Fridley Gap Hike

Once again, the review of a hike comes out well after I have done the deed. I post this hike having now completed yet an even bigger hike just yesterday. That posting, too, will take a few days to get up. None the less, it is a labor of love, as it is a lot of fun to talk about these hikes.
I took advantage of the long Memorial Day weekend to get in a nice day of hiking. I headed out to tackle the Fridley Gap trail near Shenandoah, Virginia. The hike runs along the Massanutten South Trail and loops back via the Fridley Gap Trail. The hike included almost 3,000ft of elevation change and traversed Third and Fourth Mountains. You would think someone could have come up with some more imaginative names. Yes, First and Second Mountains are there as well.
I made the 2 hour trip without any problems, the sun a hazy orange ball rising in what promised to be a warm Virginia day. I missed my turn off in Shenandoah, but quickly recovered and found my way to the trail head. I was off on the trail quickly after parking, and feeling excited about the hike. My pack felt so much lighter after backpacking a couple of weeks earlier.
Massanutten South Trail starts along the fire road and heads into the woods , running along Boone's Run. The trail climbed steadily, but not too steeply. It kept to Boone's Run most of the way. The sound of the water flow was strong initially, then gradually faded as the stream became smaller towards the top. The trail was rocky in spots, enough so to need to concentrate on foot placement at times. Just above a cut off trail to Kaylor Knob, there was a huge blowdown across the trail. No access around the trunk, so I had to scale it to get over. I finally arrived at the intersection with the Fridley Gap Trail. I got my first spotting of Honeysuckle (?) here. It would be prevalent for a good portion of the remainder of the hike. It was very fragrant, and the sweet smell carried in the air. I stopped for a bit at the intersection to rest and eat a snack. I rechecked my maps and location. The sun was up and I could tell the difference in temps, especially at that intersection of trail which was not in the tree cover. I double checked my water options, but I was not worried.
I continued on, summiting Third Mountain a short time later. I had cell service so I called to say good morning to my wife and my neighbor Jay, who had hoped to be hiking with me that day. The trail was a fire road at this point with easy footing. The way started to descend Third Mountain and I could catch glimpses of some nice vista through the trees to the west. Without tree cover, there would be some pretty nice views, making this a hike to think about in colder seasons. What was easy to see, was Fourth Mountain towering up nearby. I knew that was going to be the next task once I reached the bottom of the ravine I was heading down into and crossed Fridley Run. Third Mountain had not been too bad and I pretty stoked to hit Fourth Mountain. After crossing Fridley Run, the trail ran along this little stream for a time. I was back in the tree cover of the woods, and in cooler temps (relatively, it had gotten pretty warm at that point). I approached an opening and came on a small boulder field. Pretty neat the way this was just tucked away on the side of the Mountain. Just past this area, the ascent of Fourth Mountain began at a good clip. There was a few switchbacks on the climb which I was happy to see. Still, it was a strong climb and really got the heart pumping! I was able to look over and see Third Mountain and where I had been a little while earlier. The trail turns just below the summit and begins it's descent back down Fourth. There was nice camp site near the beginning of the descent with a well established fire ring. Along the way down I came across another hiker sitting in the middle of the trail, taking a break on his journey up. He was a nice man in his late 50's to early 60's. His completion of the trails there that day marked a miles tone...he had hiked every trail in the Massanutten Mountains. He had been working at it for quite some time. It was great talking with him, and we chatted for about 20 minutes or so before we decided to move on. He warned me about the climb I was facing back up Third Mountain later. I knew it was supposed to be the toughest ascent from the hike description I had printed out.
The trail descended more sharpley, and within about 20 minutes I was down in Fridley Gap and was reunited with Fridley Run. The water looked so inviting! At Fridley Gap I came to a beautiful swimming hole. The trail crossed the Run by having to cross a fallen tree. There was a nice camp site here as well. I had planned on this spot for lunch, and my timing was pretty good. It was about 11:30 when I got there. The swimming hole was picture perfect! A wonderful waterfall flowed into it and the water was about 5 to 6 feet deep. Crystal clear. I took off the boots and donned my Crocs. The water was ice cold but I soaked my feet and legs for a while. It felt fabulous! I ate lunch and then filtered some water to be ready for the return trip. The hiker I ran into had suggested a spring somewhere over Third Mountain, but I did not want to start my last assault of Third Mountain with less than a full supply of water. I also made up and drank some Gatorade. I felt ready to move on. As soon as I hit the trail, the climb started. There was no breaking in period for this one! Not 3 minutes after leaving the Gap, I heard the shouts of a group of younger kids at the swimming hole. I'm glad my time there had not been disturbed by them. The climb was fairly steep, and there were no switchbacks, other than some minor wavering in the trail. Cruel. I was swearing at the builders of the trail. Definite mean streak. As I climbed, I could look over at Fourth Mountain again and see up where I had been. I was glad to have accomplished that. I was going for the water pretty frequently, and had to stop for quick breathers just as often. At one point I thought I was summiting the thing, but it was a cruel trick of the eyes. I finally reached the top after almost 45 minutes. The sun poured through the trees at the top, and it was roasting!! I looked around for the lung I had coughed up getting there. I think I drank almost half my water getting to the top! I took some time to get my wind back, but then moved out. there was little in the way of shade, and the temps were getting pretty hot. I was wishing I was back at the swimming hole again. The descent was not too bad. I was anticipating some weak knees heading down, but I was feeling pretty strong. The trail turned right at Martin's Bottom Trail onto a fire Road. The road was completely exposed to the sun and I baked as I made a steady climb back along Third Mountain towards the intersection I has passed through earlier in the day. I finally reached the intersection and was happy to get back into the tree cover heading back down along Boone's Run. Now I was feeling the fatigue in my legs. I met up with two horseback riders at the intersection heading up to Kaylor Knob. This was a real treat to be behind these smelly animals as they pooped their way along the trail and muddied up the water as they crossed the Run a few times. The bug population was noticeably larger. I was even more ecstatic when I inhaled a couple of the gnats flying about. I secretly rejoiced when one of the horses threw a shoe and the owner was dismayed that they would have to cut their ride short. I held up at a small waterfall in hopes of dosing my head. As I rock hopped toward the falls, my legs got tangled in my trekking poles. I fell forward and caught myself. Unfortunately, one of the poles was bent almost in an "L" shape. I was able to bend it back almost straight, but it's days are numbered. I will use them until I can get a new pair.
