Backpacking #9 - Dolly Sods, WV (2)

Wait a minute... didn't Joe and I nearly die of hypothermia last time we were here? What in God's name are we doing back in this soggy, cold, unforgiving place? Actually, having a lot of fun. :)

Dolly Sods is awesome. That's what I kept thinking to myself as we hiked through the North Wilderness area. For those of us in the Mid-Atlantic region the Sods is one of the most unique backpacking opportunities within driving distance.

For this trip we had Joe and Heather (as usual), Erin, Rob and myself. This was Erin and Rob's first "real" backpacking trip and they handled it like they'd been sleeping in the woods since they were 6 years old. Oh, Maddie also joined us, can't forget the K9's.

Woohoo! Ready?!

We decided to hike a half circuit of the Northern Wilderness area by this route: Blackbird Knob Tr > Upper Red Creek Tr > Dobbins Grade Tr > Beaver View Tr > Raven Ridge Tr > Bear Rocks Tr. Not an incredibly long two day hike but enough miles to feel it and still have plenty of time for goofing off.

One of the things I like most about Dolly Sods is that is offers a bit of everything. The beginning of our hike took us through a pretty thick forested area that was still vibrantly green. We passed a whole bus load of boy scouts and other backpackers and day hikers which made me think we'd be fighting over camp sites later and those little boy scouts fight dirty, or so I've heard.

WV or Amazon?

A little farther along we crested a ridge and popped out of the thick woods into an area of sporadic clumps of trees, brush and open ground. As usual Dolly Sods was a mix of dry ground and mucky bogs. The tricky part is knowing which you're about to step in before you go knee deep in it.

Heather and Joe, backpacking phenoms.

... and just like that we were walking in a nice deciduous stand which looked nothing like the thick forests or open areas we'd seen earlier. Maddie also started to get comfortable with her surroundings at this point and began running back and forth along the trail, occasionally barreling into the backs of some unsuspecting person's knees just to make sure they were awake.

Scariest animal in the forest? Erin's dog.

As we got to the intersection of the Blackbird Knob and Upper Red Creek trails we started looking for a good spot to camp. At the river crossing there was a possible place but someone had set up nearby and it just doesn't seem right to drive three hours out into WV, then hike for a few more hours into the woods only to set up for the night right next to some strangers. Also, even though there wasn't much rain in the days leading up to our trip, I'd rather not make a habit of camping in flood zones.

Peace of cake. At least we didn't have to get our feet wet.

Luckily for us we only had to hike up a small hill and suddenly we appeared in a wide open field with a multitude of potential camp sites. Maddie lost her mind and went running around in circles with Erin chasing after trying to get her pack off. Everyone got their tents set up with enough space between to not offend each other with middle-of-the-night grunts and groans and then we made a fire, which is the best way to freshen up after a good hike.

As the clouds started to separate and the sun began to set we were treated to an amazing cotton candy sunset. At one point the sky looked like it'd been set on fire. My camera didn't do it justice but maybe you can get an idea from the pictures below.

Too ultra-light for his own good. Next time, get a flip top head, or a reach toothbrush.

Boom! Awesome sunset with Erin in the foreground.

After the sun finally went down it got cold fast and we huddled close around the fire. Joe must have had a smoke magnet in his pocket because no matter where he sat, that's the direction the wind blew. Someone mentioned you could get the smoke to move away by saying "white rabbit" over and over so we tried that. Then somehow that trick devolved into repeating the name of B-list celebrities and pretty soon Joe was shouting "David Hasselhoff!" and other such names at the fire. The temperature kept falling and eventually we couldn't take it anymore and headed for the comfort of our sleeping bags.

During the night Rob got an object lesson in insulation when his NeoAir deflated, leaving him laying on the cold ground. This is not a comfortable or warm way to spend the night and I have a feeling he was waiting impatiently to hear the sound of the fire crackling again in the morning.

Morning breakfast!!! We lounged around camp for a while, taking our time and goofing off until we finally started hiking again around 11AM.

Sometimes I wonder how all this stuff fits in our packs.

The second day's hike took us over the river and through the woods (really it did) to the top of the ridge along the Raven Ridge trail (not just a clever name). Along the way we got to see a nice beaver dam and crossed the stream just below it. A couple of day hikers stopped and stared for a bit as if they couldn't think of any reason why a person would want to cross that particular stream.

To grandmother's house we go...

Rob Grylls tackles a mighty river crossing.

Awesome.

Unsure of exactly where to camp we did a little exploring and backtracking and finally found a good spot around some big gnarled trees. After we set up we headed off to go see the ridge and get some water, which was becoming a pressing issue. Since leaving the west fork of the Red Creek early that day we hadn't come across any significant source of water, despite what our maps told us. It was a pretty warm and sunny day and we were running seriously low on H2O. We hiked all the way up onto the ridge and after some debate, decided that the water pooled in the rock depressions was probably our best source. We used a Katadyn filter to pump the water into some containers before heading back.

The view from up on the ridge is just awesome. When Joe and I were there in March it was so foggy we couldn't see more than a few feet in any direction. This trip it was gorgeous and we could easily see down into the Canaan Valley below.

Hi ma!

We got back to camp and proceeded to lazy about as is typical and expected. With the clear skies we were anticipating pretty cold temps overnight and were not disappointed. After the sun went down, but before we went to bed, the condensation on my TarpTent had already frozen. However, overnight thick clouds rolled in and the temperature actually rose quite a bit. When I looked at my thermometer around 5AM it was all the way back up to 40 degrees.

We woke up and actually got a quick start out in the morning. Rob told us how he'd played whack-a-mole in his tent overnight and we ate a fast no-cook breakfast. Maddie also had some run ins with the moles and for our entertainment went running all over stuffing her face in the ground and digging for them.

The last stretch before the end of the trail.

After a quick hike we were back at the cars and ready to go home. Not without a stop at the first burger joint we found though (thank you Hardees).

Success! From left: Erin, Heather, Joe, Rob and myself.