Dolly Sods Wilderness (West Virginia) Backpacking - May 2017

back back for another backpacking trip that's a rare treat for me we're heading over to the Dolly Sods wilderness in West Virginia but I'm actually going with Travis the guy that I met on YouTube also on this trip I've got some company the dogs are going with me heading to the Dolly Sods wilderness in West Virginia for a three-day hike here we go on our way well we made it but yeah Kanaan village in or the cannon village I don't know how it's pronounced the dogs are loving not being in the car it was about a seven hour drive from Indiana neat little spot it's pet friendly people are super super friendly it gets great reviews very excited to start hiking tomorrow Bailey is finally relaxed all ready to get some sleep tonight where did he get going on Dolly Sods wilderness day number one tomorrow good night Bailey good morning it's the morning of day number two of the trip first hiking day I'm gonna go get some breakfast and then it's about an hour drive down to the trailhead excited it go on the dogs are doing well they're excited as they green up in a green of the nail heading into the breakfast nook with for breakfast Travis is already inside and Bailey's bar [Applause] rustic cabins breakfast before backpack nothing better heading up to the trailhead weather's looking I would care for but no rain yet not a bad view it's called the cheaters you according to Travis drive up here the road up to the bare rocks trail heads starting from and Bailey's pretty excited to get going they make quite sure what's going on we're starting from at the trailhead final pack preparations here pretty up here you can see we're on the top of this really high plateau right at the end of the road we're geared up and ready to go we were actually hiking up there were those cars are is actually where the trail starts we were gonna park up there so so we got an extra bonus a a couple hundred yards in here to start day number one and the Dolly Sods wilderness Travis it rains at all I wouldn't go on Dobbin is pretty marshy when we were there you talking to back loop around yeah yeah mock-mock-mock that's oddly fun that's a new one worried about Grizzlies are warned about Grizzlies but never bombs gonna come around here and then swing down the big stone call camp around somewhere not here I will probably take big stone cold down we'll have to cross Red Creek there and then another time back over we're hiking Dolly Sods wilderness so it begins here's where I can start off lots of views for first day I guess well it's the first attraction we've come to the big anthill now that is one big anthill by the way although if you could see it's it's moving hits because of the ants on there oh it looks like we got our second attraction the first hill like the anthill better than the hill and this is where the sides that's where Travis stepped right there so much for having dry feet boardwalk sure is nice I don't know if I'd want to go a hundred yards of that stuff that's what the Dolly Sods gets its name from yeah which was a tougher crossing here here that was probably the deepest for anything for the dogs that would be the toughest little scream crossing here area first decent client I can't hear the wind too well but there's a good breeze probably steady 15 miles an hour it really makes it comfortable without it with the Sun and exposure up here I try to be pretty warm not a lot of water though we're up high the water might be a concern today because we're gonna be up high most of the time and note that way and not bad in terms of use either huh kind of reached a significant milestone or intersection so we'll come up here day three and then go all the way up this way avoid Dobbin great because that's where the monkey oh okay got it just like that no different hiking zone altogether change is pretty quick you go from out in the open wide open see it for milestone all of a sudden you're in a pleasant little Pine Grove made it to our lunch break step so we're heading down this Ridge here Wow look at that so you can see exactly where we're heading know that the dogs have water I'm a little less concerned and a nice little stop break and this breeze just feels unbelievably nice daily felling a little perfect bathtub type spot the bark-o-lounger heard a dog lunch break is over and we're hiking again and we are heading and that way great great little lunch stop very revitalizing for both Travis and I and especially the dogs relatively easy hiking for the rest of the day and get into camp get water will be the first order of business we are all short on water now absolutely gorgeous up here sea forever today carved by the wind I'm guessing interesting little rock formation very neat the sun's getting a little warmer now and we've been in it more on this top shelf area here we don't have a lot of water so we've got a hold on to what I have for the dogs and now into a little bit of a rock scramble Rock hop changes quick up here warm now it's exposed is what we're hiking in it's kind of rough going to be honest and I'm really glad glad Travis knows where he's going because you may notice there's no blazes as we walked across some of those sections and nothing but rock it wasn't obvious where to go so now bad views getting windier the clouds are getting a little thicker too not bad huh it's pretty beautiful welcome to camp or should I say fast-forward - welcome to camp the last scenes you saw were from way up on top on the plateau up there shot on my Canon Vixia g30 which no longer works you are now listening to me and watching me on my new Nikon d810 we're just getting in for the day very happy to be here found a nice little stream on the downhill which solved our little water problem that we are having night number one in the Dolly Sods wilderness dogs are happy Travis is happy we're home for the night feels good to be here you guys happen you happy to be in camp he's taking care of the bug problem in camp she's not willing to move to do it so they're gonna have to come to her oh I almost got that one [Applause] other option if you don't want around the fire ring as we could send we'd better off collect crates and put it in that whole center area there right just create some seats there then worry