Backpacking in West Virginia: Day 1

We all woke up a little early. I was up and working on a morning fire by 5:30 a.m.. We had coffee and oatmeal by 7. After relaxing by the fire and waking up, dad and I nursed our coffee while checking out the map. We decided to go to a different part of the forest called Seneca Creek. Much safer sounding than Bear Heaven! On our way to West Virginia, Stephanie and I read an article in Backpacker magazine that featured Seneca Creek and a 17 mile loop trail that follows the creek. As soon as I mentioned the part about abundant trout in the creek, dad was sold. However, he did take a fee minutes before “suggesting” we try out that area. We divided up our gear, packed our bags, and set out for Seneca Creek.

An hour and a half later, and quite a breathtaking drive by the way, we arrived at the trail head.

We headed in and the scene was picturesque! Evergreen forest, open meadows, a crisp blue sky. It was about 65 degrees, which was perfect for this sunny hike. About 12:30 we came upon a campsite that was straight out of Lord of the Rings. There was a 6′ fire ring in the middle surrounded by stone seats for 12. If I wasn’t so excited, it would have been creepy.After lunch, Dad and I setup our tents while Stephanie DIDN’T take a nap. After the setup, dad went fly fishing and I snapped a few photos before journaling a bit. Then, Steph and I jumped in the creek and had to warm up in the sun. By the way, the creek was about -12 degrees.

After returning to camp with dinner on my mind, we saw a group of 15 college students move in as our neighbors. We could tell by the way they paused and sized us up that they were aiming for our spot. After all, it is a sweet spot. Stephanie made Anniversary Stir Fry for dinner. It was great! After dinner, Stephanie and I got a private lesson in how to make several different knots. There’s the Taught Line Hitch, Clove Hitch, Bow Line, Fisherman’s Knot, and the Double Fisherman’s Knot. Then we sat around the fire pit until we were all dozing off.

Backpacking in West Virginia: Day 0

We left Louisville right after church to head toward the Monongahela National Forest to meet Stephanie’s Dad for some backpacking.  Of course I had a few responsibilities to take care of before hitting the backcountry. It was pretty awesome to be able to do a bunch of work on my laptop while Stephanie started the trip and then stop at a Panera to upload what I had done (Website post, sermon to publish, emails to new visitors, etc). Then, I was able to edit the rest from my iPhone while on the road. Mainly, I was able to make sure the website post I submitted was showing properly and didn’t have any typos. For this reason, I love technology. It lets me get out in the woods more often.

Seven hours later we arrived at Bear Heaven Campground in Elkins, WV. Yeah, I love the name too. Dad had already secured a campsite for us and built up a nice fire. Lucy went crazy not only to see him, but to be out of the car after 7 hours of sitting still. We were really excited to be here and ready for our great backpacking adventure.

Tonight’s agenda: talk trails, final trip decisions, catchup over the campfire, bask in each other’s company.

Because of the wonders of technology (and the GPS capabilities of certain toys), I’ve been able to capture our trip via GPS. Here’s a link.

GPS coordinates: 38.930213, -79.68037

The Red River Gorge

We went backpacking this weekend in the Gorge. I’ve recently learned that the proper nickname for the Gorge is “Red.”

I think my favorite part of Red is it’s proximity to our house. In 90 minutes I can be there. It takes less than a tank of gas to get there and back. And while I’m there, I can spend as much or as little time as I want on the trails. We hiked all day and didn’t run into another person. It was awesome.

This first picture is our campsite. It was pretty sweet. Tons of room and the level-est place we’ve been to yet. And what’s even better is this was the view from the other side:

It was awesome. We were right on the river.

The sad part is when it was almost dark, two other campers setup between us and the river. When I came out of my tent (we were in the middle of a serious game of card) the guy apologized and said it was too late for him to find another site. I really wanted to let him know that there were a bunch more about 50 yards down the trail. But, I wasn’t that annoyed because we couldn’t see them from our tent.

Then it got dark. Apparently our new neighbor was looking for someone named “Joey.” At least, that’s what he was yelling for about 15 minutes. I almost threw a nice big rock at their tent. But every time I got up, he stopped yelling long enough for me to get back in my sleeping bag. Then he started again.

Other than that, the trip was amazing!