Snow On Roaring Plains

“My 18 year old son and five friends spent a few days at Roaring Plains, West Virginia last week.

Thursday they hiked up the Flat Rock Run Trail from the horse farm in Laneville.

Miles four and five are on the shady side of things and still had 6-10 inches of snow.

Mile four is the killer with the switchbacks from hell while mile five is much easier.

The boys camped at the place where the TT'ers stayed in October '02.

They had planned to take a shot at Haystack Knob but went no further........too wet!

There is a lone flame azalea at that site that blooms around the solstice.

The weather was a little bit of everything.”

“Cool! The 18 year old is H-man right?

It snowed here Saturday and the wind blew 30+mph. My tent got killt. :(”

“What the yuck were you doing in a tent?

Yes, it was H-man and Mark and three others.......the entire freakin' blues band!

This is the first time those two have gone "out there" without the old man......sniffle >8^[

Roaring Plains is like a trip to Northern New England or Quebec when you mount the plateau........red spruce and fir but no white birch.....”

“oh no! are you experiencing "empty backpack" syndrome? :(

Last year me and the kidlets slept out easter eve and planned on repeating the fun time this year. It was too windy for tenting, but once I wrestled it up and put it in a "sheltered" area I thought it would be ok. One piece of a tent pole broke, but we weren't in it.

We slept in the back of grandma's truck all nice and cozy in 20 something degrees!”

“MarkO - That place was neat. I wanna get back there when the rhododendron are in bloom!

Are you talking about the place we camped the second night?”

“Go Granny, Go!

"oh no! are you experiencing "empty backpack" syndrome? :( "

Why yes, I think I am!”

“Tara, that's the place.

The rhododendron were in bloom in mid-July last year in Otter Creek Wilderness.

We should take another shot at the Rim Trail and Haystack Knob........weather permitting.”

“I'm headed to Seneca Shadows with Creek Dancer this weekend, and we're planning a day hike on Spruce Mountain. Expect we'll run into a snowy patch or two up there. Kewl Beens!”

“Is Spruce Mountain up on the Sods?”

“You know darn well I wanna go back. It sure would be nice to see something other than rain, clouds, and fog.”

“Was north of the Quehanna Trail in northcentral PA yesterday...







































...and there was snow on the ground when we got there.”