Our new backyard â Monongahela National Forest
Monongahela National Forest
So this was a different kind of a hike for us. Weâve put on a few miles in the short time weâve been hiking together, yet for some reason this backpacking trip was painful. It dumped buckets the second day. The trail has notoriety â itâs known to be sloppy and to become bog-like. Itâs also known to have shoddy trail markers at some points. I myself got turned around a few times adding to mileage.
The first night was uneventful. Okay, thatâs not entirely true. I somehow managed to get sunburned after a few hours of hiking at temps in the low 70âs.  I guess this is something Iâm not used to.  Sunburn for me in my mind is relative to how hot it is.  I guess there is a reason they have a UV index available.  Lesson learned!
There were some pretty amazing views but then again Iâm easy to please. Anything is better than working in a cubicle or a building with no windows. I think the most impressive piece was the terrain in general. I saw meadows, pine tree forests, boulders, waterfalls, rivers, berry bushes, newts and even came across a decent amount of sand. I donât think Iâve ever seen sand on a mountaintop before.
I use a hammock for my sleep system. I have a cuben fiber fly that I use as my shelter. The downside to spending a night under the pines is that the sap gets everywhere. It was on the ground, on my suspension straps, in Libertyâs fur. I had to hang my pack on the main ridge-line for my tarp. The good thing about pine â itâs easy to get a fire started. I went to bed at a decent hour that night. The best part of backpacking to me is that I never set an alarm. I wake up when I wake up. You would be surprised how quickly your body will adjust to sunrise and sunset. I always keep a few sets of foam earplugs in my medical bag. I donât typically have a hard time falling asleep but sometimes it comes in handy. People always ask if itâs dangerous because you wouldnât be able to hear a bear or something. I donât really dwell on that kind of thing.
Some of the rock formations were interesting to me. Some have been rounded down over the years and others have sharp points. Some look like they came from a construction site and were held together by cement. Some were broken or had weird gaps in them. I think this would be very sketchy to hike in the winter. I could see twisting a knee or breaking an ankle here easily if one wasnât extremely careful.
That morning we would break camp and head back up the mountain that we descended from the day before. Â I tend to get grumpy going uphill first thing in the AM. Â Breakfast is still sitting a little heavy but what can you do. Â Luckily 20 minutes in I had to get my rain gear out.
Iâm glad it held off a bit.  Packing wet gear isnât a ton of fun.  Plus it makes things a lot heavier.  I rock a military style poncho that was given to me as a gift.  I like it b/c it will act as my pack cover.  I can use it as a ground sheet.  I can use it as a tarp for my shelter.  While it is decently heavy for a raincoat it makes up for its weight by serving multiple purposes.  The poncho also lets me stay relatively cool.  As with everything the downside is that the rain drips off of the poncho and right onto the tops of my shoes. That can get a little annoying but honestly, my feet are soaked from mud puddles, overhanging vegetation, and stream crossings. This is why I always hike with 3 pairs of Darn Tough socks. One pair is strictly camp socks. I use them to sleep in or sit around camp in. I try to maintain a two-sock rotation and follow rules. However, if you need dry socks itâs better to hike in them and have bare feet when you sleep than to hike in soaked socks causing blisters and putting you out of the game. The good thing about DT socks is that they stay put even when wet, so I donât tend to feel too many hot spots.
We must have hiked another five hours in the rain. Â It was very VERY slow moving. Â Every step was calculated. Â Came down to some impressive cascading falls. Â They sounded like Niagara Falls as loud as they rumbled. Â I think some of the run-off rain was to blame for this though.
One campsite that I now refer to as the Presidential Suite has huge chairs around the fire pit. While this picture doesnât do it justice and Iâve seen this setup beforeâŚnotice the seats are stacked two high. They each have an armrest/table between them. The backs were very comfortable and not leaning all the way back. There was a water source close by as well. Quite the setup!
