Hiking in the Shenandoahs - Final Day

Sunday, 6/15/14

I woke up around 6:45, listening to the birds, again, shouting out to each other. It was a chilly night, and I found myself cinching down the drawstring on the hood of my sleeping bag further and further. I did have a not-so-passing thought of the long-sleeved shirt and lightweight long underwear that I left at home. "It's warm! Why would I need a hat and long underwear?". Again, the old adage is proved correct - the biggest gear snafus often occur when clear weather is in the forecast.

As before, I packed up camp and cooked up my breakfast. I had just enough fuel left for a mug of coffee and my grits. While there are quicker options for breakfast, I enjoy starting my day with a hot cup of coffee and warm cereal.

The hike back up the trail was beautiful. After a cool, dry evening the trail felt like it had a bit of spring in its step. About 30 minutes into my hike I met up with a lady walking her two dogs. We chatted about the park, her dogs, and the fact that she saw a bear the previous morning. I had never seen a bear in the park, though I wasn’t surprised to hear about a bear sighting near a popular campsite.

With this discussion in mind I continued on up the trail. 20 minutes later I had my own moment with a black bear. As I walked northbound on the AT I heard a branch break off to my left, and saw a dark shape. Excited at the thought of seeing a bear, I slowed my pace and then stopped abruptly. Off to my left, about 50 feet from the trail, stood a full grown black bear. He turned around to look at me, just as I had stopped to look at him. For a moment we just watched each other, unsure of what to do. I clapped loudly, once, as I heard that noise and disturbance would scare off the local bruins. Thankfully, the bear was more interested in wild berries and moved off to the west.

The remainder of my hike continued with occasional sightings of through hikers getting back on the trail, or young families out for a brief walk with the kids. I returned to my car by 10:45 in the morning, thankful for clear skies and a nice breeze. Two and a half days of backpacking, which started with clouds and rain and ended with clear skies and a nice breeze.

Trip Review:

So we come to the point in the discussion where I review what worked and what didn’t work.

Kitchen:The cooking kit, using an alcohol stove, worked very well. It was lightweight and efficient. And while I had enough fuel for the trip, I ended the trip with no fuel left over. I achieved this by skimping on my cooking process on Saturday, which leads me to plan on bringing a larger fuel bottle next time.

Tent: I borrowed a lightweight North Face tent from a colleague - the Tadpole. At around 4 pounds, the tent was an excellent option for this trip, and easy to set-up.

Sleeping bag: I brought my summer mummy bag (Wiggy's), which was fine. It would have worked a tad better on Saturday had I brought some warmer sleep clothes, but whatever.

Pad: This trip I tested out a Big Agnes Air Core inflatable pad, which was very comfortable. While it took a few minutes to inflate, I found it very comfortable for sleeping and sitting. This is a very comfortable pad, though for cold weather I may switch back to my therm-a-rest for the insulation value.

(stock photo)

Pack: My REI Crestrail continues to be as comfortable as ever, though I need to continue to adjust the shoulder straps as I get a slight bit of chaffing on the front of my shoulders.

Rope: For the future I plan on bringing a second line of cord for laundry lines and/or guyout lines. Friday night I set up my bear bag before I realized that I wanted to set up a laundry line. And, as the bear bag line was challenging to set, I opted to drape my clothes on the surrounding trees.

Food: My dinners consisted of pre-cooked chicken and rice, which was inexpensive and filling, but rather heavy and a bit bland. Truthfully, it tasted a lot better in the kitchen. For future trips I will look at diversifying my menu to include vegetables and the use of minute rice, as well as using bouillon cubes or gf soup mixes to add flavor to an otherwise bland diet.

The small sized boxed wine I brought along was a very pleasant addition to the trip. Having a glass of wine with dinner was a nice way to enjoy the summer evening. While heavy, I think this sort of weight is okay, at least for a short trip.

The one food aspect I want to address is dessert. While I had M&Ms for Friday night, Saturday night I came up short. In the future I will plan on having some sort of chocolate or candy for the second night.

Clothes: My hiking clothes worked very well on this trip. I wore all synthetic clothes, except for my merino wool light hiking socks. While I got very damp and sweaty on the trail, my clothes dried off very quickly.

I wore my old Merrell boots on this trip, and had no issues with blisters or food pain. Unfortunately, I also had no traction on the trail, and slipped on muddy or slick spots on the trail. At some point I will need to purchase a new pair, though I expect to be able to survive the summer with what I have.

Hiking in the Shenandoahs - Day 2

Saturday, 6/14/14

(Honestly, I should probably just call this trip 'Napping in the Shenandoahs...')

I woke up to the birds all yelling at each other. I have to believe they were saying something more than “Hi! Hi! How are you! Hi! Good! Its not raining! No, its not! Hi!....”

