7th annual Mt Rogers hangout.

[golfhiker]

As Bonsaihiker so elequently stated, I too am ready to rock & roll. Packed, back up packed, misc. packed, truck gassed & ready. Putting it in the garage Wed. night, up & out early early Thurs.AM, expecting to be at the Massie Gap lot around 1:00 or so. As for gear weight, I don't get too picky over a winter hike like this one, but I am impressed you carry it all in a Circuit. I have my Catalyst stuffed and don't see how I could get by with less. Oh well, it mut be the 5 layers of clothing!

I get so excited pre hike, I feel like a kid..... see you all in a few days!

[lazy river road]

Don't know about now, but when I used to have dogs and camp there the restrictions were leash and an extra $2.00 day each. Leash I could understand...the fee??? I think somebody who knew somebody in high places must have stepped in something...but wait...politicians are always stepping in something!

Thanks, Kanguru. I'd be happy to pay the $2 extra for my four legged friend to come along with me or just purchase an extra raffle ticket. I figured it would be fine but I did not want to get the person who reserves the campground in any hot water so I figured I'd just throw it out their. From what I could find on the VA Parks Website, as long as their on a six foot leash, you clean up their mess and they are well behaved that dogs are allowed in camps sites. Anyways still wont know if I can make it probably and probably wont know till Thursday night depending on how the week goes but here's to hoping I can.

[WV]

Well, I'm resigned to the probable lack of snow at the campground, but what about at higher altitudes? Any drifts remaining? Any ice likely? I'm trying to figure out if I need to pack things like snowshoes, microspikes, goggles, facemask, etc.

[bonsaihiker]

I'm bringing all the snow gear, but resigned to the fact that it will probably stay in the van. But, just in case, in the presence of a major surprise, I'm ready.

[bonsaihiker]

I'm like golfhiker. I'm getting very excited. Chickadee is, too. She's looking forward to meeting a lot of you. We looked over past hang videos and it got us even more excited.

So, I thought I'd post past hang videos in the hopes that some of those on the fence about coming might be swayed over to our side....COME TO THE DARK SIDE...

Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FHMmSXftcc


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHAkhw7zdxs





And, though it doesn't look like the weather will be anywhere near this cold and though I don't use half of this gear anymore, I thought I'd post a link to my videos about what I have done to stay warm, to give some advice for those new to this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGUI0fnUtis


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ozhone6VOSc

[USMCStang]

I don't have a fear of commitment on this trip, I just need someone to watch my dogs. If i can find someone I'm 100% in. I'm thinking of doing some BBQ pork the day before I head on down How much food can you guys eat? KC or NC sauce?

I personally am a fan of NC style (vinegar sauce) but regardless, I never turn down free meat

Of course, my pulk is finished and ready to go, so we won't have any snow.

See you guys soon, I'm excited!

[slowhike]

So as of now it's still a bit up in the air for me but if I am able to make it I wanted to bring my four legged friend along with me to this hang. I did not find any dog restrictions on the VA DCR website but wanted to check here to see if anyone knew of any that I may of missed. She's a friendly gal whom some of you have meet and if I am able to attend Stella Blue would love to come along too.

Hope you can make it LRR. I've been giving serious thought to taking my girls, Lo & Lauren.

[WV]

Slowhike,
I'd like to meet Lo and Lauren. I'll be stopping in Volney to visit the Malamute I saw as a pup after the 2010 hang. She may be the mother of my next trail dog.

[Doctari]

Looks like we will have a decent crowd, without it being crowded

I for one am looking forward to tasting gator for the first time!!!!

Some final tips & stuff:
DRIVE SAFE! Do try VERY HARD to not look at the scenery as you are driving. Especially inside the park, there are quite a few spots that will make you forget all else & can make you drive OFF the road, which may make you a part of the scenery.

For ME, the hardest part to keep warm is my feet! Dry socks are warm socks! Your feet (well, ALL of you!), sweats CONSTANTLY, if you hike they will sweat more, even if you don't notice it! SO, what I do is change into dry socks as I go to bed. Yes, your feet will get slightly colder as you bare them to change but this will give you a chance to dry off your feet first (with the dry cloth you brought for the occasion) & then put on your nice DRY socks.

If / when you need to pee at night, do so! Don't spend your body heat keeping all that fluid warm, it ain't worth it! On that note, if you can do so without getting your bedding wet or dirty, keeping your boots or (warmish) camp shoes IN your hammock may mean you don't get quite as cold "answering nature"

A few chemical hot packs can be a boon if your insulation isn't what you thought it would be. DO NOT PRE-TREAT! Especially if you have a metabolism like me! I opened a hot pack one year (09 I think) as I went to bed, about an hour later I had a dream that everyone had put me in the fire & were standing around watching me burn (where I camped that year I could hear them talking at the shelter) I woke with a start & had to jump out of my hammock & strip to shorts & socks (a common occurrence with me at MRHO, sorry) I stand outside my tarp for about 15 minutes just to cool off. Outside temp when I went to bed was 14 f, inside my hammock felt like about 200.

A well sealed LEAK PROOF water bottle with warm water in it is nice to have if you are already cold when it's bed time. & is cheaper than the above chem packs. I have a sock just for my water bottle, even though it is usually just kept on my WBBB shelf for drinking water.

Stay hydrated! Drink like its SUMMER, in the Desert! Eat! This weekend is NOT the time to be dieting!!!

Finally: Stay cool to stay warm! Hot is wet, wet is COLD!!!

Wish I was there NOW!

[Coffee]

Thanks it will be good to see everyone again. It's been too long and thankfully I'm not traveling as much as I used to with work.

Is there anything else that is needed for the potluck? Planning on stopping at the store for food on the drive in so I don't have to bring any with me.