Cabin Fever!

Shenandoah Cabin and Day Hikes

January 31 - February 2, 2025

Map can be found HERE

 

Day 1 - 0 miles hiked with 0 ft up and 0 ft down of elevation change

Now for something completely different.  For our winter trip this year we decided to rent one of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club's cabins near Shenandoah National Park, using the cabin as a "base camp" and do some day hikes from there.  We stay in the Rosser Lamb Farm House just outside the SNP boundary.

I meet up with the guys over at Divens' house and we all load up in Usman's truck as he has graciously offered to drive us up to the cabin.  Being that we aren't backpacking in to the cabin, we may have brought too much stuff with us. A quick rearranging of things and then adding the hitch rack for the cooler makes it all fit.  

 

Sal's Pizza in Stanardsville, VA is our first stop for our mandatory pre-trip lunch.  After a meal of pizza and appetizers we continue up to the cabin.  The initial plan was to get settled in the cabin and do a short hike Friday afternoon.  Upon arrival in the fog and rain we decided just to hang out in the cabin and do a longer day hike Saturday when the weather is supposed to break.

The most valuable item rode in the most precarious position.

A foggy damp drive greeted us on the way up to the cabin.

 

The Rosser Lamb Farm House eventually emerged from from the fog.

 

JJ observes that people were shorter in 1915 when the house was built.
 

Carrying in copious amounts of firewood provided by Usman.

 

A brisk 40 degrees indoors upon our arrival.  This may have made us a little overzealous in our fire building for the evening.  We figured that we had plenty of firewood, we may as well burn it.

 

Examining the door that allows heat from downstairs up into the bedroom.  

Later dubbed "Satan's doorway."

Once the house begins to warm we decide to take advantage of the decidedly more posh surroundings than we are normally accustomed to on our trips and relax by the fire.  After the requisite number of tall tales are told it's time to start working on our dinner, or supper, depending on where you're from.  We all convene in the kitchen to work on our meal of burgers and fries.  There may have been a pre-meal cookie snuck in as well.

With our hunger satiated we return to the living room for more tales and a few naps.  The fireplace is discovered to be much more than just adequate at heating the house and we are plenty comfortable in just our short sleeves.  Around 10 everyone starts talking about going to bed and we finally make it there around 11 only to discover the upstairs bedroom directly over the living room is now 89 degrees!  Lying down anyway on the provided bunks we attempt to sleep.  

 

Usman and JJ seem to have little trouble falling asleep as I can hear their snoring begin shortly.  As for myself the rivulets of sweat rolling down my forehead and face are making it increasingly more difficult to try to sleep.  About 1 AM I hear Divens come upstairs grab his sleeping bag and head to the colder side of the house.  I think that's a good idea and follow.  It's amazing how much better you can sleep in a 40 degree room with a 20 degree sleep system than you can in a room that's nearly 90.  I'm so glad we shut a few doors and only heated one side of the house.

Hanging out by the fire.  CHEERS!

JJ jumping for joy that dinners almost ready.

 

Ah, burgers and fried taters on the ole Coleman stove.

 

I call this one "Santa on December 26th."

 

Told you it got hot upstairs!

Day 2 - 10.3 miles hiked with 2020 ft up and 2020 ft down of elevation change

After a fitful night we rise for a hearty breakfast and prepare for the day's hiking.  While we could have just hung around the house all day and been lazy, we decide it's probably best to get out and get moving.  The great thing about the day is we don't have to make a set number of miles to the next camp.  If we get tired we can just turn around and head back to the house.

The plan is to take the Entry Run trail up to where it meets up with the Pocosin Fire Road.  We'll then follow the fire road up to the Appalachian Trail passing by the ruins of the Upper Pocosin Mission and eventually the Pocosin Cabin where I spent a cold night a few years prior.  But that's a story for another time.  Once on the AT we'll continue north to Lewis Mountain before retracing our steps back down.

Frying up some pancakes, eggs and MAPLE SPAM.  The SPAM was surprisingly delicious.

 

The "comfort station" was delightfully decorated. 

 

Uzi checking out some photos of the home's restoration.

Group shot before heading STRAIGHT UPHILL.

I did manage to hide in the shadows so you can't get a good look at me.

Is that more SPAM I smell?

Even with the previous rain, there is still some snow on the upper reaches.

Gotta be cooler sleeping in here than down on Satan's back porch.

 

Break time at the Pocosin Cabin.

 

Just a trickle of water at the Pocosin Spring. 

The spring box had sprung several leaks along the bottom.

 

The Pocosin Cabin marks the approximate halfway point of the day's hike.  This old CCC cabin sits right off the Appalachian Trail and about 200 yards from Skyline drive.  After our break, snack and water refill we continue on the Appalachian Trail toward Lewis Mountain.  Deeper snow greets us as we climb higher making the going a little bit slower but still enjoyable in the beautiful weather.

