End of Year Snow Camping in the Sods

Following a successful snowshoeing trip in November to Dolly Sods Wilderness Area in West Virginia, it was time to try camping up there in the winter.  The forecast for Davis, West Virginia wasn't ideal, but it didn't look dangerous:  cold, snow showers and winds gusting to 30 mph.  Of course, it would be colder, windier, and snowier up on the plateau, but we decided we were prepared (We also took enough food and fuel so that, if the weather turned very bad, we could hunker down and wait it out).

We started from Timberline Resort and hiked up one of their trails to the wilderness boundaries. Let's just say that the sight of three people on snowshoes dragging orange sleds packed with gear, going uphill gets more than a few funny looks from skiers and snowboarders going down the trails in the proper direction. Even with sleds full of gear, the hike up to the wilderness boundary wasn't bad.

We stopped for lunch in a protected spot in the woods at the boundary.  At that elevation, there was about a foot of snow on the ground.  It was just a little packed, so it made for easy snowshoeing. The original plan was to go down Big Stonecoal Trail and camp. We started that direction after lunch and to our surprise, ran into another person who was camping up there. We, apparently, are not the only crazy ones! Unfortunately, Big Stonecoal Trail was completely closed in by mountain laurel weighed down by snow. The idea of being soaking wet after fighting our way through all of the branches did not appeal to us, so we regrouped and made a new plan.  

We hiked north to the Blackbird Knob Trail and turned east. Occasionally, we were able to catch a glimpse of the east ride of Dolly Sods in the distance when the clouds lifted. Fine, granular snowflakes fell steadily as we hiked.  The wind was behind us, but blowing pretty steadily. Eventually, we found a nice sheltered campsite under some trees at the edge of a meadow. Snow swirled across the meadow and we could hear the wind roaring above us, but only a few gusts made it down to the campsite.  

We spent a pleasant night listening to the snowfall. When we went to bed, it didn't seem like the snow was falling that fast, so we were surprised to find in the morning a foot of fresh snow coating everything. It was dry, fluffy, light powder: the kind that gets blown into drifts and swirls across meadows in giant eddies. In the clearing near our campsite, it had drifted into hip deep piles. We took a long time to break camp and finally got underway around noon.  It was still snowing steadily and now we had to break trail through a foot of powder. We had so much fun. It was more work than the day before, but the scenery and conditions were just spectacular. 

The worst part of the trip was at the very end.  Timberline Resort was making snow on the trail we had to hike down, so we had to hike through blasts of freezing mist all the way down.  By the time we got to the bottom, my sunglasses were completely frozen over.  

It was an awesome trip.  We dealt with the cold well and had a great time. Once again, Dolly Sods proved to be a beautiful host to a great trek.

Pictures (click to enlarge):

 Michael pulling his sled along the Blackbird Knob Trail.

Conifers covered in hoar frost and snow.

The meadow near our campsite.

Our campsite near dusk. Note how trampled down the snow is.

Snow piled up on the tents in the morning.  All of our tracks were covered, even around the campsite.

 Another view of the meadow at our campsite.

Michael making a platform for cooking breakfast in the morning.

Sunday, we got the briefest glimpse of blue sky.

Looking east across the wilderness area.

Snow on the creek on Blackbird Knob Trail.

Bears and Flowers in Riprap Hollow and on Moormans River

For as much as we hike in the North and Central Districts of Shenandoah National Park, we rarely make it down to the South District of Shenandoah, mostly because it is so far to drive for a dayhike or even an overnight trip.  We definitely need to make the effort more often because the reward is fewer people, more wildlife, and very pretty trails.  For what was supposed to be a two-night trip over Labor Day weekend, we decided to hike in the Riprap Hollow and Moorman River areas.  On our way to the trailhead, clouds filled the valleys below the overlooks on Skyline Drive.  Given the forecast for rain for the weekend, we were pretty sure we were going to get wet.

We parked at Blackrock Gap and set off southbound on the Appalachian Trail.  We immediately started climbing, crossing two small, unnamed mountains, before reaching the Riprap Trail where we turned west.  We took a break on some rocks with a nice view to the southwest.  Just as we were packing up, the gray clouds that had been off in the distance finally made their move.  The temperature dropped 15 degrees and the wind picked up.  From our overlook, we had to cross a small ridge.  The clouds were blowing across the top of it, which was pretty cool.  I wish I had stopped to take a picture, but the sound of thunder kept me moving towards the safety of the woods on the other side of it.  We skipped Calvary Rocks because of the thunder and lightning.  Chimney Rocks had a bit more cover, but the view was socked in by the clouds.  At this point, we were just waiting for the imminent soaking.  It never came.  The wind blew, lightning flashed, and thunder clapped, but no rain ever fell, which was fine with us.

About halfway down the Riprap Trail, we came to the confluence of two creeks at the mouth of Cold Spring Hollow.  The valley narrows down to a gorge that is only about 30 feet wide just above a small waterfall.  There had been some sort of structure over the creek at one point because there were large timbers fastened to the creek floor just above the narrowest point of the creek.  It would be interesting to see this area when there is more water in the creek.  We continued down the trail to the junction of the Wildcat Ridge Trail.  Along the way, we saw a good sized black bear crossing the creek and climbing the opposite ridge.  From the junction, the Riprap Trail continues 0.9 miles to the park boundary.  We went ahead and hiked to the boundary and back, just say we had covered that section of trail.  We camped that night at the junction with the Wildcat Ridge Trail, a decision that we would later regret a little.

We had originally planned to camp 0.5 miles up the Wildcat Ridge Trail, just before the trail leaves the creek and turns up the ridge.  We were concerned about water availability on the creek along the Wildcat Ridge Trail because almost all of the side streams were bone dry.  The campsite we chose was nice enough.  When it got dark, the most amazing chorus of tree frogs entertained us.  They were loud enough that it was almost hard to hear each other talk in the tent.  Then the music started.  And the yelling.  Apparently, someone was having a loud enough party down at the parking area, almost a mile away, that we could hear it over the tree frogs.  It continued well past midnight.  Someone also decided to start firing a shotgun.  It was fairly far away and we aren't sure that it was associated with the party, but we did wonder what someone was shooting at in the dark.

The next morning, we continued our hike up the Wildcat Ridge Trail.  At the campsite we originally planned to use, there was water (sigh) and another backpacker looking for her glasses, which had been knocked off when she bumped a tree branch.  We helped her look for about 45 minutes, to no avail.  We made good time climbing up to the Appalachian Trail, where we turned south again, hiking towards Turk Gap, where we took a break for lunch and I attempted to deal with a blister that had developed on my little toe (having spent the summer in cycling shoes, my feet have developed a few soft spots).   The hike down Turk Branch Trail was uneventful and quiet.

We reached the South Fork Moormans River Road and immediately started running into people.  There are a number of great swimming holes along the road, but each one had about 30 people, so we kept walking.  Shortly after getting to the North Fork Moormans River Trail, SSW Spouse ran out of water.  The river was completely dry at that point, so we contemplated turning around and hiking back to where we last saw water.  It wasn't far, but no one likes to backtrack.  Fortunately, a group of dayhikers came by and let us know that there was water in the river upstream.  We took a long break beside the first pool and filtered water. 

The plan was to camp along the upper North Fork Moormans River Trail.  We even found a campsite.  We crossed the river, took our packs off and contemplated staying the night.  At that point, we were about three miles from the car, it was 4:30 p.m., and we had hiked 11 miles.  It was also supposed to rain that night.  We heard the siren song of pizza and a comfortable bed, so we headed for the car. On the way home, we saw a half-grown bear scamper across the road.