about the fire one that stops rain and doing the cheddar cheese bread get the water all purified time to start preparing the cheddar cheese milk that sounds always gets the dogs over here all in there well Jaden even woke up for this one precisely measure what's it say 1/4 cup that's 1/4 cup that's all there is to it [Applause] this is Travis's first excellent hope you enjoy it it's the first time with the new recipe so I have no idea all right unique pleasure compliments of Big Timber Brewing Company in Elkins West Virginia Matt the owner right Matt the owner brought that growler which weighs about 4 pounds I'm not kidding 4 pounds up the hill we're gonna go down tomorrow that you'll get to see and we're all enjoying probably a IPA I would guess thank you Matt Big Timber Brewing Company and elkins heartily endorsed hole in time out [Laughter] good morning second day of the morning of the second day of the backpacking trip third a total of the trip dogs are already up I see Travis is over there already up so that means I probably need to get up too but it's really comfortable we so far looks like a good day for the second day of our trip here on the dolly sods wilderness basically today's a big deceptive a climb and a couple river crossings get up them get everything packed up and get going day number two excited for it should be good luck right now and work all kinds of crazy hours depending on your neither new ones in Elkins two blocks well we made to Russell Kansas the first night is where we stayed we saw the Arkansas [Music] we are geared up and ready to go dogs are definitely ready to go with plenty energy already be number two and then Dolly Sods wilderness gets going and not such a bad day we are hiking Matt goes right through it a little Pinegrove here really unbelievably Pleasant hiking right now you can kind of tell it's gonna be getting a lot warmer but right now it sure is pretty nice the camera really brightens it up I can see through the viewfinder but it is really dark in that little section that's how dense these pine trees are a little bit of a stream crossing a little bit too bad you know Travis like a pro not a drop on those feet pretty little spot here it's drop-off right here so we're keeping the dogs a little bit of a trail junction here and the other thing is I think it starts the downhill stretch would be my guess then the fun part is we get to go up this once we get down to the bottom so I should be good at the end of the day gives you some idea the grade and that's just clearly came down from way up there actually it's a pretty steep little section yeah tears your knees up a little bit and then we go with the other direction up one that looks almost exactly like this according to Travis so fun interesting little section here I don't know if you can see how steep that is beyond Travis then like this pretty much on and off through these that's the pace we're maintaining in here I've been downhill you can see behind me the terrain we've just been working our way down this Ridge with the stream off to the right yeah man got the river crossing didn't definitely has the right idea here he's loving life right now that was my microphone by the way falling out of my bag because I was too stupid or not zip it I didn't zip it up well that was certainly an eventful stream crossing glad we put the water shoes needless to say our crossing of Red Creek didn't go smoothly so we got one more that was practice so we got one more time to get it right well we have successfully regrouped Red Creek took its toll on us that's for sure you get to cross the river one more time and what Travis has described as a similar Creek Crossing so that could be entertaining again and then when they start uphill after we get to the top is where our camp is so that's what we got featuring the rest of the day pretty little area right after the creek that's what I can in rhododendrons basically things I'm realizing about the Dolly Sods wilderness is the diversity of I guess you'd call them vegetation zones and it changes really quickly go from to a rhododendron thicket like that all the way to like beautiful pine forests and open things like this this little bonus climb continues it's turned into kind of a real client here's the terrain I realize this is the first like real climb we've done I think we've probably gained about 500 vertical feet already and it's not even the real one that we get to end the day with beautiful little spot here you can see Jaden up there cooling off well we're on the the D portion of our HUD let's point what's up and down we just went up a big steep hill and we just came down a big step up on a cool little waterfall that bends right next to the trail we made it back down to the river which means we have another opportunity for a river crossing or a creek crossing here coming up maybe we will have learned something from the last putting on the water shoes again crossing number two we learned from that first one though that's what it's all about learn from your mistake much better buffalo chicken sounds like it spared a whole bunch of different times fun begins I don't know what that looks like on the camera but for my eye right here it looks pretty steep I figure we had about two miles to get to camp it's all like this it's gonna be a long two miles but good news is that's all we've got to do for the day and then we're in camp well we made it to home for the night we are happy Travis is happy I'm happy dogs are happy here's our spot night number two and the Dolly Sods wilderness good space good spot I thought this was kind of cool Travis says this is a Virginia West Virginia tradition the whole these little rock chairs but as you can see from the people behind me our wilderness is a little crowded right here Jayden's hit the wall you did really good today though did great camp is set up and we are in relaxation mode it's only about four o'clock West Virginia traditional stone chairs next to a little fire pit probably can't really tell from the sky but it is now completely overcast and what I would describe is thickening so I'm not sure if rain is coming in for sure we thought that last night it doesn't look like thunderstorm type stuff this might be more of a steady type rain we got the big climb