Wild and Wonderful, West Virginia

It’s mid morning as John and I cinch our packs around our hips and do the final double check of the car before we hit the trail. I look up at the sky and feel a couple sprinkles of rain. John had mentioned that there was a possibility of rain, but it shouldn’t be anything to write home about. This is one of many backpacking trips we have done during our marriage. We embark on Rohrbaugh Plains trail and John walks his usual fast, 6 foot 2 pace. I hurry behind him and sometimes jog a bit to keep up. John and I fell in love doing the things that we love; climbing, being in the mountains, and living for adventure. He took me on my first ever backpacking trip in the untouched jewel of West Virginia; Dolly Sods. Over the years, we have frequented Monongahela National Forest and we are always sent into a whole new world of what feels like pristine wilderness just for us to explore. Dolly Sods always has an “otherworldly” feeling about it and we could feel the wilderness close in all around us as we stepped onto the trail that cloudy morning.

We had planned to be out for two days and cover somewhere between 25 and 30 miles. The landscape was lush and green as ever. We stopped at a rocky overlook and sat down for a while to take in the sprawling, forested valley. We would also stop to pick blueberries off of the bushes along the trail and we decided to put our collection into empty bottles so we could take them home and bake a dessert! The day turned sunny around the time of our lunch break, which we spent, shoes off and sun bathing near a stream we had stopped at on trips past. It felt refreshing to be on a trail we knew and to be sharing time together. John’s physical therapy graduate school and my senior year of college has us both busy and we are excited for moments like these where we can make memories.

We continue on trails that cut seamlessly through the forest until we break into a sunny meadow, sporting loads of blueberry bushes. The meadows are my favorite part of the Dolly Sods trails because of their serene, pastoral atmosphere. The sun is shining, the grass is waving, and spruce trees dot the landscape. Puffy cumulus clouds float by, but no sign of rain anywhere. Winding our way through the meadows, we reach Dobbin Grade trail which is a low area, notorious for being boggy. John and I see storm clouds forming quickly overhead, so we debate putting rainflies and jackets on. Before we can deliberate further, the sky opens up and lets us have it! We scuttle under a bush that didn’t actually do much for keeping us dry and laugh at our predicament. In a few minutes, the storm let up and we shake off like dogs after a bath. We are soaked! “Oh well”, we say to one another, and we

keep on trekking.

From this point on, the trail goes upwards and lands us on a ridge. We can see for miles around and the sun and wind have aided in drying us out a bit. However, from that ridge we can also see more ominous clouds that look to be blowing our way. Now, I am feeling a bit uneasy. The harmless shower that caught us earlier was inconvenient at worst, but these clouds...they are different. We eye the clouds nervously as we walk along the exposed ridge and I can feel our pace getting quicker. We both know that there is no chance of getting off of this high area any time soon, but it would be a really scary place to be caught in a storm. In the back of my mind I was hoping that the clouds were not a thunderstorm or would blow somewhere else, but now they were so close that there was no denying it. Flashes streak through the clouds and they eat up the mountains one by one as they push our direction. I can see the rain falling in droves just miles from where we stand. Here it comes. As the rain

lets loose, I call to John to dash into a pine forest with me. We squat down on the ground at the base of the towering trees and pull our hoods over our heads. I figure that I would rather ride the storm with some cover by the trees than be the only object for the lightning to fry on an exposed ridge. Rain is pouring down our backs and legs and into our shoes. I am sitting with my head resting on my knees and I peek up every so often to peer into the forest. We are in the eye of the storm and all I can do is listen to the thunder shake the ground beneath us and watch the clouds creep through the trees around us. It was like someone had turned on a fog machine in the woods. I know we are both scared. We didn’t even have to say it. It is impossible to ignore how close the lightning is to us. I remember that my cell phone is in the driest part of my pocket, so I pull it out and quickly turn on some downloaded songs that I

had on Apple music. Music playing, we sit on the forest floor and try to think about anything other than the tumult around us. I start to think of what it is like to be a part of this landscape as an animal or maybe one of the first settlers of the area. They probably knew experiences like this well. After about 25 minutes of intense rain and thunder, there seems to be a reprieve and a chance to keep moving. We emerge from the trees soaked, from head to every inch of our socks. We watch the swirling, gray clouds blow away to consume their next territory in torrential rain.

I felt oddly strong willed after riding out the storm. In fact, I was almost pleased that this trip had turned into a test of perseverance and quick decision making. It made us stronger people to be able to survive what nature had thrown at us and also make the best of it! We puddle hopped for a few more miles and came across a wooded campsite where we set up our tent early for the night. Snuggled in our tent together, I realized that we have everything we really need right there. Nature has a way of reminding us of what the essentials are; someone to talk to, a meal to share, a mission to accomplish, and a dry place to lay your head. At the end of the day, we were happy to be together in a place we always found inspiration. I think simplicity is what drives people continually to the outdoors. When you’re climbing, hiking, backpacking, biking, alpine climbing, you name it, there are always the simple tasks of executing your plan and staying safe. And that is what keeps John and I coming back. Day two gifted us with beautiful weather in order to finish our ambitions! We were thankful for smooth sailing, but I was left with a new impression of what it meant to be in the wilderness. This trip graced me with an appreciation for suffering and its ability to build me into a better person. Struggle can build character, and when I lean into it the right way instead of having an aversion to it, I find meaningful lessons on the other side. Every adventure that I embark on, I remember what I have weathered in the adventures before. Those times of overcoming what was new and sometimes frightening give me the confidence that I can push through anything the trail brings my way.

If you have questions about hiking in West Virginia or you want information about this specific trail, please reach out to me by commenting on this post or in my contact info! I would love to help you plan your next backpacking trip!