This past weekend I went camping with a Boy Scout Troop of which two of my boys are members. The adventure started Friday afternoon with the Troop meeting at 3:00 pm to make the drive, estimated to be four hours, to the mountains of Virginia. With this plan, we would all be able to set up camp before dark. However, as is often the case, drivers on the road failed to keep their vehicles from colliding. We ended up in traffic jams on more than one occasion. After the traffic, and an additional 30 minute rest stop, we arrived at our campsite, Grayson Highlands State Park, at 8:30 pm. A grand total of 5:15 travel time.By that time it was dark but we had plenty of flashlights and lanterns that made setting up camp go smoothly.
Saturday was to be the busiest day of the trip. We had plans to ride bikes on The Virginia Creeper Trail. The Troop had done the same thing the year before, though I did not make the trip. We left our campsite and drove to Damascus, VA to rent bikes from Sundog Outfitter. Being a former avid cyclist I was decked out in my cycling shorts and jersey. The only one of our group to be dressed in such tight fitting clothes. Some of the boys in the Troop asked me if I liked what I was wearing. I must say, even being the only one in our group in such attire, I DID like what I was wearing. We were presented with two bike options, either comfort or mountain. I chose the latter and was presented with this bike.
Helmet rentals were included, but I had brought my own. The bikes were loaded on a trailer behind a fifteen passenger van. We all rode in the van to a spot up the mountain where we would be dropped off to ride down back to the same shop right along the trail. I had been placed with a group of the older scouts that had done the ride before and wanted to get down the mountain a little faster than the younger, less experienced scouts. Three of the scouts went ahead at a pace they set for themselves. However, not even a mile into the ride, one of them had already crashed. From what I understand, they were riding along a pretty good speed, one of them slowed rapidly and one behind tried to stop. In doing so he applied his brakes vigorously and lost control, sliding along the gravel trail. The injuries were superficial, just some scrapes on his hands, legs, and arms. After a few minutes of bandaging his wounds, we were off again. This time I rode on the back of the faster group while the other parent and the wounded scout stayed back a bit. After that initial accident, the rest of the seventeen-mile ride was fairly uneventful. They had decided as a group to stop at a couple of designated spots to take a break and eat a snack.
We left the bike shop destined for our campsite. I had decided that I would like to go for a hike once we got back. Looking over the park map I found a trail, Cabin Creek Trail, close to our camp. I set out for the hike, not knowing that my wife wanted to join me. She was busy taking photos of the boys in camp preparing for the impending storm. The first portion of the hike was uphill. Although I had ridden 34 miles earlier in the day, it was mostly downhill or flat. I thought I would be fine for a two-mile hike. My legs though were telling me something different. I slowed my pace to give my legs a respite and that helped a lot. I was able to continue the hike and made my way alongside one of the streams. I had noticed from the trail map guide there was a waterfall on the trail and I was determined to make my way to that spot. The trail was marked as "Difficult" on the trail guide. There were plenty of sections with lots of rocks and tree roots. The topography was steep at points. I persisted in making my way along the entire trail. I did make it to the waterfalls and took a few pictures with my phone.
We had been watching the weather reports for a week prior to camping. We knew there was a chance for rain Saturday night into Sunday morning. We went to bed fully expecting to wake up to rain and packing everything up wet. Fortunately, the rain held off. Usually, the scouts handle the cooking and cleaning of the meals. This time a decision was made by the scoutmaster that the scouts should first pack up their gear and then help the adults with breakfast so that we could make it out before the rain hit. Just as the camp kitchen was being broken down and final preparations were being made for departure, the mountains were being shrouded in clouds as the storm system approached.
Saturday was to be the busiest day of the trip. We had plans to ride bikes on The Virginia Creeper Trail. The Troop had done the same thing the year before, though I did not make the trip. We left our campsite and drove to Damascus, VA to rent bikes from Sundog Outfitter. Being a former avid cyclist I was decked out in my cycling shorts and jersey. The only one of our group to be dressed in such tight fitting clothes. Some of the boys in the Troop asked me if I liked what I was wearing. I must say, even being the only one in our group in such attire, I DID like what I was wearing. We were presented with two bike options, either comfort or mountain. I chose the latter and was presented with this bike.