Finally, I reached my car. I was very happy with my accomplishment. It had been a wonderful adventure with beautiful scenery. I exited on Cub Run Rd. to avoid the Memorial day festivities in Shenandoah. This road took me out by the Catherine Furnace. I stopped to check this wonderful historical site out. Wonderful history and it seemed to be the icing on the cake for my day. It reminded me of home, where we have a furnace called Beckley Furnace. Great outing!!

Heading back in

Though we have decided to spend the Holiday weekend close to home, I did want to get out at least one day. My plan is to complete the Fridley Gap hike near the town of Shenandoah. This will be a 10.5 miler. There is a spur trail to Kaylor Knob, however this would add 4 more mile to the hike and likely be a bit much with temps expected to get near 90. Some pm thunder showers may happen which would be a welcome cool down. There is a swimming hole at Fridley Gap which may also offer some time to cool off.
I'm looking forward to getting back on the trail and a good work out. There is considerable elevation change on this hike, so some good exercise is in the mix on this. I am hoping to see some rhododendron in bloom, but I may be past that time.
I have stocked up on some nice microbrews and imports for post hike relaxation when I get home.....and while I am getting my pack ready today.

Chip off the ol' hiking boot?

I was rather pleased today when my 6 year old asked me to go hiking. There was grumbling from him last week when I took him to check out the progress of the Potomac National Heritage trail which is being blazed by our house. The trail, unfortunately, is overgrown with poison ivy and is host to a prosperous community of ticks. One nestled, undiscovered for 24 hours, in his belly button resulting in a case of cellulitis and a trip to the pediatricians for evaluation and antibiotics. He is, thankfully, recovered now. Not wanting to squash his desire to get on a trail, we headed out to Red Rock Regional Park 10 minutes away in Leesburg. I donned my boots out of just plain not able to be on a trail without them. A fanny pack loaded with two nalgenes of ice water helped with periods of thirst.
Red Rocks is a wonderful park with numerous trails which, if hiked in their entirety, can make for a few miles of lovely easy hiking in woods. A trail skirts the cliffs overlooking the Potomac River and Maryland across the way. The day was warm and leaves are out in full. Numerous flowers were about. One white flower was quite abundant on bushes. I'm hoping Mike can identify it for me. It is actually quite fragrant and the scent was borne on the occasional cooling breeze.
The trail we took led us down to the flood plain by the Potomac River. The trails to and from the river are quite steep with interesting rock formations and cliffs as the buffer. With the Potomac at normal levels, a trail exists along it's bank. I have seen this area flooded in past hikes and it is quite interesting to see the strength of the river. I let Mason lead the way and let him choose which trails we would hike on. He could not resist climbing back up the trail to the bluffs. The trail is steep enough for a hand over foot scramble. We continued on in and out of ravines and checking out the wonderful overlook onto the Potomac and over into Maryland. The path returning to the parking area from the overlook is loaded with raspberries later in the season. We neared the end at the Parking lot and Mason decided the fun was not over. We explored the old ice house, with me explaining why people used it instead of a refrigerator. Not sure he could comprehend that. We continued along the various paths. Finally I could see that he was losing his bearings enough that he was worried about being lost. I stopped our progress to let him know I knew where we were and then to explain our position. Maps exist for this park, unfortunately, the Park authority has been lacking on replenishing them. We continued to move on with Mason's face lighting up as we intersected with a trail we were on before. He remembered exactly where to go and then took yet another of the trails we had not been on yet. We reached a stream crossing, though the stream was dry at this time. the footbridge spanning the stream bed had taken a direct hit from a falling tree. This elicited a fountain of questions from my son. The questions were anything from why did the tree fall to safety of the bridge to were we ever going to make it back now. We made it across the bridge, which to Mason, was like crossing some forgotten delapitated jungle rope bridge in the Himalayas. I did not mention to my intrepid Sherpa that we could have simply walked across the stream bed. The precarious bridge crossing pretty much sealed the fate of further exploration, and it was on to the car. He was recalling past walks on the trail with pretty good detail now, and he continued to revel in locating the next blaze on a tree to inform me that he was keeping us from getting lost. My hero. Upon reaching the car we high fived for a well done hike. He informed me we had done a good job. It was off to Friendly's Ice Cream for orange sherbert cones. Nice outing.

