As always had a great time in Watoga! I rode down with WVWanderer on Friday. We started out later because of the reports of rain. Our timing was perfect. It rained the whole way down but stopped just before 5 p.m. when we arrived. We had time to setup, eat, and socialize.
Low temps were 42 Fri night and 41 on Saturday. Pretty much everyone said they were plenty warm enough because we had prepared for lower temps.
Leisurely breakfast around the fire on Saturday and later that morning Country Roads and I did a 90 min walk up and back on the Greenbrier Trail. Blustery day but only a sprinkle of rain here and there.
Got back to camp for lunch at our group spot. Others who were out hiking or fishing started coming back. We then got a hammock tour of Davy Ray's DIY bridge setup. Then it was time to drive over to the pavilion and start an early potluck dinner. When WVWanderer and I got there there was already a roaring fire in the fire place that felt great. Once again, plenty of good food and Ferret surprised us all with a Dutch oven apple crisp dessert that warmed the belly and tasted fantastic.
For a small group we had an amazing raffle. Country Roads donated a DIY hammock and suspension, an underquilt and a tarp, plus some other prizes. There were Dutchware certificates, a 2QZQ tree table, a new daypack from REI and quite a number of another prizes. The grand prize was a wonderful DIY bridge hammock with insulation by WV.
That took us into dark-thirty and the group headed back to the Riverside campground and gathered around the fire and enjoyed Ed's wonderful playing on the guitar. I called it an early night.
Next morning was warm and sunny! We had a leisurely shared breakfast and a tour of WV's bridge hammocks. Ron and I pulled out around noon and enjoyed lunch with Pat and DeWayne in Marlington at the Greenbrier Grill and Lodge. Nice place along the Greenbrier River with outside deck and excellent food.
It was hard to say goodbye to the weekend, but it was time to get on the road. We got back to Morgantown at 5 pm. Enough time to throw clothes in washing machine and put away gear.
Thanks so much WV for hosting us. I had a great time and it was wonderful to get back to Watoga and see everyone.
Nothing better than a potluck with a fire when it's cold!
Greenbrier River
Davy Ray's DIY Bridge
Dave (WV), Barb, and Donna (ZQ) at potluck.
Jimmy (Ferret) making his now famous dutch oven apple crisp. Ummmmmm, yuuuuuuummmmmm.
WV's raffle prize bridge
Jim and Pat (Country Roads) at Sunday breakfast.
Davy Ray and Ron (WVWanderer)
Barb, WV and Leo's back.
Tim (2Q) and Jimmy (Ferret)
Watoga
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WaHHA is dead; long live WaHHA!
It's accessible by road or by trail. There are other beautiful groves in the park that would suitable for many hammocks, and the park superintendent suggested there might eventually be a "leave no trace hammock hang site," opening up the possibility of backpacking within the park - something I've always wanted, but seemed out of reach. There are, after all, 44 miles of trails in its 10,000 acres.
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