out 70 to 68 to Cumberland, coming into Dolly Sods from the other side of the mountain to access Laneville, WV without having to go over unmaintained forest roads. What wasn't accounted for was the very elevated high plateau we would traverse coming in from the north. Once we hit 220 we steadily started climbing, little snow resided on the ground, but soon the wind picked up and the snow got deeper, drifts covered the roads at some points, and the sky darkened and began snowing more. Two things of note, a liquor store called, "O'beery McLiquor Store" and a coffee shop with the name "Hypno Coffee" - AWESOME to both! Most of the gas stations were closed, with no fuel, fortunately we had plenty to get us in and out.
We were stopped by a train right by a coal power plant on the plateau, a traffic jam in a snow storm in the middle of no-where West Virginia.
We turned on to the secondary road to get to Laneville, it was mostly covered in snow a bit treacherous on the very tight corners as it wound down into a valley and alongside a river. We made it to the trail head and threw on some layers, and gaiters. We strapped the snow shoes to our packs because it didn't look too deep. After a couple hundred yards away from the car we decided to use our snow shoes, I had bought a set online and Jim had rented a pair from the REI in Columbia. We wanted to try them out regardless. Flurries were still flying, and the temperature was below freezing, the wind making it colder still. Clad in our snow shoes we hiked up Red Creek, crossing over several streams. In a sheltered valley a dozen or so deer bounded easily through the snow ahead of us.
The trail follows the creek, but briefly goes up the valley wall in a bend in the river, the snow shoes did an excellent job of us not breaking through the deeper snow in the bottom, and gave us great spiky grip into the hillside and where drifts covered the trail. I feel we could have done the hiking without the snow shoes, but they were really fun and the snow depth was right on the verge of needing them, so I have to say I'm glad we had them.
After coming back down level with the creek, we decided to follow Big Stone Coal Trail across the creek, up to Rocky Summit and around back to where we wanted to camp - that way we'd get some elevation, go on trails we hadn't been on and get us to a really nice camping spot. The crossing of Red Creek proved tricky. Mostly it was ice covered, and the ice seemed flaky and prone to breaking through. Jim spied a downed tree across to an island, and immediately went to it and shimmied his way across. I threw my snow shoes across the creek and followed suit.
We dropped our gear and began preparing the site. I began digging into the fire pit, hoping to hit rock to build a fire on, Jim went and collected trees for firewood, wanting to give a try to his new saw. I was hitting pay-dirt about the time he brought the first wood back. We went up the hill and cut a monster that was downed and then carried and threw it down the hills into camp. Very soon we had enough to try our hand at starting a fire in these conditions, I was speculating the fire would make a mud puddle under the rocks I'd set as a base and kill it.We had gathered birch bark on our journey to camp and laid that out along with the driest sticks and a big ball of vaseline covered cotton balls. We both put flame to kindling from different sides. After some coaxing the fire gathered itself and started doing well. We were both VERY pleased to have some merry warmth!
We named the fire Calcifer
We chose a tent site close by, I began by matting down the snow by walking in circles, then laying down a tarp. Jim had purchased 6 snow stakes, which were absolutely needed, we also used a rock and a tree to help keep the tent up and stable. Our home setup, and a rope strung up to keep our packs off the snow, I began dinner. I brought a cheesy noodle thing, since we were sharing and adding ingredients, I cooked it in the pot instead of right in the pouch. We'd lightly cooked up a pound of bacon, so some of that was added, as well as snacked on, as Jim roasted it over the fire, we also added oil salt and pepper, more bacon bits, and mashed potatoes as thickener. It turned out really well! Sometimes those pouch noodles are bland... but bacon makes everything better!
We sat up talking into the night, snacking on beef jerky and sour patch kids. Very happy the fire was there to keep us warm. The temp was around 20 degrees when we called it a night - around 9:30 or so. We had warmed rocks by the fire and tossed one in each sleeping bag 30 min before going in ourselves, bringing another with us. Mine was hot to the touch, but wrapped in a cotton bandanna was fine sleeping with.
