Half Moon night on Halfmoon Lookout

Saturday, April 12, 2008 - Halfmoon Lookout is near Wardensville, WV, just west of the Virginia/West Virginia line. We started our hike at Trout Run Road. The water in trout run was running fast and cold as we crossed over the bridge. There were no leaves on the trees yet, and the sun was high. It was a beautiful day. On the way up the Halfmoon Trail, we encountered a trail horse race. Apparently there were about 50 horses traveling a 55 mile loop of trails. I'm not sure how they race, but they were rolling fast down the trail we were hiking up. We had to dive into the woods off the trail more than once. It was 3.5 miles at a pretty steady incline up to the peak. The sun shined hard the whole time. We got to camp around 2pm and set up camp. We lounged around and collected firewood most of the afternoon. Happy hour started around 4:30 and we had a delicious freeze-dried spaghetti dinner around 6. The sunset was beautiful from the west rocks. We had a roaring fire and a few more beers and then hit the sack.

We awoke to tiny hail balls Sunday morning. It was on and off, so we were able to pack up and get moving while staying fairly dry. We hiked out the 3.5 miles back down to the truck and high tailed it for Paisano's for some cheesesteaks. Over all, the weather was beautiful on Saturday, tolerable on Sunday and the hiking was perfect. Joe made it without dying from an asthma attack or allergy-induced coma, even despite the horses, pollen, and exercise. We had a great weekend and can't wait for our next adventure.

Click here to see a bigger version of the pictures in the slideshow:

Joes First Backpack