SNP: Saturday

From the "okay, this is getting ridiculous, just finish the goddamn trip report already, the trip was six weeks ago" file.

Morning

Wow, what a cold, wet, miserable night. Did I mention cold? There was heavy rain and wind all night long, and the temperature had to be just above freezing. I wasn't too cold with my layers in my sleeping bag, but I drifted in and out of sleep all night. The sound of the wind and the rain was always there.

I'm reasonably rested and feel pretty good. Eric is a different story.  He had a very bad night - he's sick, and water got into our tent on his side and got pretty much all of his clothes and gear wet. The rain stopped around dawn, and it looks like it's going to be a nice day - but it's still frigid cold, and still has to be very close to the freezing mark. Eric is cold and wet, and wet gear is bad news. We'll go get breakfast at the camp store/grill and talk about options.

I see how his side of our tent got water in it. The ground cloth shifted when we were setting up the tent, and his half was mostly on bare (and soaking wet) ground. Very unfortunate.

Rose River Falls

So I mentioned a few times in yesterday's trip report how unhappy I was to have not packed my rain pants, and how badly I missed them last night. Well guess what? They were in my duffel the whole time. I found them this morning, sitting right there under everything else I'd packed. Not sure whether to laugh or cry. I guess I'll just shake my head and roll my eyes at myself.

Breakfast
Two thumbs up for breakfast at the wayside grill. We all got big plates of eggs, pancakes, sausage, and gallons of hot coffee. After discussion of options, Eric is going to pack up and go home. He's clearly sick, and all his clothes and gear are wet. He feels badly, but there's no reason to. We all feel badly.

We helped him pack up and wished him safe travels home. I'll now be going home with John and Ted, so we've sent all non-essentials home in Eric's car, and we'll sort things out after we all get home. Sadly, my guitar had to go - though it's been so cold that playing it has been out of the question.

Falls Hike

When planning this trip, I had the Three Falls hike in mind for today. We talked to the ranger yesterday when checking into the campground, and she confirmed that it's a great hike. The hike is detailed here, and we opted for doing the "two falls" option (6.1 miles vs. 9.3). It turned out to be a perfect hiking day - sunny and blue sky, warm in the sun, cool in the shade. Both falls were beautiful, and we rested for a while at both. There was some up and down, but nothing terrible (except maybe one stretch of the last climb back up to Skyline Drive.)

For extra convenience, we didn't even need to drive to a trailhead - the loop went right through our campground. After walking through the campground, we see the campsites we'll try to get next time we're here (because there *will* be next times.) The sites on the "E" loop are secluded and have a view out over the valley.

Shower

Dark Hollow Falls

Yes, the campground has portable showers. With hot water. Hallelujah. Boy did a hot shower feel good after a cold night and a good hike.

Steaks on the Grill
As the afternoon went on and the sun started to get lower, it started to get significantly colder. It was still clear, and the forecast wasn't calling for rain, but it was clearly going to be another very cold night. We got a fire started, and cooked the steaks we originally planned to eat last night. They were amazing, as campfire steaks always are.

We talked around the campfire until the fire got low, and then it was time to hit the sack. I bundled unto my layers and crawled into my sleeping bag. Nite nite.

(To be continued)

SNP: Camp Night 1

(Continued from here)

3:16pm
Entering Skyline Drive (riding in Eric's car, with John and Ted following in Ted's car.) The sun is actually out, and the views are fantastic. We'll go up the drive about 20 miles to Big Meadows campground.

4:55pm
We're here and have checked in, picked a site, and set up camp. The sun we saw on entering the park didn't last long, and it's gotten progressively grayer, windier, and colder. We have the two tents set up - my tent for me and Eric, John's tent to share with Ted. The bathroom is close by, which has toilets and sinks (with hot water!), but no showers. There are showers up by the ranger station, but it's too much trouble to walk up there now. I've washed up and changed in the bathroom, and that's good enough.

I already have a couple of layers on, and I'm wondering if I've brought enough layers. An evening in the low 40's with rain and wind will feel very cold.

5:12pm
We've set up Phil's canopy (i.e., "the party tent"), and I expect it to blow away any second. It's a big heavy thing, and we have it staked into wet ground with four little tent stakes. If a gust of wind gets under it, those stakes will never hold. But so far it is, and we're keeping an eye on it.

