Halloween at Halfmoon Lookout

Saturday 28Oct06
We met at the usual spot Saturday morning. Tuna, Andy and I followed Heather, Ron, and Barb to the trailhead. They stopped to pick up Catherine in Frederick. At the breakfast stop, we met up with Travis and Art. We met Val at the trail. On the trail, we picked up Keith and Ted. Ron, Heather, Tuna, Andy, Barb, Catherine, Val, Art, Travis, Keith, Ted, me, Jada, and Kisses. 7 men, 5 ladies, and two pugs. The weather Saturday morning was perfect. Slightly cloudy, chilly, but a perfect temperature for hiking. We hiked from the parking lot at Little Stoney Creek up the Big Schloss Cutoff Trail. There we dropped packs and took a stroll up to the breathtaking views of Big Schloss. I never get tired of sitting up there looking at the valleys. I could stay there for a week if Art would stay and cook for me. We returned to the trail intersection and continued up Mill Mountain to the trail intersection of Mill Mt Trail and the Tuscarora. Here I dropped my pack and scampered down to the cabin to say Hi to the best cabin caretaker east of the Mississippi (That's Keith T. for those who don't know). The others joined us at the cabin and then Ted arrived from the other direction. Now the group was complete. We hiked up to the campsite near the spring just before Halfmoon Lookout. The wind was howling and some nasty-looking clouds were moving in. We got about a half hour of wet heavy snowflakes, the temperatures started to drop with the sun. The wind kept up nice and steady. I gambled on not getting any precipitation that night, and I lost that gamble. I had left the girls' rainjackets in Tuna's car at the trailhead. The snow was sticking to their fur and melting. Wet dog combined with howling winds, freezing temperatures, and no way to get them dry and keep them that way - I had to make a gametime decision. I had about an hour and a half of daylight left and I knew Keith had the keys to the cabin. Reluctantly, I decided to take the girls back to the cabin to keep them out of the elements and to get them dry. I left the party and hiked quickly back to the cabin. I'm sad to have missed out on all the festivities, but I wouldn't have had fun if I was worried all night. The girls and I had a cozy, quiet night in the cabin. The next morning after I had made breakfast and starting gathering wood, Keith showed up. We sat and chit chatted while he had his coffee and then he put me to work. We rolled/carried a very large stone up from the creek to finish off the patio area in front of the cabin. I hauled about 5 buckets full of dirt from up the slope to finish off the patio project. While we were working, the others hiked up to Halfmoon Lookout. Tuna, Heather, and Ron showed up at the cabin while Keith and I were working. They told me about the extravagent meals and the ghost stories that I missed. The weather was beautiful Sunday. We hiked out the last few miles to the car and waited for the others. Then many of us stopped for some cheeseburgers and milkshakes and made our way back to Baltimore. It was a great trip, despite my poor planning.