We lived in Spencerville, Maryland at the time. It was probably the fall of 1995 - early November. We had decided to go home to Pennsylvania to visit family. Troy would have just turned fifteen three months earlier.
I hadn't been backpacking in a while and asked Troy if he'd like to do several days with me on the Laurel Highlands Trail - near the Seven Springs Ski Resort. He quickly agreed and we started laying our plans. Being late fall, the weather can be unpredictable, but we were already beyond turning back!
Debbie and Tracie dropped us off at Seven Springs to a surprise of 2-3 inches of snow. Already, we had some misgivings about the footwear we had chosen. We donned our backpacks and headed down the ridge-trail disappearing into the white scenery - choosing our steps carefully to stay upright.
Because of the lateness of the day, we had planned a short hike of three miles - to the Grindle Ridge area - before hitting our shelter for the night. The shelter is a nicely constructed lean-to with a large fireplace taking up much of the open side. We gathered enough wood to get us through the night, then sat on the edge of the floor staying close to the fire. We were cold! Our feet were wet! Troy, in particular, had cold feet. I later wished that I had tucked them into my midsection to warm them. He told me the next morning that he had been miserable all night!
We traditionally brought frozen T-bone steaks for our first night on the trail. We wished we had brought a tarp to block the wind from our enclosure. We weren't miserable, but we weren't far from it! We saw lights pull into the shelter area and I knew it was my ranger-friend, Pete. Gradually, he made it to our shelter and reported that he was there to take us out. The temperature was expected to drop to well below zero overnight.
The male ego is a dangerous thing! We looked at those steaks cooking and felt the adrenaline of a challenge. In a moment of bravado and stupidity, I announced to Pete that we'd be alright. We watched with uncertainty as he pushed through the snow and drove back out of the shelter area. [Keep in mind that this was the pre-cell-phone era!]
_________________________________________________
A CAVEAT:
Of course, Debbie and Tracie continued their trip home. Not too long after dropping us off, they stopped - on the PA Turnpike - for gas. After gassing up, they walked across the parking lot to the service area for a restroom break. They later reported looking toward the dark mountains as they hugged themselves to stay warm and had a sense of foreboding as they thought of us on the trail in this severe cold!
After breakfast, we quickly broke camp knowing that we had almost twelve miles to complete - with short daylight - before arriving at the Ohiopyle camping area. We fairly quickly dropped to lower elevations and left the snow behind. The subtle and chronic elevation changes kept us warm, but also wore me out. I was forty-three and not in the best of shape [at the time of this writing, Troy is forty-three]. 😊
I remember that we found a nice rock and stump to sit on as we ate our lunch. In spite of the hazards and my exhaustion, it was fun being on this adventure with Troy! I told him that I was really tired but that we had to get to the Ohiopyle camping area or Pete would be out looking for us.
Miles nine and ten involved a steady, relatively steep climb. I slowed, but continued. I never verbalized it to Troy, but I was worried as the temperature started dropping again and the winds picked up!
Miles eleven and twelve were all downhill which was, in a way, a blessing! However, when you're hiking at a point of near-exhaustion, just picking your feet up to take the next step is a chore! But finally, we reached the side-trail to the camping area - in the darkness. We hiked past several groups of hikers who were enjoying their evening meal. When we found our shelter, I gave Troy some instructions:
"Troy, I have nothing left! You need to get our tent up and get me into my sleeping bag as soon as possible! Gather some wood and start a fire. Hang our bear-bag and then get into your bag to get warm."
He did everything that evening! He put the tent up and got me out of my boots and into my bag. I don't remember much after that - except the clanging of pots and pans that Troy had apparently hung from some shelves in the shelter. I woke to him climbing into his bag and checking on me. I could see the flickering of his fire as I fell back into a deep sleep!
I woke up in the pitch dark several hours later and realized that Troy was awake as well. I asked him how he was doing. He said he was hungry. I was too! I asked him to get our cans of Dinty Moore Stew, a can opener, two forks and our small stove; also to feed the fire!
We sat in our tent and cooked our stew in the cans and ate them - smiling! We agreed that it was the best meal we'd ever had [no offense, Debbie!] Then, with full stomachs and a blazing fire lighting our tent, we slept until morning!
After breakfast I made a hard call to abandon the trail to Ohiopyle which included two relatively steep mountains that we had to go up and over. Instead, we packed up and hiked out via the railroad tracks that ran along the Ohiopyle River.
We snacked at the shops in Ohiopyle and watched the rafters and kayakers for hours before officially ending our trip! A memory made that we would NEVER forget!
___________________________________________________
ANOTHER CAVEAT:
Years later, a friend of mine from Akron - who I introduced to backpacking - Derek, took his son on a trip on the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail. Derek is a man who makes friends easily and he befriended the ranger who had replaced Pete. As they talked, Derek mentioned that I had introduced him to this trail. Then he mentioned our horrible experience in the cold at the Grindle Ridge Shelter Area.
The new ranger's face lit up and he told Derek that Pete had told him about the father-and-son who had chosen to stay on a twenty-below night because they didn't want to leave their steaks! They had a good laugh together and Derek called me when he got home to let me know that Troy and I had become a legend! :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment