ONE DOG NIGHT
The first major snowstorm of
the season hit on Tuesday, and I experienced the full brunt of it. Originally I had planned on a 3-day
backpacking trip, but a cold, rainy Monday led me to delay the trip by a day. On Tuesday morning, Saucony and I headed to
Mount Rogers. We drove up through
Sparta, where we spotted the first snow.
Despite the clouds, the view ahead to the Grayson Highlands promised
more snow waiting for us. By the time I
reached Troutdale, heavy snow was falling.
At the Mount Rogers trailhead on highway 603, there was already
significant snow accumulation.
Editor’s Note: We now join John Madden and Pat Summerall for live coverage of Andy’s hike.
Pat Summerall: Thanks
for joining us today, as we bring you coverage of Andy’s backpacking trip
through the frozen tundra of the southwest Virginia mountains.
John Madden: Heh, Heh,
speaking of frozen tundra, you know, heh, heh, Brett Farve, now there’s a guy
that really enjoys conditions like this.
If Brett Farve was into hiking, you can bet he’d be out there right now,
because, you know, he’s a guy that really likes the cold weather.
Pat Summerall: You
know, most normal people wouldn’t leave the house in weather like this. Can you pass the Scotch?
John Madden: Well,
here’s a guy that really likes hiking.
He hikes regardless of the weather.
Heh, heh, and you know why?
Because he’s a hiker, and that’s what hikers do. They hike.
Pat Summerall: We
now pause for these words from our sponsors.
Now, where did that second bottle of Scotch get to?
I loaded my pack, and led
Saucony across the road to the beginning of the Mount Rogers Trail. I encountered the first challenge of the
hike immediately. All of the rhododendron
branches were covered with heavy snow.
The weight of the snow was causing the branches to hang down and block
the trail. I used my stick to knock the
snow off the branches, but this was tedious and not very effective. Eventually I gave up and plowed ahead. I was wearing my gore tex jacket, and that
at least prevented the snow from going down my back.
The rhododendrons ended
after a short distance, and I entered an open hardwood forest. I passed a spur trail down to the Grindstone
Campground, and began climbing towards the high country on gentle switchbacks. The snow continued to fall as I hiked. I was generally heading south, but each
switchback took me either east or west.
Every time I turned west, I found myself walking into the storm.
After 90 minutes, I reached
a large rock outcrop that partially blocked the wind. I huddled behind the rock and had a quick lunch. Before I ate, I added another layer of
clothing. Temperatures were in the
20’s, but I was only wearing a t-shirt, a long-sleeve shirt, and my rain jacket
in addition to snow pants, a hat, and gloves.
This wasn’t much clothing for the conditions, but I didn’t want to get
overheated hiking uphill.
Shortly after lunch, I
reached a flat open area and a junction with the Lewis Fork spur trail. It was at this point that Saucony and I
spotted a handful of wild turkey waddling around in the snow. Run birds run! If Saucony had been a little faster, I might’ve had Thanksgiving
dinner a couple of days early.
John Madden: You
know what’s really good is when you, heh, heh, you take a turkey, heh, heh, and
you stuff it with a duck, and then you stuff the duck with a chicken. I call it a turducken. Isn’t that clever?
Pat Summerall: What
wine goes with turducken? Do you have
any?
I continued on as the climb
resumed along a ridge. Before long, I
joined the Appalachian Trail above Deep Gap.
The open hardwood forest was replaced with snow-draped spruce and
fir. The hike took on a Christmas feel
among those trees even though it was still a couple of days before
Thanksgiving.
I reached Briar Ridge, which
usually features a fine view of Whitetop Mountain. Today though, it featured a view of a whiteout. I could only see about 50 feet because of
the heavy clouds. I returned to the
woods, and followed the AT towards Thomas Knob. I re-emerged from the woods and was treated with a view across
rolling meadows. It was quite a sight,
as all of the shrubs were covered in rime ice.
I hiked past the junction with the summit trail, and a few minutes later
reached the Thomas Knob shelter.
The shelter wasn’t exactly
cozy. The wind was blowing snow in, and
the lower level was covered under almost an inch of fresh powder. I climbed the ladder to check out the upper level,
and found snow up there, too. Briefly I
considered tenting instead. I had
brought my tent to keep my options open.