out of the way we've still got a little bit of a climb to do tomorrow I think pretty much to start the day but then we'll be up on that whole shelf area another 8 miles tomorrow probably we did about a probably nine today we try to get an early start because we got a long drive home when we get to finish tomorrow but it's been a great trip so far love the Dolly Sods wilderness this is a pretty amazing place a lot of action at the river not a whole huge crew of where the college gets here guys that we're taking a bath and a little cool below the little waterfall the huge family or something tons and tons of people down here I actually came down here I'm going to get a HDR time-lapse out try to overall this particular scene you they always have two shot glasses there's always snow and people and that's what it always reminds me that is so cool yeah they're completely different camera than these guys yeah other Dave over Serena dollars odds walking missus off to little bit of a cleanser stuck it's a really grunge outside see that my plan is I'm going to try to get everything packed up before they get soaked day number three begins but so far not super what understable a little moist this is what it looks like outside the tent this camera makes that look way brighter than it is no moisture fall in that novice really bothers Eunji it's real damp and well kind of like what it looks like right there so cool in its own way another another change in the dolly size when I fist Jethro's about 30 seconds later suddenly that way said you're packed up and ready to go camps clean and we're hiking day number three oh no this is what we find ourselves hiking in start day number three guide to be careful with the footing not recommended to be filming holding a camera in your face while you're doing this you can tell how steep it really is but it gives you a little better indication maybe fun way to start today and it continues this was it's been like pretty much from camp almost right away only goes for about maybe a mile like this which plenty but then after that we've got relatively easy the rest of the days yeah tough start today number thirty and the dollar saw two others cool little spot here heading into the pint it's like a enchanted forest in here came out on this really cool nice big meadow and two minutes later we're into a completely different vegetation zone we're now on the Blackbird knob trail just got off the Red Creek Trail that we've been on for ever this seems like we took it all the way to the end and it just teed in to this trail this place is so cool it just changes every every few hundred yards you seem to be in a completely different vegetation types own we're coming up from Red Creek Trail and we've heard a little bit we got on Blackbird knob but that would take us out to the road we don't we're all the way up there rocks so we're going to take up a red Creek cut across slightly and then take this trail off okay about two and a half mile of cars out there Tara rocks yeah okay cool heading up into the clouds the long straight she came along at the right time the Dobbin great trail by the way is the quickest route taking this all the way back to the car davin great as I've learned this is uh I guess why they call it the Dolly Sods oh here's the technique you find these little tiny half submerged rocks and actually it gets worse on this particular trailer that's the quickest way back to the car that way but it's this and worse now we're on the Raven Ridge Trail [Music] this is a can't remember Trail 5:21 this is the one we started on essentially we're finishing off what would be called a lollipop so this is the end of our loop and then the last couple miles I think we'll be back the same trail that we came out on I think is this trail 5:21 [Music] well we've reached a significant milestone we have closed the loop so I think they technically call these like a lollipop so we've just done the candy part of the lollipop an hour now we got to do the handle this is where we were on day one right when we were getting started this order reminds me of the Grayson Highlands and the recently completed ad trip is counting gone it's like we're just rolling through the clouds here 1 2 miles from the car that's kind of crazy this is the same section we walked on the first day when we had a hundred mile fuse probably good lesson in the deadly sides I'm actually glad we got this because it's really cool in its own way but I'm really glad we got what we got the first day on the same exact trail and just got the outstanding views Travis disappearing into the fog I'm pretty sure I stood on the same spot two days ago took this beautiful panorama video and some HDR shots a hundred mile views last stream crossing of over a mile from the car it's finished back where Travis was the last decent hill of the trip I'm pretty much out in the homestretch this is one you can start smelling civilization I don't know if you can see it through the fog but that's that big sign and there's your cars next to it we have made it to the finish line and the cars I'd forgotten about the bonus 200 yards we see if we want a park for Travis wanted a park right here we'd be finished now but you can actually you can't see our car but our car is like right there and to the car in the twilight zone we made it the cars are still here and intact always a good good feeling three days in the Dolly Sods wilderness we did the loop 25 26 miles in three days and we saw it all we had the Highlands with the views lowlands with the waterfalls and the water and the falls in the river and then the last day coming up with the fog rhododendron thicket spine groves Dolly Sods has it all and it has it like every quarter-mile something changes Dolly Sods wilderness a great trip great company with Travis thank you very much for inviting me along and we'll be back fantastic trip [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you you

Channel: David Gray

Views: 22,658

Rating: 4.9661016 out of 5

Keywords: backpacking, hiking, camping, Dolly Sods, Canaan Valley, West Virginia, Red Creek, davidgrayin, Dolly Sods Wilderness, Elkins, Bear Rocks, Dalhe, Allegheny Plateau

Id: -jxGswLw6YU

Length: 42min 17sec (2537 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 05 2017