Fauna Violet Bikes! : Backpacking Adventures 101

I know, I know. I have been a bit lazy this year. My New Year's Resolution for next year will be to write to you more. You're welcome. You heard it here first. Not much has changed since April other than a BF and an amazing summer. I have gotten better at Acro (I did Acro with the first time back in April with BF), which is exciting, but it isn't what brought me here today.

I can now scratch Backpacking off my list of things I need to do. Although some might argue my bicycle trip to Ohiopyle 2 years ago was "backpacking", this trip had the required hiking aspect that the bicycle trip was missing. So, instead of riding 85 miles to camp for a night and ride home, we hiked 5 miles to camp and hiked 6 miles back home.

Day One:
Brutal. I was about 40 words away from, "Do we have to go?" when we pulled up to the trail head. We (Boyfriend and I) had just driven 3 hours northeast of Pittsburgh to the Allegheny National Forest. It was pouring rain. I know what you're thinking, but the air was 45 degrees and had a stiff breeze. I could handle it being cold or wet... but both was sure to kill me. Somehow we suited up and set off on foot to a campground I was sure did not exist. The hiking was a little difficult for me and my quads were surely burning. Once we got moving my core warmed up and I felt fine as far as temperature went. I remembered this rule from biking. (I think Vannevar shared it with me... thank you!) The most important part of biking in the snow or cold was to make sure your core was warm and the rest of you would follow.

The hardest part of the Morrison Trail on day one was crossing the streams. Even the smallest streams seemed a bit wide for my little legs from all the rainfall. Boyfriend helped me across each of them, careful not to fall in himself. I have to admit, I was skeptical of putting my feet into plastic zip lock freezer bags, but I am damn glad he made me. About 4 miles in the 5 miles trek the rain slowed enough that it was no longer making my cheeks wet and cold. When we reached the campsite around 5:30pm, the last thing I wanted to do was anything. I noticed I began to get cold very quickly once we stopped moving. With everything soaked around us we set up the tent and got things in order. Then we gathered sticks and anything that looked dead to make a fire. We wouldn't know until the next day neither of us actually expected to get a fire started. We did and it was warm.

The Night:
It was cold, but Boyfriend boiled some water and put it in a bottle for me to put in my sleeping bag. I did that and it was so warm at one point I kicked it further down the bag. We also each had a body warmed stuck to our chests. Another trick we tried was to put emergency blankets under our sleeping pads between us and the ground. I would say it worked. At no point did I think the ground was my source of coldness. My sleeping bag is rated to 25 degrees, so I mummied myself in and went to sleep.

Day Two:
Woke up to weather already warmer than the high from the previous day. Small bits of sun were shining on the reservoir so we got up around 9, made breakfast and packed everything back up. The little campground we were at was only $10.00 for the night and had a small hole- in- the- floor bathroom. The ladies room had a spider where your butt would go. (I blame Nate for saying I was going to get eaten by a spider.) Once we were packed and hydrated we set out on foot for the last 6 miles. This loop would take us back to the car. The temperature at this point was so nice neither of us put on any rain gear. In fact about 1.5 miles in we each started shedding clothes. Not for that reason, but because it was warm out and we were hot. Seriously, not for *that* reason. Sicko.

I was warned that at a certain part of this section of trail we would begin climbing up a steep hill that would never seem to end. Sure enough, the trail which had traversed the hillside for quite a while took a turn for straight up. It was steep and rugged terrain. Most of the time we were stepping on mossy stones or wet leaves. At one point I fell on the root of a tree. I was ok, but with as tired as I was, I noticed myself getting lazy. The second half of the trail was gorgeous though. It was cut through huge boulders and over tree roots. I enjoyed the apple trees and rhododendrons growing along the way.

Finally the steep trail ended and we continued along on even ground. The last mile or two were easy compared to the rest of the hike it was flat ground and the trail was easy to identify. We got to the car, sweaty and tired. Then we sang songs we heard on the radio the whole way home. The End.

Critters you ask? Why yes, we did see some critters. We saw the tiniest frog ever, a medium sized toad and a lot of chipmunks. Luckily we did not see a single bear or dear or wolverine.

I think this is long enough for tonight. If you get the chance to go on a backpacking trip, go. It is a great way to be sore and tired and have nothing but some muddy shoes and a couple photos to show for it- and that is awesome!

Fauna Violet
(Jen)