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

Milton Rock Gym

February 14, 2010
Organized by: Alie Treciak, Darcy Mckinley Lester


This climbing event was held at the Milton Rock Gym in Milton PA, an indoor rock gym. Following the pattern of obvious statements, the weather wasn't really a factor however it was warm if a bit rainy. The entire group collaborated on bouldering problems enabling even beginners to try the harder challenges. The atmosphere was awesome and everyone climbed hard regardless of success. One group held the tradition OIP pizza-luncheon while another group practiced their free will and ate at Subway. Really? Subway over OIP and onion rings?


Members in Attendance:
Alie Treciak
Darcy Mckinley Lester
Nick Matone
Michael Meehan
Erinc Hizir
Alyssa Retzena
Josh Kremer
Scott Campbell
Kelly McFadden
Kara Kavala
Alissa Ott
Todd Ryan
Nate Bovard

Rustic Cabin Camping (09-12)

December 4-6, 2009

Organized by: Dan Trew

This cabin camping trip was in Black Moshannon State Park. The only difficulty of this trip was getting the wood-stove to heat the cabin consistently. It was cold, and it snowed 2 inches during the first night. The cabin was in excellent condition and well maintained with large quantities of wood nearby. There is no running water in the cabin, a small inconvenience but not much more. Many board-games were played as well as card-games. Fun was had by all, no one died. The cabin is moderately priced and well maintained, however it is not suitable for groups larger than 6-7. The cabin is also only available from April until mid-December making Fall semester the only winter option.

Members in Attendance:

Ryan Mullins

Joe Sumereau

Darcy McKinley Lester

Dan Trew

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

Everglades (09-09)

November 20-28, 2009

Organized by: Kelly McFadden, Joe Moran

The first Thanksgiving Break trip to depart, this trip explored the wonders of the Everglades National Park. The trip had varying degrees of difficulty depending on the current. As would be expected the weather was warm (80 degrees) and sunny, however it being Florida the weather was also unpredictable at times (high winds and downpours). All the perishable food perished within the first 3 days and large dry-bags were required to keep water-sensitive equipment safe and dry. The trip went smoothly. Note: many notes to follow.

• Long-term weather forecasts are unreliable for Florida
• it is suggested that perishable food be purchased in Florida to minimize spoilage
• lots of bugs
• bare feet = cut feet
• sun = sun burn
• Campsites in Everglades National Park must be reserved in person at the visitor center less than 24 hours before arrival at camp

Members in Attendance:

Nick Clabbers
Adam Cota
Brian Kocher
Pamela Lin
Thaddeus Line
Kelly McFadden
Joe Moran
Ed Wilson-Ewing

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

Milton Rock Gym (09-08)

November 8, 2009

Organized by: Kelly McFadden

This was the second official climbing trip to the Milton Rock Gym. There was much climbing to be had indoors. So far as we know, no one died, everyone had a good time.

Members in Attendance:

Attendance data is not available, if you have the trip roster please enter it here