Sunday
Both of us slept very poorly. My tonsils felt sore and swollen, I felt like I didn't sleep at all or that I was trying to sleep on a stimulant, my mind would not stop, even though I know I dozed and dreamed it was not deep. I had a dream that I was dreaming that I had to pee. So, it was an Inception dream within a dream. In reality I had to get up and use a tree. My snoring or any little sound snapped me back to awareness. Jim's night was similar.
We climbed out of our sleeping bags around 8 and packed up. Jim got a fire re-started while I boiled water for our oatmeal breakfast. We packed the tent and our gear quickly and headed back down the trail, just as the warm sun seeped into our valley floor campsite. First we had to recross the creek, the time with no log, after looking for a spot we both made our separate ways across and joined back as the trail climbed the far hillside. The trail was surprisingly steep in places, though we've both been this way before.
The temperature was 25 when we woke, but quickly rose to the low 40's. Making the snow rather sticky. My snow shoes were more and more prevalent to begin weighing very heavy on my feet, making me stop and knock clumps off, I eventually got good at doing a stutter step and get the snow to come off. After re-joining our old tracks from yesterday we knew we only had one incline and about a mile of trail left. We both opted to take our snow shoes off to see how that went. While in the valley where we'd seen the deer, be broke through a bit, but still made better time without the snow shoes. We made very good time back to the car, and the extra heat cleared the road. We, feeling accomplished for 'braving' the rigorous perils of Dolly Sods when so many others had fled, climbed into the car and made our way back to Baltimore via 55 going passed Seneca Rocks - looks gorgeous - and by now familiar landmarks to 81 and 66.
A great weekend. I've learned I really like snow shoeing and will be looking forward to next winter where maybe I can go somewhere that has lake effect snow and seeing what they can really handle.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Sugar Knob Cabin
Friday February 4th
I rented a PATC cabin south of Great North Mountain, near Big and Little Schloss Mountains.
Jim and I left from Baltimore to meet Steve at the Park and Ride at the end of 195. We pulled up right at 5:30 and Steve was already there. He threw his gear in the back seat and we headed out. I stopped south of Laurel for gas and we joined the stream of traffic, most everyone else heading home - us heading for the mountains.
The traffic was not at all bad. Once we got into Virginia and onto 66 it slowed down, as is typical of the area. In short order we found a Chicfilla and the end of the traffic after that stop. We rode into the darkness toward 81.
Fortunately Steve was familiar with both the roads getting to the trail head as well as the trails themselves, so we didn't need to rely on directions to get where we were gong. After going south on 81 for a few miles, we headed west on 42 and then took a few side roads to get to the forest road to the parking area. Too bad the forest road was gated closed! We parked the car, knowing our hike just got 4 miles longer. We suited up, tossed on our packs to head out. My pack was very lite, as I had no tent and less warm clothing, knowing we were to be staying in the cabin with a wood stove.
The road walk was very easy, we stayed to the areas where tires had beaten the snow down so the walking was easy. We did the miles in around an hour, getting to the parking lot just after 9pm. The trail leading from the parking lot followed a stream for the first mile and a half, gradually gaining elevation. We didn't use our head lights very much and there was no moon out, making for a very dark, dream-like passage through the forest; the sound of the river to our rights, the sigh of the wind through the trees, the crunch of our feet in the snow. The areas that had no snow, under pines, were darker than dark, pools of inky blackness. Many times we stumbled and tripped over roots and rocks that were hiding in the pitch. Walking on the snow was generally ok, though we slid around a few times on patches of ice. The crunching noise of our footsteps lead to little conversation, without a lot of "what did you say?" so mostly I just walked in the ephemeral darkness, lost in thoughts of dreamlike quality. For a long ways the tracks of a cross country skier snaked through the darkness, leading us up the path. One of us mentioned how much more difficult the path would be to find without the tracks, and they abruptly ended The trail lead away from the stream, steeper now, ascending the side of the valley. Some bear tracks meandered onto and up the trail for a bit. The cabin lay in a low spot between two mountains ahead of us. We climbed further up, the trail getting steeper, the snow getting deeper, and the tracks from other hikers becoming frozen and treacherous. Finally the spring for the cabin showed up on the right and we were close. We got to the cabin and I pulled out the key.