First Backpack completed

Sorry for this post being so far from the time of the hike it critiques, but work takes up the time and the pics area a pain to add. Still, I enjoy writing about the time, so here it goes.
After months of anticipation, the weekend for my first backpack had finally arrived. Unfortunately, Mike, our hike leader had to cancel due to health concerns. Undaunted, I quickly changed gears and made plans for an overnight pack into the Seneca Creek Backcountry of the Monongahela National Forest in west Virginia. I have wanted to do this pack for a year or so now and was waiting for the opportunity to come up. Now was the time. I hesitated at the drive time of almost 4 hours, but I had to do it. I was very lucky to receive the encouragement from Mari, despite it being Mother's day weekend. I am very lucky.
My pack was ready for Pa., but I added a few extras since I would be alone and VERY far from home. This and the fact that I was going solo on my first pack made me comfortable to carry the extra weight. I use the term "comfortable" loosely since my pack weighed in at a grotesque 40 lbs. I was getting flashbacks to carrying my 40 to 50 lb. Alice pack in the Marines along with my M60 machine gun. The scenery was way different then.
I worked Friday night before leaving on Saturday. The day went from bad to worse and I did not get out early. By the time I got to bed and woke to my alarm at 0400, I had gotten a whopping 3 1/2 hours of sleep. Not a good start. I was very excited for the adventure, none the less, and was up and moving quickly. I was out the door and on the road by 4:45. The trip took longer than anticipated. I lost track of how many mountain ranges I went over. One needs to be really comfortable with their brakes in the downhill countryside of WV. My brakes were smokin' by the time I reached my destination. Destination included a couple of pit stops, with one being to the highest peak in West Virginia, Spruce Knob. As you can see in the first photo; there was a nice path to the tower and trails along the top. As you can also see, the skies were not the most friendly to have with a 13 mile backpack in the plan. Still, wonderful views were to be had despite the gray skies. I continued down the fire road to the trail head. It was about 9:30 by the time I parked. I had lost more time than I wanted. There was also about 6 or 7 other cars already parked, so I worried about getting a real pristine spot. I checked out the info kiosk. There was no cell service (not surprising) and pay phones were a long way away. I would be very much alone out there if I did not run into the other people on the trail. I headed off down the trail at 9:50. Immediately I was noticing how quiet it was save for the birds. The landscape was so different from any other area I had hiked. The trail started as an amazing corridor in with pine tree walls. wonderful color to the landscape. Tom Lick Trail continued up steadily, making for a good dent in my water supply, though I never needed to resort to my outboard bottles. I finally reached the intersection with the Allegheny Mountain Trail and headed north on that. The trail was an old fire road which was clear but full of ruts. Recent rains had made for some pretty deep mud in spots, and more than once I stopped short as one of my trekking poles sunk deep down. I love those poles! Unfortunately, they are already becoming worn and the tips are not replaceable. Will be in need of upgrading them soon. This trail/road, too, had some obstacles, though minor. It certainly would not allow fire equipment in in a hurry. I came on a meadow at the intersection with the Swallowtail Trail. I was startled as I walked across it as the grass all around me seemed to breathe and make a crackling noise. There was no breeze. As I looked closer, it was thousands of crickets moving with my steps. It was pretty cool to see. From here, the clouds started moving in in earnest, and they looked pretty bad. I hoped for just the 30% scattered showers as predicted. This was not to happen.The smell was fabulous! I suppose it all looks the same to most folks who are not bitten with this terrible affliction of getting out for hikes or backpacks. My pace quickened within a few minutes on the trail as I wanted to take in more and more. I had to force my pace down. I made it to the Tom Lick trail 0.9 miles from the car in about 20 minutes. The trail immediately started ascending the mountain side. The grade was not too steep, and I kept a good pace initially. The trail soon became blocked with a downed tree (blow down). This was followed by numerous others and it became frustrating at times to negotiate these. I was not used to carrying the weight I was. The side trails around these obstacles made it painfully clear that trail crews had not visited for quite a while. The sun had come out, and now there was a bit of humidity in the air. The violets and other small wild flowers were plentiful and added A warm breeze picked up and I felt a couple of drops. I stopped at a downed tree to get my pack cover out and get that on the pack. I was hot and it was muggy, so I left my rain jacket in the pack. My pack cover is not new. It belonged to my father and he used it to climb Mt. Orizaba( sp?) in Mexico. I like it though, because it is bright yellow and can be used to identify me during hunting season. Anyway, the drops kept falling. It got harder fast, but it felt good and cooled me down a bit. the rain would slow and stop and then start again. I came upon 3 pack horses and their riders a bit later. I stopped off trail to let them pass. They seemed to be spooked by the yellow pack. The riders were very polite, and had me move ahead. I was well past the Bear Hunter Trail, my last exit point until Horton Trail heading down, when thunder and lightning moved in from out of nowhere. The rain came next and came down hard. Lightning strikes seemed to come faster than I was anticipating, and I realized I needed to be off the ridge line. I kept thinking of stopping and geting my jacket, but I felt in danger and did not want to get anything else wet. My pack was starting to feel heavier, and I worried the pack cover was not holding. I did not think holding up on the top of the mountain was good. The hair on the back of my neck went up, but I did not get lightning strike too close. I finally reached the turn for the Horton Trail. It looked like a pretty significant descent, and the trail hugged the side of the mountain heading down. The drop off from the left of the trail looked menacing. Now little rivers