Spring Break

Although SB was a few weeks ago, it was awesome...so I thought I'd still take the time to post about it. Ben and I spent the first half of SB in Monogahela National Forest in West Virginia. We went backpacking in the Cranberry Backcountry along the Kennison Mountain trail.

We planned a loop of 30ish miles in 5 1/2 days, but after the first day we realized that although we are in good cycling shape, this does not necessarily translate in to good hiking shape. I ride a bike everywhere, so walking makes my legs and knees tired in general; having a million pounds on your back does not help! So we ended up shortening the trip to 23-ish miles and taking a rest day in the middle.

The weather was a bit...interesting for our trip. The first few days it was sunny and beautiful. An then...not so much. The morning of our designated rest day we woke up to an inch of ice covering everything. The ice storm continued throughout the day. We ended up just staying in the tent all day reading a book. Ben went a little cabin crazy at one point (apparently the bright orange tent is not a soothing thing to stare at) but other than that it was kind of fun.

At this point, we had hiked the length of the trail and were at the base of the ridge, down by the river (but not in a van). The next morning, we woke up ready to climb back up the ridge. We were greeted that morning by an inch of snow! It turned out to be a good thing, as the climb back up the ridge would have been near impossible without the traction the snow provided. By the end of the day, at least 2 inches had accumulated. Although cold, it was a gorgeous winter scene. Most of the trail went through an old pine forest, and it looked like something out of a classic Christmas card.

As well as being an awesome time, the trip also proved to be very productive as a test run. While I've been on several backpacking trips, I've never been the one to actually "lead" the trip. Someone else was always in charge of the plan, the route, the food, or whatever. It was cool to be in charge of the whole trip (in conjunction with Ben of course). With the help of the NOLS cookbook, we learned some great new trail recipes. Every meal was delicious and there was absolutely no ramen. We also started to establish a routine. Each morning it took a little less time to break down camp and get on the trail.

Overall it was a great experience. I can't wait to go backpacking again, be it in West Virginia or Ecuador!