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Weekend camping report
May. 30th, 2006 04:24 pmThe camping trip was wonderful, despite losing the trail on our hike Saturday afternoon which necessitated cross-country hiking down the mountain. :-\
I met Jeff in DC early Saturday morning and we went back to his place to pack the car before driving out to the George Washington National Forest in Virginia. We pulled into the parking lot at the foot of Big Schloss and selected one of the campsites there. We pitched the tent and threw a few things around to make it look lived in, then drove back to the main road to find Johnstown Road, which led to the Little Schloss trail.
Little Schloss was a much more strenuous hike than Big Schloss, with a lot more of an incline. One nice feature was an unexpected mountain meadow near the top of the trail, along with a campsite under one of the trees with a fire ring. Climbing further, we reached the rock outcropping at the top of Little Schloss, which required a little actual rock climbing.
However, all the effort was completely worth it. I think the view was much better than that from Big Schloss. Looking over to the right, we could see Big Schloss and the forested valley between the two peaks and to the left was a more developed landscape with farms and towns.
Jeff and I sat up there for a little while, enjoying the sun and the winds rushing over the mountain. The winds reminded me of the ferry to Martha's Vineyard, except that we were standing still. We spotted some hawks and vultures flying above and below (!) us. We had also briefly spotted a wild turkey on the climb up. Oh, and half of a mouse or shrew thing. Apparently, some predator's eyes were bigger than it's stomach.
It was on the hike down that we lost the trail. We cast back and forth looking for it, but couldn't find it, so Jeff suggested that we just head down the mountain, hoping to connect with the trail. At the very least, we'd hit the road below and could then hike back to the car.
Cross-country hiking was lots more difficult than trail hiking. Not really what I was expecting, but what was there to do? Jeff seemed completely in his element, bounding ahead of me. I often didn't know where he was as he ranged about looking for the trail, which made me a little anxious, but he occasionally stopped to let me catch up before taking off again.
When I finally reached the road, he was already off in the distance in the direction of the car. When he saw me emerge from the forest, he waved at me and then turned to jog away out of site. I was astounded. Here I am, scratched, sweaty and tired, and he's fucking jogging down the road. Sheesh.
Since I was on the road, I set off after him at a much brisker pace, but it wasn't too long before he came down the road in the car. I hopped in and we returned to the campsite.
Once there, Jeff showed me how to use the water filter to make some drinking water from the stream to rehydrate a little. (I did have water on the trail, but it hadn't been enough.) Then we clambered into the water to wash up a little — especially the scratches and gouges on our legs; both of us had worn shorts, which aren't recommended for cross-country hiking.
Next was collecting firewood, then Jeff showed me how to lay a campfire. For dinner, we heated baked potatoes in the coals, grilled steaks over the fire and fried up some squash. After dinner, we sat beside the fire and Jeff played on his guitar. At one point, I looked up to see stars shining through the canopy of the trees. Stars! I went out to the clearing of the parking lot and stared at the sky for a while. I even saw a satellite pass overhead.
In the middle of the night, some animal was prowling outside our tent, growling. It sounded like a large cat with a cough. It stayed outside the tent for about half an hour before Jeff rolled over and started snoring, which made it back off. Jeff never even woke up. :-)
Breakfast Sunday morning was blueberry pancakes prepared over Jeff's camping burner with some syrup. Then we hiked a little farther from the parking lot to see what was down the trail. I had discovered another campsite that Jeff liked better than the one we camped in; it was much closer to the stream and had a lot more light.
After breaking camp, we drove up to the Wolf Gap parking lot and walked part of the way up the trail to Tibbet's Knob, but didn't push through to the summit. Unfortunate, because a review on the web says that the summit has one of the best campsites in the area.
The trip home was uneventful. Jeff drove me back to Baltimore and dropped me off at my apartment before he headed home.
I met Jeff in DC early Saturday morning and we went back to his place to pack the car before driving out to the George Washington National Forest in Virginia. We pulled into the parking lot at the foot of Big Schloss and selected one of the campsites there. We pitched the tent and threw a few things around to make it look lived in, then drove back to the main road to find Johnstown Road, which led to the Little Schloss trail.
Little Schloss was a much more strenuous hike than Big Schloss, with a lot more of an incline. One nice feature was an unexpected mountain meadow near the top of the trail, along with a campsite under one of the trees with a fire ring. Climbing further, we reached the rock outcropping at the top of Little Schloss, which required a little actual rock climbing.
However, all the effort was completely worth it. I think the view was much better than that from Big Schloss. Looking over to the right, we could see Big Schloss and the forested valley between the two peaks and to the left was a more developed landscape with farms and towns.
Jeff and I sat up there for a little while, enjoying the sun and the winds rushing over the mountain. The winds reminded me of the ferry to Martha's Vineyard, except that we were standing still. We spotted some hawks and vultures flying above and below (!) us. We had also briefly spotted a wild turkey on the climb up. Oh, and half of a mouse or shrew thing. Apparently, some predator's eyes were bigger than it's stomach.
It was on the hike down that we lost the trail. We cast back and forth looking for it, but couldn't find it, so Jeff suggested that we just head down the mountain, hoping to connect with the trail. At the very least, we'd hit the road below and could then hike back to the car.
Cross-country hiking was lots more difficult than trail hiking. Not really what I was expecting, but what was there to do? Jeff seemed completely in his element, bounding ahead of me. I often didn't know where he was as he ranged about looking for the trail, which made me a little anxious, but he occasionally stopped to let me catch up before taking off again.
When I finally reached the road, he was already off in the distance in the direction of the car. When he saw me emerge from the forest, he waved at me and then turned to jog away out of site. I was astounded. Here I am, scratched, sweaty and tired, and he's fucking jogging down the road. Sheesh.
Since I was on the road, I set off after him at a much brisker pace, but it wasn't too long before he came down the road in the car. I hopped in and we returned to the campsite.
Once there, Jeff showed me how to use the water filter to make some drinking water from the stream to rehydrate a little. (I did have water on the trail, but it hadn't been enough.) Then we clambered into the water to wash up a little — especially the scratches and gouges on our legs; both of us had worn shorts, which aren't recommended for cross-country hiking.
Next was collecting firewood, then Jeff showed me how to lay a campfire. For dinner, we heated baked potatoes in the coals, grilled steaks over the fire and fried up some squash. After dinner, we sat beside the fire and Jeff played on his guitar. At one point, I looked up to see stars shining through the canopy of the trees. Stars! I went out to the clearing of the parking lot and stared at the sky for a while. I even saw a satellite pass overhead.
In the middle of the night, some animal was prowling outside our tent, growling. It sounded like a large cat with a cough. It stayed outside the tent for about half an hour before Jeff rolled over and started snoring, which made it back off. Jeff never even woke up. :-)
Breakfast Sunday morning was blueberry pancakes prepared over Jeff's camping burner with some syrup. Then we hiked a little farther from the parking lot to see what was down the trail. I had discovered another campsite that Jeff liked better than the one we camped in; it was much closer to the stream and had a lot more light.
After breaking camp, we drove up to the Wolf Gap parking lot and walked part of the way up the trail to Tibbet's Knob, but didn't push through to the summit. Unfortunate, because a review on the web says that the summit has one of the best campsites in the area.
The trip home was uneventful. Jeff drove me back to Baltimore and dropped me off at my apartment before he headed home.