were washing off the mountain over the trail. the rain was coming almost sideways. I have to admit I was ready to hang up my hiking shoes at that point. Mostly though, I felt in danger. The trail was giving away under my feet at times. One flat boulder crossed the trail and was impossible to cross while wet. I had to shimmy around it. Soon after that I came upon a section of trail that had completely washed away leaving about a 8 foot gap in the trail. I had to hug the mountain to get around it! Finally, I came to a rock over hang offering much needed shelter. I got under here and assessed my situation and damage. Thankfully I pulled my cover off to reveal a perfectly dry pack. I felt a great sense of relief. I took my shirt off and got out a towel to dry with. Feeling better. drank a lot of water and ate some gorp. Now I could think clearly. The rain came to a halt, though clouds still did not look friendly. Looking back up the trail, it seemed so inviting. It had been a frightening hike down. I was so grateful for this respite. I started to wonder if I should wait the rains out on the side of the mountain. The the overhang was a godsend, but not what I wanted to sleep in. I also worried about gettin g the rest of the gear wet and then being hypothermic on top of everything. I decided to pack out and complete the entire 13 mile circuit that day and just go home. I packed up my stuff and started back down the trail. Within 10 minutes the rain started back up and came down hard again. I started to hear what was obviously the roar of Seneca Creek below me. I t was comforting, in a way, to hear it because it gave me a reference to how far I had come. I knew I was only a few hours away from the car now. The rain was bad. I came to the creek to find that the trail crossed over the creek. No bridge. No way to go over rocks. My feet and boots were so wet now, I just crossed the creek. I undid my waist belt and faced up river. I had read that this was the appropriate way of crossing. The water was cold and over my knees. I was worried about flash flooding! The other side was easily gained, however, and another rock overhang was there for shelter. I sat here and ate gorp. I realized now I had covered in 4 1/2 hours what was supposed to take nearly 7. I no sooner sat down than the sun came out and rain stopped. It was still a bit chilly, but I found it was because I was wet. I was next to a beautiful campsite. The nicest I had ever seen. I smelled smoke and worried about a lightning strike having caused a fire. It was just a couple of guys fishing by a beautiful waterfall (Seneca Falls). They had a fire going under the overhang there. I headed up from the falls to yet another beautiful camp site. It was here that I decided to set camp and dig in for the rest of the night. I knew I had more stream crossings and could not count on the weather. I figured I would run the risk of hypothermia if I didn't get dry and warm. And so it was. I set to the task of getting shelter established, drying off and making ready for a night out. I took twigs and dried them on the rocks that were warming in the now bright sun, hoping to be able to make a fire later on. I got the tent up and pad and bag ready to stay in for warmth. It was good to concentrate on this stuff. I exploded my pack to review all check out my gear. The sun started to fade and I knew I was in for some more weather. All in all, I was feeling pretty happy with my decision to stay. With the tent up, I felt confident I could stay warm and dry. My campsite was beautiful with a waterfall cascading down from the mountainside into Seneca Creek. This then slowed at a little pool before going over a smaller fall past my tent and then over Seneca Falls a bit beyond that. The noise of the water was wonderful and I knew it would help me sleep at night. The rain began, and I put all the twigs and branches i was drying under my tent's rain fly. I laid down and started reading. Next thing I knew, I was waking up about an hour and a half later. Rain was over and the sun was trying to come out out. I got the twigs out and started the fire. It took a bit of doing, but a small flame turned into a decent campfire and then into a downright warm fire that lasted me through until I went to bed at 10:00 that night. I started drying out my shoes and some of my clothes. My fire got the best of me and I ended up burning my underwear, socks and my hiking boots. Not bad, but enough to let me know I was producing some good heat. I heated water and had some nice hot soup and made myself a curried chicken sandwich. I use those packs of chicken from the grocery store. efficient and easy to use. Good taste and filling. I felt really good about my decision to stay and was actually feeling pretty proud of myself for what I was accomplishing. The night passed away with the stars coming out and just the wonderful sound of water falling over the rocks. An Outward bound-kind of class had set up camp down from me at Seneca Falls, but I never heard them. One of their counselors came by to ask me if they could use my site in the am if I was leaving. The kids were getting ready to do their solo camping test. I talked with the counselor for a while. He was very nice. It was nice to talk with someone for the first time all day! I settled back at the fire for a bit and then turned in. I woke about 1 am to thunder and just secured the rainfly and went back to bed. Next time I woke, it was chilly, not raining and 6:30 in the morning. I got up and filtered some more water for breakfast. I made coffee and had some blueberry granola cereal. It was a "Backcountry Pantry" brand cereal and was not bad. I added a couple of packets of honey to it and it was a tasty start to the day. I should have added hot water to it for a warm breakfast. I then made sure the fire was out. Still some coals smoldering! I packed everything up and was on the trail just before 8 and heading toward the car. The trail meandered along Seneca Creek the whole way out. It was beautiful, but 3 more stream crossings awaited me. This time I stopped and used my camp shoes. Worth the hassle of changing in and out of the boots to keep dry feet. The ice cold water was a real wake up!! One stream I crossed by rock hopping, but the other two were knee deep. I passed too many waterfalls and gorgeous campsites to count. Little streams flowed everywhere. The green of Spring was beautiful! I was surprised I had not seen any critters hanging around the water. I came by a side of a canyon-like area that was full of rhododendron. I can only imagine what it