Friday, February 27, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
EDIT: Chris, E-roc, and Anthony were upset I posted Patrick's Blog and not theirs. soooo Here it is. If I could set up a Vote I would. you can e-mail your Votes to us on our website!
Dano
Sunday Sunday Sunday…. Broathlon
Sunday turned out to be the nicest day of the year and here at Wilderness Adventure, we were not going to waste it. During the winter some people tend to get cooped up in the office, but it’s hard to keep us inside. Despite the frigid temperatures of VA, you’ll find us out at Carvin’s Cove riding our favorite trails or out at Snowshoe boarding. So with this awesome weather it was a tough choice to make between hitting our favorite trails or doing something out of the ordinary…. something extraordinary! Enter the BROatholon.
The mastermind behind this adventure was our favorite office dandy, Patrick Boas. As Anthony, Patrick, Eric and I were figuring out how to take advantage of the day, Patrick suggested the BROathlon! It was to be an epic day involving three rigorous activities. First was our Fenwick Loop trail – an 8 mile course involving road, jeep trail and single track biking that starts out right here at WA Base Camp. The next event was a mile run to our home away from home- the Staff House. The final event was kayaking down the mighty Craig Creek.
We geared up with helmets, gloves, glasses, and H2O and departed from the Bike Barn at 1:16 up the Base Camp Road. At the end of the camp road we hit a bit of a snag though. We looked behind us and noticed that our faithful camp dogs had followed us. As hardy and adventurous as they may be, we decided the dogs would have to sit this one out. Patrick and I decided to herd Rocky, Jackson, and Charlie back to B.C., while Anthony and Eric braved the Fenwick loop and its Hill of Despair.
Here’s what Eric had to stay: The ground going up the hill was soft and slow rolling. We got up though and without stopping. We hit the jedi night trail hard but Anthony had to stop for a fallen branch. I continued and bombed through the creek on the trail but got my feet wet. We rode through Fenwick and then met up with Chris and Patrick.
Once Patrick and I met up with Anthony and Eric we booked it back to Base Camp and switched out our clip-in shoes for trail shoes and started jogging to the Staff House. We took the cross-country trail across B.C. through the woods, past rolling pastures, and up the dusty road. With our legs burning from riding and running, we gathered up our kayaks, paddles, and PFDs and trumped on to Craig Creek’s second ford. The water level was up and the weather was warm, but the water in the creek remained an icy 34.983 degrees. We hopped in our boats and slid into the water. Along the way we passed sheets of ice and frozen water falls. With the water up, we were able to hit a couple of gnarly rapids…. with some icy results. We finally pulled up to the Base Camp Takeout at 4:14 and hauled the kayaks back to barn and warmed up. Excited with our three hour time, we showered off and got ready for the next event… the SUPER BOWL.
Signed with love,
Chris, Anthony, and E-Roc
Dano
Sunday Sunday Sunday…. Broathlon
Sunday turned out to be the nicest day of the year and here at Wilderness Adventure, we were not going to waste it. During the winter some people tend to get cooped up in the office, but it’s hard to keep us inside. Despite the frigid temperatures of VA, you’ll find us out at Carvin’s Cove riding our favorite trails or out at Snowshoe boarding. So with this awesome weather it was a tough choice to make between hitting our favorite trails or doing something out of the ordinary…. something extraordinary! Enter the BROatholon.
The mastermind behind this adventure was our favorite office dandy, Patrick Boas. As Anthony, Patrick, Eric and I were figuring out how to take advantage of the day, Patrick suggested the BROathlon! It was to be an epic day involving three rigorous activities. First was our Fenwick Loop trail – an 8 mile course involving road, jeep trail and single track biking that starts out right here at WA Base Camp. The next event was a mile run to our home away from home- the Staff House. The final event was kayaking down the mighty Craig Creek.
We geared up with helmets, gloves, glasses, and H2O and departed from the Bike Barn at 1:16 up the Base Camp Road. At the end of the camp road we hit a bit of a snag though. We looked behind us and noticed that our faithful camp dogs had followed us. As hardy and adventurous as they may be, we decided the dogs would have to sit this one out. Patrick and I decided to herd Rocky, Jackson, and Charlie back to B.C., while Anthony and Eric braved the Fenwick loop and its Hill of Despair.
Here’s what Eric had to stay: The ground going up the hill was soft and slow rolling. We got up though and without stopping. We hit the jedi night trail hard but Anthony had to stop for a fallen branch. I continued and bombed through the creek on the trail but got my feet wet. We rode through Fenwick and then met up with Chris and Patrick.
Once Patrick and I met up with Anthony and Eric we booked it back to Base Camp and switched out our clip-in shoes for trail shoes and started jogging to the Staff House. We took the cross-country trail across B.C. through the woods, past rolling pastures, and up the dusty road. With our legs burning from riding and running, we gathered up our kayaks, paddles, and PFDs and trumped on to Craig Creek’s second ford. The water level was up and the weather was warm, but the water in the creek remained an icy 34.983 degrees. We hopped in our boats and slid into the water. Along the way we passed sheets of ice and frozen water falls. With the water up, we were able to hit a couple of gnarly rapids…. with some icy results. We finally pulled up to the Base Camp Takeout at 4:14 and hauled the kayaks back to barn and warmed up. Excited with our three hour time, we showered off and got ready for the next event… the SUPER BOWL.
Signed with love,
Chris, Anthony, and E-Roc
Broathalon
It seemed like it was going to be a typical lazy Super Bowl Sunday for Wilderness Adventure Staff. Realizing that most people were setting up for their parties, probably out fighting the crowds at the grocery stores trying to grab some chips & salsa and a couple 2-liter bottles of soda, we had hopes of accomplishing something more adventurous.
Being it was one of the nicest days we had seen in a couple months, and not wanting to do the typical bike ride at Carvin’s Cove, we invented what is known currently as the BROathlon. A BROathlon consisted of 4 of our male staff members (Eric, Anthony, Chris and Patrick) spending 4-5 hours trekking the New Castle countryside on; 1) a 7 mile bike loop around Fenwick Park back to Base Camp, 2) a 1.5 mile run to the 2nd ford creek crossing and then 3) a 3 mile paddle down Craig’s Creek in our open cockpit white water kayaks back to Base Camp.
All started out well, we planned out the trip in the Administration building, drawing a rough map that we would follow, as well as deciding what prep work we would need to set up before we hit the trail. We decided that we should drop off the boats, pfd’s and paddles at the second ford before we did anything else so they would be ready for us when we arrived after our jog. Then headed back to camp to get our bikes ready for the loop. It took a good 30 minutes to get set up and be on our bikes on the camp road headed to Fenwick Mines. Our start was time 2:15pm with a goal of finishing the event in 3 hours.
A factor we did not put into our estimated time was the pack of camp dogs, Rocky, Jackson and Charlie. They must have been looking for something to do this Sunday as well, and it seemed as if they decided that a Dogathlon was a great idea. Hoping we could out ride the dogs we started to pedal faster, even the littlest of dogs (Charlie) picked up his pace and followed us all the way to the 615/611 intersections. A little frustrated we decided that we needed to head back to camp and chain them up before we hit the road again. New start time: 2:45.
We completed the loop successfully the second time around in about an hour, put our bikes away and started our 1.5 mile run to the second ford. Again the dogs started to follow us; luckily they were distracted by some of the stray rabbits on the property. We reached the house in about 20 mins, grabbed a quit bite to eat (pb&J) and then grabbed our boats and carried them down to the 2nd ford.
Though it was a beautiful day outside the water was still extremely cold, flipping your boat and or dragging our boats through shallow areas would be a horrible idea. Along the way we found some ice formations that had drained off of the ridge and froze before getting to the creek.
Not something you want to see as you are sitting in an open kayak with shorts and t-shirts on. Though it was a long paddle on flat water, it turned out to be a very peaceful paddle, soaking up some sun and remembering warmer days where we found ourselves on this creek almost every week. The creek looped around and we found ourselves pulling the boats out at Base Camp in less than 2 hours, finishing our BROathlon in roughly 4.5 hours. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon and we have hopes of setting out on one that would include more of our staff, meaning we might have to change the name from BRO to BRO/GALathlon.
Un-till next time.......
Patrick R Boas
XOXOxxOxoOx
Being it was one of the nicest days we had seen in a couple months, and not wanting to do the typical bike ride at Carvin’s Cove, we invented what is known currently as the BROathlon. A BROathlon consisted of 4 of our male staff members (Eric, Anthony, Chris and Patrick) spending 4-5 hours trekking the New Castle countryside on; 1) a 7 mile bike loop around Fenwick Park back to Base Camp, 2) a 1.5 mile run to the 2nd ford creek crossing and then 3) a 3 mile paddle down Craig’s Creek in our open cockpit white water kayaks back to Base Camp.
All started out well, we planned out the trip in the Administration building, drawing a rough map that we would follow, as well as deciding what prep work we would need to set up before we hit the trail. We decided that we should drop off the boats, pfd’s and paddles at the second ford before we did anything else so they would be ready for us when we arrived after our jog. Then headed back to camp to get our bikes ready for the loop. It took a good 30 minutes to get set up and be on our bikes on the camp road headed to Fenwick Mines. Our start was time 2:15pm with a goal of finishing the event in 3 hours.
A factor we did not put into our estimated time was the pack of camp dogs, Rocky, Jackson and Charlie. They must have been looking for something to do this Sunday as well, and it seemed as if they decided that a Dogathlon was a great idea. Hoping we could out ride the dogs we started to pedal faster, even the littlest of dogs (Charlie) picked up his pace and followed us all the way to the 615/611 intersections. A little frustrated we decided that we needed to head back to camp and chain them up before we hit the road again. New start time: 2:45.
We completed the loop successfully the second time around in about an hour, put our bikes away and started our 1.5 mile run to the second ford. Again the dogs started to follow us; luckily they were distracted by some of the stray rabbits on the property. We reached the house in about 20 mins, grabbed a quit bite to eat (pb&J) and then grabbed our boats and carried them down to the 2nd ford.
Though it was a beautiful day outside the water was still extremely cold, flipping your boat and or dragging our boats through shallow areas would be a horrible idea. Along the way we found some ice formations that had drained off of the ridge and froze before getting to the creek.
Not something you want to see as you are sitting in an open kayak with shorts and t-shirts on. Though it was a long paddle on flat water, it turned out to be a very peaceful paddle, soaking up some sun and remembering warmer days where we found ourselves on this creek almost every week. The creek looped around and we found ourselves pulling the boats out at Base Camp in less than 2 hours, finishing our BROathlon in roughly 4.5 hours. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon and we have hopes of setting out on one that would include more of our staff, meaning we might have to change the name from BRO to BRO/GALathlon.
Un-till next time.......
Patrick R Boas
XOXOxxOxoOx
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Here at Wilderness-Adventure we have lots of fun times Hiking, Biking, Kayaking and Caving in the Thomas Jefferson National Forest and surrounding area. When the weather starts to change and it starts to slow down around here in the winter we get to take our vacations for the year. It was around November and I was feeling the itch to do some traveling and to head west. So I talked to a buddy of mine and we put plans together to hit the road …a cross country road trip hitting some of the most beautiful national parks the United States of America has to offer. So after Christmas we packed up my Ford Taurus (The Bull) and headed out west.
The first day we drove from my house to St. Louis Missouri. We got there around 5a.m. Checked out the Gateway to the west. Then we caught some much needed z’s before heading further westward. We passed Kansas City and said “Sayonara” to Topeka. We traveled ever farther on Interstate 70 till we got to the Great Plains. Flat and somewhat boring is what most people said about them, but I did not really mind driving through the Great Plains it felt somewhat joyous to finally be on planet earth somewhere west of Ohio. Then we entered into Colorado. As the sun was setting we were approaching the Rocky Mountains, but we wouldn’t actually see them till dawn.
The next morning we awoke after spending the night at a motel 6. We left for Rocky Mountain National Park. We headed for the east entrance. We got there and were awestruck by the size of the mountains and the natural beauty that surrounds them. We got there Paid for our America the Beautiful all inclusive visitors pass and went to the backcountry office. There we were helped by Lyle. He gave us a suggestion where to go snowshoeing and all we needed to know to go into the backcountry in Rocky Mountain National Park.
We Got back to our car and prepared to Snowshoe up to Mill Lake. We were planning to then camp a little bit further up the trail past Jewell Lake. We made camp around an Altitude just above 10,000Ft. My buddy Dj was feeling a little under the weather so I was left to take care of dinner by myself. We then slept the night away listening to the wind howl with gusts up to 55MpH. The next morning we arose packed up camp and snow shoed over to Loch Lake. Loch Lake was one of the most amazing views that I have ever seen in my Life. The clouds and sun were just amazing. To walk up over the edge of the hill and see the ridge towering over the frozen lake was a feeling that is indescribable. The weather again was quite amazing in the 20s with wind 25-35 MPH with gusts up to 55Mph. We then left Rocky Mountain National Park and we headed towards Moab a Mecca for the Outdoor Industry and also the location of our next stop Arches National Park.