Inside the cabin was cramped but very well equipped. A bunch of axes, saws, pots and pans, chairs, blankets were out or in bins. A bin full of wood was prepared next to the little stove in the corner. We situated our gear and pulled down the fold up bunks. We decided not to light the fire and just hit the sleeping bags. I went to bed after 1 am.
Saturday
The day was fog shrouded, with occasional rain showers and sleet. Hovering around freezing, the snow was slightly melty.
I slept well on the mattress, pad that I brought and provided wool blanket. We all got up at generally the same time. I was the first out of bed, and very ungracefully slid off the top bunk. We got up and moving and I made a fire as Steve and Jim got some more wood. Jim, grabbing the huge, and largely ineffectual splitting axe. After I got the fire going with some of Jim's fire starter, I put the perkalator on the stove - I eventually got tired of waiting for the stove and used Steve's stove outside to get it perking. After eating our breakfasts we looked at the map and decided to go to Half Moon Mountain as a day hike with our small packs. We tossed lunches and water and some other layers of clothing into our day packs and set off up the trail. At the intersection of the Tuscarora, we turned onto that and followed the trail around to another intersection. On the next part we started seeing bear tracks - first one set on the trail going one way, then another pair and a third set. We pondered aloud if it was the same bear going in circles or a series of them - some pairs looked smaller or larger. It was really cool to be in the snow and see the tracks - with no snow we would have no evidence of an animal that large wandering around (well, except some scat).
We crossed over a bridge at the bottom of a hill, after a few miles, to a campsite an odd barbed wire enclosure to one side around a wetland. The Tuscarora went right, Half Moon went straight, still 1.7 distant. We continued on after a short break, making good time. The trail at the base of the final Half Moon summit rose for about .7 of a mile, not too steep, as it went all the way across the mountain side. Towards the top the trail switched back and got steep up to an old foundation of a fire tower. The wind was whipping over the mountain, making it very chilly. The woods were engulfed in fog and dripping. There were supposed to be some very good views, all that was viewed was a wall of swirling gray fog. We stayed for a short time, eating a snack, before heading off the peak and out of the wind. On the way down, we passed two guys that looked to be tent camping with full packs, we spoke briefly before heading on our separate ways. The trail ascend back by everything we had came down by earlier, as we were doing an out and back. The melty snow making it difficult going up the hills, as with a full length stride you would slip back a little bit with each step. Our strides shortened and I got very warm. I slowed my pace so I wouldn't be drenched in sweet at the top of the hill. There was an intersection that went steeply up to the right, or back the way we came straight on - for a varied view and to see where it went we opted for the other way - while it was substantially steeper, it was also shorter. At the top of the hill we followed the Tuscarora back to camp on an old wagon trail or fire road.
We were back in the cabin by 4-something. I got the fire going, Steve and Jim cut firewood enough for what we were going to use plus a bit more. The wind picked up even more than when we were up on Half Moon, a freight train running over the mountain in the distance, though the cabin seemed sheltered. We opened the cupboard in the cabin to find a small library and candles and other various sundries.I took a short nap on the lower bunk, enjoying the warmth of the stove. After waking, I walked down to the spring and pumped 2 liters of water. Right after I came back the sky opened up, a few minutes of heavy rain, loud on the tin roof, then it changed over to a silent snow fall. A while later, right at dusk, the clouds blew away and cleared, the moon and stars popping into view, a brief respite from the clouds, the temp dropped as the clouds dissipated, dropping to the high 20's. The wind still howled and an occasional puff dark cloud hurried to catch up with the large mass that already had gone on it's way. We started on dinner and the coffee finally perked on the stove top - I was patient this time. Dinner was a stew with fresh carrots, potatoes, beef cubes, celery, and onion. It took a long while to cook up, but well after dark when it was finished, it went down so good.