would be like to see it all in bloom. I was a little sore from the previous day, but I felt pretty good as I got warmed up. I passed a meadow that had a few groups of campers. The campers were milling about their sites trying to get started for the day. They all looked pretty soggy from the rains as well. I was glad to be on the trail already. The trail was essentially flat and just followed Seneca Creek back towards the car. As I got closer to my starting point, I started getting into the pine forests again. At one point the pines made a darkened corridor and seemed to act as a soundproofed area. It was pretty neat how the density was enough to dim the noise from the creek. I was soon at the intersection for the Tom Lick Trail, my starting point day before. From there it was about a mile to the car. I had forgotten that the trail had descended to this point on my way in. I was getting a last minute workout getting back up the hill to the car. At last the car and parking area came into view. I felt so good having completed the trip! I started getting the gear off and checking out how shabby I was looking. Not too haggard for the adventure. I fared pretty well if I do say so myself. I loaded up the car and headed back up the mountain to Spruce Knob. The sun was out in full force and the temp warming up. Sure, now it gets nice. I checked out the views again at the peak and looked back on the area I had just come from. Took it all in and headed back home feeling very satisfied. I'll do it again.

The weekend that was

I admittedly went into last weekend with certain expectations from it. Certainly, I came away from it, still smiling and quite happy with the time spent with the boys. The weekend, however, did not go as planned.
The forecast all week had been for marvelous weather through Sunday. Not extremely warm, but comfortable none the less. I am quite sure I checked it Friday morning, but perhaps I last checked on it the night before. Either way, someone failed meteorology and the forecast was actually made from a fortune cookie brought forth from someone's butt. Sunny skies Friday morning gave way to clouds as we set up camp in Luray and spiraled downward from there. I digress.
We arrived at the Jellystone Campground in Luray about 1:30 Friday. Still fairly nice out. Mason and I enjoyed the views over the Shenandoah National park as we headed west on Rt 211 into Luray. Matt had fallen asleep so was oblivious to the wilderness around us. The campground looked clean and well kept as it always has. There were few campers and we were the first tent campers. Checking in provided an opportunity for Mason and Matthew to inform me that they wanted pretty much everything in the camp store.
We were shown the way to our site by the "ranger". I must say the staff have always been very friendly. Our site was one of the "primitive" tent sites, and we were certainly away from any other campers. Unloading the car was easy and the boys played around to allow me to get it done without interruption. They were discovering ants and other bugs in the woods by the site. I had the boys help with our tent. I am able to get this tent set up solo, but I try to give the boys "chores" in camp. Their help does make it easier. With little fuss, the site was made ready. No sweat. Temps still great, but bugs were more plentiful than I was expecting. A little "OFF" kept us comfortable. Skies were cloudy enough now, that I put up the rainfly. I had hoped that this was not going to be needed this weekend.More campers started to arrive. Many had rented the cabins at the campground. I finally saw another tent go up. I had started feeling out of place.
The boys and I spent the remainder of the day checking out the campground. The theme for the weekend was the "Jellystone 500" which was to include making your own box cars an dracing them, and then racing your R/C cars ona track the staff was to set up at the pavilion. This was to occur on Saturday, however. I brought the card game "Uno" and thought the boys would like that. Wasn't happening. Mason decided looking at his books was more enjoyable. I ended up lighting the a Citronella lantern that was on a bamboo post. The mayflies were getting pretty thick. This worked remarkably well. I would use them again. I suggested we go to the playground, and the boys were thrilled. I brought some brochures I picked up in the camp store and we were off. They were very happy to see other kids, and I wished we were camping in a group. Either way, the boys were having fun. would have made the boys happy as well. After a while, we headed back to the site for dinner. Now, I am really pretty good about teaching the boys about safety with campfires, and being careful with things around camp. I try to instill some safety conscience into them when I can. I will also now refer you back to my lighting of the citronella lantern. Yes, I had left it going. Matthew was talking as we approached the camp and suddenly said, " Our candle fell over". The lantern had burned down and burned the stick. This had now fallen over and scorched about a one foot diameter area and was till burning in another. You will notice in the camp photo that we were under pine trees. There were pine needles thickly spread on the ground. How the whole area did not go up, I can't tell. I casually stamped the fire out and explained to the boys "we" The playground also offers some nice views up to the Shenandoah National Park, and I found myself wondering if a little jaunt in the woods needed to be more careful. I quickly went to the cooler and opened a beer. The cooler was then placed over the burnt area so Yogi and the Ranger wouldn't haul my butt away for being such a dumb ass. Dinner went by with the boys fussing over pretty much anything I offered them. I was determined to let it go. Another bottle of beer helped. I got the campfire going and went to get the fixin's for S'mores. No graham crackers. I used the animal crackers to grab the hot , melting marshmallows. The burning to my fingers was sufficient punishment for that blunder. I did not go to the cooler again for a beer. Mistakes were piling up enough that I would have to drink my supply of beer the first night if things continued as they were. Instead, we started ghost stories. The stories coming from a 4 and a 6 year old are actually quite amusing at times. Soon it was off to bed. the boys have always been fine in the tent and they were sleeping in no time. I got to try out my new 20 degree mummy bag. I was a little too toasty at night until I left the side open, then I did fine.
