Beginner Backpacking in Rothrock

April 2-3, 2011
Organized by: Darcy Rose Mckinley Lester

This introduction to backpacking was designed to be a chance for people who never have gone hiking to get an idea of just how awesome it can be. The group left under high spirits and even higher energy, even for 8:30 in the morning. Once they hit the trail it was soon obvious that this wasn't going to be an ordinary trek. First there was the snow, lots more snow than most had predicted. While it made for awesome pictures it made an even better weapon. A small scale war broke out. The two nations of The Democratic Group That Likes to Throw Snowballs in the Vicinity of Darcy, and The People's Republic Next to Darcy Who Like Catching Snowballs competed. There are no winners in war. The land is now strewn with unexploded ordinance that only the great hands of time can ever hope to clean. There lies a single unmarked grave where one snowman now resides. His sacrifice will never be forgotten. In time those who fought in this conflict will return to pay their respects to the fallen and mourn their loss. The following are but a few of the pictures recovered. They will forever serve to illustrate to future generations the tale of this trip.

All gave some. These few gave all:
Darcy
Jarrett
Nick
Dave
Ryan
Jania
Jordan
Maya
Lyndsie
James
Dan
Jack
Lena
Craig

WILD

March 26-27,  2011
Organized by: Dan Trew


The Spring WILD session was a spicy time of happiness wrapped in a burrito of fun and topped with the guacamole of education. The group ventured once again into the wilderness to learn about outdoor leadership. Once there the weather, while chilly, stayed rather nice. All in all everyone had fun and no one died.


A video chronicling the event can be found here: http://www.vimeo.com/21670082

Allegheny Front Trail

February 12-13, 2011

Organized by Dan Trew

This adventurous group of peeps ventured forth into the snowy wilds of the Allegheny Front Trail for some winter backpacking. This crazy troop soon learned that the snow was not just snow but death, layered into snow. A thick layer of ice below the first snow layer covered up yet another layer of death snow waiting to consume a person's foot. The ice would hold initially, but low, it would break sucking your foot into the crystalline fluff making it a bazillion times harder to walk. The group ditched the original 6 miles for the first day and opted for a shorter 3 miles of snowy back road walking. All in all this group of hardy pioneers had a great time and no one died.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

November 19-24, 2010

Organized by: Emily Riddle


This Thanksgiving Break trip to the Great Smoky Mountains was a little more "intense" than the other trip that went out. The group average was 10 miles per day, but the work was worth it. The following is a recount of the events during the trip as told by Emily [when you see these I added a comment].

The very spooky night our last night in the backcountry. Extremely large amounts of mist/ fog that limited our visibility to approximately 10[!] feet. Felt like a scene from "The Mist'... seriously. We were all ready for a foreign animal [watch out for those immigrant bears] or zombie attack at any moment. Along with the mist, the extremely high winds blowing our tarps around all night made for about 10 hours with very little sleep.

Aside from the spooky night at Icewater shelter the trip was FABULOUS! Many great expansive vistas - Charlie's Bunion is just one. The 3rd day on the trail we hiked along the AT along the state line between TN and NC. We could see for miles and miles over the mountain ranges of both states - pretty awesome. Also, along the AT shelters, bear bag ropes, and outhouses are established in the backcountry.. yes it is very luxurious. [You needed Sherpas]

Oh.. and many many pudding packs were eaten during our short stint in the backcountry (8 by me alone... )[funny, considering you don't even eat cookies.].. delicious to say the least. [cookies everywhere are crying]

Use the bear bag ropes provided - bears are a known problem. [especially the foreign ones...]
Be prepared to hike with lots of elevation change - we were only hiking 8-11 mile days and were sufficiently tuckered out. One could easily hike for 3 to 8 hours.. uphill the entire time. However, the views and vistas are well well worth it.
Also, make sure you at least take a drive to the top of Clingman's Dome (6,643 ft). It is the 3rd highest peak east of the Mississippi River just short of Mount Mitchell (6,684 ft) and Mount Craig (6,647 ft).

