Tag Archives: West Virginia

Lean-to Shelter Camping – Tuscarora Trail

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3 days of Backpacking and Hammock Camping on Virginia’s Tuscarora Trail.

For this backpacking trip, I decided to head down to the border of West Virginia and Virginia to check out a pretty cool mountaintop lean-to shelter and do a little airplane scavenger hunt in-between the occasional rain showers that always tend to follow me around.  On day one I would hike up to the ridge using the Tuscarora Trail, day two I would base camp and explore, and on day three I would hike back out via a different set of trails to complete the loop.

My options for shelter would be to either use the Gerhard Shelter lean-to if I had the place to myself, or a lightweight tarp and minimalist hammock if I decided to wander out further into the woods and camp near the search area and nearby spring.

My April temperature range for this trip was between 40° and 75°.  This allowed me to get my backpack’s base weight down to around 10 lbs, while still including my puffy jacket and ultralight rain jacket for supplemental warmth at camp if needed.

The details of the aviation accident site that I was looking for can be found here.  It was a small Cessna 150J that went down due to engine power loss and fortunately their were only minimal injuries to one of the two passengers.  I’ve never read any reports of anyone actually finding or visiting this site, so I really had no idea if there would be anything to be found. But hey, it was a good excuse to get out into the woods, so I grabbed my pack and headed out for some adventure…

Route Overview – Gerhard Shelter Tuscarora Trail Backpacking Trip 2022 – Sintax77

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How to Survive an Ice Storm – Hammock Camping the Roaring Plains

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3 Days of Winter Hammock Camping and Backpacking in the Roaring Plains Wilderness during Snow and Freezing Rain.

FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through some of my links.

For this late winter backpacking trip, I decided to head back down to West Virginia’s Monongahela National forest to do some ridge hiking and cold weather hammock camping. Due to temperatures forecasted from the low 20’s to the low 40’s, I needed to pack in some heavier warm clothing layers for this trip, along with some camp tools, so I used my larger winter backpack.  For sleep and shelter, I used my go-to ultralight hammock and tarp set-up with winter grade down quilts (full gear list below).  As it turns out, I probably should have used that extra pack space for a larger tarp too, but live and learn I guess…

This trip video was sponsored by Magic Spoon.  You can try their variety pack and get $5 off by using this link and the code Sintax77.

The 6,792 acre Roaring Plains West Wilderness is a remote federal wilderness area located about 3 miles south of the more popular Dolly Sods Wilderness Area.  It boasts a healthy network of trails, which are unmarked and often, grown in and hard to follow.  Official paper maps are hard to come by, and by some accounts, not very up to date.  Based on my personal experience, I would highly recommend using a GPS with appropriate data while hiking here.  You can also find good trail info and map print-outs at MidAtlanticHikes.com and HikingUpward.com.  I also recorded my personal GPS data for this trip, which can be found here.

Route Overview – Roaring Plains Backpacking Loop – Sintax77

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3 Days of Campfire Cooking and Hammock Camping – Harpers Ferry West Virginia

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Hammock Camping, Trail Cooking and the search for an Elusive Hearth in the Woods of West Virginia.

FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through some of my links.

For this early February hammock camping trip, I set out to hike a 3 day hike with a nostalgic goal – to find a giant campfire hearth that my friend and I had built five years ago, somewhere off of the Appalachian Trail near the town of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.  I had always wondered if it was still standing after all these years, and thought it would be a great excuse to spend some time in the woods a cook some hearty camping meals.

My weather conditions were forecasted to have a pretty wide range during this trip, from the upper 50’s down to 30 degrees each evening.  I had a rough idea of the hearth’s location.  We built it at camp not too long after leaving the Harpers Ferry National Historic Area’s boundary while heading south on the Appalachian Trail.  My goal for the first day was to get myself to a legal camping area in this general area so I could search for it first thing the next morning.  If I found it early, I would then have the option to do a day hike to Loudoun Heights and Split Rock for views of the Shenandoah River and Potomac River below the ridge.

For sleep and shelter on this trip, I went with a simple hammock camping and ultralight tarp setup (gear list below).  I used the extra space in my winter backpack to load up on extra clothing layers, a saw for harvesting firewood, a stool for working in my makeshift camp kitchen, and my white gas stove system paired up with a fry pan and diffuser to try my hand at baking some trail bread at camp.  The cooler temps also allowed me to bring some “real” food, so I brought along some ingredients to make some smoked sausage one day and pasta with a slow cooked meat sauce the next.

This trip video was sponsored by Anker and their model 521 and 535 Portable Power Station.

Route Overview – Harpers Ferry Loudoun Heights Winter Backpacking Trip – Sintax77

Full GPS track data, including campsites, etc, for this trip and many others can be downloaded on my Trip Data Page.

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Deep Woods Camping & Finding a Cessna 414

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FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through some of my links.

For this backpacking trip, we hiked into the Cranberry Wilderness in search of a twin engine private plane that crashed in 1995 and went missing for 6 years, deep in the forests of a remote West Virginia mountaintop.  There was also a hiker who went missing here back in 2011.