Arches National Park has amazing rock gardens and breathtaking features. We started by driving into the park trying to take in everything we could with our eyes. We first saw Delicate Arch and Fiery Furnace. We then wound up at the Devils Garden Trailhead where we hiked to Tunnel Arch, and Pine Tree Arch. Then we worked our way to Landscape Arch, Which is probably the most impressive spanning over 300 ft. and only 11ft. thick in one spot. A portion of the arch fell off in 1991. We then left Arches and headed to Zion National Park on the way we had one of the most spectacular sunsets we have ever seen.
The next day at Zion we first drove through the park and explored what it had to offer. Zion is a Beautiful canyon land offering a unique landscape unparalleled in any other park. We wound up hiking the river walk and then we hiked the Patriarchs trail where we saw the most wildlife on our trip. We saw Turkeys, Mule Deer, Woodpecker, and Blue Jays. We got back to The Bull and went to the furthest west our trip would take us, the land of giants, Sequoia National Park.
When we got to Sequoia we didn’t know that high up in the sierras there was over 2.5 feet of snow and would need to rent snow chains to be able to see the giant marvels. We drove up and up seeing spectacular views all around us. While passing through many types of ecosystems traveling to see the largest trees on earth we were smitten by the biodiversity of our planet. We finally get to the chain up point, hook up the chains, and take off again. We round two corners and there are trees that you cannot even imagine how big they are! We get to the top after passing Sequoia after Sequoia and we decide to get out and walk around. We are now in the zone where these giants live 6000 to 9000 ft. in elevation and are also only found in the Sierra Nevada’s in California. We walk over to the General Sherman Tree, the largest living thing on the planet and the largest tree in the entire world. We cannot believe our eyes again on this trip. We just cannot even start to take in all the sights we have now seen because of the amount of beauty we have tried to process in the last few days. Moving on we leave the land of Giants and go to the land of Death…Death Valley.
At Death Valley we hiked Mosaic Canyon, which is a beautiful limestone canyon. We then drove through the sparse landscape, past many water barrels for cars that overheat in the summer, to the most famous point within Death Valley Badwater Basin. Badwater Basin is the lowest place in the United States at an elevation of -282ft. below sea level. From that point you can also look at the highest point in the park at over 11,000ft. Leaving Death Valley we worked our way towards Las Vegas. Then after having a night on the town we hit our final park.
The Grand Canyon is one of the biggest wonders in the world. Created by the water of the mighty Colorado it continues to be shaped and changed which you can see by looking at all of the exposed layers of rock and earth. At the Grand Canyon there was about 2 feet of snow up on the rim. So we decided to not hike into the canyon for safety purposes. We decided we could still see plenty and it wasn’t worth the risk. The canyon is an amazing sight, from whatever angle you see it from. Most of the other visitors that we met in the park were not Americans but travelers from other countries. We drove through the park and after experiencing all that these parks had to offer. I asked my friend Dj anything else you want to see. He replied “what else is there to see” in a tone like we have seen everything. We had just seen the Grand Canyon and 5 of more of the best National Parks in the United States. I had no answer, but “I guess we go home then.”
These are just small examples of my trip and many more stories can also be shared. The experiences from this trip will stay with me forever and the fun times that I shared with my good friend. I can’t ever imagine something better than what I had just done. So who wants to go to Alaska?
The first day we drove from my house to St. Louis Missouri. We got there around 5a.m. Checked out the Gateway to the west. Then we caught some much needed z’s before heading further westward. We passed Kansas City and said “Sayonara” to Topeka. We traveled ever farther on Interstate 70 till we got to the Great Plains. Flat and somewhat boring is what most people said about them, but I did not really mind driving through the Great Plains it felt somewhat joyous to finally be on planet earth somewhere west of Ohio. Then we entered into Colorado. As the sun was setting we were approaching the Rocky Mountains, but we wouldn’t actually see them till dawn.