One last thing.. Gatlinburg, TN is a crazy tourist town.. [I've been there] if anyone else does a similar trip, time budget for at least a bit of time to walk around the town.. it is filled with an upside-down house, a titanic replica thing [it's just as random as you'd think, considering TN is landlocked], castles, go carts, ski lifts over the town, Ripley's believe-it-or-not, hard rock cafe, and many more ridiculous attractions.

Get outside and explore!

Members in Attendance:
Greg Smith
Mike Collins
Catherine Hewlett
Emily Riddle

Neusiok Trail North Carolina-- Thanksgiving Break 2010

November 19-24, 2010

Organized by: Joe Moran

This relaxed trip to "the beach" took place over the 2010 Thanksgiving Break. The crew left a little later than expected due to a map confusion and a utter mistrust of GPS technology, however the group did eventually leave for the great Atlantic Ocean. Upon arrival the group decided to take a break and sleep for a few hours on the visitor center lawn. After the brief nap they spent the day on the beach, running around in the ocean, and playing with lacquered wood balls. The next few days were spent on the trial, or board walk, or road, or whatever the forest service calls the thing you hike on. Baring the occasional fly-over by Marine Harriers and the never-ending road, the group had an awesome time sleeping on the beach and in shelters. The super-chill nature of the trip provided adequate time for the group to bond, and friends were made all around. For more details ask one of the people who went, as the trip cannot be fully expressed in this trip report. Everyone had an awesome time and no one died, also Joe took great pictures.

Members in Attendance:
Joe Moran
Dan Trew
Dave Himes
Sean Meadows
Bethany Johns
Tom Johnston

Allegheny Front Trail

November 12-14
Organized by: Dan Trew

The semi-annual trip to the Allegheny Front Trail this year went out under a little fairer conditions than the last year. This time there was nothing but stars when the group set out for the south-half of the AFT. The group managed to not get lost at all and spent most of the day hiking along and enjoying the scenery. Much fun was had by and no one died. Also: there was a stellar presentation given on this trip, if you missed it then you are living an incomplete life.

Members in Attendance:
Greg Lilik
Daniel Gonzalez
John Groh
Jasmine Smith
Nathan Stevens
Dan Trew

Quehanna

October 22-24, 2010
Organized by: Ed Wilson-Ewing

This stunning conclusion to a trip that began over a year ago was an 'a' adjective that means really cool. The weather was nearly perfect for the hike. Only a small drizzle was experienced on the second day, and even that was only a few minutes. The moon provided illumination for the night-hiking that the group frequently participated in. The trail itself proved to be a bit of a challenge, with many ups and downs with a few miles thrown in for good measure. The group took this and turned it, making a great time with the perfect weather and lots of physical activity. The consumed meals were amazing, starting with a stop at Denny's Beer Barrel Pub for some pre-trip dinner and ending on home-made chili on tortillas. Much thanks to James, who is a pro. Wildlife sightings were plentiful on the road, mostly elk and a few dear, and rare on the trail, turkeys and a few pheasants. People should be aware that everyone had fun, and no one died.

Members in Attendance:
Ed Wilson-Ewing
James Basham, Pro
Renee Fledderman
Joe Moran
Emily Riddle
Alie Treciak
Dan Trew

PA Grand Canyon

October 14-16, 2010

Organised by:  Paul DeVito
 

This backpacking trip to the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon (yes Grand Canyon), a fairly light trail with good vistas. The trail is not too difficult and is perfect for autumn, providing views of pine creek and much of the Allegheny Plateau. The first night out on the trail the group camped under the usual weather for PA, rain. The weather decided to be awesome otherwise. At some point the group encountered another group. This other group had fire, our group had ten strips of bacon. Our group used their group's fire to fry all of our bacon at once. A small piece of advice from the group: begin hiking before 11pm. Everyone had fun and no one died.