For sleep and shelter, Frank and I both decided to pack in our Amok Draumr Hammock camping systems. This would allow us to get a comfortable camping setup even if we were forced to camp in one of the mossy rock fields that are often encountered along mountain ridges in the Cranberry Wilderness.  A detailed gear list can be found at the bottom of this post.

On the morning of November 28th, 1995, a Cessna 414, tail number N28901 took off from Braxton County Airport in Sutton, West Virginia headed for Lynchburg Regional, Virginia.  After encountering low visibility due to foggy conditions, the lone pilot contacted air traffic control to request an IFR (instrument flight rules) flight plan in order to continue navigating the approaching mountainous terrain.  After a period of apparent poor communications, possibly due to a radio issue, ATC lost contact with the pilot.  Transponder signals ceased not long after the last communication, and the plane was never heard from or seen again until it was spotted from the air over six years later.

More info on N28901 can be found in this copy of the NTSB report.

Cranberry Wilderness Cessna 414 Search Route Overview - Sintax77

Route Overview – Cranberry Wilderness Cessna 414 Backpacking Trip  – Sintax77

No permit is required to backcountry camp in the Monongahela National Forest.

Full GPS track data, including campsites, etc, for this trip and many others can be downloaded on my Trip Data Page.

Trailhead Used: Big Beechy Trailhead, 38°17’44.2″N 80°14’55.7″W
Highland Scenic Hwy, Minnehaha Springs, WV 24954

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Snow Storm at Dawn – Winter Camping on North Fork Mountain

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Winter Camping in a Snow Storm on North Fork Mountain, West Virginia.

FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through some of my links.

For this winter backpacking trip, we set out to do some overnight camping in the Monongahela National Forest by an awesome vista known as Chimney Top during the last week of January.  The weather forecast showed the potential for a snow storm to land some time between the first night and the morning of the next day, so we decided to keep our mileage fairly low and laid back. Temperatures were projected to be fairly steady in the low to mid 20’s Fahrenheit.

Our initial climb up to the ridge would require a gross elevation gain of roughly 2,000 feet over the course of two miles.  Once we got to the ridge, we would be afforded with seemingly endless mountain views overlooking the Potomac River, New Creek Mountain, and Dolly Sods in the distance.  After following the ridge for a while we would start to look for campsite opportunities.

Besides the quick elevation gain, our main challenge on this trip would be water.  There is only one semi reliable water source on the entire 25 mile length of the North Fork Trail, and it’s located right around the half way point at 12.5 miles.  We wouldn’t be going that far, so we would have to pack in all of our water for drinking and cooking. If the snow storm had hit prior to our arrival, we would have had the advantage of melting snow. With the ground dry and free of snow upon our arrival, we decided to pack in 1 gallon (4 liters) of water per person.

For shelter, Frank and James went with tent camping in individual tents, while I chose to go with a hammock camping setup.  With this mix of shelters, we hoped to be able to find a decent spot to camp on the ridge with some nice mountain views.

Route Overview – North Fork Mountain Trail Chimney Top – Sintax77

No permit is required to backcountry camp in the Monongahela National Forest.

Full GPS track data, including campsites, etc, for this trip and many others can be downloaded on my Trip Data Page.

Trailhead Used: North Fork Mountain Trailhead, Northern End
38°58’53.0″N 79°13’53.8″W
Smoke Hole Rd, Cabins, WV 26855

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Fall Camping in Dolly Sods – Foliage Peaking and Sleeping Pads Leaking

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Join Sara and I for 3 Days of Camp Cooking, Hiking, & Backpacking in the Dolly Sods  Wilderness.

For this 3 day, 2 night backpacking trip, Sara, Denali and I decided to do some fall foliage camping in West Virginia’s Dolly Sods Wilderness, part of the larger Monongahela National Forest. Dolly Sods is located in the Allegheny Mountains on the highest plateau east of the Mississippi river and features some of the most varied and scenic terrain available to hikers in the Mid-Atlantic region.

We had our dog with us on this trip, so we decided to give tent camping a go this time around to keep us all together in one spot.  I also decided to totally throw lightweight backpacking out the window for this trip, so I brought along my Fjallraven Kajka 75 backpack and stuffed it to the gills with various backpacking gear, just to have a little fun and switch things up a bit (gear list at end of post).  This decision was made easier by the fact that we were starting at Bear Rocks trailhead, which is already high up on the plateau with minimal elevation changes.

Campsites and great views are fairly abundant in Dolly Sods, so our general plan was to keep the mileage low and focus on a relaxed hiking pace, fun backpacking food and camp cooking.  It was the perfect recipe for a laid back camping trip.  Other than the whole leaking sleeping pad situation to make things more interesting…

 

Route Overview – Dolly Sods Fall Backpacking Loop – Sintax77

No permit is required to camp in the Dolly Sods Wilderness, but there are rules and regulations regarding backcountry camping. You can find more information on the USFS Dolly Sods website here.

Full GPS track data, including campsites, water sources, etc, for this trip and many others can be downloaded on my Trip Data Page.

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