Mt. Rogers/Grayson Highlands Shakedown

We finally had our chance to do an almost full crew shakedown backpacking trip through the beautiful Grayson Highlands area. The leaves were close to peak color and……… it was rainy and foggy almost the whole weekend. The boys could tell that we had some great vistas but with a maximum visibility of 50 yards it was hard to appreciate the views. Let’s just say the weather stunk and you know what?……. It helped make it a great shakedown weekend. The crew had to deal with less than ideal conditions and they found out that they could still make the trip work.

The Troop had camped at Grindstone Camp Grounds on Friday night and we had to set up our tents in the rain which was an appropriate start for this weekend. I sang the boys awake with “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” at 6:30 and we started to break camp in the dark.

It took us longer to get out of camp then we wanted but that is fine because these shakedowns are learning experiences and I’m confident that we will learn how to quickly break camp and get on the trail. The plan is to have only one purpose in the morning and that is to start hiking and to make our first long break our breakfast time. It will get us further down the trail which will get us to our programs at Philmont at an earlier time which will make Philmont so much more fun.

We had a great hike lined up because we were able to hike straight out of camp. A nice camper showed us the best way to access the Mt. Rogers Trail from Grindstone and he even escorted us to the trail. Then it was time for our climb up to Mt. Rogers – the highest point in all Virginia. We were not going to quite get to the top because it was off our trail and we were told by numerous hikers that you are just surrounded by trees with no view, but the crew was going to make some serious elevation gain on this hike. This will help us get ready for the mountain hiking at Philmont. The plan was to find a great view and stop for breakfast but we just didn’t find one and everybody was getting hungry so we found some rocks and called for our first long break. Philip said that we would pass a better site within a quarter mile after we started walking and he was right, but you got to stop sometime.

The weather was turning rainier and the fog was keeping us from being able to see much as we hiked along. Finally we came upon the white blaze of the Appalachian Trail. The Advisers were having the boys stop at every intersection of trails and look at the maps and come to a consensus on which way to go. Will and Drew were the “naviguessers” for Saturday and they kept us on the right path. When it was time for lunch the weather was still a little nasty and we got together and agreed to hike to the Thomas Knob Shelter. We needed shelter from the storm and it seemed like it would be much more comfortable to lunch under a roof with protection from the blowing mist with walls surrounding us and a roof over our head. It was a little disappointing to get to the shelter and find out that we were not the only one with the great idea of using it for lunch. The NC State Outing Club was using the shelter as a staging area to eat lunch and drop packs and head up to the Mt. Rogers Peak. It was kind of crowded but the boys did get inside the shelter and you could see how the comfort of a dry space made all of them feel so much better. A few of us went down to pump and filter water at the water source that had been fenced off so that the large animals would not spoil the clean running stream.

The weather was not getting any better … it wasn’t awful but it was unpleasant with the heavy blowing mist.

I gave the boys three options:

1. Stay at the shelter and stay dry but then make a late day run to Rhododendron Gap to our camp site.
2. Go to our Rhododendron Gap camp site and hunker down for the rest of the afternoon and then button up for the night.
3. Or we could go ahead and hike further down the trail so we could be closer to our next day goal and we would stay warm because of the exertion of the hike.

Then I left the shelter to let he boys decide. When I came back they had chose option number 3 which I thought was the best choice. We were accomplishing something today that would make our next day’s goal so much easier to achieve, so the crew saddled up and headed own the trail.

Quickly we reached the junction of the AT and the Pine Mountain Trail and the boys had a chance to play on the big rocks in the area. On a clear day you would have great views of the surrounding area, but we could only see about 50 yards. Finally it was time to call an end to our break and start heading down the Pine Mountain Trail. I let the boys know that this trail use to be part of the AT, but the trail had been lengthened to take the hikers through some of the prettier areas in the Mt. Rogers area. Our new destination was going to be near the junction of Pine Mountain Trail and Crest Trail. I had camped in that area on the Troop trip in August of 2008, and we had some gorgeous views that I hoped to share with crew …. If only the weather would clear. This was also near the area that the Troop’s mid-age boys were hoping to camp. We did see them right off the trail. They had a nice fire going and they were attempting to dry their clothes and themselves. We heard the story how one of the boys had face planted in the mud not once but once again after he got up (the old stick between the feet). It would have been great to camp in a spot that all ready had a roaring fire going but it was a little tight in the area, plus our group need to have their own campsite to continue working on our growth as a team.

We wondered over to the Crest Trail and found that my campsite from last year was unoccupied but because of the wet windy weather we looked in the woody area of the site to take advantage of the wind break that the trees would afford us. I saw a perfect place for my Hubba Hubba, nice uncluttered and level, yet I saw what looked like an animal path that started right at the site. There were wild horses in the area plus those pesky bears, so I decided to look elsewhere.

Just a little later as I was setting up my tent I heard the sound of thudding hoofs and then saw the thundering herd of six wild horses come barreling down the path that ran through my perfect tent site. It was a cool site but I was glad that I had thoughtfully selected another site.

When you select a tent site a few of the things you need to do or be aware of:

• Look out for any “widow makers” (a loose hanging limb or tree that could fall on your tent).
• A level site or as close as you can come to it.
• Make sure that water will not be funneled towards your tent in case it rains (I ignored this on our Shining Rock trek because I “knew” it wasn’t going to rain, but then it did).
• No roots or rocks or other objects are under your tent floor.
• Stay away from the snorers in your party.
• Be sure some thoughtless person does not hang there bear bag over your tent (it happened this trip over Drew and Will’s tent).

