Dolly Sods Backpacking Trip

Though we missed out on Highlands Sky last week, we got to enjoy a beautiful weekend backpacking around the Sods this weekend. My sister and her husband wanted us to go with them on their first backpacking trip, so we planned a loop around Dolly Sods. The weather cooperated and we had a great time! Foiled again by DC-area traffic, we got to the trailhead later than planned so had to cut short our hike for the evening. We started on FR 19, hiked in on the Wildlife Trail, to Fisher Spring Trail and down to Red Creek. We found a great campsite along the creek and set up camp just before dark. The campsite was great and we enjoyed a really nice fire, but the mice were abundant! They carried off a package of Crystal Light at one point, and chewed through my sister's stuff sack and gnawed through a bag of cookies, even though the food was all hung! The next day, we hiked up the Red Creek Trail and then Upper Red Creek Trail to Dobbin Grade. We eventually connected with part of the HS course near Willie's AS. We added a few bonus miles when we missed the turn off to Big Stonecoal Trail (lesson learned: get good maps- the "Canaan Valley Adventure Map" sucks, and pay closer attention at trail intersections). Big Stonecoal was probably the favorite trail of the day, but we were all getting a little tired to fully enjoy it. We found a great spot to camp (no mice!) near the intersection of Big Stonecoal and Dunkebarger Trails, and enjoyed a nice, cool night and a great campfire. We hiked out on Sunday on Big Stonecoal to the Lion's Head view, and then backtracked to Red Creek, Fisher Spring, and Wildlife. After hiking out, we ended up at the Purple Fiddle and shared a pitcher of Mountain State Brewery beer. Yum! Pictures here.