Training Archive: Tom_OIn the 7 days ending 2008-07-05:
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Saturday Jul 5 | ||
| Miscellaneous 30:00 [2] | |
| Hanover. PA - Trimming the shrubbery at Mom & Dad's. Actual time was about 4 hours and it involved use of hand trimmers so there was some upper body benefit and I'm logging it! | ||
| Cycling 45:00 [3]12.0 mi (3:45 / mi) | |
| Hanover, PA - Squeezed in a short bike ride over to my sister Jo's house in early afternoon before the picnic. Jo wasn't home but I found her husband Rich mowing the lawn. After admiring some new stonework they had done on their shrubbery beds, I continued back into town via Smith Station and Gitts Run Roads. Made it back before the rain. | ||
Friday Jul 4 | ||
| Backpacking 1:30:00 [3]3.0 mi (29:59 / mi) | |
| shoes: Vasque Sundowner | ||
| Dolly Sods Wilderness Area, Monongahela National Forest, WV - I was looking forward to an easy downhill hike back to the car this morning. Emerging from the tent, I saw that Drunkenbarger Run was running about a foot deeper due to last night's heavy rain. Another ford of Red Creek awaited me at the bottom of the mountain - I worried that it might be too swollen to cross safely, leaving me stranded on the wrong side of the creek.
I was on the trail by 7:00 am, heading down a totally water-logged Drunkenbarger trail. Dolly Sods trails can be muddy and wet even on dry days. This morning, much of the trail was under 6" of water with another 6" of boot-sucking muck below that. Conditions improved greatly once I reached Little Stonecoal Trail and began the 1000 ft. descent to Red Creek. When I reached the creek, it was definitely running much higher than when I first forded it on Wednesday. I found what looked to be a decent crossing point and waded in. I turned my body to face into the swift current and eased my way across the rocky stream bed. At its worst, the water was mid-thigh deep with several nice hydraulics. I made it across safely and then finished up the hike with a short easy stretch back to the parking area at Laneville. I was a little apprehensive about doing this hike but now I'm really glad I did. It was a really fun and relaxing couple of days on the trail. My knee held up great the entire time and actually felt better after the hike than before I started. But I can feel a popping sound in it when I move my lower leg in certain directions which sounds like bone-on-bone. I think a visit to the doctor is still in order to find out what's going on. I'm not too optimistic. | ||
| C • hiking tales 1 | ||
Thursday Jul 3 | ||
| Backpacking 10:00:00 [3]20.0 mi (29:59 / mi) | |
| shoes: Vasque Sundowner | ||
| Dolly Sods Wilderness, Monongahela National Forest, WV - The suggested route I had from the web called for only about 16 total miles in 3 days. It called for going back out to Breathed Mt. trail and then looping back towards Laneville. The problem with this route, aside from being too short, is that it would afford little opportunity to enjoy the spectacular high plateau region (3500 - 4000 ft elevation). Fortunately, I had another topographic map which included all of the trails up on the plateau. I decided to head up there instead.
I continued on Red Creek Trail, climbing for about 0.5 miles until the forest faded away to meadowlands with sub-alpine vegetation. At the intersection with Blackbird Trail, I turned right until I picked up Upper Red Creek Trail. From there it was on to my favorite two trails of the day - Raven Ridge and Rocky Ridge. There was a profusion of mountain laurel in full bloom along both of these trails. There were expansive views across the open terrain. I felt like I was out in the western US. From Rocky Ridge, I took Harmon trail back to Blackbird and then back-tracked down Red Creek trail to the Forks where I pumped water. Then I rejoined the recommended route, climbing up Breathed Mt. Trail to Big Stonecoal Run Trail. At Big Stonecoal camping area, the info I had recommended that you ditch your pack and make the relatively short (2.5 mile roundtrip) side excursion to "The Lions Head" - a big rock outcropping overlooking the Red Creek drainage basin. Having done a lot of tough hand-over-hand climbs with my pack on, I decided to carry the pack. This was a really dumb thing to do. One of these days, my stupidity is going to get me into serious trouble. I headed down Rocky Point trail where my info said I would find a rock cairn to the left of the trail about five minutes after crossing an intermittent stream. That marked the recommended trail to the top of the Lion's Head. It also said there was a maze of other trails in