Overnighter Day 2

1.  Date: 29 July 2012
2.  Day 2
3.  Miles traveled: 6.9 or so.
4.  Temp: 65 degrees @ 0700
5.  Weather: Clear, calm and pleasant. 
6.  End point: Route 70 bridge @ 1030
7.  Events: Large wasp nest near Dalgren Church
Log: I had some trouble sleeping last night. It seemed I just layed there for two hours as the cacophony of tree frogs and crickets rivaled anything a shelter full of snorers could do. I just didn't feel tired. I read for another hour then did sleep some. As the night cooled I realized I should have placed my reflector pad that I had brought to test out. Around 0400 I got up and dug it out of the pack and could immediately tell the difference. I dozed until the birds took over for the now quieting frog song. It's 0630 now. Time to start the day.
I started breaking camp as I boiled some water for some oatmeal and coffee.  I headed out at 0730 and started back north towards the trail-head.  I ran into two guys who had headed north yesterday from Weaverton and had gone to the monument and back to Dalgren campground.  I passed a few backpackers and day hikers as I made my way back.  I didn't take any long breaks, just about 10 minutes at the monument to fill some water and rest a bit and was seeing how fast I could get back.
When I was climbing the last hill, I almost bonked and had to get a good drink and munch on some trail mix.  Before long I was at the trail-head and at the van. 
I threw the gear into the van, headed to McDs for a second breakfast and headed home. 

This is a good hike that can be done again and again, with little side excursions or going a little further to the cabin or staying at the campground. I will put it in my list of hikes for future reference. 

Parking at the trail-head: free
Filling my water bottles at the parks along the way: free
Stringing a hammock between two trees behind the shelter: free
Making a fire and staring at it for a few hours: free
Hiking the AT: Priceless

Overnighter Day 1

1.  Date: 28 July 2012
2.  Day 1
3.  Miles traveled: 6.9
4.  Temp: mid 70s @ 0945
5.  Weather: Some clouds but very pleasant not as humid as at home but still sweat inducing.
6.  End point: Rocky Run shelter
7.  Events: Hung out with Andy and Kevin
Log:  Headed out at 0825 and arrived at parking lot at 0935. Hit the trail after cleaning up a Repel insect repellent leak in my top pouch. Made everything sticky. The trail is very nice here. I saw a few day hikers and also some section hikers. I met Kevin and his father Andy at the Washington Monument. I stopped for lunch at the Dalgren campground and they caught up to me there. We talked a while and I lent them my iPod charger. I arrived at Rocky Run at 1400. I scouted the area and found a place to put up the hammock behind the shelter. I made a few trips to the spring to get some of the fluid back in me from sweating all day. I made a little fire for the atmosphere even though it was in the 80s and there really weren't many bugs. Dinner was noodles and chicken and a little Tabasco. I took a little walk and brought some wood back to replenish the supply under the porch and hung out until the sun set behind the ridge at 2000. I retired to the hammock with just the woovie and was hot at first but feel comfortable now as I write this. I will read some then see how this thing sleeps. A good day of hiking and I do like the solitude, but having my honey or my babies here would be good too.

A Quick Update

Just a quick update:

Lisa is the only survivor to the P90X Club.  She continues her workouts, while Shauni and I have moved on to other things.  Like snacking and playing PS3.  But my next workout/weightloss push is going to start Sept 1 and I still have been playing the wallyball and doing some FitDeck workouts. 

I have been dying to try out Lisa's new Hennesey Hammock and this weekend I will head to the Rt 70 overpass and hike south to most likely Rocky Run Shelter.  I stayed there on the first night of my first Section Hike and it is a nice place.  Good water and lots of trees to hang from.   I'm going to try out a little reflector pad I made and use  a fleece liner and woovie as my bedding.  My pack should be a bit lighter on this quick overnighter.  I always pack like I'm going longer, as a training technique, but with the lighter bedding I may get under 30 lbs.  We shall see.

The trail is calling...

Summer Vacation Part 1

It is weird.  I have been so focused on backpacking for so long that it feels strange that I am doing something else. But I am in Cape May right now and having a great time getting into the beach mode. Of course I had to make a fire out back tonight, but I am having a good time. 

I made another fire out back on Sunday night while the rest of them played pictionary. There was a storm to the north. All you could see was the lightning flashing in the clouds with no sound of the thunder. It looked like some of the old gods were having a battle in the sky. It was cool. 

On Monday Lisa and I put the kayak into the harbor and paddled up the canal. It was around a five mile round trip and was nice.   The tide was pretty low when we put in and we had to walk way out to get launched. The breeze was in our faces the whole way out, but that gave us a nice push on the way back. 

Tuesday and Wednesday are sort of a blur.  I think we played Munchkins one night and of course the eating and drinking continued at a decent pace.  Oh, also Wednesday was July 4th, so we had burgers and dogs on the grill and everyone but me and Bill went to the fireworks down on the beach.  They hadn't done them at the Cape May beach for quite some time, so it was nice that they were close.  I dropped everyone off and they walked back after the show.  I stayed behind to confort Ginger if she became frightened, but she didn't even hear them.  I kept checking to see if they were going and caught a little of the finish, but it was right at the level of the houses and trees. 

Thursday we went to the Wildwood boardwalk.  It was hot and stifling, but we hung out at a place that served beer and found a new brand that we never had that was quite tastie, called Leinenkugel. 

We headed home on Friday around 5 pm and had no trouble with traffic.  It was a good week. 

Next is Conneaut in early August.