Mountain Odyssey Outings
2009 Mountain Odyssey Outings |
To join us for any of these outings, please sign up with the trip leader, who can give you more information. Please contact your trip leader and reserve your spot at least two weeks in advance. In doing so, you may learn critical details about the outing. For instance, all available spots may be taken or the trip leader may cancel an outing if an insufficient number of people have signed up. Our outings vary greatly in difficulty, scenery and type. Groups average between five and ten people, though we have as many as twenty people on some outings. Lower group numbers tend to provide a better experience for everyone. Trip leaders exercise a great amount of flexibility as far as leadership style, foul weather rescheduling, daily route, etc. Please be considerate of your trip leader and follow his/her instructions. Open Dates: Visit Kayford Mountain south of Charleston to see mountain top removal (MTR) up close and hear Larry Gibson's story about how he saved his mountain, now almost totally surrounded by MTR. Bring lunch for a picnic on Larry's mountain. Call in advance to schedule. Julian Martin (304) 342-8989; martinjul@aol.com or Larry Gibson (304) 542-1134; (304) 549-3287. Sunday February 1, Carefree Snowshoe Tour; 1 pm Whitegrass Ski Touring Center. Your chance to appreciate the simple beauty of snowshoeing on the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Led by Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge Intern Corey Bonasso, this tour will include Natural history and local lore. Visit www.whitegrass.com or call 304-866-4114. Sunday February 8, Gateway To The Refuge - Animal Tracking; 10 am Whitegrass Ski Touring Center. Ski or Snowshoe trek led by Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge Wildlife Biologist Ken Sturm. This very popular event will give you information needed to figure out what critters make all those impressions in the snow. These Sunday walks are free of charge and offered at Whitegrass each year to expand our appreciation of the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Visit www.whitegrass.com or call 304-866-4114. Sunday February 15, Carefree Snowshoe Tour; 1 pm Whitegrass Ski Touring Center. Your chance to appreciate the simple beauty of snowshoeing on the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Natural history and local lore are included. Visit www.whitegrass.com or call 304-866-4114. Saturday February 21, Winter Bird Walk; 8am, meet at the Canaan Valley National WIldlife Refuge Visitor Center, led by Casey Rucker. Sunday February 22, Gateway To The Refuge - GPS mapping skills; 10 am Whitegrass Ski Touring Center. Trek led by Dr. Rick Landenberger, Executive Director of a non-profit geospatial research and education network, and West Virginia University faculty member in Geology & Geography. Rick will provide an introduction to GPS technology including principles for mapping points and routes, with particular emphasis on central Appalachian forest ecology and wildlife applications. Bring your own GPS if you'd like, but Rick will have loaner units for first timers. All are welcome. Skis or snowshoes. These Sunday treks are free of charge and offered at Whitegrass each year to expand our appreciation of the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Visit www.whitegrass.com or call 304-866-4114. Saturday & Sunday April 18&19, Red Spruce Ecosystem Restoration, Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge; Join the Highlands Conservancy, WVU students, Wildlife Refuge Staff and others for our annual red spruce and balsam fir tree planting weekend. Meet at the Wildlife Refuge Headquarters on Rt. 32 at 10 am on each day. Rain or shine, dress appropriately for the weather, bring gloves. Tools and lunch provided. Contact Dave Saville at daves@labyrinth.net or 304-284-9548. Saturday to Monday, April 18-20, Loyalsock/Link Loop Backpack, PA. 27 mile strenuous backpack with lots of elevation gain. Daily mileage 5/13/9. Views and beautiful Loyalsock Creek. Pre-register with Mike Juskelis 410-439-4964, mjuskelis@cablespeed.com. Saturday, April 25, Garlic Mustard Challenge, Big Bend Campground; Meet at 9am at the Campground check-in station. Join us as we get our garlic