Scouting trip in West Virginia
Almost heaven, West Virginia,
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River.
Life is old there, older than the trees,
Younger than the mountains, growin' like a breeze.
Country Roads, take me home,
To the place I belong:
West Virginia, mountain momma,
Take me home, country roads.
Day 1
Went mountain climbing. I had to wear a harness. I never fell but I’m sure it would really hurt if I did. The first climb was hard. We had split into smaller groups and I went to the harder climb first. Only the adult made it to the top. Then I went repelling down a 70 ft cliff. I have never repelled before and was afraid of heights but decided it would be far too embarrassing to walk back the other way. I did one more climb in the morning it wasn’t too hard but I got tired. We went back to base camp for lunch. Then went back to climbing but I was didn’t do anything else. The driver who drove us back was insane, he was accelerating and speeding around twisting roads all of them on the sides of the mountain. It rained that night
Day 2
Rafting
We got out onto the New River around 11. the New River is an ironic name; the river is 40 million years old; one of the oldest in the world.
There were rafts and duckies. Duckies are inflatable kayaks. The rapids were not that big but I still got wet. Later that day I traded my ducky for a spot on the raft. The last rapid wasn’t that big but a ducky was stuck on a rock and we hit it and both our raft and the other ducky tipped over. Luckily, our gear went in a separate raft and was still dry. after that we stopped for the night. I had forgotten to put sunscreen on my feet and I was wearing sandals so my feet were red and painful. I couldn’t even wear my sandals because they irritated my feet. Hobbits have it good; they don’t need to worry about shoes or sandals hurting them. I learned to walk like a hobbit i.e. I went barefoot and tried not to step on anything. It rained that night
Day 3
More rafting
woke up and there was a huge insect in our tent. At first, I thought it was a salamander but I saw that it had many legs and antenna; I was freaked out. I stated out in the raft. Rapids aren’t as much fun in the raft, even though ours tipped before rafts are more stable and you generally don’t get as wet. we stopped for lunch near Thurmond and then went over to see the Thurmond railroad station which is now a historical museum. We had to cross a large bride over the river that was gritting on the bottom; I hate those types of bridges. I got a ducky for the rest of the day. There was a huge rapid; It was a class IV (class V is the biggest). I almost tipped over and many people actually did fall in. Te waves were large enough to go over my head. It was a great rapid.
even though the station was inactive the train still came by and that night we camped right next to the train tracks. You can’t believe how loud that train is. It came by periodically throughout the night. It rained that night
Day 4
we met up with other groups in the mornings then we were put into larger rafts and the truck came by and took our other rafts and duckies away. Each raft held 8 people plus a guide in the back to steer. Having a guide in the raft made everything so much easier. He did all the steering and simply shouted out when we needed to paddle. The rapids were huge to day some were a class V. during one three people fell out including our guide. Moreover, we lost a paddle. That night we ate back at the base camp, then we went into the bar there and played cards. What type of wilderness adventure is that? It poured very bad, this wasn’t like the nights before this was gather two of every animal type of rain. I guess you can’t escape the river.
Day 5
Caving
It was a long drive to the caves. Then we had to hike a short distance but finally we arrived at the saltpeter caves. I am kinda afraid of caves. But if the dwarves can live underground I can a least go for a visit. The cave was very dark the only light we had was from the flashlight on our helmets. The first room was large, but we had to crawl on our hands and knees to get to the next room. There were some interesting formations but was too nervous to really enjoy them. Then we went through a long tunnel that was only about 4 ft tall so we had to bend over to get through. Another large room and then there was another tunnel. it was all hands and knees except for one small section… that one I had to get on my belly to get through. there were other parts of the cave that were slippery, as the guide said “slippery than snot on a doorknob.” we had to crawl in those parts so we wouldn’t slip. there was a section that was over a huge pit and since it was pitch black I couldn’t see the bottom. we had to crawl over the sides and hope we didn’t all in. How the #@!*&#! do the Dwarves do it. we exited the cave were a stream enters the cave. the cave was pretty cool, I’m talking about temperature here it was around 60 but it could have been cooler. when I gout out the heat hit me like a wall. it was 95 outside. By the time, I had hike back to the van to go back to camp I was tired, sweaty and very very dirty, which pretty much sums up the whole trip. It rained that night, yes it did indeed rain every night we were there. We went out for pizza that night to celebrate our success at not being killed.
