Sodsfest 2004: Dolly Sods in June

“yeah, like it's gonna be that cold, huh :) you did like that outfit, didnt' ya? LOL

I will bring warmer clothing though.”

“I expect the temps to go between 50 and 80.

Bring some shorts and I'll follow you anywhere. >8^)”

“no shorts for my fat ass.”

“Ha ha ! !”

“Better place for maps is the Seneca Rocks Discovery Center, the visitor center at the base of the rocks. They usually have all the topos, plus full forest maps. They also carry a Canaan Valley-Dolly Sods map that has a lot of hiking-biking-xcountry trails on it.

Quads for the Sods are Laneville and Blackbird Knob.”

“Folks coming from the northeast via Route 55 can get maps at the Potomac District Ranger station outside Petersburg on the left. They close for lunch about mid-day though.”

“Geobeet - What about Hopeville Quad?”

“That one too!”

“I've read that they are massively inaccurate. Does that only encompass trails, or are they also inaccurate when it comes to terrain?”

“I went to REI to print a map for this hike but some of the trails weren't on the software's map, which I assume comes straight from the USGS.”

“The topography on the USGS quads is correct. As I said earlier, the trail data is woefully inadequate. Go to the site that MSilver posted the link to for the only accurate trail map.”

“Thanks Geobeet.”

“The topography is good but the trails are......good luck Chuck.

Some of them are from aerial photographs from 1927, updated or not.

Some of the rail trails showed up from the air and have since over grown over or slumped over.”

“I downloaded the John and Trudy map, then transposed the trails onto my waterproof topo map with a waterproof pen. The trail alignment is hardly perfect, but it's the closest I've ever seen to an accurate topo map. I have not gotten lost with it yet, and the one time I missed a trail junction I was able to figure it out soon enough.

People need to remember that the Dolly Sods is not Shenandoah National Park with four-lane hiking trails (Big Meadows keep left). At the same time, the trails are generally well enough established to be followed. The entire area is just four miles wide and no more than eight miles long. How lost can you get in that small an area? The two sides are defined by ridges, and the middle is drained by Red Creek and tributaries flowing south. On the east is FS Route 75, and on the west there is a trail along Cabin Mountain. To the south, you come eventually to FS 19 and/or the Laneville cabin.”

“The trails I used in planning this trip come from the Monongahala Guide book and the USGS maps. I just kinda eyeballed them with the maps from John and Trudy and they seem to line up pretty darn good.

And it is a fairly small area.

I feel pretty confident that we won't get too very lost. Nothing I've seen anybody mention makes me think the trails we're planning on using are all that misreprestned on the maps that I've used.”

“I just found a 1751 map of Virginia, and where the Dolly Sods is located appears this annotation: Laurel Thickets.

Have fun in the laurel thickets!”

“Welcome to a state with real hiking PhantomSoul. ;-) And BTW, you need to change your handle to HumanGPS, your new trail name!

Dub

Dub, a state with real hiking? Did this trip change to like New England or something? Anyway, I'll be the judge of that.”

“whoops, cant go broken hand with a pin in place! have fun yo bear and go percodan!”

“:(”

“so just how does an area get a name like dolly sods?”

“PhantomSoul, once you're on the Sods you will think New England is ugly.”

“Dahle was the name of the family who grazed their cattle on the open plain-like areas called Sods.”

“was that before the military bombed the area or after?”

“dub, i've never been there. is it that nice? the pictures didn't really show much...”

“Gemini, check out http://www.naturalbornhikers.com They have two sets of pictures from two Sods trips. Check them out and then tell me what you think.”

“To find the pictures use the drop down menu to select WV, then Dolly Sods. Check out Autumn 2002 first.”

“i saw them already. MarkO gave me the link. I don't know, it's really hard to tell. The pictures don't really turn me on too much. I mean it's nice, but I saw nicer. we'll see. I did hear lots of good things about the area, so I am excited.”

“I think it's the best hiking spot east of the Mississippi”

“Alright I just got a GPS at REI this afternoon and this will be it's first trip. Who's teachin' me how to use it?”

“Not me. Slack and I got lost using mine at Sipsey. Had to break out the map and compass.”

“PhantomSoul and I plan to meet at the Picnic Area on FS 19 around 1-2 PM. We'll then spot my car at the Rohrbaugh Plains Trail trailhead on FS 19, then go in his vehicle to the Red Creek Trail trailhead. I expect we'll hit the trail by no later than c. 3 PM. We'll trek to the Friday night campsite and catch the rest of youans there.”

“I should be there before you :-) Assuming all things go as planned. If you don't see a white Hyundai at the TH wait on me!”

“Sounds like a plan Dub -- and if you're there already, we might catch up to ya on the trail.

I was thinking about hanging out at the trailhead for a bit anyway (being that it's only about 3.5 miles/1000 ft to the campsite) to see if anyone else coming that afternoon needed help with parking/rides. I guess I'll just play that by ear when I get there...”

“If you find a guy napping by the trail with a hat on his head, it's probably me, wake me up.”

“And when you gonna change your screenname to your trailname?”

“How about when I get a good trailname? No offense, but HumanGPS is kinda weak. I mean, yeah I'm really good at reading maps, but I think we can do better.”

“Nah, HumanGPS is a cool name, much better than PhantomSoul! You should register it just in case. Then ask for people to vote.”

“I was gonna say the same thing, If you see someone sleeping on the trail it's probably me, wake me up.”

“Right, so if I come across Rip Van Winkle a slacker a napping hiker, wake them up. Got it.”

“Just wanted to bump this up to the top. woohoo! this ought to be fun. marko, ellen and i ought to be there by noon. everyone have a safe trip to the sods. see ya there.”

“Yes tommorow is Sodfestivus, the hike for the rest of us.”

“OH........my!

I gotta pack!”

“The Sodbusters. 16 (or so) hearty souls wandering, staggering through the lush WV forest. We gotta take a dip in Red Creek, maybe slide the slide.”

“Friday's hike will be too easy.

It seems we will have time to dip.

How many miles is this death march?”

“With all the rain we've gotten this spring, Red Creek should be a-hellin'!”

“i'm still at home, but packed. I figure i'll be leaving around 3 and be driving until dark.

ordered a second battery for my new camera, was hoping it would get here today. about one more hour until the mail...then I'll be out of here.

how's the weather up there? it's gonna rain and storm isnt' it??”

“Today
Jun 24 Mostly Sunny 78°/56° 10 %
Fri
Jun 25 Scattered T-Storms 71°/51° 40 %
Sat
Jun 26 Partly Cloudy 71°/47° 20 %
Sun
Jun 27 AM Clouds / PM Sun 72°/49° 20 %
Mon
Jun 28 Partly Cloudy 75°/51° 20 %”

“The weather should be the usual partly cloudy, partly sunny with chance of showers.

Happy motoring, Gemini!!!



Trucker Alert!!!
Hot chick in sporty car on the loose!”

“thanks geo and marko... weather don't seam to be bad. it's gonna be a long drive, thank god it will be a totally different area this time, so I won't be bored. :)

see you all friday morning? or afternoon?? when?

geo...why aren't you going?”

“We should be there before 12:00 noon”