The next morning we awoke after spending the night at a motel 6. We left for Rocky Mountain National Park. We headed for the east entrance. We got there and were awestruck by the size of the mountains and the natural beauty that surrounds them. We got there Paid for our America the Beautiful all inclusive visitors pass and went to the backcountry office. There we were helped by Lyle. He gave us a suggestion where to go snowshoeing and all we needed to know to go into the backcountry in Rocky Mountain National Park.
We Got back to our car and prepared to Snowshoe up to Mill Lake. We were planning to then camp a little bit further up the trail past Jewell Lake. We made camp around an Altitude just above 10,000Ft. My buddy Dj was feeling a little under the weather so I was left to take care of dinner by myself. We then slept the night away listening to the wind howl with gusts up to 55MpH. The next morning we arose packed up camp and snow shoed over to Loch Lake. Loch Lake was one of the most amazing views that I have ever seen in my Life. The clouds and sun were just amazing. To walk up over the edge of the hill and see the ridge towering over the frozen lake was a feeling that is indescribable. The weather again was quite amazing in the 20s with wind 25-35 MPH with gusts up to 55Mph. We then left Rocky Mountain National Park and we headed towards Moab a Mecca for the Outdoor Industry and also the location of our next stop Arches National Park.
Arches National Park has amazing rock gardens and breathtaking features. We started by driving into the park trying to take in everything we could with our eyes. We first saw Delicate Arch and Fiery Furnace. We then wound up at the Devils Garden Trailhead where we hiked to Tunnel Arch, and Pine Tree Arch. Then we worked our way to Landscape Arch, Which is probably the most impressive spanning over 300 ft. and only 11ft. thick in one spot. A portion of the arch fell off in 1991. We then left Arches and headed to Zion National Park on the way we had one of the most spectacular sunsets we have ever seen.
The next day at Zion we first drove through the park and explored what it had to offer. Zion is a Beautiful canyon land offering a unique landscape unparalleled in any other park. We wound up hiking the river walk and then we hiked the Patriarchs trail where we saw the most wildlife on our trip. We saw Turkeys, Mule Deer, Woodpecker, and Blue Jays. We got back to The Bull and went to the furthest west our trip would take us, the land of giants, Sequoia National Park.
When we got to Sequoia we didn’t know that high up in the sierras there was over 2.5 feet of snow and would need to rent snow chains to be able to see the giant marvels. We drove up and up seeing spectacular views all around us. While passing through many types of ecosystems traveling to see the largest trees on earth we were smitten by the biodiversity of our planet. We finally get to the chain up point, hook up the chains, and take off again. We round two corners and there are trees that you cannot even imagine how big they are! We get to the top after passing Sequoia after Sequoia and we decide to get out and walk around. We are now in the zone where these giants live 6000 to 9000 ft. in elevation and are also only found in the Sierra Nevada’s in California. We walk over to the General Sherman Tree, the largest living thing on the planet and the largest tree in the entire world. We cannot believe our eyes again on this trip. We just cannot even start to take in all the sights we have now seen because of the amount of beauty we have tried to process in the last few days. Moving on we leave the land of Giants and go to the land of Death…Death Valley.
At Death Valley we hiked Mosaic Canyon, which is a beautiful limestone canyon. We then drove through the sparse landscape, past many water barrels for cars that overheat in the summer, to the most famous point within Death Valley Badwater Basin. Badwater Basin is the lowest place in the United States at an elevation of -282ft. below sea level. From that point you can also look at the highest point in the park at over 11,000ft. Leaving Death Valley we worked our way towards Las Vegas. Then after having a night on the town we hit our final park.
The Grand Canyon is one of the biggest wonders in the world. Created by the water of the mighty Colorado it continues to be shaped and changed which you can see by looking at all of the exposed layers of rock and earth. At the Grand Canyon there was about 2 feet of snow up on the rim. So we decided to not hike into the canyon for safety purposes. We decided we could still see plenty and it wasn’t worth the risk. The canyon is an amazing sight, from whatever angle you see it from. Most of the other visitors that we met in the park were not Americans but travelers from other countries. We drove through the park and after experiencing all that these parks had to offer. I asked my friend Dj anything else you want to see. He replied “what else is there to see” in a tone like we have seen everything. We had just seen the Grand Canyon and 5 of more of the best National Parks in the United States. I had no answer, but “I guess we go home then.”
These are just small examples of my trip and many more stories can also be shared. The experiences from this trip will stay with me forever and the fun times that I shared with my good friend. I can’t ever imagine something better than what I had just done. So who wants to go to Alaska?
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