{"id":4647,"date":"2011-03-01T11:32:44","date_gmt":"2011-03-01T15:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hagarty-on-wine.com\/OnWineBlog\/?p=4647"},"modified":"2011-08-05T13:42:16","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T17:42:16","slug":"on-the-trail-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.hagarty-on-wine.com\/OnWineBlog\/on-the-trail-again\/","title":{"rendered":"On the Trail Again"},"content":{"rendered":"

Backpacking Maven Assembles His Faithful Followers<\/strong><\/p>\n

The packs are hoisted on the backs\u2026hip belts cinched tight\u2026hiking staffs clutched firmly in hand.\u00a0 Then a voice calmly announces, \u201cPace yourself gentlemen. It\u2019s a 2,500 foot elevation gain in the first four miles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hmmm\u20262,500 feet?\u00a0 Hey, wait a minute, that\u2019s equal to climbing the Washington Monument almost five times. And we each have about forty pounds on our backs.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommander\u201d Testerman has not changed his evil—but enjoyable—ways.\u00a0 Welcome back to the fold.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Jeff Testerman<\/p><\/div>\n

I\u2019ve posted articles over the past few years about Jeff Testerman, the driving force behind the restoration of a civil war era cabin<\/span><\/a> located just outside the park boundaries of the Shenandoah National Park, or SNP, near Elkton, Virginia.<\/p>\n

The volunteer project took over five years of weekend work to complete and pulled Mr. T and his disciples away from their first love, backpacking.\u00a0 When the cabin was finally placed into the rental system of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, or PATC<\/span>, <\/a>last October, Jeff vowed to hit the trail again.<\/p>\n

His first trip was last November and my schedule precluded joining his band of weekend mountain men.\u00a0 But when one of his emails hit my inbox last month announcing another adventure, I locked in the dates and began preparing for the ramble.<\/p>\n

For years, Jeff had been encouraging me to hang up my heavy external frame pack and go with a modern internal frame backpack. \u00a0I couldn\u2019t bring myself to part with my old mate, dubbed \u201cThe Refrigerator\u201d by those who hiked behind me.\u00a0 But time, and an increasingly cranky body, finally convinced me to switch gear. It was the best backpacking decision I had made in years.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Gregory Internal Frame Pack<\/p><\/div>\n

The new pack—a Gregory Baltoro 70<\/span><\/a>—is lighter, more flexible and fits like its grafted onto your back.\u00a0 Hiking with this beauty almost makes you forget you\u2019re carrying anything.<\/p>\n

Most of our group spent the first night at the PATC\u2019s Tulip Tree Cabin on the edge of the SNP near Luray, Virginia.\u00a0 The next morning we were joined by a few more friends. When we left the cabin at 9:30 AM, ten trampers headed up the mountain.\u00a0 We started hiking up Crusher Ridge Trail—aptly named—and ascended to the Appalachian Trail, or AT.\u00a0 There, we moved south along the AT to Little Stony Man Mountain and enjoyed a lunch break with superb views on a mild winter day.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Rest Break<\/p><\/div>\n

An hour later, we were gazing out over the Shenandoah Valley from the peak of Stony Man Mountain, 4,000 quiet feet above the maddening chase below.\u00a0 The steady trail chatter heard throughout the morning subsided as we gazed out over the valley.\u00a0 Only a soft breeze and silence embraced us.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The Summit<\/p><\/div>\n

From there, we dropped down and crossed over Skyline Drive and descended the Corbin Hollow Trail on the morning side of the Blue Ridge.\u00a0 Later in the afternoon we picked up the Indian Run Trail, arriving at the PATC Corbin Cabin around 4 PM.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Corbin Cabin<\/p><\/div>\n

The rustic dwelling was built in 1910 by twenty-one year old mountaineer George Corbin.\u00a0 A framed history of the cabin is mounted on the wall with details of his hard life, including the death of his wife in childbirth. \u00a0After he buried her in a cemetery behind his home, he walked several miles through a snowy landscape to purchase milk for his new born child.\u00a0 It\u2019s difficult to appreciate how harsh life was in certain parts of Virginia less than a century ago.<\/p>\n

That evening our intrepid band was joined by a comrade who\u2019s schedule did not permit her hiking the entire weekend. \u00a0An enjoyable evening of libations and camaraderie came to a close around 10 PM as the tired crew hit the rack for a night of sound sleep.<\/p>\n

The following morning we climbed 1,500 feet up the Nicholson Hollow Trail, crossing back over Skyline Drive and down Crusher Ridge. \u00a0The \u201ccrush\u201d had been taken out of the trail as we descended two and one half miles straight down to Tulip Tree Cabin, where we had begun the day before, a total of fifteen miles of backpacking under our belts.<\/p>\n

Half of our band bid the group adieu and headed back to civilization while the rest of us spent a quiet afternoon sitting outside the cabin, swapping stories and listening to bluegrass music on one of the truck\u2019s stereo system.\u00a0 An early dinner was followed by a 9 PM bunk crash.\u00a0 And get this, everybody slept soundly once again.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Tulip Tree Cabin<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cCommander\u201d Testerman has warned us that another mountain assault will occur within the next few months so I think my neighborhood walks will continue unabated. Throwing a pack up on your back requires a wee bit of conditioning.\u00a0 But it\u2019s an investment with a ten fold rate of return.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

Corbin Cabin<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Backpacking Maven Assembles His Faithful Followers The packs are hoisted on the backs\u2026hip belts cinched tight\u2026hiking staffs clutched firmly in hand.\u00a0 Then a voice calmly announces, \u201cPace yourself gentlemen. It\u2019s a 2,500 foot elevation gain in the first four miles.\u201d Hmmm\u20262,500 feet?\u00a0 Hey, wait a minute, that\u2019s equal to climbing the Washington Monument almost five […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[5],"tags":[306,307,301,305,16,300,304,75,76,303,302],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n