67° - 13° ‘ 54° C 13 to 16
January 2006
Bill Rogers
Ah
January - time for the annual TATC Ski and Snowshoe trip to
Passing
the entrance to White Grass Ski Area seven deer crossed the main highway; three
more were ready to follow. On up the
road I turned down
I
carried the rest of my gear down to the cabin.
I posted signs I’d brought with me identifying one side of the cabin as
‘GENTS’’ and the other as ‘LADIES’. I
set up curtain material around a bunk, established a clothes line for towel and
wash cloth, laid out my little rug, and made my little corner into a home for
the weekend. Then I carried a chair
outside and enjoyed the 67° sunny air, reading a book on the cabin porch. I left the door open so some warm air might
infiltrate into the bunkhouse.
About
2:15, I heard a car and spied Kathy Kocher’s Jimmy backing into the parking
area. I helped her carry her gear down
and get settled in the ladies’ side.
After she was set up, we took a pleasant afternoon walk up to the Forest
Service Horseshoe Campground a half mile up the creek. In the very closed campground I was surprised
to hear a dial tone in the open air public phone and called Bea to let her know
we’d both arrived safely.
We
saw just one junco on our walk, and a lonely honeybee. After our walk we headed into town to Sirianis, both of us enjoying a dinner of ‘O MIKE GOSS,’ a
favorite dish of pasta, chicken chunks, and Portobelo
mushrooms. Then back to camp to greet
other arrivals and be sociable around the fireplace in the recreation
lodge.
I
was in the sack about 10:00, just as the skies started to drip a wee little
bit. About 11:30 I was awakened by a heavy downpour and very strong wind. It only lasted a few minutes before going
back to light rain.
We
all hit the breakfast line at 8:00 to stock up on fuel for the day. Afterwards Kathy and I drifted to the rec center to discuss plans for the day. By now the rain was mixed with snow and the
temperature was dropping. We were both a
bit discouraged, depressed, and ‘blue’
this day. In the end we decided to
forego hiking - there was not enough snow for snowshoeing, only what was
falling. So we became tourists.
We
visited various shops in Thomas and Davis, and
We
ate our lunches in the car under a large hemlock near
On
the way back to camp there were mini white outs as wind picked up powder snow
and blew it about. I was glad it was not
yet dark - headlight glare on the blowing snow would have been bad. At one spot five deer crossed the road ahead
of us. I spied another just around the
next bend, but it was not in sight as we eased around the corner.
Sunday
was a cold, but pretty day. My 3:30 a.m.
‘necessary’ trip had revealed a beautiful full moon occasionally hidden by fair
weather alto cumulus clouds - very pretty, but very cold. My 67° Friday afternoon reading temperature
plunged to 13° Saturday night - a 54° change in just over 24-hours !! After breakfast, Kathy and I decided on a
hike in Dolly Sods. As we talked, there
was quite a line of vehicles attempting to exit the steep driveway and the
sharp uphill turn at the driveway top.
After a bit of experimenting, they all made it OK.
This
day we used Kathy’s Jimmy for our trip through Laneville and up Forest Road
75. Although drifted over a bit in
spots, the road was very passable. We
parked near the picnic area for a hike on Rohrbaugh
Trail. As we were donning packs a Honda
Accord, without chains and only 2-wheel drive, drove by. After a bit of a rise, the trail slowly
dropped down the side of the ridge. We
were soon out of the wind, a very brisk wind with clouds flying by at 30 to
40-mph. The ground was snow covered, but
’twas not deep. Although drifted in
spots to ten-inches or so, it averaged only 4 to 6-inches. My three cold fingers and one coolish toe warmed with the exercise.
A
little problem was being very careful to not slip on rocks covered with that
white powder. Rhododendrons and red
spruce were snow covered in perfect picture post card fashion. The windward sides of deciduous trees were
white-washed with plastered snow. It was
indeed a >winter wonderland.’ But all
was not great. The snow hid much of the
trail. We spent considerable time
casting about to locate or relocate it.
We
took our time, enjoying the day, and the scenery. What little water we found was easy to bypass
with dry feet. Harder to bypass was a
large blowdown.
We had to batter our way around this through the tightly growing
rhododendron, using our trekking poles to knock snow off the branches and
leaves as we advanced.
After
a while, knowing the way back was all uphill, we turned around to retrace our
steps. In no hurry, we took it slowly so
we would not get overheated. Back at the
Jimmy, we climbed in for lunch. Kathy
turned down my offer to clean off a picnic table for our repast. Something about wind and wind chill and being
so exposed along the ridge crest.
As
we ate, we watched, fascinated, as cloud shadows raced wildly by on snow in
front of us. 40 to 45-mph cloud movement
would not be an exaggeration ! Our
lunches were OK, but a bit lacking in bulk and calories for hiking. I’m glad I had supplemental snacks in my pack
for us both.
After
lunch we drove father up Rt. 75 to the junction of Rt. 19. Rt. 75 was gated, but there was plenty of
room to park, We did. Rt. 75 continued
on to Bear Rocks, a beautiful vista some miles to the north. We had neither time nor the desire to hike
that far. But we did hike the road. We headed north to another vista. The road was mostly blown clear of snow, but
in places there were 8 to 12-inch drift.
At one point Kathy called our stroll a ‘fitness walk,’ and we were,
indeed, going at a really good, but enjoyable, pace.
There
was a parking area at the vista, and a short, 100-yd, trail to the
viewpoint. The view was
magnificent. We could see all the way
back into
Retracing
our steps back to the vehicle and the road back to camp, we were home by
4:00. ’Twas a
short, but very pleasant day in beautiful winter scenery. On the way from the rec
center back to the cabin a young gent (+/- 7-year old) said to me “It would be
great if you gave me a push.” So I
climbed a little bit back up the hill with him and gave him and his pink
plastic sled a heave-ho down the hill.
The evening, as are most at
After
breakfast Monday I swept the ‘GENTS’ half of the cabin, and the counselor’s
room in the cabin center. Two ladies did
the common area and the ‘LADIES’ side.
All of us were careful to check under bunks for dropped stuff.
By
9:30 Kathy and I had all our stuff loaded and headed out the steep driveway
without problem. One car had experienced
trouble at the bend, getting around it but then losing traction due to no
momentum. They were backing a bit down
the main road for another start. At the
top of
I
then started my trek home. Roads were
clear and traffic was light, but thrown up dirt kept the wipers busy. I stopped in
Fearing
holiday traffic on the lower part of I-64 near home, I opted to take US 460, a
more rural and peaceful route. Along the
way, from the corner of my eye and only very briefly, I spotted a flock of
about 15 wild turkeys in a field.
Passing over the
Note
Though
there was little snow, the weekend was not lost. Saturday a number of folks took strenuous
falling-snow/blowing-wind hikes in Dolly Sods, getting a trifle wet as they
slipped going across streams. While
others went downhill skiing, some went shopping or became quite dedicated and
professional ‘Lodge Slugs.’ Sunday down
hillers and us hikers were at it again, and, I think, the tubing areas were
open.