Members in Attendance:

Paul DeVito

Becca Baker
Julia Vadas
Niko Kovacevic
Sierra Chapin
Ryan Murphy
Vivek Yadev
Zack Stuber
Steve McKaveney

Tom Holt

Ricket's Glen

October  9-10, 2010

Organized by:
Darcy McKinley Lester

This car camping trip to Ricket's Glen, one of the most beautiful places in PA, went out over the best time of the year. The fall leaves were in full swing, colors abounded at every turn and the weather was classic fall. The Sun shone the entire trip and the temperatures stayed hospitable. The group stayed a local camp site, headed by none other than Robert Downy Jr. (or someone who looked like him). The days were spent hiking about the park admiring the awesome forces of nature and soil formation. The group was never lost, at least not on the trail. Much fun was had and no one died.

Members in Attendance:
Darcy McKinley Lester
Dan Trew
Grace Cho
Sid Deshpande
Ben Huey
Steve McKaveney
Lyndsie Wszola
Aaron Clair

Old Logger's Path

October 1-3, 2010

Organized by: Cat Hewlett
Matt Schmidt

This backpacking trip to the far reaches of the Tiadaghton State Forrest went out under great weather and even better attitudes. The trail chosen for this adventurous group was the Old Logger's Path. Leaving late in the afternoon the group only got lost a few times on the way to the trial head, as the usual road to the trail was closed by a landslide. The group stayed the night at the trail head and departed in the morning for adventures unknown. The weather remained constantly amazing throughout the trip, only sunshine and smiles the whole way. Only two members of this intrepid group braved the cold and near flood levels to go swimming on the final day. As is with many trips that the outing club does, a phrase defines the weekend. This phrase was sensual. Don't ask. Everyone had fun, and no one died.

Members in Attendance:
Cat Hewlett
Matt Schmidt
Dan Trew
John Groh
Lisa Hines
Sean Meadows
Sara Mueller
Jack Shepard

West Rim

April 23-25, 2010
Organized by: Zack Haas


This post-thesis adventure took place in the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, not to be confused with the real Grand Canyon. After departing the Arby's parking lot the group first traveled South before turning around and going the right way to the West Rim. Further driving shenanigans occurred when the lead car signaled to turn around on a one-lane dirt road with a cliff to one side and a mountain on the other. Fortunately there was a suitable turn-around further up the road. The first night was spent roughly 200 yards from the cars and was 12 solid hours of sleep. Also, nubbins. The weather moved in as the group moved on. Many games were played involving clever questions and the occasional erroneous interpretation of Marilyn Monroe's historical importance and the essence of Han Solo being Han Solo. More nubbinical references and jokes were made, providing a small piece of humor for the group. The final day was spent trudging through the damp forest and culminated in a "short-cut" removing the largest downhill. The return home involved artful dodging of pot-holes and very large rocks as the GPS took the group through the backiest back-road in the whole back-woods. Fun was had by all and no one died.


Members in Attendance:
Greg Lilik
Asher Evans
Kelly McFadden
Kathleen Kerrigan
Tyler Haas
Dan Trew
Zack Haas

Blue Ridge Mountains

February 19-21, 2010

Organized by: Douglas Weinhold

This weekend excursion to the Blue Ridge Mountains took place in the dead of winter, though if you were to ask the group you need to be alive to plow through 2 feet of snow, uphill. The weather held off for the duration of the trip but there was already significant amounts of snow on the trail. The group prevailed against the white fluff of doom and enjoyed large 12 inch pancakes for breakfast and caught many wonder sights. Golden sunrises, twinkling stars, frozen waterfalls, fantastic vistas, burly boulders, and scotch pine are but a few of the sights taken in. Anyone thinking of reprising a trip to this area would do well to head the recommendations from the group: Do the Marbleyard as a Sunday Dayhike. Friday night, hike up to McAfee Knob from 311, camp, don't miss sunrise from the Knob!!!  Hike through to the tinker cliffs and camp around there Saturday night.  You will need cars at both ends for this though. Don't waste time with the "Helicopter Pad"; it is overgrown with scotch pine.  While the view is still fantastic, the tinker cliffs would be much better in my opinion. Crabtree falls is best viewed in early winter before any large snowfalls. This was definitely an awesome trip, and no one died.