6:35pm
The evening continues to get colder and windier, and rain seems imminent. To no one's surprise, the party tent met a spectacular demise. A big gust of wind pulled it out of the ground and took it for a ride. It crash-landed a short distance away, and is broken beyond repair. There goes our shelter on what looks like it's going to be a rainy night. General merriment over the flight of the canopy, and what we'll say to Phil when we get back.

Eric prepared two meals: steaks to cook over the grill, and a chili which he pre-made and froze, to be thawed and cooked on his portable camp stove. The original plan was to cook the steaks tonight, but it's so windy that a good campfire isn't looking possible. Another possibility is driving 10 miles back to Skyland, where we could get dinner in the restaurant and drinks in the bar. But that's crazy talk - we'll stay here and suffer like real men.

8:10pm
It's cold, very windy, damp...and cold. I have all my layers on and can't keep warm. Part of the problem is that when packing, I went back and forth on whether to bring rain pants. I had them packed, and then thought "nah, I won't wear them." Not too smart. I'm wearing jeans, which are now damp and just making me colder. The bathroom is very well heated, and there's joking about spending the night in there.

Eric managed to cook his chili on the camp stove, and it was delicious (as always.) We're sitting around the (fireless) fire pit, talking and trying to keep warm. Bed will be soon - and sooner if the rain starts in earnest, as we have no where else to go but our tents.

8:45pm
Bedtime. The wind has never let up, and it's now raining hard. What a miserable evening. This isn't a surprise - rain was in the forecast. But it feels colder than it was supposed to be. Oh well. I've cursed myself all night for not packing my rain pants. Oh well.

I should be warm enough once I get in my sleeping bag. I can get out of these damp jeans, into a dry layer of long johns, heavy socks, wool cap (Canada Hockey), and I'll be fine. At least that's the hope.

Nite nite.

(Continued here)

SNP: Old Rag

Friday's hike of Old Rag Mountain, in diary format.

8:46am
We're in the Old Rag parking area, making final preparations to start our hike. I slept well and feel good. We were up before 7:00, had the motel breakfast, then checked out and hit the road. We had a 30-40 minute drive to get here.

The forecast is calling for showers this morning and possible thunderstorms this afternoon, and we drove through a steady rain on the way here. It's still misty/foggy, but it's pretty much stopped raining. We're planning to do exactly this. The weather means I won't be documenting this hike like I normally do. I'm not going to take my phone and risk getting it wet, so that means no GPS track and no pics (though others may have a camera, and Eric may have a GPS.) The parking lot, which we've heard can fill up completely on nice days, is pretty much empty - likely a combination of it being Good Friday and the weather forecast.

9:05am
The first 0.8 miles was along a rural road to the real trail-head. It's fairly warm and feels good to be moving.

10:10am
We've taken a rest, and Eric says he's not feeling well and is going to turn back. We feel badly, but it doesn't make sense to continue on if you don't feel up to it. The trail so far has been a gradual though steady climb. We'll gain 2,500 feet of elevation in about 3 miles, and there's a section of "challenging rock scramble" - though we're assuming that, as with most hike write-ups, they've over-exaggerated the difficulty. There's a very light mist, but it's not really raining.

10:50am

We've continued climbing, did a very short stretch of easy rock-climbing, and we're at the summit. At least we think so - we're pretty much fogged in, but the trail seems to go level or descend ahead. We stop for a drink and a sandwich and feel good - though we have zero visibility at a spot that famed for its vistas. This makes us reminisce about other supposedly spectacular vistas that we got to with zero visibility - our first climb of Mt. Marcy in the Adirondacks, and Charlie's Bunion in the Great Smokies.

11:10am
Rest break is over, we're ready to continue hiking. Conditions are the same - maybe a very light mist, but it's not raining, and we're grateful.

11:12am
What do you know, that wasn't the summit. After a short stretch of level ridge-line, we can see that the real rock climbing is just beginning. We wouldn't have made that mistake with better visibility...but we still feel plenty foolish.

12:15pm
Okay, now we're at the summit. Yes, really. The last hour was very slow and difficult rock climbing - the trail description wasn't exaggerated at all. None of it was *horribly* difficult, but it was slow going. We pretty much had the trail to ourselves on the lower part of the mountain, but we caught up with some groups on the rocky stretch, and there's nothing to do but wait your turn - kind of like playing golf on a busy day...you hit your shot, then wait for the party in front of you to clear, so you can hit your next shot.

Happily, the mist has stopped, and it's even clearing some - enough to see some of the spectacular views. It really is gorgeous and worth the climb.