Taking the blue blazed Lewis Mountain Summit trail we soon discover that there is little to see at the summit since it's covered with a rhododendron and laurel thicket.  The trail makes a loop around the top but offers little in the way of long range views.  Mildly disappointed, lunch awaits us back at the Lewis Mountain Campground.

 

After lunch we pick up the pace as we look forward to a nice warm house down below.  

Whose idea was this?!  Oh yeah...

Lunch Selfie!!

 

Skyline Drive shortcut.

 

JJ giving us some of his best acting techniques while inspecting weird piles of poplar seeds in the trail.  We suspect they have collected in some frozen footprints and were deposited as the snow melted.  The piles are spaced out about the length of an average human stride.

Back at the farm house the fire is rekindled, but only in the living room as we have learned our lesson from the night before.  After a brief respite and change of clothes it's time to work on dinner.  To get us started we have an appetizer of grilled chicken tacos with a side of couscous salad.  Tonight's main dinner menu features a locally sourced beef sausage in an artisanal roll accompanied by a traditional southern pasta with cheese sauce.  OK FINE it's hotdogs with mac and cheese.

Once the meal prep and leftovers are taken care of another evening of gentlemanly fellowship awaits as we all fight off sleep long enough to pretend we stayed up late.  Finally giving up we head up to bed.  One bedroom is now 47 degrees and the other is in the 30's.  Steve and I choose the 30 degree room so as to not take any chances of getting too hot to sleep.  

This is how you prepare a fine dining meal.

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
   Sailed off in a wooden shoe, --
Sailed on a river of crystal light
   Into a sea of dew.

 

Day 3 - 2.4 miles hiked with 876 ft up and 876 ft down of elevation change

The morning sun greets us after a much more restful night's sleep and we get ready for breakfast.  More pancakes today with home fries, eggs and doughnuts.  With full bellies we clean up the house, pack up the truck and get ready for the trip back to Divens' house.  With all of this accomplished pretty early in the morning, we decide to do a short loop hike down to another PATC cabin and back.  

 

Starting out on the Entry Run trail again, this time we go the other direction down towards the John's Rest Cabin.  Cresting the ridge we come upon the Lamb family cemetery where several former residents of the farm house are buried.  Finding places like this helps us to remember that the areas where we often recreate had regular people with regular lives in them at one point in time.

Continuing down the ridge we reach the Rosser Lamb trail that takes us to the other cabin and eventually back up to the house.  We find ourselves in front of the quintessential log cabin and do some exploring of the site.  Consensus is reached that it would be a fine place to spend another weekend some point in the future.  The realization soon hits that if we want to make it out for a timely lunch stop we should probably head back up the hill.

 

Writing something pithy in the cabin logbook.

 

The Lamb family plot.

 

Checking out John's Rest cabin.

 

"It doesn't feel like we walked down this far"

 

These rock piles are everywhere.  Sights like this make you realize the difficulty in getting enough land cleared for it to be possible to eke out an existence for yourself and your family.

We found this nice looking cascade on the creek as we hiked back up.

 

Once back we clean out the ashes from the fireplace and stove and hop in the truck for the ride back to the real world.  Chicken sandwiches for lunch from Buttermilk and Honey in Short Pump, VA help put a bow on a fun weekend.  If you like to get outdoors but aren't too keen on camping, I can highly recommend the PATC cabins as a nice alternative.

Til next time...

Puddle of Life!

Linville Gorge Loop

September 11-13, 2015

Map can be found HERE

 

Day 1 - 5.2 miles hiked with 846 ft up and 2187 ft down of elevation change

Growing up about 45 minutes from Linville Gorge, my friends and I made many day trips down into the Gorge to go swimming and hang out.  Today would begin my first, but certainly not last, time backpacking in and camping there and I was greatly looking forward to the endeavor.

Setting out from my house early in the morning, I headed west toward the Pinch In trail parking area to meet up with Crockett, JJ and Formy who had all gone up the day before and spent the night car camping on the west rim of the Gorge along old 105 aka Kistler Memorial Highway.  They would be sure to regale us with tales of their breakfast of sausage and eggs later on in the trip.  Probably while I'm eating a cold Pop-Tart one morning.

 

Gary would be driving down from Michigan to meet us at Pinch In as well.  He must REALLY enjoy our company to be willing to drive 13 hours to hang out with us for a couple of days!  I know we're all glad he's able to come join us as that gives us another person to make fun of with some good-natured ribbing.

Today's plan is to leave the Pinch In trailhead and road walk up to the Rock Jock trail and take it along the west rim of the Gorge.  We will then turn right on the Conley Cove trail and head down to the river where we'd set up camp along the river.  Little did we know what lay in store...

