TR: Pocahontas County, WV 10/25/08

[EastCoaster]

I doubt that a whole lot of the people here have spent much time in Poca county that wasn't skiing at Snowshoe. Maybe this TR will entice some of you to make the trip during other times of the year,because it is by far my favorite part of WV. Hiking, mountain biking, paddling, etc etc etc- Pocahontas and Tucker county are both awesome.



My GF and I met one of my good friends at Watoga state park for a couple days of relaxing by a warm fire and taking in some views via a couple different hikes. We got rained on Friday night/Saturday morning, but by Saturday afternoon the skies were clearing and today the weather was absolutely beautiful.



First off, the players:



EC, in my favorite hat:







Sheri, the woman who puts up with EC:







My friend Rob, about to annihilate a marshmallow:







Now, the whip:







Rob brought his parents stove, circa 1980. This thing goes way back, but still functions fine:







Saturday morning started off with a hike down Jesse's Cove trail. There was still mist on the water of the Greenbrier river, and still some color on the trees...











Then the view from the firetower at the top:







Greenbrier river:







Our next visit took us to Beartown State Park. It doesn't sound like much: just a boardwalk through a bunch of broken down sandstone. However, the rock formations are very cool, and the boardwalk is a nice little piece of architecture in itself:

[EastCoaster]

Beartown State Park, continued:































On the way back from Beartown, we stopped at Droop Mountain Battlefield to visit the overlook tower:











Some nice views:



















A little HDR to mix it up:

[EastCoaster]

a few pics from around camp that night:



DONT TALK TO EC WHEN HE IS TRYING TO EAT:







Starting a fire with one match from scratch is a study in smart wood gathering, stick architecture, and luck:







Voila:







Gotta keep building it up:







Success:







EC in the flames:







friend Rob in the flames:

[EastCoaster]

Today took us to Cranberry Glades, which is a peat bog ecosphere like you would find in the arctic, except located right in the middle of the WV mountains:







There is a short boardwalk for people that want a quick view of the glades:







Tundra-like bogs:











EC in the morning light:







Drought conditions up there, but still plenty of water in the glades:











Lots of ferns and moss:







We made the 7 mile hike around the perimeter of the glades to get a better view of the other areas:







Cool bridge on a creek crossing:











and finally, some nice color in the trees at one of the outer glades:











All in all a really great weekend, and a nice chance to catch a few more of the fall leaves before they all go to ground.



EC out...

[nooboarderjames]

Awesome TR EC. Thanks for sharing.

[skipink]

Really nice. Great TR.

[bamapilot]

I've had a chance to spend a little time in that area not during the ski season, and it is definitly a pretty area to be in. Good job EC.

[OhDrinkBoy]

Thanks for the TR EC. Great pictures.

[StealthBoarder]

i take it you're liking the new camera

[angel]

Looks like a great weekend! I enjoyed the photos...thanks!!!