January Overnight in the Mountains

 A couple of weeks ago, my friend Beth emailed a couple of us, asking if we were up for a one-night backpacking trip to the Paul Wolfe Shelter on the Appalachian Trail five miles south of Rockfish Gap.  The weather was not going to be brutally cold, maybe down to about 30, and it seemed like a good idea.  "Sign me up!" I said.  The other person couldn't make it, so it was just Beth and me.  My backpacking hike of a week and a half ago to Belle Isle State Park had been short and flat.  This hike is much more strenuous than that trip, and would be a good assessment of how I am doing with my conditioning.

We met up about noon on January 13, and headed out in separate cars to stay socially distanced.  Before 2PM, we were headed south on the Appalachian Trail from Rockfish Gap.  I looked at the map at the information kiosk.  This is the first part of the AT south of Shenandoah National Park.  My trail club, the Old Dominion AT Club, maintains the next 19 miles, including the Paul Wolfe Shelter, which is super-nice!

Every now and then, we would get a bit of a view.

When I come on these old homesites in the mountains, I try to reflect on how the lives of the people that built the home were.  Think of all the work that went into building the chimney and the long-gone wood cabin.

I forget the name of this long rock (it might be Long Rock), but we are more than half way to the shelter here, and it was a good place to take a pack off break.  Beth is a hiking machine!  She seems to hike 4-5 days a week, including some really tough and long hikes.  We went at my pace, because there is no way I could keep her pace going!  I'm still trying to get my trail legs after being so ill for much of 2020.

We passed a tiny mountain cemetery.  I wonder if anyone alive today remembers these folks?  It's poignant.

On a rock was this oddly shaped scat.  I joked that it was a Canadian lynx because of its "L" shape, but it was almost certainly a coyote or a bobcat.

We reached the shelter after about 2.5 hours of hiking, mostly down hill.  We had it to ourselves, although a man from North Carolina had set up his tent nearby.

First order of business - get the sleeping pad blown up and the sleeping bag fluffed.  A cold night is ahead!  With just two of us in a big shelter, it was easy to stay socially distanced.  I had packed a tent in case the shelter had a bunch of people in it.  Beth, who is going to be hiking the John Muir Trail in California this year, was carrying all kinds of extra stuff (but not a spoon, as it turned out) to make her pack extra-heavy.

Next order of business: get drinking water.  Nearby ice-cold Mill Creek fit the bill.

I was thinking of gathering firewood, but in the remaining light, I just didn't feel like it, so we each cooked our meal and ate at twilight.  This is when Beth realized that she forgot her spoon, so she ate with her toothbrush.  Note - when I got home, I threw a spork into my cook kit so I will always have an extra for someone who forgets it.

Beth hit the sack well before "hiker midnight" - it gets cold and dark quickly in the mountains this time of year.  But our NC neighbor, John, had gotten a nice fire going at his tent site in a fire pit, so I went and chatted with him until about 7:30, at which point if was probably about 36.  Even though it was still well before "hiker midnight," I took my pills and got in my sleeping bag, and fell asleep almost immediately.  I slept like a log - until 8PM, when my phone alarm went off, reminding me to take my pills!  This was the equivalent of falling asleep watching TV and then not being able to sleep when you go to bed.  I lay awake for hours after that.  Eventually, I got to sleep again,

Just after 7AM, the sun was starting to come up.  I didn't want to get out of my warm sleeping bag, so I lay there and got some pictures of the sunrise from my bag.

Oatmeal for breakfast!

We packed up, and I took a photo on timer of the two of us.  This is the first time that Beth and I backpacked together.  I look forward to future trips.

On the climb back out, I had to brag on my trail club.  They maintain this section of trail with masterful skill!

I was back home by 1PM, so this was a nice, short trip in cold weather.  I enjoyed doing a mini-"Freezeree" in the shelter.