As we got closer to our destination the rain had pretty much stopped. I was getting the residual drops falling from heavy branches now. Over the course of the day, we had run into others hiking in the rain as well. One group appeared to be older parents hiking with their younger daughter. I thought to myself how cool is that?  We all know hiking in the rain isnât the most comfortable thing and there is nothing better than suffering as a family.  Iâm sure they will talk about this for years to come and it will become a memorable trip that others will be compared to
After stopping and setting up camp I had to dry Liberty. I carry two small towels for this. One is a Yoga non-slip square that absorbs a lot of water and the other is a long dry-fit workout towel. This combo works great for me. The one towel drys faster and the other gets most of the water off of the pup. I know it doesnât seem like a big deal but no one likes a wet dog in their bed!
After getting situated Liberty would be allowed to get in and take a snoozer. She hikes hard for me all day. Itâs tough finding all of the mud puddles for me to avoid and the ensure itâs safe for me to cross the streams.
First thing on the agendaâŚWOOD! Every time Iâm out I learn something new. I test the skills I have. Starting a fire in the rain or after everything is soaked is challenging. Itâs not a necessity today â but tomorrow it may be. We were able to get two fires going that day. Woot Woot!
The normal routines kick in at that point.  Dry off, change of clothes, gather water and prepare for dinner.  I always like to get my water early.  I rock two 1.5 liter Smartwater bottles.  I use a Camelbak tube so I can drink out of it or share with my pooch. At camp, I use a Platypus 4 liter âdirtyâ bag and gravity feed to my bottles etc. via a Sawyer water filter.
Before I had gone to bed I could hear kids in the distance. Â It sounded like I was driving by a schoolyard. Â I asked my buddy if heard it and he hadnât. Â About 10 mins later 40 people had descended the trail. Â They were all ages and the girls were wearing dresses. Â I thought to myself again â how cool. Â There was even a small boy maybe 5 rocking a backpack. Â One lady had her child in a carrier on her back. Â Others were carrying LOADED packs. Â Gallon bottles hanging from their rigs. Â If you donât know â a gallon of water weighs 8.3 pounds! Â Some were carrying grocery bags too.
They were nice enough to come to ask us if we were okay with them setting up in the 5 or so campsites by us. I know a lot of people will have a different view on this and that we all go to the woods for different reasons. I appreciated the gesture and felt they were respectable enough. Itâs like when someone asks to pet your puppy. I know some want solitude and peace and quiet. However, I can appreciate the laughter of kids in the woods. knowing that once again families would have a lifetime to talk about this adventure.
The next day I would wake at sunrise (body adjusted just after one day) and see that is was raining again. We would lay there and doze in and out for a few hours. Liberty and I had breakfast in bed and waited out the storm. We started to break down camp a little later than usual but had decided to hike out that day. As I mentioned at the beginning this hike was abnormally difficult for some reason. Iâm not sure if I was off or if it was the rain and treacherous rocks. I was rocking new shoes too and was still on the fence about them. Some things I liked and others I didnât.
I had switched to trail runners. Â There are a few things I look for, but the biggest is how the shoe feels on rocks. Â Rocks can make your feet feel like they are one big blister. Â They cause tired feet and honestly if you are putting in the miles you should be comfortable doing it.
These shoes were a bit heavier than my previous pair which I didnât expect. They also had more mesh and breathability. They dried very quickly after a puddle hit or stream misstep.
I donât fancy hiking boots or high-tops. Â I prefer normal ankle height. Â Some will argue the support and itâs valid on some levels. Â However, I donât hike with a 50-pound pack. Iâve also rolled an ankle once or twice in combat boots, so nothing is a guarantee. I just hike my hike!
The one thing I will note is that I am forever changed.  I will never EVER hike with shoes that arenât quick lace.  What a difference it makes.  How easy it is to ford a riverâŚtakes seconds instead of minutes.  Maybe itâs just me being lazy â I dunno.
Since it had rained so much we took the fastest route out. The five or so miles of trails would dump us on a fire road that was well maintained. We would then hoof it back to the truck. It was about five miles and the hills were plentiful. The fog would come and go as would the sun. It was crazy hot by the time I got to the truck. Checked the thermometer and it said 68 degrees. Clearly, my truck was broken! All in all, it was an amazing hike. Liberty couldnât agree more. As we all know, a pooped pup is the happiest pup!
   