My breakfast was my standard trail option - grits with cheese, though this time I brought baby bell cheese. As I ate breakfast I waived hello to a couple of folks hiking through in the early am. After breakfast I went down to the stream to pump more water, when one of the hikers came back down to talk with me. She was retired, and we chatted about the trails and the area. Again, turns out she didn’t have a map of the area (?!?) and so I got her oriented before I set off for my day. And unlike day one, today I didn’t have to start then stop then turn around etc…

At 9:15, with sleep and a hot meal under my belt, I set off at a brisk pace. Lunchtime walking buddies from an old job referred to this as my going at Warp speed, but whatever. The bigger issue was that by 10:30, I’d already reached what I thought would be my halfway point. Hmm. After some thought, I realized that I’d need to rethink my route for the day. Looking at the map and calculating my options, I chose to hike back to where I parked on day one, so as to hop onto the AT southbound for a few miles. I ran across several through hikers who were northbound - through hikers are easy to spot, as they’re a little worn around the edges and hiking very quickly. Its not uncommon for through hikers to put in 20 - 25 miles per day on the AT, and the folks I walked past looked like they were in full stride for the day.

Again, by 1:30 I was at a point on the trail where I figured would occur much later in the day. However, for the first time, the stone markers in SNP didn't indicate the trail I wanted (Jeremys Run Trail), even though I was standing at the head of the trail. I sat down for a moment to eat some food and take stock of my day. It was sort of a Gandalf moment, as a few moments later a group of hikers came along, led by a guide. Turns out this was someone from REI leading their backpacker basics class. I chatted with the guide for a bit, and he confirmed that I was, in fact, at Jeremys Run. They moved on while I finished my lunch. Even with a healthy head start, I caught up with them in a few minutes, and found my Saturday night campsite just a few minutes after that.

Even though I found my spot a little sooner than I anticipated, this gave me a chance to set up a laundry line to dry out all my clothes and gear. There was a cool breeze blowing, and the sun was streaming down through the leafy canopy. After a few minutes I re-attached the legs to my convertible hiking pants. As crazy as it sounds, I was getting a little chilly. Eventually I even added a second shirt.

With the gear dried out, I set up the tent and took a short nap.

Now that all the gear and clothes were dried up I took down the laundry line in favor of setting up my bear bag. I would like to say that of all the activities involved with backwoods camping, setting up the bear bag line over a high tree branch is my least favorite.

Dinner was day two of the chicken and rice, along with the second and final cup of wine. While I had dessert on Friday night (M&Ms), Saturday night I was left without. So, note to self: always pack dessert for each night. After dinner I did the dishes, and packed the pot, mug, remaining food and assorted toiletries into the bear bag and hung that up high on a tree branch.

As I was flying solo, and had camp pretty much stowed away, I spent some time writing up notes on the trip and then turned out the lights early. And by turning out the lights, I mean falling asleep watching the sunlight on the tops of the trees as the valley turned to dusk. I slept without the rain fly on the tent, enjoying the light breeze.

Hiking in the Shenandoahs - Day 1

Here is the beginning of a travelogue for my most recent trip in Shenandoah National Park.

Friday, June 13, 2014

Flip flops remain the best idea for this trip, though I am giving serious considerations to a camp chair…

I arrived at Shenandoah National Park (SNP) around 10:30am. I bought an annual pass for the park, as I suspected I’d be visiting the park a few more times this year. I opted to check in at Dickey Ridge visitor center for my backcountry camping permit, as I wanted to get a better feel for the trail conditions from the rangers. Going into the trip I suspected that the stream crossings might be more tenuous than usual, so I brought old sneakers to wear if I had to wade across a particularly swollen crossing. The ranger appreciated that I was thinking about this, and said that a couple of the crossings might require wading.

As I said, I chose to check in with the rangers at Dickey Ridge visitor center, as they were supposed to know a lot about the trail conditions. And while I’m not convinced it was necessary for me to check in with the Rangers, it did set me on my path for the day.

I drove south on skyline drive for 15 miles, alternately enjoying the wonderful views and eyeing the increasingly dark storm clouds. My plan was to park at the Hogsback Overlook, and set off down the AT from there. Sure enough, at mile 21 I found the overlook, pulled over and parked the car. I took a few minutes to gear up and get organized. A brief shower swept across the ridge, which I weathered in the back of the car, lacing up my boots. In retrospect, I should have realized this for the warning indicator that it was. Alas, while I covered my pack with a rain cover, I kept my own rain gear stored securely in my pack.

There. I had my boots on, swung the pack onto my back, and set off on my weekend. Immediately I met someone heading northbound, and we exchanged greetings in stride. And after 50 yards, I arrived at the parking lot for the trail-head, which is where I needed to park instead of at the overlook. So I turned off the imaginary soundtrack in my mind (think Indiana Jones), turned around, and went back to my car. Just ridiculous.

Five minutes later, having moved my car, swung my pack on for a second time, I set off for my solo weekend on the trail. I started on the AT for about ⅓ of a mile, then turned right onto the Tuscarora Trail, heading West. As I hiked I was serenaded by low rumbles of thunder, which didn’t seem particularly worrisome.