2:31pm
We're back at the car. As the guide said, the descent was much easier - longer in distance, but no rocky sections, just a gently descending trail, and then a fire road. At one of the junctions, we found Eric waiting for us. He's feeling okay, but still not great. He hiked on the lower trails, took some pics, and had a good time (his trip report is here.) We hiked the last 3 or so miles with him, and now the hike is complete.

We'll clean up, change out of our sweaty hiking gear, and make will make what's probably an hour drive to Big Meadows campground. We lucked out with weather - conditions may not have been ideal, but they were much better than the forecast. We didn't hike in any real rain, and we actually saw some vistas from the summit. We did the 8 miles in just over 5.5 hours. I feel great.

(Continued here)

SNP: Getting Away

Our Shenandoah National Park long weekend has now come and gone, and it was mostly a success. There were a couple of hiccups, but overall I had a great time.

Thursday came quickly, and I decided to take a half day of vacation (to do the packing and preparing I hadn't had a chance to do more in advance.) There was e-mail discussion among the guys about departure time and travel route. The shortest route from here to SNP is south on 95 to the D.C. area, then west on 66. But D.C. traffic is nightmarish anywhere around rush hour (which in my limited experience seems to be from 6am-9pm.) The longer-distance/lower-traffic route is straight west on the PA Turnpike, then south on 81.

Our choices were depart at 7pm and go 95 to D.C., or if everyone could get out of work early, we could leave at 4:00 or 4:30 and go west on the turnpike. That was my preference, and it's how things worked out. Everyone met at my house, we loaded up two cars (John's and Eric's) and hit the road. It's unfortunate that we couldn't all fit into one car - but as we painfully learned on last June's W.V. trip, that requires renting a full-size minvan - which doesn't make financial sense for a 3-day getaway that's 3.5 hours away.

The drive was uneventful. We stopped for a Wendy's dinner in Carlisle, took 81 South, then got off the highway and set the GPS for the last half hour to Culpeper, VA. It was dark by that point, and there was a bright moon and plenty of stars visible - I watched Orion for a while as we drove.

John had given us the reservation he'd made at the Comfort Inn, Culpeper - but when the GPS told us we'd arrived, there was no such thing. We drove around for a bit, then we pulled into a motel parking lot, and I went in to ask. Apparently between the making of the reservation and now, it changed from a Comfort Inn to a Quality Inn. So we had arrived.

We had two rooms, and Eric and I settled into ours, then went to John and Ted's room. I had my travel guitar with me, and we watched some TV and some YouTube while talking, and I took some requests on the guitar.

Tomorrow morning's plan has been to get up early and do the Old Rag hike. It's supposed to be a fairly strenuous hike - and also such a popular hike that it's recommended to get to the trailhead early, as the parking lot can fill up on nice days. The weather forecast isn't good - rain in the morning, a chance of a thunderstorm in the afternoon. We talked it over, and there aren't any good options for rescheduling it - so we're planning to do it, barring absolutely terrible weather. I'm fine with that - I don't mind hiking in rain, and it's supposed to be warm.

Bring it on. (Famous last words? Stay tuned and find out!)

Almost Shenandoah

To be specific, it's less than a week until we depart for our boys' long weekend hiking/camping trip to Shenandoah National Park. As Brother Eric notes in his recent blog post, we've done basically nothing in terms of planning. But that's okay, a trip like this doesn't need a lot of planning.

It's a car camping trip, and we've done this often enough that it's pretty much a matter of tossing our gear in a duffel, throwing it in the car, and off we go. Between Phil (who won't be there this time) and Eric (who, thankfully, will) we always eat very well on these trips. They both enjoy making good meals, and I'm grateful. Left to my own devices, meal planning for camping would be a very simple thing: one jar of all-natural peanut butter, one jar of raspberry jelly, and one loaf of bread. And I'd honestly be fine with that. But having actual meals in the evening is a wonderful thing.

We'll leave Thursday night after work, drive to the vicinity of SNP, and get a cheap motel room. Friday morning we'll plan to be up early and hike Old Rag Mountain. This is one of the signature hikes of SNP, and none of us has ever done it. It's a 7 mile loop with 2,500 feet of elevation gain, and the scenery and the vista at the top are supposed to be among the finest in the area. Hike descriptions are here and here.

