Long feet
12-22-2008, 21:02
rampli and I just finished a 3 day section from VA 605 (half way through the roller coaster) to Harpers Ferry. I had my gear list critiqued here on White Blaze as well as met up with Rampli for the trip. I just wanted to say thanks to the entire White Blaze community, with the possible exception of Lone Wolf - (kidding) :D . rampli was a great hiker and a pleasure to hike with. It was great to have him as a partner on my first 'real' winter backpacking trip.
We started about 3 and a half miles south of Sam Moore shelter at VA 605. I packed in water from home, but every water source was running well. The Bears Den was closed for the season, but it looked really great. It was pretty much an actual castle, stone walls and turrets.
We hiked on past route 7 (Snickers Gap - great name for hikers), picked up the stash of beers that rampli left (thanks again), and camped off the trail in the next incline north of Snikers Gap. We both found nearly acceptable places to camp and had a little bit of rain and snow that first night (Dec. 20th).
The second day we picked up water at Raven Rocks Hollow spring or Sand Spring. After the Devils Racecourse it got very foggy and all of the branches of the trees and understory were covered with snow and ice. For the better part of the day we were walking through sections of winter wonderland. We hiked to the Blackburn Trail Center, which as noted earlier was a swank hiker wonderland for the likes of dukes and duchesses. Unfortunately, it was closed. We then proceeded to hike through to the David Lesser shelter. This was a really nice spot, which was pretty well protected from the wind. The trail maintainers did a fantastic job there. A gazebo, huge deck, and porch swing were memorable. There were also plenty of tent spots, not that there were anyone else out there in Dec. to compete for space. I went down a quarter of a mile downhill to the spring last night, hoping to speed up an early morning start. It was a little bit steep and slightly tricky to find the blue blazes back up at night. Do to a packing mistake, and a rash decision to pack for a low of the high teens, I very nearly froze my butt off and got a cumulative total of about an hour and a half of sleep - not that I'm complaining :rolleyes:.
When we woke up it was 5 degrees Fahrenheit by the cheap REI thermometer strapped to my bag in the shelter. rampli schooled me in the fine art of eating instant oatmeal out of the bag, and we left about 7:30 for Harpers Ferry. We both had nearly perfectly solid water to last up almost 10 to Harpers Ferry. The moment we stepped out onto the ledge the wind kicked up to at least 30 mph. It had to be easily 10 below zero for the next couple of hours. Within a couple of minutes I could not feel my fingers, toes, or face. rampli and I rocked hard and hiked faster than I have ever done before. This worked to warm up and stay warm enough to keep hiking. We hiked through stopping only twice to eat a candy bar and admire the view. We kicked serious bootay hiking, scaring the deer, cardinals, and squirrels on the trail, and made it in to Harpers Ferry by 11:30. We ended the hike with burgers and fries and a trip to the outfitters.
All in all it was a fantastic trip. I learned I need to take more to be warm, and it may be a good idea to bring some Tylenol PM. A great trip. Thanks again rampli, and thanks White Blaze.
We started about 3 and a half miles south of Sam Moore shelter at VA 605. I packed in water from home, but every water source was running well. The Bears Den was closed for the season, but it looked really great. It was pretty much an actual castle, stone walls and turrets.
We hiked on past route 7 (Snickers Gap - great name for hikers), picked up the stash of beers that rampli left (thanks again), and camped off the trail in the next incline north of Snikers Gap. We both found nearly acceptable places to camp and had a little bit of rain and snow that first night (Dec. 20th).
The second day we picked up water at Raven Rocks Hollow spring or Sand Spring. After the Devils Racecourse it got very foggy and all of the branches of the trees and understory were covered with snow and ice. For the better part of the day we were walking through sections of winter wonderland. We hiked to the Blackburn Trail Center, which as noted earlier was a swank hiker wonderland for the likes of dukes and duchesses. Unfortunately, it was closed. We then proceeded to hike through to the David Lesser shelter. This was a really nice spot, which was pretty well protected from the wind. The trail maintainers did a fantastic job there. A gazebo, huge deck, and porch swing were memorable. There were also plenty of tent spots, not that there were anyone else out there in Dec. to compete for space. I went down a quarter of a mile downhill to the spring last night, hoping to speed up an early morning start. It was a little bit steep and slightly tricky to find the blue blazes back up at night. Do to a packing mistake, and a rash decision to pack for a low of the high teens, I very nearly froze my butt off and got a cumulative total of about an hour and a half of sleep - not that I'm complaining :rolleyes:.
When we woke up it was 5 degrees Fahrenheit by the cheap REI thermometer strapped to my bag in the shelter. rampli schooled me in the fine art of eating instant oatmeal out of the bag, and we left about 7:30 for Harpers Ferry. We both had nearly perfectly solid water to last up almost 10 to Harpers Ferry. The moment we stepped out onto the ledge the wind kicked up to at least 30 mph. It had to be easily 10 below zero for the next couple of hours. Within a couple of minutes I could not feel my fingers, toes, or face. rampli and I rocked hard and hiked faster than I have ever done before. This worked to warm up and stay warm enough to keep hiking. We hiked through stopping only twice to eat a candy bar and admire the view. We kicked serious bootay hiking, scaring the deer, cardinals, and squirrels on the trail, and made it in to Harpers Ferry by 11:30. We ended the hike with burgers and fries and a trip to the outfitters.
All in all it was a fantastic trip. I learned I need to take more to be warm, and it may be a good idea to bring some Tylenol PM. A great trip. Thanks again rampli, and thanks White Blaze.