We sat around for awhile, listening to NPR on Steve's little HAM radio, sipping whiskey and beer - Jim abstaining from drinking. I got tired in short order and climbed into my bunk. After an hour of sleep I was sweltering, the temp near the ceiling had to be in the 80s, I ripped off a layer or two and unzipped the bag a little to get some air flow and went back to sleep, sleeping through Steve's (and apparently my own) snoring.
Sunday
The day was nearly cloud free, the temperature above freezing. We packed up and ate cold breakfasts. I slammed a 5-Hour Energy rather than brew coffee. We swept the cabin, refilled the fire wood bin, emptied the ashes, and re-latched all the windows. We locked up and headed down the hill. The ice was the worst directly in front of the cabin and the re-froze tracks for a few hundred yards.
We hit our tracks coming up and made great time down the hill, seeing all the sights that were hid by darkness on Friday evening. The sun shone through the trees, eventually we heard the creek as we took the trails only switch back. We followed the path by the river, the snow having melted quite a bit, the trail muddy in some places. We made it to the road and began the road walk. We hadn't noticed, but the road walk was now all uphill - no wonder we made such great time Friday night! We made our way up the shallow grade with a very fast pace, knowing that a car with a stop at Arby's was close at hand. We saw the clear cuts, and the mountains in the distance that were shrouded before. The sun beat down, making the day very pleasant. It only took just over an hour to get back to the car. The gate was still closed, and the car was still there. We tossed the gear in the car, changed our muddy boots, and headed back to Baltimore.
I really enjoyed the trip, especially the cabin. Next time I know that the cabins are well stocked I can bring a day pack with food clothing and a summer sleeping bag, I figure pack weight could be in the teens. We came over prepared as it was, even though I hardly felt like I was carrying anything. Steve Jim and myself got along great, plenty of inappropriate jokes and laughter. We hiked nearly 30 miles, all told - it really adds up quick! Especially on roads and with day packs.
Edit: I talked to Steve last night and he did some research about the area we were hiking through. On a tree by the stream we saw 'LS' spray painted, turns out that is where the forestry folks start dumping lime so the pH of the creek will allow for fish to live in the water, then they stock the creek for people to trout fish. I haven't heard a mention of Acid Rain in a decade or more, for all I knew it was a resolved issue as much as the media covers it, when it used to be all the rage. That is a failure on the environmental groups. Obviously it's a problem, why has it been swept under for the global warming cause? Seems acid rain is a bit more... immediate and uncontested.
Other signs nailed to the trees said something like 'S25'. Steve looked that up and these are birding stations for certain times of the year.
The cabin was built in the 1920's, as a relaxation, recovery, and resupply base for the folks that would man the fire towers in the area. Apparently, it used to be tent based until one day a bear came in and stole a huge slab of bacon - the next day the cabin started getting built!
Lastly, the path by the creek we followed was an old wagon road that lead to places in the woods that made charcoal; a campsite we passed still had evidence of the pits and mounds from the 1860's.
I rented a PATC cabin south of Great North Mountain, near Big and Little Schloss Mountains.
Jim and I left from Baltimore to meet Steve at the Park and Ride at the end of 195. We pulled up right at 5:30 and Steve was already there. He threw his gear in the back seat and we headed out. I stopped south of Laurel for gas and we joined the stream of traffic, most everyone else heading home - us heading for the mountains.
The traffic was not at all bad. Once we got into Virginia and onto 66 it slowed down, as is typical of the area. In short order we found a Chicfilla and the end of the traffic after that stop. We rode into the darkness toward 81.
Fortunately Steve was familiar with both the roads getting to the trail head as well as the trails themselves, so we didn't need to rely on directions to get where we were gong. After going south on 81 for a few miles, we headed west on 42 and then took a few side roads to get to the forest road to the parking area. Too bad the forest road was gated closed! We parked the car, knowing our hike just got 4 miles longer. We suited up, tossed on our packs to head out. My pack was very lite, as I had no tent and less warm clothing, knowing we were to be staying in the cabin with a wood stove.