We want to spend Friday and Saturday nights at Big Meadows campground in the park. I looked at the park's website, and the campground opens on March 27, but it's first come/first served (i.e., no reservations) until May 5. So we'll hope for the best. It's Easter weekend, and I hope that will keep some people at home.

A hike for Saturday is still to be determined. I have some rough ideas, but I have to get out my big map and my trail guides and come up with some more specific ideas. That's my project for this weekend.

I think Sunday we'll go to Stony Man - the vista that was the destination of all our youthful trips to Shenandoah. We can spend the morning there, then think about heading for home.

I'm purposely not looking at long-range weather forecasts. First of all, anything more than 2-3 days out is little more than a guess. Second, it doesn't matter. We're going, and it's going to be fun no matter what the weather. Getting away with the guys is always a treat. We'll be prepared with clothing and shelter for whatever weather we get.

Did I mention that I can't wait?

Shenandoah Planning

In my late December hiking year in review, I said that we were going to try to plan a few long weekend getaways instead of one big hiking trip. We've talked about this a couple of times, and all agreed that we need to put something on our calendars as soon as possible - otherwise normal busyness will fill up every weekend, and our trips won't happen.

A flurry of e-mails went around in the past week, and I'm very happy to say that weekend getaway #1 is written in stone on the family calendar. Four of us will camp and hike in Shenandoah National Park the first weekend in April. We'll leave Thursday after work, get a motel room in the vicinity of the park - which will give us three full days of hiking and two nights of camping in SNP. We'll be home Sunday night, so we'll only have to take one vacation day.

I'm very excited. First of all, we're currently in the midst of the coldest weather in over 20 years, with daytime high temps in the single digits (F) - so it's nice to have thoughts of Spring and getting outside. Also, I simply adore Shenandoah N.P., and we've barely scratched the surface of the hiking trails there.

Eric refers to the many many weekend trips we made to SNP in the post-college years - and he's right, we drove down there many weekends. But none of those trips involved any serious hiking. We drove Skyline Drive, got out at the overlooks, and did the one-mile bunny trail to Stony Man Peak. They were wonderful trips - but they weren't hiking trips.

We *have* done a couple of hiking trips to SNP in the past decade - but we're in no danger of running out of new trails to hike in any of our lifetimes.

Darling Wife was quick to point out that early April could mean cold nights, rain, or both. She's right, of course, but that doesn't dim my excitement. We'll hope for the best, and bring gear to deal with whatever comes.

I can't wait.

Susquehanna S.P., 1/1/15

John and I talked over Christmas week about the possibility of a New Year's Day hike. That's something we've done before, and I always like when it works out. It's a nice feeling to be up and out early on New Year's Day when no one else is out, and it feels good to start the year active and outdoors.

We had both agreed that we were free and wanted to hike, and tossed around some ideas as to where we'd hike, when I texted Eric to see if he'd also be interested. He was both interested and available, so we just had to settle on the question of "where." One place John mentioned struck my fancy - Susquehanna State Park, on the Maryland side of the river, and just off of I-95. I'd never been there, and it looked to be about an hour away (i.e., not *too* far), and I like hikes that go along the shore of a body of water.

250+ year-old oak tree

The map on the park website showed a number of trails which could be made into a loop of 6-8 miles. I suggested it to the guys, and no one had any objections, so that became our plan.

We met at Eric's at 9:30am on a bright, sunny, and very cold morning. Perfect hiking weather. I had a few light layers with me, but I knew that I'd be plenty warm once I got moving on the trail. We found the park and the trailhead with no trouble.

We hiked north along the banks of the river. The water views were beautiful, and Conowingo Dam was visible in the distance. We'd been going for a while when someone (I don't remember who, just that it wasn't me) realized that we'd missed a turn we intended. We were off the state park loop and on a trail that would take us all the way up to the dam. We backtracked, found our turn, and continued on our intended route.

Stream crossing

We made a big counterclockwise loop, with a bit of up and down - though nothing overly punishing. We got back to the car, and my GPS track had us at about 6.8 miles. I decided that it should be a 7-mile day, and hiked a tenth of a mile south up the river bank. Silly, I know. :-)

Beautiful day, great hike, great companions, great start to 2015.

(Brother Eric's take on the day, with pics, is here.)

Distance: 7.07 miles
Elapsed Time: 3:20

Hiking Year in Review

I just took a look at my hiking year in review from one year ago, and I'm struck by how similar this year was to last. I simply didn't do a lot of hiking. There weren't any impromptu "take a day off and go" days, and no "get up at dawn on a Sunday and drive to a day-hike" days. I didn't do a fall day at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary either last year or this. That's not a problem, it's just a change from years past when I did that fairly frequently.