mustard eradication effort underway. Volunteer for the whole day, or join us for any part of it. Come dressed for the weather, bring gloves and take matters into your own hands. Visit http://www.appalachianforest.us/ for more information or contact Evan Burks at 304-636-1800 ext. 224 Saturday to Sunday, May 2-4, Mount Rogers Backpack, VA. Strenuous 20 mile backpack across fantastic open balds surrounded by mountains. Climb the highest peak in VA (5,729 feet but no view) and perhaps see some of the famous wild ponies. Daily mileage 8/9/3. Pre-register with Mike Juskelis 410-439-4964, mjuskelis@cablespeed.com. Sunday May 3, Red Spruce Ecosystem Restoration, Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge; Join the Highlands Conservancy, Wildlife Refuge Staff and others in our efforts to restore the high elevation red spruce ecosystem by planting red spruce and balsam fir trees. Meet at the Wildlife Refuge Headquarters on Rt. 32 at 10 am. Rain or shine, dress appropriately for the weather, bring gloves. Tools and lunch provided. Contact Dave Saville at daves@labyrinth.net or 304-284-9548. Saturday, May 16, Garlic Mustard Challenge, Pocahontas County 4-H Camp; Meet at 9am at the Camp. Volunteer with us as we work to eradicate garlic mustard from the Camp. Volunteer for the whole day, or join us for any part of it. Come dressed for the weather, bring gloves and take matters into your own hands. Visit http://www.appalachianforest.us/ for more information or contact Evan Burks at 304-636-1800 ext. 224 Saturday to Monday, May 16-18, SNP, Loft Mt car camp, VA. The highlight of this trip is a strenuous 9.5 mile hike on Rocky Mount with lots of views. Pre-register with Mike Juskelis 410-439-4964, mjuskelis@cablespeed.com. Saturday, May 23, Garlic Mustard Challenge, Summit Lake; Meet at 9am at the Campground check-in station. Volunteer with us as we work to eradicate garlic mustard at the Lake. Volunteer for the whole day, or join us for any part of it. Come dressed for the weather, bring gloves and take matters into your own hands. Visit http://www.appalachianforest.us/ for more information or contact Evan Burks at 304-636-1800 ext. 224 Saturday to Monday, May 23-25, Seneca Creek Backpack with a day hike to the High Meadows. We hope to cover some previously unexplored trails on the first day. Daily mileage 8/8/7. Pre-register with Mike Juskelis 410-439-4964, mjuskelis@cablespeed.com. Saturday, May 30, North Fork Trail Maintenance, Cranberry Wilderness; Join the Appalachian Forest Heritage Area, AmeriCorps, Highlands Conservancy and Forest Service as we put some quality work time into improving our Wilderness hiking trails. Meet at 10am at the North-South Trailhead along the Highlands Scenic Highway. Volunteers should bring lunch, water, gloves and dress appropriately. Severely inclement weather would cancel the work day. Tools will be provided. Contact Dave Saville at daves@labyrinth.net or 304-284-9548. Saturday to Tuesday, June 13-16, Grayson Highlands State Park Car Camp with Two Day Hikes, VA. The hikes will be 8 to 10 miles each) will include views across some fantastic balds, wild ponies and beautiful Catawba Rhododendrons. Pre-register with Mike Juskelis 410-439-4964, mjuskelis@cablespeed.com. Saturday, June 20, County Line Trail Maintenance, Cranberry Wilderness; Join the Appalachian Forest Heritage Area, AmeriCorps, Highlands Conservancy and Forest Service as we put some quality work time into improving our Wilderness hiking trails. Meet at 10am at the County Line Trailhead along the Williams River Road. Volunteers should bring lunch, water, gloves and dress appropriately. Severely inclement weather would cancel the work day. Tools will be provided. Contact Dave Saville at daves@labyrinth.net or 304-284-9548. Saturday & Sunday, July 11 & 12, Middle Fork Trail Maintenance, Cranberry Wilderness; Join the Appalachian Forest Heritage Area, AmeriCorps, Highlands Conservancy and Forest Service as we put some quality work time into improving our Wilderness hiking trails. Meet at 10am at the North-South Trailhead along the Highlands Scenic Highway. Volunteers should bring lunch, water, gloves and dress appropriately. Severely inclement weather would cancel the work day. Tools will be provided. Contact Dave Saville