Members in Attendance:

Douglas Weinhold

Rosemarie Scherzberg

Kathleen Kerrigan

Mike Covolus

Emily Riddle

Travis Salk

Asher Evans

Chris McCartney

Brian Goldman

Colorado (09-10)

November 21-29, 2009

Organized by: Adam Scheletsky

The second Thanksgiving break trip to depart our college campus was a trip to Colorado State Forrest State Park [sic]. The trip consisted of snowshoeing form yurt-to-yurt (Montgomery Pass >> Ruby Jewel >> North Fork Yurt). The difficulty being mainly due to snow-depth and elevation. The weather on the trip was cold with 2 ft of snow, it is 10,000 ft after-all, but the yurts were toasty. Many layers of bacon and clothes made this trip awesome. MSR lightning ascent snowshoes are super bomber, Adam is buying a pair when he gets the money. Adam also forgot the back of the report sheet. As such we have no idea if everyone got along or if there are any dangers, but with no pending lawsuits we assume everyone survived and had a good time.

Members in Attendance:

Adam Scheletsky
Brandon Scherzberg
Rosemarie Scherzberg
James Basham
Toma Zikatanov

North Carolina (09-11)

November 20-25, 2009

Organized by: Zach Haas, Jake Catt

The third Thanksgiving trip of Fall 2009 was to Mount Mitchell and areas around it. The trip was originally planned to be ridge hiking, however wintery weather made traversing the mount dangerous and it was decided to change plans and go to Linville Gorge. The gorge was grossly underestimated and proved very challenging at points, most notably a long climb at nearly a 200% grade. The area was plagued by thick clouds, fog, drizzle, rain, and utter dampness. Fortunately all the gear was adequate and no emergencies arose. Other than falling off a cliff in the fog, or getting lost at night, or getting lost during the day in the fog, or trying to cross a freezing river in the rain, or... it was tricky. The group rolled with the challenges and turned out a terrific trip despite setbacks.

Members in Attendance:

Zach Haas

Jake Catt

Tony Hemming

Tyler Haas

Dave Alleman

Kaitlin Pope

Dan Trew

Allegheny Front Trail (09-05)

October 2-4, 2009

Organized by: Dan Trew

This backpacking trip was to the Black Moshannon State Park along the Allegheny Front Trail. The trip consisted of the Southern-half of the trail, moving a clockwise direction. The trip started in darkness and rain but ended in sunlight and cloudlessness. The fall colors were in full tilt on the Allegheny Plateau resulting in beautiful vistas and a wonderful back-drop for hiking. The trip was greatly downsized prior to its departure due to illness and accidents resulting in a large rented gear surplus (namely 4 tents and 5 backpacks). The beginning portion of the trail should not be attempted in darkness. The many rocks and sudden trail changes make traversal hazardous and requires constant blaze-vigilance. The group did not talk much during the actual hiking, however once at camp the group became quite boisterous. All said, it is a great hiking trail and a great trail.

Members in Attendance:

Dan "were-wolf that eats people" Trew

Brennan "Brenda" Becker

Toma "Gypsy" Zikatanov

Joe "Don't you dare close your eyes" Sumereau

Jackie "The Girl" Don

Greg "geologist that saw it on a special" Smith

Hickory Run SP (09-03)

September 18-20, 2009

Organized by: Nick Clabbers

Many attended this outing to the Hickory Run State Park. The trip consisted of day-hikes and campfires, with new members getting to know old members. The chicken suit made many appearances on this trip, and even took its life in its own hands on the Shades of Death trail. The weather for this strip was spectacular, though there was an unusual cold-snap that resulted in frost on one member's hammock and car window. There is currently an album up on the photo-gallery of this trip.