Ten minutes down the Tuscarora trail I met up with two teenage boys who were surprisingly polite and, as it turned out, quite lost. Or, if not completely lost, were at a loss for which trail they needed to be on in order to get back to their car. And I am who I am. So I stopped, pulled out my map (“Wow, mister. You have a map?!?”) and explained to them where we were, and which trail to take. And when we got to their trail, I proceeded to walk them down this side trail to their car. And while I didn't need to do this, I sort of felt like I was supposed to do this. The entire weekend I had moments like this, where things occurred where I just felt like there was a confluence of people and events. And besides, I’m a good guide and these two needed a guide, if only down a well marked trail.

As we hiked down the trail, the rain began to fall in earnest. Again, this would have been the obvious time for me to stop and get out my rain gear. Which I didn't. And so I got wet. In a few minutes I got the guys to the parking lot, where there were two teenage girls who wanted to go for a hike, who also did not know the way… So I walked *those two* back up the trail I just came down. The two girls were far less interested in hiking with me (understandably) and happily dove down their trail. Two minutes later I was back at the Tuscarora trail.

I’ve done enough hiking to know that I *really* don’t like to head out without a map. And yet, here were two groups who just headed out with a small bottle of water and a vague knowledge of where they were going. Points for them for being adventurous, but perhaps deductions for getting turned around..

For the next 30 minutes it continued to rain as I headed down the trail. By this time I was steaming from exertion - Wearing my rain gear I felt like one of those rotisserie chickens in an oven bag. Thankfully, the rain stopped and the sun came out. As I hiked/slid down the wet trail I thought a lot about hiking shorts that were just plain nylon with cargo pockets - My REI shorts, while quick drying, were not quite what I wanted at the time. Maybe swim trunks with cargo pockets?

The wonderful part of this section of the Tuscarora trail is that it follows a stream - Overall Run - down a steep gorge, which lead to several wonderful waterfalls. At 1:45 I stopped for lunch at an overlook for Overall Run Falls, a 93 foot waterfall. It was just wonderful, listening to the waterfall as I ate my lunch and tried to let my gear start to dry out. Twenty minutes later I was on my way, and continued down the trail for another hour or so - down being the key word here. Descending the trail was far trickier, as the rain had made the steep and rocky trail very slippery. I did find a wonderful hiking stick alongside the trail - think ‘Wizard Staff.’ And while the staff was a bit heavy, it served me well on the stream crossings (none of which required wading.)

At 3:45 I came upon a swimming pool at the base of a small waterfall. It was a scene reminiscent of Stony Brook State Park in New York, where I spent many summer afternoons swimming in the pools formed by the river. For a moment, I started walking past, thinking that I shouldn't go swim, that… I’m not sure here, but somewhere in my brain was something about breaking the rules. And, happily, that thought was quickly drummed out by the 7 year old in my head that yelled, “Swimming?!? We get to go swimming?!?” I clambered down to the stream bed, stripped off my gear and clothes, and waded in. The water was really, um, brisk. Refreshing. Enlivening. Really quite cold. And absolutely wonderful. Honestly, it was a perfect addition to the day.

I continued down the Tuscarora trail to the Overall/Beecher connector trail. I found a great backcountry camping site right where I thought there might be one, about 25 yards up the trail  from the stream. I favor campsites that are reasonably close to a water source, though not “flood” close. And, as with my other favorite sites, I was able to listen to the stream from my tent. By this time the weather appeared to have cleared, so I opted to pitch the tent without the rainfly. After I set the tent I started inflating my new airpad. I was testing out a new air inflated pad, as opposed to the self-inflating type that I usually carry. While lighter and thicker (1 pound, and 3.5 inches thick) it did take about five minutes for me to inflate. In advance of this trip I had fashioned a simple air pump from a large plastic bag. I cut a hole in one corner of the bag, fit this over the valve, and then wrapped up the open end. I squeezed the air out of the bag into the sleeping pad, rather like a bag piper. But without the noise. I mean, er, music. The benefit to this is that I was able to inflate my pad without feeling faint, as well as not filling the pad with moisture laden air (which might mildew later on.) So yay me for figuring out a simple solution. Truth be told, I stole the idea from a similar bag we sell at REI, which retails for around $35. But I made mine for free.

And after all that, I tested out the pad, sweaty clothes and all, with a nice nap. Just wonderful.

Around 6:30 my tranquility in the backwoods was halted, briefly, as a new front started to roll in. Very quickly the wind picked up and the temperature dropped. I jumped up and ran over to setup the rain fly with all guy lines (tension lines) strapped out, just in case of a big blow. And, of course, as soon as I got everything under cover and secure, the wind eased up and the sun came out. Of course.

Dinner was lovely. The chicken and rice took me two runs with the alcohol stove, as it was still quite frozen. Plus, having a cup of wine to go with it was a pleasant addition. In future I am going to rethink my dinner options, as the frozen dinners take a lot of fuel and are quite heavy. The wine, on the other hand, was really great weight.