It was a great hike.  We wound up hiking a total of 22 miles:  8 the first day and 14 the second.  After not doing a lot of hiking in the last two months, it was a lot, particularly the second day.  Summer is definitely waning.  The leaves are starting to change at higher elevations and late summer-early fall flowers, including asters are blooming.  As I said earlier, we definitely need to make the drive to the South District more often.  Although we saw more people than we expected, it was Labor Day weekend and most parts of the park where we normally hike would have been overrun.

Pictures (click to enlarge):

 The clouds below Bacon Hollow Overlook on Skyline Drive on the way to the trailhead.

 Aureolaria flava (Smooth False Foxglove) on the Appalachian Trail.

 The view from our lunch spot on the Riprap Trail before the thunderstorm. 

Chimney Rocks on the Riprap Trail.

Campanula divaricata (Southern Harebell) on the Riprap Trail.

Hylotelephium telephioides (Wild Live-Forever) on the Riprap Trail

The leaves are already starting to change at higher elevations.  Summer is winding down.

The gorge at the bottom of Cold Spring Hollow.

The timbers that were secured to the bottom of the creek bed.  We couldn't figure out what the structure had been.  There was some old concrete on the rock wall across the creek.  Anyone out there familiar with the history of the Riprap area?

 A Leopard Frog against one of the timbers in the above picture.

 A swimming hole along Riprap Trail.

There is a good-sized bear in the center of this photo.  This is the first one we've seen hiking that I've managed to actually photograph, although not well.

 We had a problem with our MSR Hubba Hubba rainfly.  We contacted the company and they sent us a new fly at no cost, which is awesome customer service.  Unfortunately, the colors have changed since we got the tent, so it doesn't match very well anymore.  The replacement fly was free, though, so I dig the color combination!

 A toad at our campsite.

Hypoxis hirsuta (Yellow Star Grass) on the Appalachian Trail north of Turk Gap.

Amphicarpaea bracteata (Hog Peanut) vine twisted around a Sassafras Tree. 

Ageratina altissima (White Snakeroot).

Pycnanthemum muticum (Mountain Mint)

Cunila origanoides (Dittany)

 A butterfly on the South Fork Moormans River Road.

Eurybia divaricata (White Wood Aster)

 A pool on the North Fork Moormans River

 Helianthus divaricatus (Woodland Sunflower) on the North Form Moormans River.

Lobelia siphilitica (Great Lobelia) on the North Fork Moormans River.

Snowshoe Backpacking at Canaan Mountain, Take 2

Since we had another long weekend, we decided to give snowshoe backpacking another try so we could apply the lessons we learned from the New Year's trip. We returned to Canaan Mountain, although we snowshoed different trails this time.  We met the fourth person in our group in the Blackwater Falls State Park lodge parking lot.  Since there were four of us this time, we had two sleds for gear.  The brutal cold wind  while we were packing up made us question our wisdom at this adventure, but we decided that it would be better once we were in the trees. 

By the time we packed both sleds and registered with the lodge, it was  2 p.m. when we set off on the Yellow Birch Trail.  In spite of the fact that the trailhead is across the road from the lodge, there were no tracks on the trail.  There was about 18 inches of snow and drifts over two feet in places.  We had little trouble following the trail since it is blazed and the sleds worked really well.  We quickly reached a challenge, though.  There is a spot on the Yellow Birch Trail that is a short scramble about 5 feet down some rocks.  We had to unhook the sleds and pass them over the rocks and down, and then carefully descend through it on the snowshoes. It took us about an hour to go the first mile, which really is not too bad on snowshoes.

At the end of that mile, we reached the Allegheny Trail, where we turned south.  The trail climbs slowly for nearly two miles towards the Plantation Trail.  There was one set of faint ski tracks on the Allegheny Trail.  Although it is not blazed as frequently, it is a wide trail, which was easy to follow.  It follows Engine Run for about half the distance to the Plantation Trail.  In spite of the cold, the creek was running where it wasn't entirely covered in snow.  There was one hill along the way that we probably wouldn't have noticed if we had been hiking on dry ground, but on snowshoes, towing the sled, it was a bit of a beast.  I was surprised at how out of breath that short, steep little hill left me.