at daves@labyrinth.net or 304-284-9548. Saturday to Monday, July 11-13, Susquehannock Trail System, Hammersley Wild Area Backpack base camp and day hike, PA. Strenuous backpack to a beautiful area. We’ll set up a base camp at around 7 miles. We will further explore this beautiful valley and the seldom used Three Sisters Trail. Some bushwhacking and about 3 miles of forest road walking will be required to close the loop. The hike out will be the reverse of the first day. Pre-register with Mike Juskelis 410-439-4964, mjuskelis@cablespeed.com. Saturday, July 18, County Line Trail Maintenance, Cranberry Wilderness; Join the Appalachian Forest Heritage Area, AmeriCorps, Highlands Conservancy and Forest Service as we put some quality work time into improving our Wilderness hiking trails. Meet at 10am at the 3 Forks of Williams Trailhead. Volunteers should bring lunch, water, gloves and dress appropriately. Severely inclement weather would cancel the work day. Tools will be provided. Contact Dave Saville at daves@labyrinth.net or 304-284-9548. Saturday to Tuesday, July 25-28, Seneca Shadows Car Camping with 2 day hikes, MNF, VA. This campground is meticulously maintained. The hikes will include a 10 mile shuttle hike across North Fork Mountain with tons of views and a 10 mile circuit in Dolly Sods North. Optional hike to the top of Seneca Rocks for early arrivals. Pre-register with Mike Juskelis 410-439-4964, mjuskelis@cablespeed.com. Saturday & Sunday, August 1 & 2, North Fork Trail Maintenance, Cranberry Wilderness; Join the Appalachian Forest Heritage Area, AmeriCorps, Highlands Conservancy and Forest Service as we put some quality work time into improving our Wilderness hiking trails. Meet at 10am at the North-South Trailhead along the Highlands Scenic Highway. Volunteers should bring lunch, water, gloves and dress appropriately. Severely inclement weather would cancel the work day. Tools will be provided. Contact Dave Saville at daves@labyrinth.net or 304-284-9548. Saturday, August 8, Middle Fork Trail Maintenance, Cranberry Wilderness; Join the Appalachian Forest Heritage Area, AmeriCorps, Highlands Conservancy and Forest Service as we put some quality work time into improving our Wilderness hiking trails. Meet at 10am at the 3 Forks of Williams Trailhead. Volunteers should bring lunch, water, gloves and dress appropriately. Severely inclement weather would cancel the work day. Tools will be provided. Contact Dave Saville at daves@labyrinth.net or 304-284-9548. Saturday to Monday, August 15-17, Quehanna Wild Area, Central, PA. Moderate 30 mile backpack using some seldom used hunting roads/trails to close the loop. Some steep ascents and descents with lots of plateau walking in between. There should be lots of blueberries on this trip. Pre-register with Mike Juskelis 410-439-4964, mjuskelis@cablespeed.com. Saturday to Monday, September 5-7, AT Shuttle Backpack, The Triple Crown of VA. This is a strenuous shuttle with over 3700 feet of elevation gain over 25 miles. Daily mileage 13/8/4. These might change if we find other official campsites between the shelters. Fantastic views at the Dragons Tooth, McAfee Knob and Tinker cliffs with more in between. Pre-register with Mike Juskelis 410-439-4964, mjuskelis@cablespeed.com. Saturday to Tuesday, September 19-22, Worlds End SP Car Camp with 2 Day Hikes, PA. Day hikes will be moderate to strenuous. One will be 8 miles in length and the other will be 10-12 miles in length. Views and beautiful streams featured. Pre-register with Mike Juskelis 410-439-4964, mjuskelis@cablespeed.com. Saturday to Monday, October 10-12, Chuck Keiper Trail – West, PA. 30 mile strenuous hike with steep ascents and descents. Daily mileage 10/10/10 depending on campsite and water availability. Pre-register with Mike Juskelis 410-439-4964, mjuskelis@cablespeed.com. Saturday to Tuesday, October 24-27, Douthat State Park Car Camp with 2 Day Hikes, VA. Camp in the oldest park in the Old Dominion. Hikes are moderate to strenuous in difficulty and ranging from 7 to 10 miles in length. Lots of views. Pre-register with Mike Juskelis 410-439-4964, mjuskelis@cablespeed.com.
It’s never too early to start planning those spring time hikes —— Last Update-
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