I went skiing for the first time in over five years, and it felt like I never took a break. Erin and I went to Silver Mountain with Tyler, and Travis. Silver is the nearest ski area to Moscow and it's not that bad. When the entire area is open, it's got a vertical of 2200 feet, but we haven't had enough snow to open the lower portion. But even with ( Read more... )

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Friday I went out shopping for the backpacking trip. I searched Winchester high and low for a replacement hat, as I lost mine the week before. The search was futile, so I returned to Front Royal for food. I picked up some trail mix and some additional dried fruit to add to it. I got some Korr/Lipton sides for dinner as they're so much cheaper than ( Read more... )

Or... The exciting conclusion to a nice week off.
We left off with our heroes heading to the Mount Rogers high country for a delightful overnight hike. Leaving here at nearly 2:30 on a most gorgeous day, we hit Elk Garden (saddled between Mt. Rogers and Whitetop) by 3-ish and began hiking north on the AT. The hike carried us through a cow pasture ( Read more... )

This weekend, Erin and I explored some of what West Virginia had to offer us. My previous experience with the state has either been at the New River Gorge with summer camp students or driving through to get to other places. While the New River is neat, my other experiences with the state have been somewhat negative. Much of the state has been ( Read more... )

I just had the most wonderful student backpacking trip ever. Its mostly because the group I had were very self-motivated and didn't complain one bit, even though some did not think they'd like backpacking before we headed out. We only had a one-night trip, but the 16 miles we hiked were fantastic.

I was able to pick up my new Gregory Baltoro on ( Read more... )

When the weather forecast called for an 80% chance of rain, its good to know you can still bet against the odds and win. It turned out to be hot (mid-80's) and sunny all day in Damascus for a good Trail Days celebration. Trail Days itself is like a giant festival in the smallest town imaginable. The town park was full of all kinds of vendors, one ( Read more... )