We arrived at the shelter at the junction of the Allegheny and Plantation Trails about half an hour before dark.  SSW Spouse gathered firewood while the rest of started boiling water for hot drinks and dinner.  We were pretty happy to see that the small creek near the shelter wasn't frozen.  Boiling very cold water requires much, much less fuel than melting snow for water.  I had the chance to try out the new pants that night in camp.  It was very windy and in the low 20s before we went to bed, but SSW Spouse secured tarps across the front of the shelter to keep out the blowing wind and snow.  They kept me nice and warm.  The shelter is in such a nice place that, before going to bed, we decided to dayhike on Sunday and camp at the shelter again on Sunday night. 

Sunday morning was cold and about an inch of snow fell overnight.  I think the coldest parts of the trip for me were the mornings: making breakfast and packing up gear without a fire.  Although I was up moving around, it wasn't enough to get my heart rate going enough to really warm up.  Coffee and hot oatmeal helped, but could not keep my feet from going numb (not frostbitten) by the time we left camp. 

We were the first group to lay tracks on the Plantation Trail.  We snowshoed west to the #6 Fire Trail, where we took a break for lunch.  The small zipper pull thermometer of questionable accuracy on my backpack said that it was 20 degrees at lunch.  We crossed several small streams along the way, including one with an interesting little dam on it (picture below).  The trail was easy to follow, but occasionally required fighting through rhododendrons.  They normally would not impede the trail, but with all of the snow weighing them down, they sort of fell across the trail.  After lunch, we continued on the Plantation Trail to the junction of the Lindy Run Trail.  At that point, we had been snowshoeing for 2 1/2 hours, including our lunch break.  We decided it was time to head back so that we would have time to gather firewood again before dark.  On our way back, the sun actually came out for a while and we made better time since we weren't breaking trail.

Back at the shelter, we built another fire and began the camp chores associated with getting dinner together and heating water for tea.  Since it was clear, it got cold fast after the sun went down.  The moon was out for a while, making the snow sparkle in the moonlight.  It was 15 degrees around 8 pm and it definitely got colder than that as the night went on. 

We were nearly ready to call it a night when a group of five cross country skiers showed up.  I think they were as surprised to find us at the shelter as we were to see them roll in at 8:30 p.m.  We offered to make room, but after much debate, they decided to continue on to another shelter.  I pointed out some spots on their map where they could pitch tents if they got tired and they mentioned they had not brought any tents.  Seriously.  Hopefully, they made it to the next shelter without incident. In the morning, we packed up camp and returned to the lodge parking lot.  Our return was much faster than the hike in since we did not have to break trail and we were generally hiking downhill.

Overall, it was a fantastic trip and much easier than the last one.  We were able to use the lessons learned from the last one to make this one better.  The weather, although much colder, was actually better in the sense that it was easier to stay dry since none of the snow was melting.  I also got new boots, so my feet stayed dry.  We were also more realistic about our mileage, too, and planned our route in a way that let us be flexible about how much we wanted to do.

Pictures (click to enlarge):

Towing the sled across the bridge over Engine Run.

Snow on Engine Run.

The shelter.

Snowflakes on SSW Spouse's jacket.

Snowshoes and sled poles against the shelter.

Campfire.

Untracked snow on the Plantation Trail.

SSW Spouse breaking trail.

Rhododendrons block the trail.

The interesting little dam on one of the creeks on the Plantation Trail.

The Plantation Trail on our way back.  The sun had actually come out for a while.

A different kind of bootshot.

New Year's Eve at Canaan Mountain

Several of us have been talking about doing a winter snowshoe backpacking trip and this weekend it finally worked out, although we learned quite a bit in the process.  We met The Wandering Virginian in Front Royal and piled into his car for the long drive to Canaan Mountain.  As we approached the high country in West Virginia, there appeared to be no more snow on the ground than in Shenandoah, so we weren't sure we were actually going to get to use the snowshoes.  When we left Harman, WV and climbed into Canaan Valley, all of a sudden, snow appeared. 

