I post this trip every year for the first weekend after New Year. The warning is always the same; this is not a typical trip for the club. The 2010 version may have pushed that warning to the limit. It all started well enough: I posted and the trip quickly filled.
Then old man winter decided to make an appearance. The snow started falling and the temps started dropping. Armageddon was just around the corner! The weather reports and the uncertainty of the wood supply led many people to drop from the trip. What once was a full trip of 24 ended up with only 7 hearty (crazy?) souls.
Jon, Ray Christy and Scott all headed in Friday night and parked at the shelter parking lot. This is about 1/3 mile from the shelters and let them spend an extra night in the woods. Jon and Ray were the forward observes and said they would call Friday night with an update on the amount of wood. They called as promised and said there was wood but a chain saw was needed. Ed and Anita planned to spend the day with us but had to leave for the night due to a family commitment. I called Ed to see if he had a chain saw and if he would bring it. He did and he would.
Leann and I left Saturday morning and stopped at the Home Depot in Franklin to pick up some dry “starter wood”. We were going to have a fire! We proceeded to the trailhead and meet up with Ed, Anita and Rob. Along the way Jon called and said they planned to day hike and would wait at the shelters for us. We arrived a few minutes late to the trailhead and found the remainder of the group waiting. This was Rob’s first trip with the club. I again said this was not typical trip with the club. After brief introductions we agreed to drive to the shelter parking lot, hike in, cut wood, hang tarps and then go for a day hike.
We arrived at the shelters made introductions and then assessed the wood. There was a significant pile of logs approx. 10 feet long and 2-3 feet in diameter. Thank you Jon for saying we needed a chain saw. Nothing says backpacking like the sound of a chain saw ripping through a large log. Ed put the chain saw to work and Rob and I took turns splitting the logs with the maul provided by the park service. Leann and Anita hauled the wood to the shelter and provided updates on how much more we needed. With all of this help we had a pretty good size pile in about 2 hours. We then set up the tarps (I hate this part), had lunch and went for a day hike.
I have to say Saturday was truly a great day to spend in the woods. A cloudless blue sky, no wind and powdery snow made for a great day in the woods. I hope the pictures do the day justice because my words sure do not. The day was thoroughly enjoyed by all. I turned back a little early from the hike to get the fire going. Eventually everyone returned from their various day hikes. Jon and Ray mentioned seeing “Mr P” of the club maintaining the trail. Thank you Mr. P!
We ate and then socialized by the fire. This is still a great way to spend a winter night. There was a lot of chaos leading up to this trip but it sure was turning out well. Eventually Ed and Anita said their goodbyes and left for the evening. Thanks to both of them for all of their help with wood and shelter duties.
The sky stayed clear all night and that meant two things: awesome stars and cold. In the middle of the night I checked on both. It was without a doubt the most stars I have seen in the eastern sky, beautiful. I also have to say it was COLD. Temperature readings were all over the map. All I know for sure is that the temp was 4 degrees when we got back to our car around 10.
We left the way we arrived, in small groups. Some went out to breakfast, some slept in, some decided to stay and do another hike. Leann and I left around 10 since we had to take our youngest back to college.
A funny thing happened on this Oil Creek backpacking trip. It morphed into a car camping trip! Maybe this is way we should always do this trip, two nights in the woods spending time we people we like who share a love of the outdoors.
See you in January, 2011.