I hiked towards Rhododendron Gap, in search of a sheltered campsite I
had stayed at previously. I had trouble
finding the site in the snow because it is well off the trail in a stand of fir
trees. A sheltered site was critical
because of the wind. It was still
snowing hard, too. I gave up on
camping, and returned to the shelter. I
found a broom inside, and swept some of the snow out. Then I unrolled my sleeping bag in the corner where less snow was
blowing in.
I had arrived at the shelter
at 3:30, but by the time I got organized and fetched water from the spring, it
was starting to get dark. The wind was
howling, so I cooked my jambalaya dinner in the opposite corner of the
shelter. By the time I fixed my
after-dinner drink, I was starting to get cold. I had every layer of clothing on, but I knew I’d have to retreat
to the sleeping bag before long. The
bag was covered in a fine layer of snow.
I was afraid a bear might wander by during the night. It might mistake me for a giant éclair
covered in powdered sugar!
I shed some clothing and got
in the bag at 7:30 and read for an hour.
Initially I zipped Saucony up in a fleece blanket. Later that night she started flopping
around, and I was afraid she was getting cold.
The forecast had called for temperatures in the teens, and it was at
least that cold. I was in a zero-degree
bag with some clothing on, and I was still a little chilly. Finally I let Saucony into the bag with
me. There was barely enough room for
both of us, but she was content to sleep down by my feet. I couldn’t move around at all, but at least
she kept my feet warm!
It was bright and sunny the
next morning. I stuck my head out of
the sleeping bag, and was nearly blinded by the sun reflecting off of all that
snow. It was hard to get up. I dressed in the sleeping bag, slipped my
frozen boots on, and headed to the spring for water. I retrieved the food bag, and prepared breakfast. This was challenging. The bacon was a frozen lump. The eggs were frozen in their shells. I defrosted and cooked the bacon at the same
time. I tried to scramble the eggs in a
pan, but the eggs looked like banana pudding.
Somehow, the bacon cooked nicely.
I fried the egg-like substance until the bottom layer burned. I flipped it over, peeled the top layer off,
and cooked the rest. Miraculously, it
was edible.
John Madden: Frozen
eggs and bacon? Here’s a guy that just
doesn’t know how to eat. If it had been
me, heh, heh, well, I’d have gone to Outback and had one of them blooming
onions. Pat, let’s get out of here and
grab a steak.
Pat Summerall: What
beer do they have on draft there? Do
they have Heineken?
Water was another
challenge. My camelback pakteen was
frozen solid. I tried thawing it in
warm water, but that didn’t help. It
was still cold and windy, and I didn’t have enough fuel to boil my water. Ultimately I ended up eating snow on the
hike out.
After breakfast I packed and
wandered around enjoying the scenery.
The clouds had cleared, leaving pristine snow, rime ice, and sparkling
views. The bright sun was brutal
though. Originally I had planned on
hiking through Rhododendron Gap and over Pine Mountain and down to route 603 on
the AT. I had forgotten sunglasses
though, and was concerned about going snow-blind hiking across the open
meadows. That route is also several
miles longer, and it had taken me almost 5 hours to go 6 miles in the snow the
day before. Reluctantly I decided to go
back the way I’d come.
I stopped at the open-air
privy before I left. Boy, you want to
talk about a cold seat! The day before,
my underwear had actually frozen to my buttocks briefly. This was worse. Then, I stood up, and closed the lid. Several inches of snow had been clinging to the lid, but when I
closed it, the snow slid off and into my pants. Nice.
I left the shelter at
10. I enjoyed some great views along
the slopes of Mount Rogers before entering dense forest. More great views were waiting for me at
Briar Ridge. Then it was time to head
down the mountain. There was enough
snow on the ground to make the hike challenging. The snow hid the roots and rocks, and I stumbled frequently on
the way down. I only fell once
though. By the time I reached the Lewis
Fork Spur Trail, it was beginning to snow again. Clouds had rolled back in, and it was time to get on the
road. I reached the car at 1:30, and
was on my way back down the mountain before additional snow could accumulate.
My Mount Rogers backpack was
a fun adventure, but I’m definitely not ready yet for cold weather
camping. Two days earlier, I was hiking
in shorts. In the future, I’ll try to
ease into the cold weather trips. The
Thomas Knob shelter was somewhat convenient, but cold. In the future, I think I’d rather stay at
one of the many campsites near Thomas Knob or Rhododendron Gap.
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