Helmet rentals were included, but I had brought my own. The bikes were loaded on a trailer behind a fifteen passenger van. We all rode in the van to a spot up the mountain where we would be dropped off to ride down back to the same shop right along the trail. I had been placed with a group of the older scouts that had done the ride before and wanted to get down the mountain a little faster than the younger, less experienced scouts. Three of the scouts went ahead at a pace they set for themselves. However, not even a mile into the ride, one of them had already crashed. From what I understand, they were riding along a pretty good speed, one of them slowed rapidly and one behind tried to stop. In doing so he applied his brakes vigorously and lost control, sliding along the gravel trail. The injuries were superficial, just some scrapes on his hands, legs, and arms. After a few minutes of bandaging his wounds, we were off again. This time I rode on the back of the faster group while the other parent and the wounded scout stayed back a bit. After that initial accident, the rest of the seventeen-mile ride was fairly uneventful. They had decided as a group to stop at a couple of designated spots to take a break and eat a snack.
At the end of the ride we broke for lunch. We discussed going for a second trip, but at that point they were undecided. The shop held our bikes in case we decided to go for a second ride. When we reconvened at the shop, only one scout, decided to go for a second ride. So we got on the next shuttle and started the journey all over again. This time my sole companion was one of my boys. I told him we could go as fast or as slow as he liked. I would let him make the pace and stop where he felt like stopping. We began the ride and this time the pace felt faster from the beginning. The only incident on this trip was when he was passing another ride he kept calling out "to your left" but the rider was busy recording with his phone and instead of moving to the right, he moved to the left. After a few calls, he looked back and then tried to move to the right. As you may have guessed by now, my son was already moving to the right to avoid a collision. Well, it turns out that a collision did occur. This time there were no injuries and we continued our ride. As it turns out, we arrived at the shop to discover the other scouts did decide to go for a second trip.
In retrospect, I think I would like to do this ride again with a couple of different approaches. Either start at the bottom of the trail and ride up, taking time to enjoy the scenery, and challenge myself, or take two trips down. Again, one trip slowly to stop and enjoy some of the scenery and another to just enjoy the descent.
We left the bike shop destined for our campsite. I had decided that I would like to go for a hike once we got back. Looking over the park map I found a trail, Cabin Creek Trail, close to our camp. I set out for the hike, not knowing that my wife wanted to join me. She was busy taking photos of the boys in camp preparing for the impending storm. The first portion of the hike was uphill. Although I had ridden 34 miles earlier in the day, it was mostly downhill or flat. I thought I would be fine for a two-mile hike. My legs though were telling me something different. I slowed my pace to give my legs a respite and that helped a lot. I was able to continue the hike and made my way alongside one of the streams. I had noticed from the trail map guide there was a waterfall on the trail and I was determined to make my way to that spot. The trail was marked as "Difficult" on the trail guide. There were plenty of sections with lots of rocks and tree roots. The topography was steep at points. I persisted in making my way along the entire trail. I did make it to the waterfalls and took a few pictures with my phone.
Upon my return to camp, I found out that my wife and a number of the other scouts and families took a drive to an overlook in another part of the park. We then drive over there together. The view from that spot was nice, though I couldn't help but wonder what it would look like with all of the trees being green, or better yet, changing colors in the fall.
We had been watching the weather reports for a week prior to camping. We knew there was a chance for rain Saturday night into Sunday morning. We went to bed fully expecting to wake up to rain and packing everything up wet. Fortunately, the rain held off. Usually, the scouts handle the cooking and cleaning of the meals. This time a decision was made by the scoutmaster that the scouts should first pack up their gear and then help the adults with breakfast so that we could make it out before the rain hit. Just as the camp kitchen was being broken down and final preparations were being made for departure, the mountains were being shrouded in clouds as the storm system approached.
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