Video - Belle Isle State Park, Lancaster County, Va on the Rappahannock River in winter

[JSH]

I'm posting this video because the Belle Isle State Park location might be a good outing for those of us in the mid-Atlantic area. My backpacking group is returning this year in early January. I hope we'll enjoy the weekend as much this year as last. We hiked in last year on a Saturday afternoon and discovered the campsites were well laid out, offered good protection from any breeze plus some spell-binding views of the Rappahannock River, particularly at sunset.

We didn't realize how much fun it would be to start the year backpacking. Maybe others in the forum will find it like we did.

You'll hear a lot of laughter in the video clips I used. That's because we are good friends. And one newcomer called Marty arrived with a huge pack including a fire log she'd been told to take at Walmart. This was one of her first trips and she'd asked for advice on what to pack at WalMart(grin). It's a measure of the group that everyone pitched in to help and encourage her. Yeah we teased her. But she just laughed. Was a good time.

https://youtu.be/2irFZqOhiyQ

I really like this picture. I'm hoping to sit on the bank again this year and watch the sun go down.

Opening picture of river.jpg

By the way, I just read Shug's note on his video thinking. I am in his debt many times over helping me discover hammock camping. Never fail to learn something from his videos. They are great. I really enjoy them. Mine will never approach Shug's. I generally gather content both in pictures and video for my hiking group to enjoy. Folks tell me they look at the trip videos to remember how much fun they had. I try to portray the hike and its participants. Our Meetup group called Virginia Backpacking gets out several times a month in moderate weather. The hikes are generally very enjoyable in and of themselves, but the fellowship among the group is what makes it so different. There is something special about being on trail with friends.

[Layne]

Thanks for sharing, looks like y’all had a great time! Lots of laughter and smiles, always good to see new people getting out - our packs were all heavier when we first started

[dkurfiss]

Belle Isle is a beautiful park. I am spend a number of nights there both in and out of my hammock.

[TallPaul]

That looked like a fun one. I like all the laughter - good sign folks were getting along. And wow some of those packs were big. But hey we all start somewhere. At least they are out in the woods

[JSH]

That looked like a fun one. I like all the laughter - good sign folks were getting along. And wow some of those packs were big. But hey we all start somewhere. At least they are out in the woods

You're right about last year's laughter. It was a gas to be with everyone. A lot of our Virginia Backpacking hikes are like that. We had a great time teasing each other. You are also right about the pack sizes. We are using this hike as an intro for some. It's an easy 1.5 miles to the campsite.

This morning after completing the 2020 version of this hike we ate together in Tappahannock. We had a good time grilling each other over how we managed last night's wind storm. One tent lost tent poles (broken), one tent fly perforated by a flying pine cone. My hammock set up was blown down. Despite this we talked about getting out again in a month in the mountains. Good fellowship.

Me in a selfie with the group in background
Selfie at breakfast.jpg

Belle Isle is a beautiful park. I am spend a number of nights there both in and out of my hammock.

Agree with you about the park. It is a stunning place and the river is mesmerizing. Sunrise this morning was beautiful.

Looking east toward the river
20200105_073056_HDR.jpg

Looking east along the trail into the campsites
20200105_073546_HDR.jpg

Thanks for sharing, looks like y’all had a great time! Lots of laughter and smiles, always good to see new people getting out - our packs were all heavier when we first started

Most of us carried heavy packs yesterday on our 2020 version of this trip. I'll post more on this in a separate discussion in Backpacking but we were caught by severe weather at nightfall as a cold front passed over. Sustained winds of over 40 mph swept over the shoreline. None of us were prepared for this level of wind. We'd anticipated winds causing wind chill and had carried extra insulation but the wind gusts were a surprise. My hammock setup was pretty well smashed. I don't think anything was damaged beyond repair but it was a good lesson learned. I'll post separately. Pictures below show the river before and this morning after the storm/cold front passed.

Picture below is yesterday evening just in front of my hang.
Before storm.jpg

Picture below from same location this morning.
Morning after.jpg