Morning came in pretty gray. I had a feeling it was not going to clear at this point. The boys had not moved all night. They were all cozy in the nest of sleeping bags I made them. I got my coffee going and all seemed right in the world. As I went to get the pancake mix, the thought came to me that I had not packed butter or syrup. I eyed the beer cooler.....nah. I got the eggs and sausage ready and thought up my speech at how great it would be to save the pancakes for Sunday before leaving. After breakfast, we washed the dishes and headed down to the camp store for graham crackers, butter and syrup, worms, and check the prices on beer to see how much it was going to cost me to manage further problems on this day. I had promised fishing, and so it was. The boys eagerly watched as I opened the containers of "Canadian Night Crawlers" Alas the Canadian worms did not survive the trip across the border, and all that was left was lines of mold where their bodies had been. Ewww!! was the general chorus from the boys. It was nasty. I was graciously given a new container with new and improved canuck worms. Baiting the hooks was , of course, left to me. Eyes were wide as the hooks pierced the worms. Matt was looking for blood. Mason and Matt both got nibbles on the first cast, with Mason landing a real "whopper" of a Sunfish. Matt remained unlucky, however he also lost interest to some boulders that were ripe for climbing. Thankfully, the worms ran out, and I was able to finally clean my hands from the worm massacre. We returned to camp to put things away. The camp crafts period started, so I took the boys there. The daily craft is free, right up my alley. It is free because it probably costs about 15 cents in supplies and lasts about a half hour. Mason was hoping to get the $15 ceramic dolphin to paint and the $10 T-shirt to color....not happening. Tears flowed. Time for lunch and a beer. Clouds getting darker. After lunch we discovered the the box car derby required a team of five to participate in. Way to publish details , people. Tears again. Smiles were back with the announcement I would take the boys to play mini golf ( I had 2 beers with lunch). Mason actually got a hole in one on the first hole. I was shocked. I shot a 4. Matt around 25. Luckily we were the only ones at the course. Matthew was trying to keep his score below 1000. I don't think it worked. The rain started around the 16th hole. Just light, but I had a bad feeling. Play finally ended with Matt accidentally walking off with his club and having to turn around and return it. The rain was becoming more steady and we quickened our pace back to the tent. By the time we got there, I was scrambling to get things thrown in the car and the boys in the tent without getting the inside of the tent wet or muddy. I did not bring the canopy and I left the chairs out. I will not do that again. Everything to sit on was wet afterwards. From now on, the canopy goes up, no matter what the forecast.
The rain lasted a few hours. Matt and I got a nap in, and Mason was content listening to the rain and looking at his nature books. we played games initially, but it deteriorated to seeing who could make farting noises with their hand and armpit. I'm not proud. The rain finally ended. The R/C car race was a thought, until I saw that the R/C cars people had did about 50mph and had tires bigger than the van's. The rain had it's reward, however, by leaving a beautiful sight of clouds up in the mountains. The splendor was lost on the boys. Hopes did increase when I realized it was time for the wagon ride with Yogi. We had to run. Matt was not happy. We made the ride just in time. What joy! Mason was more interested in people watching and Matt was still unhappy. The young lad to the right of Yogi in the picture was just effusing happiness and love. I'm still perplexed by the diva to the left of Yogi.