We registered with the lodge at Blackwater Falls State Park around 11:30 on Friday and packed up the sled that SSW Spouse modified for snowshoeing.  We planned to go seven miles and camp near Table Rock.  Given how fast we normally hike, we thought we were being conservative about what we could do.  It was after 12:30 by the time we left the lodge and headed for the trailheaad.  Once on trail, the sled worked like a charm.  The trail was pretty well packed, so we made reasonably good time for being on snowshoes.  We passed the cross country ski area and hiked up the un-plowed Public Road 13 towards Table Rock.  We met a few skiers along the way.  Snowshoeing on the road was easy since the snow was well packed. After a mile on the road, we encountered our first stream crossing.  Fortunately, we were able to rock hop and carry the sled across.

We were looking for the Lindy Run Trail.  We didn't find it and after looking for a while and consulting the map, we decided to stay on the road since it wrapped around the ridge and would lead us to the Table Rock trailhead.  Staying on the road would also mean a slightly shorter hike on a wider path.  After the stream, only one set of cross country ski tracks remained ahead of us that were several days old.  The hike along the road was beautiful, with green rhododendrons contrasting with the white snow.  The weather was pleasantly warm and overcast.  The snow was very wet and heavy.  With each step, it would stick to my hiking poles unless I shook them as I pulled them out of the snow.  At some point, I realized my right boot was leaking a little bit. 

Around 4 pm, we realized that we would not be able to make Table Rock before nightfall.  The Wandering Virginian noticed a nice flat spot.  After considering how much daylight was left and how far we had to go, we decided to make camp.  A small stream flowed nearby, so we could get water without melting snow.  After setting up camp, we cooked dinner in the dark, glad that we had decided to stop hiking when we did.  We relaxed around the campfire for a long time, but none of us were able to stay up to ring in the New Year.

The forecast for Saturday was a bit dicier and included rain, so we planned to camp in one of the shelters in the Canaan Mountain area.  Another navigation mistake took us up the wrong trail.  We realized what happened, but not before hiking a mile in the wrong direction.  We stopped at a meadow to consider our options and it started to rain.  SSW Spouse pitched a tarp so we could eat lunch out of the rain.  We collectively decided to hike out.  Given our pace, we were not going to be able to make it to a shelter, and camping in cold rain did not appeal to anyone.  We backtracked to the road and made our way back to the car.  It was amazing how much snow had melted in 24 hours.  All in all, it took us six hours to hike about that many miles.

Backpacking in the winter and snow was a first for all of us on this trip (I have car camped in the winter before).  We learned a number of things:
1.  We are SLOW on snowshoes, even slower than I thought we would be.  

2.  The sled take a while to pack up.  It isn't a big problem, but it meant a later start each day, which further reduced the distance we were able to cover.

3.  Navigation is more challenging and requires much more constant attention in the snow.  Everything looks different when it is covered in snow.  Our very slow pace contributed to the challenge of navigation because we weren't where we expected to be and then spent time trying to work out the navigation challenges, which further contributed to our slow pace.

4.  We are pretty good at adapting and making good decisions as a team when it becomes clear that the original plan isn't going to work. 

5.  I need new boots (they are ordered).

6.  A fire is really nice at the end of a cold day of hiking.

7.  We can backpack in the winter, stay warm, and have fun.

Pictures (click to enlarge):

SSW Spouse packing up the sled.

Snowshoeing on Public Road 13.

Looking back at the crossing of Lindy Run.

Mounds of snow on rocks in Lindy Run.

Sunset near our campsite.

Rhododendrons along the road on Saturday.

A pond in the meadow where we turned around.

A small waterfall along the road.

An ice formation along the road.

The Wandering Virginian and SSW Spouse (towing the sled) on the way out.