There are a number of reasons, some motivational, some logistical. I enjoy hiking and the outdoors as much as ever.

There were two main highlights this year:

• Our boys' West Virginia weekend. Since we couldn't do a big trip this year, we did long weekend at Seneca Rocks and the Dolly Sods wilderness area. We left on a Friday night and got back late Monday - so we had 2 1/2 days away for the price of one vacation day. The hiking, the scenery, and the camaraderie were fantastic.
• The overnight trip in April with Eric and John to Ricketts Glen State Park. The Falls Trail at Ricketts Glen has been on our lists for years, and it was great to finally hike it. It has a reputation as a "bucket list" hike, and it lived up to its reputation. The Sunday drive up to the area with Eric was also a lot of fun - we meandered around the countryside in search of geocaches and pretty scenery.

Our intention for 2015 is for more trips like the West Virginia weekend. A few of us have life commitments that will make a big trip impossible again - but the three- or four-day weekends are very possible. There are countless great hikes in a 3-5 hour driving range, and we just have to get some weekends on our calendars. If we don't, the calendar will fill up, and it won't happen.

We need to make it happen. That's my resolution for the New Year.

Marsh Creek S.P., 12/27/14

John told me about hiking plans he and a few buddies had for the Saturday after Christmas - a day trip to one of my favorite place, Harper's Ferry, WV. That's a long day trip, with 3+ hours of driving each way, but there's so much great hiking and scenery there. I was enthusiastically in.

Unfortunately, I felt very unwell Friday night, had a terrible night's sleep, and was unable to answer the bell on Saturday morning. Very disappointing. But I slept all morning and felt a good bit better by noon. It was a beautiful warm sunny day, so I looked for a nearby place to get outside - and settled on Marsh Creek State Park.

I parked at the west-side boat launch, and took the trail that follows the lake, crosses the dam, and continues on the east side. The trail was a muddy quagmire in many spots, but it felt great to be outside and on a trail.

Total distance: 5.50 miles
Elapsed time: 1:42

Inside the Tracker's Pack

Interesting article: Inside the Tracker's Pack

There's no getting around it - this hasn't been a particularly good year for me hiking and getting outdoors. But I'll save my year-in-review post for the end of the year. And it's possible that with a few days off over the holidays, I'll finish the year with an actual hike.

Stay tuned.

Thru-hiking the A.T.

A friend of mine has a 20-something daughter who completed a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail this past fall. We recently had dinner with the friend and his wife, and I peppered him with questions about the daughter's hike.

Backing up a bit, the Appalachian Trail is a hiking trail that goes from Springer Mountain, GA to Mt. Katahdin, ME - more than 2,100 miles along the crest of the Appalachians. Thru-hiking the trail means completing it in one year, which normally means starting in Georgia in the early spring and finishing in Maine by middle October (Baxter State Park in ME, where Mt. Katahdin is located, is closed for the winter on the first heavy snowfall, which is usually in mid-October.)

The upshot of our dinner conversation was that his daughter and her friend did great and had a wonderful time. A local newspaper did a feature on them, here.

The A.T. runs through PA, and its closest point to me is above Reading at Port Clinton - a little more than an hour's drive. I've probably day-hiked the majority of the PA trail between the Susquehanna and the Delaware River, and John and I did a memorable two-day backpack from Delaware Water Gap to Wind Gap in 2009 as training for our Grand Canyon backpack. (I posted trip reports from Day 1, Overnight, and Day 2.)

I've been asked, and have also asked myself, if I'd ever want to thru-hike the A.T. I can't say it's a burning desire. First of all, it's unrealistic. I can't just take six months off and hit the trail. And every time I've seen and talked to thru-hikers, they tend to be either recent college grads (i.e., haven't started "real life" yet and have no responsibilities) or early retirees (50's or 60's and reached a point in life where the kids are grown and they actually can take some time off.)

But even if you disregard that, I'm still not sure I want to. Everything I've heard is that a thru-hike is more a mental endurance test than a physical test. When it's poured rain for a week straight, and everything you're carrying is soaking wet, how badly do you want to continue? So I can't say that's a goal of mine - though hiking buddy Ted has stated numerous times that I will be joining him on a thru-hike one day. So we'll see.