the area which will eventually get you to the top, just not as easily. I crossed several intermittent streams and found a rock cairn to the left so I decided to take it. It died out about 50 feet into the woods, ending at the beginning of the rock pile in a rhododendron-choked jungle. I hoisted myself up on the rocks (they were quite large abnd full of crevasses), struggling to get my pack through the undergrowth and trying to avoid falling backwards. I broke out of the forest onto a huge open jumble of boulders capped with large cliffs. I climbed to the top where there was a great view down the Red Creek Valley. Buzzards were circling overhead - I'm sure If I had taken a tumble, they would have made quick work of me. Getting down off the rock pile looked to be even more problematic than the climb up. "Follow the cairns to the east" the info said. But there were no cairns to the east. And I sure wasn't going down the way I came up. I thought I might have to toss my pack over the cliffs to get down but I managed to carefully ease my way down off the cliffs and then headed in a generally easterly direction. Once I got into the forest, the rhododendron returned. I thought I was dead-ended but found a tight passageway between the rhododendron and, after some struggle, rejoined the trail. I headed back to Big Stonecoal Camp where I found the mosquitoes to be very bad so I continued down Drunkenbarger trail to a campsite along Drunkenbarger Run. I think this site may have been even prettier than last night's - a small meadow adjacent to the mountain-laurel lined creek and surrounded by pine forest. Noone else was around. It was getting late and the weather looked threatening so I quickly set up the tent and made dinner. I retired to the tent about 8:00 pm and within 10 minutes a big thunderstorm rolled through. It continued to rain heavily well into the night. I stayed dry but didn't sleep so well. | ||
Wednesday Jul 2 | ||
| Backpacking 3:00:00 [3]6.0 mi (29:59 / mi) | |
| shoes: Vasque Sundowner | ||
| Dolly Sods Wilderness, Monongahela National Forest, WV - Almost heaven - it's there, you just have to search for it.
I'd been to Dolly Sods quite a few years back but didn't have much time to explore. It is widely considered to be one of the best backpacking areas in the eastern US. After several truly wild 'n wonderful days hiking it, I have to say all of the superlatives are fully deserved. I obtained some topographic trail maps and suggested routes from the web and set out early Wednesday morning for the 5+ hr drive from Newark. The directions I had from Petersburg called for following Rt. 55/28 west to Rt. 32. On the way though, I passed a sign for Dolly Sods on the eastern side of the mountain. There was an info board posted there and it looked like this would be a shorter route. In WV, I should have remembered, shorter is often not quicker. About 15 miles worth of West Virginia washboard gravel road later, I reached the Red Creek trailhead at Laneville. If I had come in the recommended route, it would have been pavement all the way. My knee was feeling tight after the long drive. One of my objectives for this hike was to test the knee to see if backpacking aggravated it. I was on the trail by noon with a plan to hike for 3 or 4 hours and find a tent site for the night. I passed several small waterfalls a few miles down the trail and then forded Red Creek (there are no bridges in Dolly Sods). Fortunately, the creek was only about a foot deep. I climbed up to the intersection with Breathed Mt. trail and continued on Red Creek Trail another 0.2 miles until I reached "The Forks." I found an awesome tent site in a pine grove right along the creek just below the fork where a small waterfall cascaded over a wide rock ledge - an absolutely gorgeous spot. After setting up camp, I made a quick dinner and then settled into the tent for an early night. The sound of the water rushing down the rock-filled creekbed drowned out nearly all other forest noise and I had no problem getting to sleep. The trip was off to a good start. | ||
| C • Wow, that's awesome. I'm wa... 1 | ||
Tuesday Jul 1 | ||
| Weights 45:00 [3] | |
| Sit-ups 4:00 [2] | |
| 180 | ||
Sunday Jun 29 | ||
| Hiking 2:45:00 [2]8.0 mi (20:37 / mi) | |
| shoes: Vasque Sundowner | ||
| White Clay Creek SP - Training hike with 25 lb pack. Covered the David English, Whitely Farm, and Bryant Field trails. Wanted to see how my leg would hold up under the pack weight. Tentative plan is to do a short 2-3 day backpacking trip to Dolly Sods Wilderness Area over the 4th holiday. | ||
| Weights 45:00 [3] | |
| Sit-ups 3:00 [2] | |
| 150 | ||