Finally, the day was drawing to a close and I could occupy myself with getting dinner. Hotdogs, kielbasa, 2 different side salads, fruit Jello. I thought I was a shoe-in. Not to be. Both boys were pretty picky and ate little. They were saving room for S'mores and candy. After dinner we went down to the theater for a board game of racing which one submitted a candy bar to pick the winning "horse". Ahhh betting on races; now that is what I wanted to get the kids into. we turned in our 3 candy bars and lost every single bet..er .. pick. Mason wanted money to buy soda and whatever the other machines in the room offered. The pain of that little experience soon ended and we were heading back to camp. I promised a roaring campfire and yummy S'mores. I had shelled out yet more money for campfire wood. The fire was lit and roaring, much as I was wishing I was at that point, and I started to unload supplies. The rain started again. steady right off the bat. I got the wood in the van since I was still sweating from splitting it. We retired to the tent again. no going out. Pajamas were put on and the need to pee before bedtime was universally denied ( you know where I am going with that right?). the rain stopped before I fell asleep. At 3 am I awoke to rain starting,, but more importantly to the distinct drop in temperature and very powerful odor of urine. I was dry. I did the automatic grab for Matt's crotch...yup...soaked. But wait, there's more! Mason, too, had wet the sleeping bag. I now had to children who would get hypothermic from cold temps and being in wet clothes. I dutifully headed to the van in my boxers to retrieve dry sleeping bags and clothes for the boys. Now I was getting wet and cold. Soon all was made right and the boys were cozy and warm. I got back in my bag and realized it was getting quite windy. The noise was becoming a roar in the trees. soon the tent wall was blowing in and snapping back up fairly frequently. I awaited the cries of fear from the kids. Finally Matt cried briefly. "What's the matter?" I asked. "I don't want pizza!" was the reply. He was dreaming. That was the last noise from him. I finally fell asleep around 5 am to cool temps and clean smelling air. it was actually very comfortable. I woke an hour or so later with the sun shining on me and crystal clear skies. Temp now 40 degrees. I let the boys sleep. I wanted to get a fire going for their warmth when they got up. I got the coffee going. I discovered it was decaf as I was pouring it. My mood was less than adequate. I got the boys up and considered just throwing everything in the van and going to a restaurant and ordering everything possible. I did not and became determined to make a good breakfast for the boys. Pancakes were a hit! Matt ate 3 stacks. Mason one stack and 4 sausages. It made my day! The breakfast over, it was time to clean up. The weekend was over. Despite it all, the boys were sad to leave. I was happy with that, and felt I had done it right after all. And so, we packed up. The sun was shining and it was about 57 degrees. It was a gorgeous day just in time for leaving. Mistakes? sure, but it was agreat weekend. Can't wait to go again! In summation I taught the kids to play cards, bet on races, and make farting noises with their hands and armpit. Priceless.

the guys go campin'

With Mari heading to Jersey and a beautiful weekend shaping up, I will be taking the boys for the first camping of the season. A little cool but not bad. That's what campfires are for. I made reservations for a primitive camp site at the Jellystone Campground in Luray. We have been there a few times and have always enjoyed it. Lots of things for the kids to do. The price of $35 per night kills me since Elizabeth Furnace is only $10 a night. I have to, however, remember that the boys do not fine endless hiking, sweating and catnapping on a rock fun. Later perhaps. So in the meantime, crafts, chasing bugs, and eating horrible things that will make us all have heart disease is on the plate for the weekend. Hmmmm....Sounds cool!!

White Oak Canyon Hike

I'm finally getting down to reviewing the White Oak canyon hike from the 29th. Other than not having the water filter, everything came together nicely. I was up at 4 a.m. and eager to get going. I was packed thoroughly other than getting the water bottles out of the freezer and packing the tortillas for lunch. The water bottles were a bit of a problem. I had not left enough room for expansion with freezing, and the ice had risen above the rims. I had to leave the tops open in the car until the ice had melted enough to close the lids on. The water bladder was fine.
I was on the road by 5 and heading southwest towards the Shenandoahs. By 6:00 I was just east of them outside of Sperryville. In the dim light of dawn I could make out The Shenandoah Mountains and my objective for the day. The view was beautiful even in the early morning light. I felt like I was about to wake up a sleeping giant. I reached my destination at 6:30. The parking lots were empty except for one lone car that looked like it had likely been parked overnight. The Ranger station was still closed. The air was cool in the upper 40's to low 50's, I guess. The air smelled wonderful and I could easily hear water flowing in a stream nearby. I filled out my entrance pass, and actually got an annual pass since I knew I would be back again a couple of times. Single passes are now $10 and the annual is $30. I do not intend on missing Fall colors here again this year.I headed out on trail at 6:50. I decided, with clear skies showing and a good weather forcast, that I would leave my pack cover and rain jacket behind. I immediately crossed a bridge with a lovely stream and was welcomed , by sign, to the Shenandoah National Park. The trail was well worn and blue blazes started right away. The trail turned west paralleling the stream up the White Oak Canyon Trail. I was delighted at the stream which was at a perfect level and cascading over various rocks and forming little pools. I was in for a lot more! As I walked along I caught a glimpse of something.I still can't make sense of it. Now, even if someone took the time to balance that rock, it is still pretty amazing that it remained standing. I'm pretty sure the rock was different than the base. If it was left there by some other way, I can't figure it out. I did not want to touch it out of fear of knocking it over. The trail gradually became more steep, but not bad. Not more than a half hour into the hike, I heard the increasing roar of water ahead. I knew I was in for something good, but I was delighted by what I saw. White Oak canyon's Lower falls came into view through he trees. I remember saying "No waaaay". Sure enough, I came upon the falls. A small sign indicating the lower falls seemed to be trying to reinforce what I was seeing. The water was a perfect level for flow over the rocks. The pools were not too high to discourage walking out into the middle for a nice head on view. I am not a powerful writer, so I certainly can not do the site justice. A picture can not ad the feeling of the air, the sound of water crashing on the rocks, or the smell of wet and the spring time woods. It is times like these that I am so profoundly happy to be able to experience. I can only hope that my attempts at sharing them gets people to go out and see what may be out there for them.
