Shakedown Trip #5 – The Three Stooges

So, it’s time to head out on another practice hike this weekend, woohoo! The main point of this trip is to 1. torture the two victims (uh, I mean, friends) I’m bringing along and, 2. to test out my newly acquired bad-ass (you knew it, right?) winter gear.

Overview Map

We’re headed to an area where the A.T. runs along Brown Mountain Creek between highway U.S. 60 and the Lynchburg, VA reservoir. Here is the obligatory satellite view copied directly from one on my favorite programs – Google Earth.

Point A is where U.S. 60 crosses the A.T. and where we will park our vehicle. Point B is Brown Mountain Creek Shelter, the destination for Day 1. Point C is near the Lynchburg reservoir, and the planned destination for Day 2. Day 3 will involve hiking the whole thing in reverse, back to point A.

Actually, the described scenario above is known Option A. There is also an option B available to us. Option B plays out this way: Day 1, hike from A to B. Day 2, hike from B to the halfway point between B and C, turn around and return to point B. Day 3, hike from B to A.

The only reason Option B even exists is because of the weather forecast. We’ll get to that in a minute.

Below is a context map showing where this area is relative to some other recognizable Virginia locations. The crappy hand drawn sort-of-rectangle in the middle is the area covered by the satellite image above.

Context Map

So the forecast is pretty, well, dismal. Here is a photo of the latest forecast. Note that Saturday is Day 1, Sunday is Day2 and Monday is Day 3.

You can also check the forecast directly from the following NOAA link. Notice this goes directly to the location associated with the trip.

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-79.26131&lat=37.71961#.VGZkKMkrHy4

So overall it is going to be cold, with increasing chances of being wet as the trip progresses. You can now see why I developed an Option B. Back on the Overview Map, you may have noticed there is no shelter at point C. If it were raining, Option A would leave us with no chance of getting out of the rain, say for cooking or eating dinner. Option B would have us back at the shelter where we could get out of the rain.

Option B also provides a safety net in case things go sour. Although I have been out on the trail a few times, I am under no illusion that I’m an experienced hiker. I don’t even consider myself at an intermediate level. No. I still consider myself a novice. My two victims, I mean friends, have even less experience. Although we have all done our homework in choosing proper cold weather gear for this outing, things can still go wrong. Option B gives us a vehicle that is close by, just in case we need to leave the area quickly.

All of that is not being dramatic, melodramatic, alarmist or even “a scaredy cat.” They are reasonable points to consider.

Let’s introduce the would-be victims.

Ryan – best friend for many years. We’ve had a lot of adventures together through the years… White Water Rafting, Tour Cycling trips, Cedar Point trips, we’ve done it all!

Ryan

Jason – brother in law, by sister, for many years. I love visiting Jason and Michelle. In fact, I consider it essential. I function as a buffer when I’m around them both. I truly believe they’d kill each other if it weren’t for my occasional visits! 🙂

Jason

Don’t they look so friendly, happy and eager-as-a-beaver to get going on this trip??? We will certainly be taking plenty of photos and videos on the trip. Well, that’s assuming that our electronics will continue to function in sub-freezing temperatures! So, after the trip we’ll do a nice little before/after comparison. Maybe we should start a betting pool on this? Will the after photos match the enthusiasm of the before photos?

We leave tomorrow morning which is Saturday November 15th and return Monday November 17th. Wish us luck!

Wandering on…

Kelly