The road walk was very easy, we stayed to the areas where tires had beaten the snow down so the walking was easy. We did the miles in around an hour, getting to the parking lot just after 9pm. The trail leading from the parking lot followed a stream for the first mile and a half, gradually gaining elevation. We didn't use our head lights very much and there was no moon out, making for a very dark, dream-like passage through the forest; the sound of the river to our rights, the sigh of the wind through the trees, the crunch of our feet in the snow. The areas that had no snow, under pines, were darker than dark, pools of inky blackness. Many times we stumbled and tripped over roots and rocks that were hiding in the pitch. Walking on the snow was generally ok, though we slid around a few times on patches of ice. The crunching noise of our footsteps lead to little conversation, without a lot of "what did you say?" so mostly I just walked in the ephemeral darkness, lost in thoughts of dreamlike quality. For a long ways the tracks of a cross country skier snaked through the darkness, leading us up the path. One of us mentioned how much more difficult the path would be to find without the tracks, and they abruptly ended The trail lead away from the stream, steeper now, ascending the side of the valley. Some bear tracks meandered onto and up the trail for a bit. The cabin lay in a low spot between two mountains ahead of us. We climbed further up, the trail getting steeper, the snow getting deeper, and the tracks from other hikers becoming frozen and treacherous. Finally the spring for the cabin showed up on the right and we were close. We got to the cabin and I pulled out the key.
Inside the cabin was cramped but very well equipped. A bunch of axes, saws, pots and pans, chairs, blankets were out or in bins. A bin full of wood was prepared next to the little stove in the corner. We situated our gear and pulled down the fold up bunks. We decided not to light the fire and just hit the sleeping bags. I went to bed after 1 am.
Saturday
The day was fog shrouded, with occasional rain showers and sleet. Hovering around freezing, the snow was slightly melty.
I slept well on the mattress, pad that I brought and provided wool blanket. We all got up at generally the same time. I was the first out of bed, and very ungracefully slid off the top bunk. We got up and moving and I made a fire as Steve and Jim got some more wood. Jim, grabbing the huge, and largely ineffectual splitting axe. After I got the fire going with some of Jim's fire starter, I put the perkalator on the stove - I eventually got tired of waiting for the stove and used Steve's stove outside to get it perking. After eating our breakfasts we looked at the map and decided to go to Half Moon Mountain as a day hike with our small packs. We tossed lunches and water and some other layers of clothing into our day packs and set off up the trail. At the intersection of the Tuscarora, we turned onto that and followed the trail around to another intersection. On the next part we started seeing bear tracks - first one set on the trail going one way, then another pair and a third set. We pondered aloud if it was the same bear going in circles or a series of them - some pairs looked smaller or larger. It was really cool to be in the snow and see the tracks - with no snow we would have no evidence of an animal that large wandering around (well, except some scat).
We crossed over a bridge at the bottom of a hill, after a few miles, to a campsite an odd barbed wire enclosure to one side around a wetland. The Tuscarora went right, Half Moon went straight, still 1.7 distant. We continued on after a short break, making good time. The trail at the base of the final Half Moon summit rose for about .7 of a mile, not too steep, as it went all the way across the mountain side. Towards the top the trail switched back and got steep up to an old foundation of a fire tower. The wind was whipping over the mountain, making it very chilly. The woods were engulfed in fog and dripping. There were supposed to be some very good views, all that was viewed was a wall of swirling gray fog. We stayed for a short time, eating a snack, before heading off the peak and out of the wind. On the way down, we passed two guys that looked to be tent camping with full packs, we spoke briefly before heading on our separate ways. The trail ascend back by everything we had came down by earlier, as we were doing an out and back. The melty snow making it difficult going up the hills, as with a full length stride you would slip back a little bit with each step. Our strides shortened and I got very warm. I slowed my pace so I wouldn't be drenched in sweet at the top of the hill. There was an intersection that went steeply up to the right, or back the way we came straight on - for a varied view and to see where it went we opted for the other way - while it was substantially steeper, it was also shorter. At the top of the hill we followed the Tuscarora back to camp on an old wagon trail or fire road.