My spot had just enough room between rock outcroppings to give me a level space but I had to make several efforts to get my tent stakes in the ground. It was a good tent site.

Then we had a problem. Morry and Philip were starting to set up their tent and they found that they only had one effective long pole and their rain fly pole. It was time to jerry rig the tent. Both boys had their 50 feet of cord and we used the cord to hold up the tent and the rain fly. Ryan came up with a better idea on how to use Philip’s hiking poles to support the rain fly. It was cool that the group worked together to set up the shelter so the boys had a decent space to spend the night. It was also a great lesson in making sure that your gear was right before you got out into the backcountry.

We ran into the NC State outdoor crew again as we pumped some water. It was nice to speak to another group but they made me feel like an old man because the college kids were all young enough to be my children. On the other hand, my wife has been 29 for a long time so she is still too young to have children that were college age.

Then it was time for supper, and our first hot meal of the day. Oopps. Our Wisperlite stove wouldn’t start, but luckily for us we had brought two so we had some redundancy in case of failure or breakdown.

This was one of the great lessons of the shakedown:

• Make sure your gear works before you take it into the backcountry.
• Know how to use it.
• Know how to fix it.
• Have a backup for essential gear.

The boys were able to boil enough water but they did have a little fuel spill that was once again a reminder that we have some skills that need to be worked on. I had my Jetboil which I used to boil my water for my zip lock meal.

The boys wanted to start a fire and there was an established fire ring, so we allowed them to start one, but they had trouble finding enough dry wood. A husband and wife couple who decided to camp near us had put their bear bag up right over Drew and Will’s tent (I didn’t know about this until the drive back on Sunday). Our boys had set up their bear bag rope before it got dark. The only problem with that was they did not mark its location so it took them 10 minutes to locate it at night. This was another lesson learned, plus that we needed 2 bear bags not just one. It was time to go to bed.

We had the usual talking in the tents but we reminded them that we were getting up a 6:30 and soon everyone was asleep. I had to get up in the middle of the night to do a “security walk” around our campsite. It was exciting to me because the fog and clouds had cleared away and the stars were out in full force. This meant that in the morning the crew would be able to see the sunrise and the beautiful vistas that this site offered. After my security walk I had the chance to blow up my sleeping pad (it had a leak) and start dreaming of a gorgeous morning.

At this point I’m the Crew’s alarm clock and I got out of my tent at 6:30 to start waking up the Crew. No singing because we had the anniversary couple staying right nest to us. It was sad because nobody seemed happy to hear my cheerful morning greetings. The boys are still trying to eat instead of breaking camp, also our jerry rigged tent took a longtime to take down because it was wet and cold and the knots were hard to untangle. Once again we were too slow breaking camp. But that is why we were here, to find our weaknesses and correct them.

We broke camp and got on the Crest Trail for our short northerly hike to the Pine Mountain Trail. We passed the mid-aged boys (who would be taking a much shorter route) on our way and said goodbye because we would be meeting at the Massy Gap parking lot in Grayson Highlands in a few hours. Briefly we hiked the Lewis Fork trail north to connect back into the Pine Mountain Trail going northwest. The trail would run into the AT and we could start to follow the white blazes. As our trail deadened into the AT we asked the boys to check their maps and compasses so they could pick the right direction to go. It was interesting to watch how some boys were hesitant to come to a decision, so it was evident that the crew needs some more work on map and compass skills. As a group they agreed on the correct route and it was onto Scales.

We arrived at Scales and I was surprised to find our Raven (the youngest) Trek still at Scales. This was our breakfast stop and a chance to pump some water. This was also the place to decide whether to take our long hike on the AT back to Massey Gap or use the short cut Scales Trail to cut a mile and half off our journey. The plan was to be back at the parking lot by noon and put up our gear and eat a hot beef stew prepared by our own Mr. Robertson. I had been thinking that to be back by 12 we would need to take the shortcut back to insure that we wouldn’t be late for Troop’s departure time, but with the Ravens still in camp and planning on taking the same shortcut route that we would be taking it seemed likely that we would still beat them back taking our longer original route. The Advisors got together and decided that it was better to take the longer route to aid in our training for Philmont. The guys were not excited by the longer way home but the leader’s viewed this as important to the health and safety of the crew to do a Philmont length hike to see the preparedness of the group to do the distance on consecutive days. So we were to continue on the AT all the way back to Massy Gap and the AT Spur Trail that would take us to the parking lot.

After we finished eating and pumping water it was time to saddle up and head on down the trail. We crossed over the Scales pasture and out the gate to continue our walk on the AT. We had an almost immediate uphill hike that soon led us to a ridgeline that would have had some great vistas on a clear day which this was not. It was obvious along the trail that it was a beautiful trail, yet we had very limited visibility. At times we struggled to stay together because one of the boys was having a difficult time and part of the crew was in a hurry to get on back. This is part of what our shakedowns are for to find our weaknesses and work on them. Trail discipline is important at Philmont – they require that crews stay together on the trail. It took us much longer to hike the AT then we would have expected, but you can only move at the speed of your slowest member. Still nobody was endangered by our slow speed and we worked our way down the trail. One smile that came to my face was when one of our Scouts was sure we were on the AT Spur Trail and almost at the parking lot and then the look on his face when he saw the sign that indicated the turn off the AT onto the Spur Trail (which meant we still had .8 miles to go). Finally we made it to the parking lot and the smell of delicious beef stew. The smell of the stew made the boys forget their responsibilities of taking Troop Gear out of their backpacks. Just as they sat down to eat they were reminded and a collective groan arose from the group, but they got up and took care of business. Everybody was able to get their fill and we loaded up our packs onto the trailer and it was time to head home.