Backpacking #4 - SNP, Overall Run/Beecher Ridge

So it seems the trail gods are angry. Joe and my last adventure in the outdoors turned into a battle royale against Mother Nature who pulled out all the stops; freezing temperatures, soggy trails, violent winds, sleet, rain, and a partridge in a pear tree... and the partridge was pissed. Well I kind of felt we were due for some awesome weather, and we got it, to a degree.

Heather, Joe and I took a quick little overnight backpacking trip this past weekend to Shenandoah National Park. The route was one of those suggested by the park in the backcountry section of the site. The weather on the morning of departure included no chance of blizzards but it was gonna be hot (near 90F). This would be my first experience packing in warm weather so I wasn't sure what to expect.

The beginning of the trail was kind to us.

I was sweating by the time I got out of my truck. Never-the-less, undaunted we started off at a great pace through some hills where the foliage was starting to grow out a bit. These fresh green leaves, as small as they were did provide some shady areas which were not available as we moved higher.

This was about the point where I started questioning this whole backpacking thing.

I think the person who designed this trail got about a mile into it before someone brutally murdered their family. I say this because following the initial mile or so the trail started an intense series of switchbacks that was surely created with the intent of causing bodily harm to those that attempted it. The fact that we were backpacking only added to the brutal uphill. Oh yeah, it was also almost 90 degrees. Did I already mention that?

Despite the heat and the climb we were still making good time all the way up to the first (and only) major geographical feature on this hike. At 93 feet, Overall Run Falls is the tallest in the park. We snapped a few pictures and kept moving.

I contemplated scaring her but thought better of it.

We made it! No wait, another 4 miles to go.

The heat was really starting to get oppressive so after another mile or so we stopped along Overall Run above the falls and gave our systems a shock by dunking our feet in the freezing cold water. A bite to eat and a few liters of water guzzled and we were back on the trail.

I disgusted Heather and Joe with my nasty callused and blistered feet.

It's lucky we filled up on water wherever we could cause after an exhausting and blazing hot hike across Beecher Ridge we ran into a poor dayhiker who looked like he was about to face plant at any minute. Apparently he had two friends farther back on the trail that were in even worse shape and they were out of water. So we siphoned off a couple liters for him to take back to his friends and we headed down to a small hollow where we planned to get more water and make camp for the night. When we got there the water was all but dried up, but Joe's Katydyn filter was up to the task and we were able to dig out a hole, let it fill with water and get restocked. However, there was no level ground in sight so we hiked back up to the trail and continued, keeping an eye out for a good spot to pass out.

Finally, after hiking 7 or 8 miles we found a sweet spot near the creek and even though we were technically too close to the water, we set up camp.

One of the nicest things about backpacking is the seclusion. You plan ahead, take everything you need and get away from people... except when you accidentally set up your camp 20 feet from a trail you didn't know about until a few dusty backpackers come tromping through unexpectedly. Despite that little distraction the camp site was awesome.

From this angle it looks like Joe's tent is set up under a huge deadfall trap, scary.


Now that's just sweet ain't it?

Morning at camp is one of my favorite times.

Since we overshot our intended camp spot we set ourselves up for a short hike out the next morning. After breakfast we broke down camp and headed up the trail. Along the way we came upon this fantastic swimming hole. I think I must have been channeling the heat from the previous day cause before I knew it I'd stripped to my shorts and jumped in. It's a funny thing about water; a couple days of warm weather don't seem to outweigh the previous 6 months of cold weather and when I hit the surface it was like I went from the Sahara to the Antarctic in an instant. I'm not sure but I think I sort of skipped off the surface of the water and back onto the rocks it was so cold (there's a video of this floating around somewhere). After I got out Heather got bold and went for a skinny dip while I pretended to be fascinated by some moss growing on a rock in the opposite direction.

This looked so refreshing but must have been about 33 degrees.

After our refreshing dip it was a short hike back to the truck and then on to our now traditional after-hike breakfast. We didn't come across any corpses of dried up dayhikers so I suppose the folks we gave our precious H2O to survived to hike another day. Success!

A few blisters, bug bites and sun burns, but otherwise un-scathed.

P.S. - If you're going to get changed behind your truck, it's not a good idea to tell your friends about it first, especially if they have access to a camera...

If anyone was walking up behind me at this moment I apologize.