Members in Attendance:
Catherine Campbell
Jake Catt
Nick Clabbers
Renee Fledderman
Rohit Gandrakota
Zach Haas
Natasha Lucas
Ryan Mullins
Brittany Murphy
David Semple
David Smith
Dan Trew
Carolyn Weber
Emily Wychock

Old Logger's Path (09-01)

September 4-7, 2009

Organized by: Joe Moran

The first official trip of the 2009 Fall semester was held in Tiadaghton State Forrest along the Old Logger's Path Trail. The hike was clockwise starting at night in Masten, an abandoned logging town, and completed the entire trail. The trail was marked by a few very significant elevation changes, but overall was an excellent trail system. Early sections of the trail proved to slightly over-grown and prickly, though this was short-lived. The weather was perfect, highs in the 70's and lows in mid 50's. In the prospect of the perfect weather the group elected to not bring any tents and instead sleep on tarps. The food brought was pasta, instant mashed potatoes, stuffing, chicken, eggs, and a large quantity of other foods. There was an excellent amount of food resulting in very little left over at the end of the trip and the portions were very generous. The end of the hike was marked by a stay at the legendary water-hole along the path. The entire group ventured forth into the frigid waters, and many members participated in a an early morning "polar bear swim." The group was cheerful and cooperated well, old friends and new all around.

Members in attendance:

Joe Moran

Dan Trew

Diana Zahuranec

Molly Burbank & Tuffy

Roozbeh Foroozan

Kelly McFadden

Ben Hardwick

Rich Schatz

Emily Riddle

Pamela Lin

Rothrock Easter Hike

April 11-12, 2009
Organized by: Michele Scanze, Kelly McFadden

This single-overnight hiking adventure was a romp through Rothrock State Forest. The trip went out under perfect hiking weather in the early spring. An easter egg hunt was held in the morning of the second day to the joy of all the participants. No one died, and much easter candy was eaten by all.

Members in Attendance:
Michele Scanze
Kelly McFadden
Molly Burbank
Kate Lalancette
Helena Kotala
Rob Justice
Dan Trew

Gila National Wilderness Area

March 6-15, 2009
Organized by: Nick Clabbers

This Spring Break '09 trip was to the Gila National Wilderness Area, New Mexico. The long-term backpacking trip required much preparation and planing (from dehydrating whole meals, to organizing transportation, and a whole lot more). The area was beautiful, however weather was widely unpredictable and many portions of the trail were challenging. Some equipment brought was not up to par with what the weather threw at it, resulting in some less-than-happy outcomes. No one died however, and the group united against a common foe late in the trip and much laughter was had. There may have been a federal crime committed, but that is the stuff of legend and myth.

Members in Attendance:
Nick Clabbers
Franz Lichtner
Kaitlin Pope
Toma Zikatanov
Kelly McFadden
Gretchen Wall
Dan Trew

Catskills Region, NY

February 20-22, 2009
Organized by: James Basham

This frosty group of adventurers visited the Catskills region in New York during the deep winter. The weather for the trip was mild, considering it was February. The nights were a little chilly, but the snow makes for great insulation. Hiking in the area was beautiful, involving snowshoeing and a negotiable snow-pack. The highlight of the trip however was calling the New York State Police to look for the "lost" group. This involved making good friends with a local resident, driving back and forth between two trail heads several times, worrying, hearing the sound of the impending infrared helicopters, and finally watching our very confused friends come down from the mountain all on their own. The reasoning for the debauchery was a simple misreading of the map and a gross underestimate of the distances needing to be traveled. The lesson: get good, accurate maps. All in all fun was had by all and no one died.

Members in Attendance:
James Basham
Sam Carpenter
Nick Clabbers
Frannie Root
Brooke Osborne
Brian Sabri
Mikana Maeda
Rich Schatz
John Blasius
Brian Brosius
Kelly McFadden
Matt Stanton
Katelyn Nixon
Sarah Luchner