New Year's at Boons Run

31Dec06 - 1Jan07

Sunday the weather forecast was calling for heavy rain, so we abandoned our plans of heading to Kennedy peak and instead went further south into the southern half of the Massanuttens. The only shelter in the southern half is Boons Run Shelter. It is the Hilton of back country shelters. There was enough space to have a disco party in there. If we had a DJ and a few more men, it would have been party central. Keith, Ellen, Terri, and I were ready for a New Year's celebration. After a mile hike from the vans, we arrived at the Hilton. We dropped our gear and began gathering firewood. Then we took a day hike up to Kaylor Knob. On the way back, Keith pointed out the CCC markers which use some ancient form of hieroglyphics to denote mileage. Keith translated the markers for us. My GPS told me exactly how much mileage was covered. When we got back to the shelter, we set about happy hour. There were appetizers and beers. Keith got the fire roaring and then we sat eating, talking, and waiting for midnight. After we had eaten as much as we could, we checked the clock. It was 5:30. We had a long way to go. Keith entertained us with stories from his and Ted's younger days. We discussed our opinions on the best way to fight off a grizzly with a pocket knife. We discussed under which circumstances it would be appropriate to leave someone behind on the trail, and which circumstances required hauling the injured party along.

Just before midnight we set off some fireworks. Keith brought the cheapest ones he could find, but they were festive. We heard on the radio that 2007 was officially here. Then we went to bed. Through the night it rained pretty hard and the rivers swelled. The temperature increased overnight, when I got up mid-evening to go to the bathroom, I walked barefooted and removed some layers of clothes before I got back into bed. It was too warm with two pugs in my sleeping bag.

The next day, we hiked up 3rd mountain and down to the road. We were surprised with the most beautiful views I've seen in VA. The low-lying clouds gave us a real treat. Look at the pictures and see for yourself. Also to note: never borrow a bandana from Ellen. Had a blast on this trip, it was a great time.

New Years 2007