When it's 4 am and you wake up sealed so tightly inside a sleeping bag that you can't find the opening you just have to wonder, "Who thought this was a good idea?"
I'd compare cold weather camping to pledging a fraternity (especially when you go out there with a group of eight guys). You're proud you made it through, but it's the most fun you never want to have again. Except if you're crazy like us and you enjoy these kinds of things.
Last weekend included a refreshing sixty hours spent out in the mountains of West Virginia. The Monongahela is a federally protected forest encompassing over 900,000 acres of woodlands in the eastern region of the state. It's an absolutely stunning landscape, even with most of the leaves already on the ground. Rhododendron, which curiously still clung to their foliage, sprawled out across the sides of steep valleys while small cricks tumbled down the slopes.
Our group of mountaineers, composed primarily of competitive runners, made very poor time through the woods. And I’m not talking about ouch-I-have-a-blister slow, I’m talking about mommy-can-you-carry-my-backpack slow. It took us all day to cover eight miles; just for the record, through hikers can cover more than twenty-five. It was still good fun, especially when it came to crossing the river. With no bridges to speak of we were forced to fabricate a stone walkway (and we wonder why we made such bad time).
After a long day of hiking in the cold it’s absolutely amazing how comforting a bag of dehydrated food can be. We huddled around the fire sharing stories of loved (and hated) ones while trying to fight off the chills. I was so reluctant to retreat from the fire that I fell asleep right there next to the ring a few times before resigning myself to another frigid night in the tent.
It was an epic weekend of campfires, hatchets, and testosterone, and this adventurer can't wait for the next trip. There’s only one thing I’d do differently next time: remember the hot chocolate mix.
(Click for pictures!)
