Category: Camping

Spring Break in Shenandoah National Park

This Spring, seven of our club members ventured deep into the chartered territory of Shenandoah National Park. With heavy packs they conquered over 55 miles.

Some highlights from this trip included: scrambling to the summit of Old Rag Mt., the early morning view from the top of Hawksbill, and the beautiful waterfalls along the trail.

We did manage to encounter some wildlife while on the trail (luckily not bears). We spotted some white tailed deer, we heard many birds in the trees (including a rather noisy woodpecker), we spotted some fish in the streams, and even managed to catch a tick (or maybe it caught us)!
Weather wise we were very fortunate; it only rained on us one day while hiking. However, there were a few nights when the rain made for great white noise while we slept in our tents.

Big takeaways from this adventure; Don’t feed Nick lentils and then sit in enclosed spaces, fill up your water bottles whenever possible, sometimes having a vague adaptabile plan is better, and you definitely need more than one line of p-cord for 5 bags of food if you intend on bear bagging (it’s possible, but rather challenging).

Spring Break at New River Gorge, WV

During Spring break 2019, 15 undergrads went on a hiking and climbing filled adventure! Led by Sam Seymour & Rob Smith, the group drove 7 hours south to the New River Gorge in West Virginia (and only listened to “Take Me Home, Country Roads” twice – my car at least).

During the week, they went rock climbing in a few different locations (some students went outdoor climbing for the first time!), hiked several miles in different trails, met some dogs, and made new friends.

Winter Camping at Hickory Run

On the eve of February, students braved the cold for a night of camping. All 13 students made it, some after an odyssey of a journey, including some coffee and a little misdirection.

All of the campers collected together for hours by the fire for cheese and chili. And while the conversation didn’t stop, the snow started. How surreal – getting warmed by a fire with snow falling on our backs!

Though the trip leaders brought plenty of extra layers, none were needed, as the adventurers came well prepared! At the end of the night, we snuggled up in our tents. We were very glad we set up the footprints and rainflys long before bed to keep our tents safe from the snow.

Check out some of the pictures from the first morning of February!