Sunset over JJ, Formy and Crockett's pre-trip campout.

We don't normally eat like this on backpacking trips.

 

JJ sporting the newly created emblem for our little group.
The Latin reads "We came. We saw. We walked"

Pack lineup awaiting Gary's imminent arrival.  

Between all of us we may have tried nearly every pack brand there is.

"You sure it's not upside down?  I think it's upside down."

The intrepid explorers set off on the road walk to begin the trip.

After finishing the half-mile road walk on old 105 we would arrive at the southern terminus of the Rock Jock trail.  This sometimes treacherous trail skirts the western cliffs of the southern end of the Linville Gorge and offers some amazing views of the chasm below.  Just watch your step, first one is a doozy!

We would spend the first part of the day picking our way along Rock Jock stopping often to gawk at each new view.  The going was a lot slower than anticipated due to the difficult nature of the trail.  There's an axiom about the Gorge that states "A mile in the Gorge is worth two miles anywhere else."  We see the wisdom in this phrase in short order.

 

This part of the Gorge fell victim to a wildfire a couple of years before, leaving us much more exposed to the sun and heat than we anticipated.  The hot and sweaty day would take its toll on us.

 

Part of the adventure in hiking through a wilderness area is the condition of the trails.  Human activities are much more limited in designated wilderness and the trails are unmarked and can get overgrown.

 

Crockett, Gary and Formy exploring one of the numerous rock outcroppings we'd encounter.

What a view!  The Gorge looks nice too.

 

The reality of hiking in the Gorge starting to set in at this point.

 

Formy treading gingerly across the rocks.

 

View of Shortoff Mountain from our lunch spot.  Not too bad!

After lunch we continue making our way along the cliffs of Rock Jock with our water supplies getting lower and lower.  We had severely underestimated our ability to find water along the rim of the Gorge.  The late summer conditions had dried up most water sources along the trail.  We now know that due to the terrain around the Gorge, water is sometimes difficult to acquire and we need to prepare for that.  

 

With a couple of hours of dry hiking behind us, we are about to resign ourselves to the fact that we might not find water until we reach the river.  When what to our wondering eyes should appear?  Not eight tiny reindeer, but the PUDDLE OF LIFE!  We have found a trickle of water that has collected in a muddy depression and luckily Gary is still carrying a pump filter. He is able to withdraw water from this mudhole and give us a little water to make it down to the next source.  The Gorge sometimes teaches its lessons harshly.

A newfound spring in our step carries us on to the Conley Cove trail and down to the river where we will look for a campsite.

Last views from the rim until near the end of the trip atop Pinch In trail.

ALABAMA SWEAR WORDS!!!  I think the water might have been cold.

One of the finest camp sites in Linville Gorge.

Once camp is made we gather some firewood, build a fire and sit down to relax and discuss the day's activities.  Formy has pulled out his new backpacking chair and begins to lord it over us.  He claims he was just happy to be sitting down after the hard days hiking, but we know the truth.

The original plan is to get up early and hike up to Babel Tower before retracing our steps on the Linville Gorge Trail down to the area below Pinch In.  After some discussion about the unexpected toughness of the hike so far, a decision is made to forgo Babel for another time and just meander down the river to our targeted campsite.

  

Gary and Crockett relaxing by the fire while preparing their dinner.

 

I THINK THAT STICK JUST MOVED!  Turns out it was not a stick, just your friendly neighborhood copperhead.  I immediately rethink my decision to do the trip wearing my trusty Chaco sandals and retreat.  No harm was done to the snake, but we did attempt to shoo it away from JJ and my hammocks.  It went as far as a rhododendron bush about 15 ft away and would not budge.  We made sure to watch our step the remainder of the evening.

Day 2 - 3 miles hiked with 271 ft up and 674 ft down of elevation change

With the pressure of making miles off of us, we lollygag around camp until almost noon!  There's no rush so we wait a little bit to see if our gear will dry from the night's brief rain showers.  We eat a leisurely breakfast sitting on logs or a bench made from river driftwood, except for YOU KNOW WHO in his chair, then pack up camp and head downriver.

 

LORDING IT!  Just look at his face. 

 

Gary and Crockett lounging by the swimming hole near camp.  

We did take advantage of this a little bit the previous evening.

Mandatory group shot before heading out of camp.

The Linville Gorge trail runs most of the length of the Gorge from Pine Gap on the north end until it reaches the Mountains to Sea trail below Pinnacle.  It can be difficult to follow at times but the beauty of the Gorge makes it well worth the effort.  We lose the trail a few times in the rocks but as long as you have the river to your left as you go downstream you'll eventually find it again.

Due to its ruggedness many parts of the Gorge were not commercially logged and it's not unusual to find some large trees like this tulip poplar.

