Tibbet Knob and 200 miles!

Earlier this month (Nov. 3 and 4) I headed out to the Wolf Gap Recreation Area for a weekend backpack near Big Schloss in the George Washington National Forest that I had signed up for much earlier this year. I was very anxious for the weekend for a couple of reasons.
One of those reasons was I knew I was going to reach another goal of 200 miles hiked for the year. When 2007 started out, I was hoping to reach 150 miles. I was skeptical about reaching even that goal when I injured my knee and surgery followed. My wife's and my work schedules as nurses, and keeping up with our active 5 and 6 year olds, certainly did not lend itself to attaining that goal. As the year went on, however, I started to look at going for 200 miles.
I had decided that I would leave very early and get in a morning hike before meeting the group at noon. I wanted to do this, as I wanted to cross the 200 mile mark solo, as I hike solo 99% of the time. Weird, maybe, but this is how I wanted to do it. I had decided to reach my goal by grabbing Tibbet Knob that morning. It's a little over 3 miles out and back and Tibbet Knob offers a gorgeous view. I reached Wolf Gap Recreation Area just after 8 am. There was heavy frost everywhere. Some campers had braved the weather and the fire ban, and had tented the previous night. they looked miserable. I decided to focus on my immediate goal, rather than the vision of me as a purple Popsicle in my mummy bag later that nigh or the following morning.
I headed off on the trail to Tibbet Knob with my hip pack and my trekking poles. I wanted to stay as light as possible, and really did not need much else. I warmed up pretty easily with my layered clothing and hat and mittens. I also had a set of air activated hand warmers in my mittens. Great little things. I felt comfortable and the morning was crystal clear. Numerous gun shots made me glad I had brought my blaze orange vest. The trail is well blazed, and is a steady, but easy climb right off the bat. The first view to the east is only about 15 to 20 minutes up the trail. After this view, there is a decent into a trough before a steeper climb to Tibbet Knob. Tibbet Knob sits on a part of the Great North Mountain, which I would be ascending later in the day as well with the group. The assault up the mountain out of the trough is steeper, and offers a pretty good workout. Switchbacks are nicely placed. Fallen leaves made for some slippery footing at times. More so on the way down. Near the top, the trail becomes a two phased rock scramble. The initial scramble is not too severe, and is short lived before entering back into some woods for a bit. The next scramble is up some pretty impressive rock formations, and trekking poles are essentially worthless, as both hands are needed to assault the rocks. After the second scramble, it is a quick jaunt to the overlook. I had been here about a year and a half earlier, and still think this is one of the prettiest overlooks. This time, it was sweeter, as it was also my 200th mile! It was really a wonderful moment for me. I sat and gazed at the view, and reflected back at all I had seen this year. I also felt so very thankful that my family had enabled me to reach this goal. It was truly a special moment. I think it is likely trivial to most, whether because they do not hike, or because they hike much more than I. However, to me it was a personal accomplishment that I was thrilled to experience.
As nice as it was, it was cold and I needed to get back so I could rest, warm up, and get something to eat before heading out on the back pack at noon. I did not want to rush and risk an injury before the "main event". So after an apple and some water, I began the trek back down. As I mentioned earlier, the leaves on the ground made for some slippery footing. My poles checked a fall more than once as I headed back down into the trough. The day was brighter, and there was still some nice Fall colors in the trees. I moved at a pretty good clip, feeling pretty satisfied with gaining a summit early in the morning before heading out on another hike. I briefly thought of gearing up at the car and hiking over to the group from my current location. I was able to realize I was getting too cocky and quickly nixed the idea. I made it back to my car by 10:15. Plenty of time to spare. I decided to take a trip back into Woodstock and celebrate with a nice hearty breakfast before meeting the group at noon.