I got a few pics here and continued on. The stream was forever forming one waterfall after another. To try and capture everything was impossible. The trail was lined with wild flowers, such as the pink and whiteTrillium (?) pictured here. Truly, it became frustrating at wanting to photograph everything I was experiencing, and realizing I was going to start losing hiking time if I kept up that line of thought. I became more focused and got to the task of making my ascent up White Oak canyon. I was on the shady side of the canyon heading up which made for cooler temps. I started hoping for some sun to hit the trail. The other side of the trail was nice and sunny and looked very inviting. I pressed on and was working up quite a sweat, but started to make good time. I stopped to look back a few times and some pleasant views were the reward. It was always easy to tell I was gaining height at a pretty good clip. I was glad I was not heading down again. I stopped at one point as I had worn out the batteries in the camera. I was at an edge of a rock on the trail overlooking yet another waterfall.I took that opportunity to snack on some Gorp and Beef Jerky. The gorp had banana chips, dried pineapple, peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, toasted sunflower seeds, peanuts, and cheerios in it. Yummm. I continued up the canyon only to find one new interesting site after another. I had been hitting it for a good hour and a half or so when I came across a little wake up call. The sign, I believe, is posted for those intrepid adventurers coming down from the heights above. None the less, it served to help me focus on the day ahead, and what was still to come. I was pretty stoked about the day and pushed on. I didn't focus on the fact that I still had about 8 or 9 miles to go. Shortly I came to the next major falls, and one of the highest in the park. Gorgeous view from a cliff and outcropping looking down onto the falls. I could have sat there all day to take it in. How wonderful that someone put that there for me to see!! Seriously, it is a wonderful site to be able to see. As I climbed, the foliage was less dense, and Spring seemed to lose some of it's grasp. I was in the sun, but I could see gray clouds up towards the summit. I began to worry about my decision to leave my rain gear behind. I reached the intersection with the Limberlost trail and ran into the first hiker I had seen all morning. Within minutes i saw more hikers and a group of horseback riders. It seemed awkward at first, but I knew I was in tourist territory. Before I knew it I arrived at the top and crossed Skyline Drive at Skyland. I had thought I would not be at that point until around noon. It was also another half mile to the main visitor area. The weather was now windy and raw. I was cold from a sweaty shirt and I had converted my hiking pants to shorts earlier, increasing my cold. I decided to just push on South down the AT. I thought I had not gone through that much water and decided to not replenish. Lesson learned. I ran out of water in my hydration bladder about 20 minutes later. I still had some ice in it and I had not touched my outboard bottles. I kept moving down the AT with some occasional rises and dips that kept me chugging. Water poured from numerous little crannies in the rocks and looked so inviting. I just took sips from the melting ice in the bladder, waiting for my lunch stop. At one point I thought I had missed the spur trail to Betty's Rock, but was just having wishful thinking about how far I had gone. The trail was kind of dark with the clouds, and yet I could see the sunny warm valley far below to the west. I was getting cold despite a good pace. I needed food to feel better. A little sun would have helped too. After a mile or two, I made it to the spur trail up to Betty's Rock. The sun was coming out more often, but the wind had picked up. I was psyched to reach this, essentially, half way point in the hike and take a much needed rest and lunch. The sun faded again on top of Betty's Rock and the wind was whipping pretty hard. The panorama that was offered from the summit did not disappoint. From ridge lines to the north in the park, sweeping west to the valley and up to New Market gap and Massanutten Mountains, to the south, where Hawksbill Mountain loomed about a mile away. Hawksbill is the highest point in the Shenandoah National Park. I took in all there was to see and headed back down the spur trail to Cresent Rock Overlook. A parking area for visitors to see the sites from. I took refuge along the parking area along a stone low wall. There I sat down and exploded my pack to make lunch take stock of my water supply, and rest. I had packets of gatorade which I added to one of the water bottles. I wanted some electrolytes. I added the other water bottle to the hydration bladder which still had about a 100cc's left in it. I put the pant legs back on my hiking pants as well. After about a half hour, I got back on the AT ans soon came to the parking area for Hawksbill Mountain trail. I briefly considered hiking to that summit as well, but there were hikers pouring up that trail, and I was starting to worry about water supply. I crossed Skyline Drive again and began the descent down Cedar Run Trail. Within minutes the eastern side of the mountain weather was evident again. It was quite warm, and the wind was almost gone. Back into shorts again!
The descent was not too harsh. I seemed to cope with the slope better than in the past. A couple of loose rocks caused some alarm at times, but I did not embarrass myself. Just above Half Mile Cliff I stopped to rest on a flat rock by the stream. A 20 minute catnap was just what I needed. The cold stream water was calling me and I couldn't resist splashing my face in it a couple of times and wetting my bandanna to keep me cooled off. I also came by a portion of the stream known as "The Slide". The picture makes it's meaning obvious. Half Mile Cliff was visible on the opposite side of the Cedar Run after this for a while. Incredible rock formations also came into view. A couple of the crossings over Cedar Run were a bit confusing, but probably more than they needed to be due to a bit of fatigue. I was also behind a couple that were hiking. We kept leap frogging each other on the path. I did not want to disturb their hike any more than I wanted mine disturbed. My pace got thrown off when I think about it now.
Finally, as I drank the last of my water, I arrived at the ranger station and my car at 2:30. I had left here about 7 and a half hours and 11.1 miles earlier. I was so thrilled with my trek! What a great outing. I immediately started thinking of a return hike in the fall to take in the colors then. White Oak Canyon trail just to the lower falls or half way up, would be a most rewarding hike for anyone. I was tired riding home, but so full of a sense of accomplishment. Can't wait for the next hike!