Country Roads, take me home,
To the place I belong:
Michigan.
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River.
Life is old there, older than the trees,
Younger than the mountains, growin' like a breeze.
Country Roads, take me home,
To the place I belong:
West Virginia, mountain momma,
Take me home, country roads.
Day 1
Went mountain climbing. I had to wear a harness. I never fell but I’m sure it would really hurt if I did. The first climb was hard. We had split into smaller groups and I went to the harder climb first. Only the adult made it to the top. Then I went repelling down a 70 ft cliff. I have never repelled before and was afraid of heights but decided it would be far too embarrassing to walk back the other way. I did one more climb in the morning it wasn’t too hard but I got tired. We went back to base camp for lunch. Then went back to climbing but I was didn’t do anything else. The driver who drove us back was insane, he was accelerating and speeding around twisting roads all of them on the sides of the mountain. It rained that night
Day 2
Rafting
We got out onto the New River around 11. the New River is an ironic name; the river is 40 million years old; one of the oldest in the world.
There were rafts and duckies. Duckies are inflatable kayaks. The rapids were not that big but I still got wet. Later that day I traded my ducky for a spot on the raft. The last rapid wasn’t that big but a ducky was stuck on a rock and we hit it and both our raft and the other ducky tipped over. Luckily, our gear went in a separate raft and was still dry. after that we stopped for the night. I had forgotten to put sunscreen on my feet and I was wearing sandals so my feet were red and painful. I couldn’t even wear my sandals because they irritated my feet. Hobbits have it good; they don’t need to worry about shoes or sandals hurting them. I learned to walk like a hobbit i.e. I went barefoot and tried not to step on anything. It rained that night
Day 3
More rafting
woke up and there was a huge insect in our tent. At first, I thought it was a salamander but I saw that it had many legs and antenna; I was freaked out. I stated out in the raft. Rapids aren’t as much fun in the raft, even though ours tipped before rafts are more stable and you generally don’t get as wet. we stopped for lunch near Thurmond and then went over to see the Thurmond railroad station which is now a historical museum. We had to cross a large bride over the river that was gritting on the bottom; I hate those types of bridges. I got a ducky for the rest of the day. There was a huge rapid; It was a class IV (class V is the biggest). I almost tipped over and many people actually did fall in. Te waves were large enough to go over my head. It was a great rapid.
even though the station was inactive the train still came by and that night we camped right next to the train tracks. You can’t believe how loud that train is. It came by periodically throughout the night. It rained that night
Day 4
we met up with other groups in the mornings then we were put into larger rafts and the truck came by and took our other rafts and duckies away. Each raft held 8 people plus a guide in the back to steer. Having a guide in the raft made everything so much easier. He did all the steering and simply shouted out when we needed to paddle. The rapids were huge to day some were a class V. during one three people fell out including our guide. Moreover, we lost a paddle. That night we ate back at the base camp, then we went into the bar there and played cards. What type of wilderness adventure is that? It poured very bad, this wasn’t like the nights before this was gather two of every animal type of rain. I guess you can’t escape the river.
Day 5
Caving
It was a long drive to the caves. Then we had to hike a short distance but finally we arrived at the saltpeter caves. I am kinda afraid of caves. But if the dwarves can live underground I can a least go for a visit. The cave was very dark the only light we had was from the flashlight on our helmets. The first room was large, but we had to crawl on our hands and knees to get to the next room. There were some interesting formations but was too nervous to really enjoy them. Then we went through a long tunnel that was only about 4 ft tall so we had to bend over to get through. Another large room and then there was another tunnel. it was all hands and knees except for one small section… that one I had to get on my belly to get through. there were other parts of the cave that were slippery, as the guide said “slippery than snot on a doorknob.” we had to crawl in those parts so we wouldn’t slip. there was a section that was over a huge pit and since it was pitch black I couldn’t see the bottom. we had to crawl over the sides and hope we didn’t all in. How the #@!*&#! do the Dwarves do it. we exited the cave were a stream enters the cave. the cave was pretty cool, I’m talking about temperature here it was around 60 but it could have been cooler. when I gout out the heat hit me like a wall. it was 95 outside. By the time, I had hike back to the van to go back to camp I was tired, sweaty and very very dirty, which pretty much sums up the whole trip. It rained that night, yes it did indeed rain every night we were there. We went out for pizza that night to celebrate our success at not being killed.
Country Roads, take me home,
To the place I belong:
Michigan.