Last weekend we headed into the Shenandoah’s with our new friends Dan and Hannah. Backpacking in mid-Feb is always a bit of a risk but we managed to stay warm. There were some patches of snow on the north side of the mountain but overall it was snow-free. Walking on the ridge near Rockytop Mountain was windy but we had views of the whole valley and the Massanutten mountains beyond. DnH don’t backpack much, so we planned a mellow hike of about 10 miles for the first day – but they bombed it up the mountain and we arrived at camp by Brown Mountain by 11am! We decided to just enjoy a lazy afternoon in the woods – munching on our peanut butter pitas, building a massive fire, reading Billy Collins poems and enjoying hot chocolate with mint schnapps.
The next morning DnH had brought mix to make blueberry pancakes. However combined stove/pan issues meant we ended up eating something Dan coined rattlecakes – a gooey blueberry batter scramble. Yum!
We made our way back to the car via many river crossings – lucky Buddy was carried across. I’m ashamed to admit this was the first time I’d gone weekend backpacking since we lived in England in 2008! It’s been either 4+ month trips or nothing. But that’s definitely going to change…. it was a superb weekend away.
Buddy staying warm by the fire
dan & anna's adventures 