One thing I definitely intend to do is to do more section hiking on the A.T. It runs the length of Shenandoa National Park, and I've only done a few miles of that. And it runs through Maryland near its narrowest point - just 24 miles. That would be a fun 3-day backpack to complete the A.T. in one state. I'd also like to complete the trial between the Susquehanna and the Delaware. These seem like much more realistic goals.

Survival TV

I stumbled on this article about "survival TV" and Cody Lundin, and it's worth a read.

I have a weak spot for survival TV and have watched a bit over the years. My first exposure was Les Stroud and Survivorman, and I still prefer Les to anyone else. I was traveling and alone in a hotel room one night when I stumbled on a Survivorman marathon, and spent the rest of the evening entranced.

I got my whole family interested in Survivorman, and my girls particularly liked watching episodes with me. A DVD of a Survivorman season was usually one of my Christmas gifts in those years.

I've seen Cody Lundin on survival shows, and I like him and think he's the real deal. I also think his book is a must-read for anyone who spends time outdoors (reviewed by me, here.)

As survival shows got more popular, there had to be more "action", and became more wilderness stunts, and less survival (which is the point of the Cody Lundin article at the top.)

I found a new show a few weeks ago, Fat Guys in the Woods, while recovering from an unsuccessful attempt to cut off my thumb. I got sucked in, watched a few episodes, and it wasn't bad. A survival guy takes three fat, out-of-shape guys who have no exposure to the outdoors out into the woods for a week and teaches them how to survive.

I liked it with some caveats. I think they were being given food off-camera. You can't convince me that obese couch potatoes who have eaten little or nothing for 3-4 days (which is what the episodes depicted) wouldn't be moaning *constantly* about how hungry they are. But they weren't.

I'll be happy to watch it - at least until Les Stroud comes out with some new Survivorman eipsodes.

Map of Visited States

I've written before about the number of states I've visited - which is always a subject of interest among my hiking buddies. I posted here in March '13, that I'd visited 42 of the lower 48 states. My current total is 44 - I've visited one additional state, and I realized that I had already visited one that I hadn't claimed:

* Maine. We spent a week here in September '13, hiking and camping.

* Wisconsin. I'd completely forgotten that I'd ever been there, but I definitely have. I did a bit of traveling in one of my first jobs out of college, and one of our clients was children's clothing maker Oshkosh B'Gosh, located in...drum roll please...Oshkosh, WI. I think I was watching a football game one afternoon when an Oshkosh B'Gosh commercial came on. The thought hit me like a thunderbolt - Oshkosh.... Wisconsin! I have Wisconsin!

I'm thinking of this today because I stumbled across a website that lets you chart your visited states on an interactive map. The site is here. My map is below. I've followed the recommended guidelines for colors, as follows:

* Green: lived there or spent extensive time.
* Blue: spent a good amount of time there - at least a week.
* Orange: spent at least one night there.
* Pink: passed through, did not spend a night.

GC: Five Years

I've noted before (probably many times) that dates tend to stick in my head. It's not a conscious effort - they just do. So I realized that this past week that it's been five years since our Grand Canyon backpack - three days and two nights, South Rim to the Colorado River and back on the Hermit Trail. As with many things, that five years seems simultaneously like a very short and a very long time.

Pack break, Hermit Trail

I re-read my trip reports, and was *so* happy (yet again) that I write these up. Re-reading them takes me back there in a way that just looking at pics or sitting back and reminiscing can't do. All the trip reports, on one page in reverse chronological order, is here. Individual posts are here:

• Day 1 (Hike)
• Day 1 (Camp)
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Final Thoughts

I can say without exaggeration that it was the coolest thing I've ever done. I can't even say what #2 is - just that it's a *long* way back.

I'm also thinking that I have a new goal: a return to Grand Canyon in 2015. It could potentially be done quickly and cheaply - cheap flight to Vegas, rental car or shuttle to Grand Canyon Village, camp there and hike for a a few days, then back home.

Is it possible? I say yes. But we'll see...stay tuned.

Three happy guys, ready for pizza and beer!

A Sassafras Rock

A quick postscript to my hike Saturday in the Sassafras NRMA. Darling Wife was doing laundry on Sunday night, and the dryer started making a loud banging sound. She evened out the load, started it again...and the loud banging continued. I went to take a look, and spotted the problem - there was a large rock loose in the dryer...and I knew where it came from.

