I just got back from another awesome backpacking trip to West Virginia. My friend Mauricio and I snowshoed up a forest road to the top of Dolly Sods. Little did I know, it would turn out to be the most physically demanding trip I had ever taken. While only 5 miles each way, it was 5 miles uphill in 3 - 5 feet of fresh powder. After 6 and a half hours, we finally made it to just below treeline as the last of bits of daylight faded away. To the sounds of gusting winds several hundred feet higher, we pitched our tarps and tents and easily fell asleep for the night. Upon waking up in the morning, we made the short trip to the very top, where we were greeted by sustained 40mph winds and an otherworldly environment coated in ice. Needless to say, it made the whole exhausting trip worthwhile!

While I didn’t take any photos this trip, I did take this video with my iPod. It’s a little hard to make out, but in the end I’m actually leaning very far forward and being help up by the wind. I hope you enjoy it and can experience a bit of what I was able to … without the -1F wind chill temperature!

Dolly Sods Winter Backpacking Trip, Bear Rocks Nature Preserve, Dolly Sods North, West Virginia from Chris Kayler on Vimeo.