 

How did this rock get lodged perfectly in the crack in this large boulder?  It's hard to tell from the photo but the rock is about 8 ft in length and would weigh hundreds of pounds.

Crockett and Formy navigating one of the boulder filled sections of trail.

After several hours of hiking we reach the end of the Pinch In trail which we will use the next day to return to our vehicles.  Scouting around on the west side of the river we don't see any sites that look like what we'd want to use for the night.  Looking across the river we can see what looks to be a fairly flat open area at the base of the seldom used Cambric trail.  Heading across the river we end up pitching camp in what has turned out to be a very nice riverside campsite.

Once camp is set up and basic chores such as filtering water are taken care of, we decide to take advantage of another swimming hole next to our campsite.  The water is cold but so refreshing after the warm sweaty afternoon of hiking we've put behind us.  After a couple of laps in the pool below camp I find a place in the rapids to wedge myself in and just let the cooling flow wash over me.  One of the river residents is apparently not very happy about this and lets their feelings be known by nipping at my toes.  Thankfully the fish in the river have no teeth and just get you with their fish lips.  Everyone eventually takes a turn getting "attacked" and we have a good laugh about it.  I am not sure we told Gary about the fish as he was a late arrival to the festivities which makes his look of surprise even funnier.

Hoping I don't step in a hole more than knee deep and fall in.  

Our eventual camp is visible on the far shore.

Looking up at the cliffs of the Rock Jock trail from the river next to camp.

It's hard to imagine that we were on top of these just the day before.

JJ's setup to the left and Formy's to the right.  Formy comes from the "Meh, I probably won't die" school of hammock tarp pitching.  The end of his hammock did get wet in the showers of the previous night but it didn't phase him.  He is by far the toughest of us when it comes to his sleeping arrangements.  This will become very evident as these trip reports continue.  😂

Crockett inspecting his new hammock setup.  He ultimately decides that he is more comfortable in a tent for later trips.  We think he's just afraid of making it easier for a bear to sneak up in the middle of the night and give him a kiss on the cheek.

Relaxing in the river.  Pretty sure Gary has figured out the fish at this point.  After getting out and drying off we realize that a couple of guys have made camp on the far side of the river.  Not sure we want to hazard a guess at their thoughts about a group of middle aged men laughing hysterically at their own shenanigans splashing around in the river.

 

Day 3 - 1.25 miles hiked with 1757 ft up and 4 ft down of elevation change

PINCH IN!!  If you know, you know.  

 

The day had arrived to ascend one of the steepest, if not THE steepest trail we'd ever encounter.  The Pinch In trail ascends from the river to the rim, rising nearly 1700 feet in just over a mile.  To make things worse it's in the fire scar and will expose us to the late summer sun almost the entire way up.  But that's part of hiking in the Gorge, what goes down must come up.

After a quick breakfast we pack up camp and prepare to cross the river back to the west side of the Gorge.  There's no getting around wet feet so we just wade right in.  Once on the other side we rapidly approach the junction of the Linville Gorge trail and Pinch In and begin our climb.  The day is warm as we emerge into the burn area making us long for a cold river at the top.  However the openness of the trail affords us some amazing views as we climb.

JJ already thinking about lunch.

Gary leads the way into the river.  

He doesn't look very excited to put his feet in the water.

I think I can!  I think I can!  Said the out of shape engine that could.

JJ wondering if he forgot something down at the bottom.

 

Don't look up!  Just makes it worse.

Part of the way up we turn around to enjoy some amazing views.  The Chimneys and NC Wall are visible on the far side.  The cliffs of Linville Gorge are home to several nesting populations of the protected peregrine falcon.  This bird is one of the fastest on earth with speeds of its dives documented at well over 100 miles per hour and suspected to approach 200 mph.  During nesting times several areas are closed to protect the nests of these amazing birds.  Please respect these closures so the population can continue to thrive here.

Almost to the top!  Gary can't believe we were just down at the bottom of this.

 

 Finally making it to the top we gladly change into some clean clothes and bag up our attire soaked with 3 days worth of "adventure."  Heading over to Famous Louise's Rock House restaurant for a well deserved lunch, we make a quick stop to enjoy the view from the substantially easier to reach Wiseman's View overlook.  If you don't want to attempt the descent and climb out of the Gorge, this overlook is just a short paved walk from old 105 and offers unforgettable views of Linville Gorge.

Looking down the Gorge from one of the two Wiseman's View overlooks.

Table Rock and the Linville River as seen from Wiseman's View.

No trip to the Gorge is complete without a stop at Louise's in Linville Falls.  

Another amazing trip in the books!  We will return to the Linville Gorge many more times in the future as it is such an amazing place.  If you are in the area, put on your mountain goat shoes and give it a visit.  You won't regret it!

Til next time...