On the Lloyd Creek part of my hike, when the trail came down to the beach, it was full of what my dad called "Maryland gravel" - sand mixed with small round pebbles that have been polished smooth by the sand. I saw a small white disc-shaped rock, liked the look of it, and put it in my pocket. And then forgot about it until I saw it bouncing around the dryer.

I told Darling Wife that I'd found the problem, explained about the stone, and showed it to her. She was touched that, at an age where some men have grown hopelessly cynical, I've retained my boyish sense of wonder.

At least that's my interpretation of what she was thinking. The actual conversation went something like this:

DW: A stone in the dryer? That you picked up on your hike?

Me: Yes.

DW: You saw a stone, picked it up, and put it in your pocket?

Me: Ummm, yes.

DW: (shaking her head) What are you, five years old?!?

Sassafras NRMA, 9/27/2014

With some time to myself and a beautiful day in the forecast, a hike was a definite. I thought about Hawk Mountain or The Pinnacle - but decided I'd take a vacation day sometime soon and go up there. I also had some things to do at the River, so I decided on a hike down there.

Sassafras River, looking toward Kentmore

I did some hiking and geocaching at the Sassafras NRMA near Turner's Creek a few years ago, and the views are so beautiful that I decided on a return visit. The trails are not long or extensive, but they're pretty, and they lead to river vistas and to the river's edge.

A PDF map of the reserve is here. From the parking lot, you walk up a sand/gravel path, at which point you come to a junction, and can go left, right, or straight ahead. I took the right-hand path first, and went along the edge of a soybean field, passed a hunter's camp (with two hunters in residence - perhaps I should have been wearing my fluorescent orange cap?), then the path became sandy as I neared the river.

Lloyd Creek overlook

At the river's edge was a sandy clearing near the entrance to Turner's Creek. It was protected by overhanging trees, and would probably be nearly invisible from the water. I was looking across at the far side of Ordinary Point, and could see the back side of the red barn on the Decker Farm.

I wound back around to the junction point, and took the left-hand fork, which I knew would take me near the entrance of Lloyd Creek. After going along another soybean field, I came out at a gorgeous clifftop vista of the lower Sassafras. From there, the trail descends until it comes at on a sandy beach at the river's edge, just up from the mouth of Lloyd Creek. Maybe on a warm day, wearing shorts and water sandals, you could walk to the sandbar at Lloyd Creek. I'd like to try it sometime.

Cliff top view of the upper Sassafras

I re-traced my steps again, and back at the junction point, I decided against the third fork. It was unseasonably warm, and I was thirsty and hadn't brought anything to drink. (Well, I had, but it was back at the car and not in a day-pack.) So I decided that I'd had a good hike, walked back to the car, and spent the rest of the day at the River. According to the GPS, I hiked 4.67 miles in 1 hour 28 minutes.

If you're looking for a strenuous day-hike, this isn't the one. If you're looking for an interesting trail (in terms of technical difficulty or a new vista around every corner), this might not be the one. But if you're looking for river vistas, this is very highly recommended.

Photo album from the day is here.

Hiker Killed by Black Bear

Black bears are numerous in many places I hike. The first time I saw a bear in the wild was on the Appalachian Trail very near Hawk Mountain. I've seen another one near there, and I've also seen bears in the Shenandoah, and in the Great Smokies. Each sighting was memorable and thrilling - a genuine thrill to be sharing the woods with such big and beautiful creatures.

Darling Wife's reaction to talk of bears is alarm, and I assure her time and time again that black bears are timid and want no part of confrontation with humans. And that's my experience - I've been aware of the presence of a bear when I hear the noise of the bear running away from me. Of course you have to be smart with food and food smells - if you leave food out, you're likely to attract a bear who's following his nose.

Bottom line, I'm not afraid of black bears. I'm careful and respectful, but not afraid. Now out west, in grizzly country, is a completely different story. They can be extremely dangerous. But black bears are not grizzlies.

Then Darling Wife presented me with the story of a New Jersey hiker who was killed by a black bear. I thought there must be a mistake, but it's true. CNN story is here. Five friends went hiking, saw a bear, and scattered. When they re-formed later, one was missing, and was later found dead.

I'm wondering if he ran from the bear - which seems like the wrong thing to do in any wildlife encounter. First, you're never going to out-run or out-climb a bear. And second, running away will make you look like prey and will trigger a hunting instinct. Though bears are more foragers and scavengers than hunters.

