Roaring Plains West Wilderness - Winter Hike - February 12, 2011 - Member Trip Report
| Hike Name: | Roaring Plains West Wilderness - Winter Hike |
|---|---|
| Country: | United States |
| State: | West Virginia |
| Trip Rating: |  |
| Trip Date: | February 12, 2011 |
| Duration: | 1 day |
| Trail Conditions: | Fair |
| Trail Traffic: | None |
| Trip Weather: | Cloudy |
| Trip Winds: | Heavy |
| Trip Precipitation: | Snow |
| Trip Temperature: | High: Below 0, Low: Below 0 degrees Fahrenheit |
| Trip Report: | BC showed up at my house with Lewis around 5:30 pm after work Friday night, and Metro rolled in soon thereafter. We got Lewis acclimated to his new surroundings, wrapped up some last minute packing, and headed out for Elkins. It was a long drive, and we only made one stop for some Chipotle, so BC and I passed the time by kicking back a few cowboy sodas while Metro waxed poetically about the meaning of life. Pulled up to the Elkins Motor Lodge sometime after midnight, did a quick check-in after scaring the bejesus out of the front desk clerk, and then retired to our luxurious second floor room. Spent an hour or so mucking around with the newly rented snowshoes, and drank a few more barley-hop mixtures before attempting to call it a night. The next door neighbors were a rowdy bunch, and must have partied until at least a half hour before we got up the next morning. And, unfortunately for us, the walls were insulated about as well as the walls of a corrugated cardboard box. After hitting the local Subway for a quick breakfast sandwich and coffee, stopping for some petrol, and driving back and forth through Elkins three times trying to figure out how the hell to get out, we finally got on our way. By the time we reached the trailhead parking area around noon (so much for our 10 am start), I had to piss like a racehorse, so I immediately made a break for the bridge over Red Creek. The wind howling through the tunnel formed by the bridge cut through me like I knife, and for at least a split second I considered suggesting to the others that maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, and maybe we should turn around and go home. In the end, I manned up, and said nothing. After fumbling around with our packs for 20 minutes or so with frozen fingers, we finally got marching. It’s a funny thing how a little hiking can warm the body. In no time, we were all toasty inside our winter clothes, and had no doubts this was going to be a good trip. We had read in advance that the trail wasn’t marked very well, so decided to break out the GPS unit we had borrowed from a friend of mine. It was an antiquated thing that looked like one of the first cell phones ever made. You know the type. They were about the size of a small loaf of bread, and had an antenna that could double as a CB antenna. Nonetheless, the unit appeared to be working well, and was tracking right along with the trail. Until we hit the woods that is. About 10 feet into the canopy of the forest we lost signal, never to pick it up again. Fortunately for us, someone had hiked in before and their tracks were still fresh. So we sauntered on, and eventually got into a groove. Hiking in snowshoes was a new venture for all of us and it was turning out to be a blast. The first four miles were pretty uneventful, but we found that you had to keep moving at all times, or your body would immediately begin to shut down in the cold. Even a quick break for a drink or snack, particularly if you had to remove your gloves for anything, would result in almost instance body chills. After about four miles, the wind kicked up severely, and we ultimately ended up loosing the tracks we had been following. After circling around for approximately 45 minutes, and trying the GPS unit again, we decided it might be best if we backtracked and set up camp, which is exactly what we did. We hiked back about two miles until we found a good flat spot. BC got busy digging out a spot for the tent, Metro started melting some snow to cook up dinner, and Moondoggy went to work cutting firewood. The evening turned out awesome. We enjoyed some good warm food, a nice warm fire, and passed around the bottle of Maker’s Mark BC had packed along. After about three hours, the firewood dwindled, and we called it a night. The four-season tent we had rented held up well, and proved to be quite warm. In fact, it was one of the best night sleeps I have had backpacking in awhile. |
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