Wednesday
December 2015
COMMENTS
Monday
November 2015
COMMENTS
Tuesday
September 2015
COMMENTS
Written by admin, Posted in backpacking
Spent three days backpacking in West Virginia’s Cranberry Wilderness. It rained a couple inches over the course of the trip but we brought a little extra whiskey, managed to stay dry, trek about 20 miles, catch trout by our campsites, and get fires going both nights to warm up and dry out. post hike routine of sheetz + 800mg of ibuprofen felt extra good. New Platypus Gravityworks filter was awesome, as was the last minute decision to bring a second tarp.
A nice welcome note… (Full story on missing hiker)
Lauren leading the way out after three days of rain…
Dog loved the view from our second campsite.
She also got wet and looked like an albanian refuge after hiking through the rain…
Big Beechy Run
“Hall of Kings” on Big Beechy Trail.
Back to the road…
Our campsite the first night…
Sunday
August 2015
COMMENTS
Written by admin, Posted in Uncategorized
Wednesday
July 2015
COMMENTS
Monday
June 2015
COMMENTS
Written by admin, Posted in backpacking
We basically decided to go at 1am Saturday. 9am or so that morning we started packing and didn’t get to the trailhead til almost five. Taking our time to avoid some storms developing to the West. No such luck though as we heard thunder in the distance and ended up running the last mile and a half w/ packs on to get off the ridge before the thunderstorm hit. Got a little wet, but quickly set up the tarp and waited out the storm before going for a swim in the creek and setting up camp just before dark.
Overall awesome trip.
Side Note:
How in the hell is it legal to run bear dogs in designated wilderness areas, especially outside of hunting season? Had a pack of about 8 bear dogs running through our campsite, scaring away every animal within miles, in what is otherwise a highly protected wilderness area.?
They were running wild around us for about ten minutes circling the tent, where we put our dog to avoid confrontation, and jumping up on us. Owner was miles away probably getting drunk in his pickup truck on the ridge (road was too rough to get the monte carlo up). I get that the Forest Service and West Virginians generally enjoy fracking, clear cutting and even completely removing mountains, but thought somewhere there was an agreement to protect the few places designated as wilderness areas.
Monday
June 2015
COMMENTS
Tuesday
April 2015
COMMENTS
Written by admin, Posted in backpacking
Great video from the last trip by Brian Christensen
Check out his other work — https://vimeo.com/briancc
Tuesday
April 2015
COMMENTS
Written by admin, Posted in backpacking
Spent a couple days backpacking in Otter Creek Wilderness area. Thanks to traffic and work schedules, we weren’t able to hit the trailhead until 9pm… Which meant a 3.5 mile hike w/ 1,300ft in elevation gain on unmarked trails in the dark and mist. Fun! That said, the weather was absolutely beautiful. The stream crossing were a little tough due to recent rains, and the water still frigid but overall couldn’t ask for better conditions for a Spring trip in the West Virginia high country.
Tuesday
April 2015
COMMENTS
Sunday
March 2015
COMMENTS
Written by admin, Posted in backpacking, Uncategorized
Spent three days backpacking on Mt. Rogers in Southwest Virginia. Covered nearly 20miles and 3,400ft in elevation gain. While we started out with bright sunshine and 60 degree weather, even wearing shorts and tshirts, the weather quickly went down hill the first night. Ended up dealing with a couple inches of rain, 60+mph gusts, ice/sleet, and just about the nastiest weather you can have while backpacking. While it was type II fun, with some dabblings in the type III towards the end of the second day, overall we had a great time. Met some great people, saw some ponies, and while the long range views were shrouded in clouds, the scenery was still absolutely gorgeous.
Wednesday
January 2015
COMMENTS
Written by admin, Posted in backpacking
Another great trip up to Roaring Plains Wilderness area over MLK weekend. Had the place pretty much to ourselves. A couple inches of snow on the ground when we got there but mostly ice on the trails. Weather got a little weird… with the clouds racing across the allegheny front, we went from blistering snow squalls to bright sunshine in matter of minutes. Got about 4″ of new snow at 4650ft and there were wind gusts over 40kts reported about a thousand feet below us in Canaan Valley. Stayed warm though and had a great time… Scariest part was the drive down. Icy roads covered in fresh snow… not fun.
Wednesday
January 2015
COMMENTS
Written by admin, Posted in backpacking, Uncategorized
Had a couple people ask about how we manage to stay warm and manage to have fun on some the crazier trips into the backcountry. Preparation is key, but once on the trail the most important thing is staying ahead of the weather. In extreme weather having to quickly throw things on and hope to ‘warm up’ is when things can get dangerous. You know the temp is going to drop when the sun goes down, put on the extra layers before it does. Click below to see the full winter gear list.
Saturday
January 2015
COMMENTS
Written by admin, Posted in Uncategorized
As much as i love snow, wilderness and getting off the grid… Sometimes a little sun, sand and salt water is nice too… especially in late december/early jan.
Saturday
January 2015
COMMENTS
Written by admin, Posted in backpacking, Uncategorized
New Marmot tent worked great… tho the frozen ground made staking it in nearly impossible.
And one of the pics made it on the WashPo’s weather section.