Second session at camp typically means more advanced workshop topics, older campers, ripe wineberries, HEAT, Bastille Day, but perhaps most importantly it means that everyone gets to go on the two-night three-day backpacking trip to Monogahela National Forest! Monongahela, also known by some as Madagga Hills, is likely the 2nd most special place in West Virginia to many of us who go to camp at the Cove.
The trips we lead during second session all have different themes. In past year I led the mellow trips: Lazy Monongo and Vista Monongo, where the point of hiking was not to get somewhere, but to be somewhere (this is a reference for those familiar with the wall of the lodge at camp). This past summer, I took a different path (mostly figuratively)--the Hardcore trip. That is not to say that we weren't going to enjoy BEING places, only that we would hike all day to get to those places.
Here is the group being hardcore. Nevermind the fact that this was taken right after a quick joyous frolic in a field of blueberries.
One integral part of a backpacking trip is coming up with a group count-off so that we don't lose people. Everyone is assigned a letter, and usually it spells something that meshes with the theme of the group. Unless you are the Hardcore group, in which case you will chose something that makes virtually no sense, like C-A-M-E-L-B-A-S-H. Actually, despite it not being a word, our count-off made a lot of sense because it used the first letter of everyone's name.
Here we are at the Canaan Valley Overlook for lunch on the second day. CAMELBASH, indeed!
While some intense thunderstorms threw off the intensity of our trip somewhat, we still managed to see a bunch of the Dolly Sods Wilderness. Here are the highlights:
Camping at O is always lovely. Though thunder kept us from swimming, Lucas managed to build a fire with a lot of wet wood and kindling. And to top it all off, I woke up to a sunny day and the sight of two of the campers walking back to camp with the bear bag of food in hand! The best sight!
Canaan Valley Overlook post-lunch snooze-fest. At one point, Alec was giving the campers a calculus lesson while Maddy and I slept. Lunch at this spot was also amazing. Bagels with cream cheese and pepperoni is delicious, who knew?
Red Creek. Always the tastiest water and the most beautiful sight on a hot day.
Camping at H by Red Creek at the best campsite there. When we arrived, the campsite was taken, so we started setting up camp in the adjacent but dark and enclosed campsite. After we had painstakingly set up the tarp, we realized that the other people had vacated their site and so we nabbed it.
YEAH. Hardcore Madagga! Here we are looking the most hardcore and also the most dirty at the bus on the third day. Weather aside, a trip to Monongahela is always a relieving change of pace from life at camp (especially if that that involves pulling up barberry).