This is sobering news. But it also doesn't change my attitude toward black bears, and won't change my hiking/camping behavior. They're not killers. Be smart, be respectful.

Lost in the Mokelumne Wilderness

I saw the following article today:

Alone In The Wilderness, A Lost Fisherman Fights For His Life

I'm always interested to read stories like this - the details of how they get into a bad situation, what they do, and how they get rescued. In this case, a fisherman went looking for grasshoppers as bait, wandered further and further from his camp, then realized he was lost and couldn't find his way back to his camp.

I'm not so cocky as to say I couldn't get lost. I'm sure I could - though I do think I have a pretty good sense of direction. (There was the time a number of years ago that I discovered I was hiking 180 degrees in the wrong direction - but that's a tale for another day. :-))

Stories like this always bring me back to a really good book that I reviewed a few years ago - 98.6 Degrees (The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive!) by Cody Lundin. My review is here. The book isn't about wilderness living, it's about how to survive a wilderness misadventure and keep yourself alive while you're waiting to be rescued. Highly recommended.

Which reminds me, I should review the survival kit I put together three years ago after reading that book.

The Last True Hermit?

Very interesting article I stumbled across today. Here's the intro:

For nearly thirty years, a phantom haunted the woods of Central Maine. Unseen and unknown, he lived in secret, creeping into homes in the dead of night and surviving on what he could steal. To the spooked locals, he became a legend - or maybe a myth. They wondered how he could possibly be real. Until one day last year, the hermit came out of the forest....

 And here's the full article.

WV Weekend: Wrap-up

Note: Brother Eric's recap is here. This post will likely echo many of his thoughts.

Overall

This was a fantastic weekend. We had two and a half days outdoors, the scenery was gorgeous, the weather was perfect, all the hikes were good, the campground and campsite were exceptional, and the camaraderie (as always) couldn't be beat. And most importantly for me right now, all of this cost me just one personal day from work.

The Hikes
All the hikes were good. Spruce Knob was notable for being the high point of WV, and now that we've checked it off, there's no reason to return. The Huckleberry Trail was good - not breath-taking - but a very nice ridgeline trail. The Dolly Sods *was* breath-taking, and I would gladly return there. There's a while network of trails over a very large area, and we haven't scratched the surface of what it was to offer. Seneca Rocks was a lovely little morning diversion.

The Campsite
As Eric and I both noted, our campsite was unparalleled. Yes, it was excessive to have a group campsite for the four of us, but the open space and solitude it gave us were very nice. The direct view of Seneca Rocks was just amazing. Our eyes were continually drawn there, and it looked subtly different in every light, and at different times of day. Obviously, it was more expensive than a normal campsite, but it as well worth it. I would definitely return to Seneca Shadows campground, and would insist on the same site.

My Gear
I can honestly say I need nothing. I love the gear I have, and there's nothing I'm lacking for hiking and camping. I don't even look at the ads I get from REI, Campmor and EMS. They have lovely stuff, but there's nothing that remotely tempts me. In hindsight, there was no reason for me not to bring two tents, so Eric and I could each have our own. Mine is big enough for both of us, but I sometimes worry that my tossing and turning keeps him awake.

I did forget to pack three items, which I'm noting here as reminder to myself for next time:

1. A pillow. I slept on two rolled-up t-shirts. I don't know how I didn't bring my beanbag travel pillow - but the t-shirts did the job.
2. A towel. This wasn't a surprise - I *always* forget to bring a towel, and end up drying myself with whatever I can manage. Somehow this just doesn't enter my thoughts when thinking through what I'll need.
3. A headlamp. These are *so* handy for a getting around a campsite after dark. I had one, but I seem to have lost it. I've been holding off buying another one, as I think it has to be in my house and I'll find it - but it's not turning up, so I'll have to get another one.

Rental Car
As Eric and I have both mentioned, we screwed up badly by trying to save a few dollars by renting an SUV instead of a minivan. Camping = minivan, period. Our error was thinking that only two nights camping meant we needed less space. We realize now that if we're camping for one night, that means we're bringing our camping gear, and there's the same amount of stuff whether it's for one night or two weeks. Everything worked out, but it's a lesson learned.

Final Thoughts
Another fun and successful trip. It was a great time with great friends. And I think it sets a blueprint for the kinds of trips we can try to do fairly frequently (meaning more than just once a year.) Leaving Friday night after work, having all day Saturday, all day Sunday,and part of Monday for hiking and camping - getting home Monday night and only requiring one vacation day.