Dolly Sods, Fall 2011

Oct. 1 - 2, 2011
Chris' Hike Summary:
Freaky and Fantastic. We had SNOW! Started snow/rain mix shortly after we commence hiking @ 1:30 pm Sat, and the mix intensified a little toward snow all afternoon as we hiked. Brad, Steve & I had equipment issues (the first 2: leaky shells, me: leaky boots), so we were damp in camp. When we stopped to make camp (after a long but relatively flat bushwack) there was at least an inch of snow on the ground. Temps hovered around freezing or a little above. Robert took care of us and spent nearly an hour turning the wet wood we gathered into a fire. You know the benevolent effect of a fire when you're wet and cold. We all slept well, but late, as our issues tended to make us linger in our warm sleeping bags. I for one dreaded the prospect of stuffing my now dry&warm feet into my wet&cold boots. We were on the trail again by about noon (ouch!) and hiking Blackbird Knob Trail (the extreme western N&S leg) and then the Rocky Ridge Trl. It was snowing strongly up there, where you're more exposed, and we were buffeted by strong winds (we estimate steady 15-20, gust 30-40). It was awesome, in all senses of the word. We were witnessing God express his power and character in a raw, and ultimately beautiful way. We we experiencing our beloved 'Sods in a fresh way. Along the ridge, there was 4" of snow on the ground. We lunched at around 4pm, during a bushwack that saved us from hiking thru the river that was the Dobbin Grade Trl, and discussed our situation. We decided that wisdom was telling us to bail, mainly because of the constant precip right at freezing temps - no relief from the rain snow mix, little prospect of getting any dryer in camp if we stopped for another night. So we exited, taking Upper Red Creek Trl down to Blackbird Knob Trl and out to Steve's van, which was parked @ Red Creek Campground. By my watch, we were out @ 5:58pm, 2 mins sooner than Robert had promised! That's about 8 miles in about 6 hrs of hiking - incredible when you consider the weather, and the fact that neither Steve nor I had conditioned adequately for the trip. We were in Clarksburg eating steak and burgers by 9:30, home by 2am Mon. See the pictures at: https://picasaweb.google.com/theblackgoatpack/DollySodsFall2011#.

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• Dolly
• Sods
• Backpacking
• WV
• 2011
• October