We were back in the cabin by 4-something. I got the fire going, Steve and Jim cut firewood enough for what we were going to use plus a bit more. The wind picked up even more than when we were up on Half Moon, a freight train running over the mountain in the distance, though the cabin seemed sheltered. We opened the cupboard in the cabin to find a small library and candles and other various sundries.I took a short nap on the lower bunk, enjoying the warmth of the stove. After waking, I walked down to the spring and pumped 2 liters of water. Right after I came back the sky opened up, a few minutes of heavy rain, loud on the tin roof, then it changed over to a silent snow fall. A while later, right at dusk, the clouds blew away and cleared, the moon and stars popping into view, a brief respite from the clouds, the temp dropped as the clouds dissipated, dropping to the high 20's. The wind still howled and an occasional puff dark cloud hurried to catch up with the large mass that already had gone on it's way. We started on dinner and the coffee finally perked on the stove top - I was patient this time. Dinner was a stew with fresh carrots, potatoes, beef cubes, celery, and onion. It took a long while to cook up, but well after dark when it was finished, it went down so good.
We sat around for awhile, listening to NPR on Steve's little HAM radio, sipping whiskey and beer - Jim abstaining from drinking. I got tired in short order and climbed into my bunk. After an hour of sleep I was sweltering, the temp near the ceiling had to be in the 80s, I ripped off a layer or two and unzipped the bag a little to get some air flow and went back to sleep, sleeping through Steve's (and apparently my own) snoring.
Sunday
The day was nearly cloud free, the temperature above freezing. We packed up and ate cold breakfasts. I slammed a 5-Hour Energy rather than brew coffee. We swept the cabin, refilled the fire wood bin, emptied the ashes, and re-latched all the windows. We locked up and headed down the hill. The ice was the worst directly in front of the cabin and the re-froze tracks for a few hundred yards.
We hit our tracks coming up and made great time down the hill, seeing all the sights that were hid by darkness on Friday evening. The sun shone through the trees, eventually we heard the creek as we took the trails only switch back. We followed the path by the river, the snow having melted quite a bit, the trail muddy in some places. We made it to the road and began the road walk. We hadn't noticed, but the road walk was now all uphill - no wonder we made such great time Friday night! We made our way up the shallow grade with a very fast pace, knowing that a car with a stop at Arby's was close at hand. We saw the clear cuts, and the mountains in the distance that were shrouded before. The sun beat down, making the day very pleasant. It only took just over an hour to get back to the car. The gate was still closed, and the car was still there. We tossed the gear in the car, changed our muddy boots, and headed back to Baltimore.
I really enjoyed the trip, especially the cabin. Next time I know that the cabins are well stocked I can bring a day pack with food clothing and a summer sleeping bag, I figure pack weight could be in the teens. We came over prepared as it was, even though I hardly felt like I was carrying anything. Steve Jim and myself got along great, plenty of inappropriate jokes and laughter. We hiked nearly 30 miles, all told - it really adds up quick! Especially on roads and with day packs.
Edit: I talked to Steve last night and he did some research about the area we were hiking through. On a tree by the stream we saw 'LS' spray painted, turns out that is where the forestry folks start dumping lime so the pH of the creek will allow for fish to live in the water, then they stock the creek for people to trout fish. I haven't heard a mention of Acid Rain in a decade or more, for all I knew it was a resolved issue as much as the media covers it, when it used to be all the rage. That is a failure on the environmental groups. Obviously it's a problem, why has it been swept under for the global warming cause? Seems acid rain is a bit more... immediate and uncontested.
Other signs nailed to the trees said something like 'S25'. Steve looked that up and these are birding stations for certain times of the year.
The cabin was built in the 1920's, as a relaxation, recovery, and resupply base for the folks that would man the fire towers in the area. Apparently, it used to be tent based until one day a bear came in and stole a huge slab of bacon - the next day the cabin started getting built!
Lastly, the path by the creek we followed was an old wagon road that lead to places in the woods that made charcoal; a campsite we passed still had evidence of the pits and mounds from the 1860's.
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