Monday, February 10, 2025

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...





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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 ...