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  1. #1
    Senior Member JSH's Avatar
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    Spruce Knob/Seneca Creek trip - Monongahela National Forest, WVA July 16/17, 2021

    I went with my local backpacking group, Virginia Backpacking Premium, on my first overnight trip in 18 months. We had perfect weather and one of the most enjoyable hikes in a long time. Link to my trip video is posted below. You can skip ahead to 3:08 to see the story of the hike in pictures.

    https://youtu.be/38yOWe5ltpQ

    Seneca Creek was unexpectedly beautiful. I hadn't anticipated finding rhododendron in full bloom in mid-July but the higher elevation in West Virginia gave us a surprise. We had to alter our original out and back hike plan because one of our group strained her ankle pretty badly on the first day hike. Seneca Creek turned out to be the best bail out route. And it was a great discovery. The trail follows the Creek for about 5 miles. The trail itself had several stream crossings but largely followed old logging roads so the trail gradient was gradual and the trail itself generally dirt. It was really good walking and would be accessible from the Seneca Creek trailhead as a great in and out route.


    - Campsites are scattered regularly the full length of the Creek. I'd guess that the area could hold over 100+ people end to end.
    - There is adequate parking at the trailhead for 20-25 carts plus more spots parallel to the road.
    - We spoke with several sites on our way out and they all mentioned having to work to get firewood. This is possible because of the volume of campers year round. This has to be a popular destination for those who know it.
    - Stream crossings totaled 6. The first three from the trailhead are rock hoppers. The next three range up to knee depth. These aren't well suited for rock hopping. Most of us waded with sandals then donned boots.

    I learned a couple value lessons on the trip. To start, my water filters didn't work, neither of them. It was the first time I've used them in over 18 months and I failed to try them out when I packed my pack. I always backflush them thoroughly after each trip and I'd done so in November 2019. But they have been in storage since then. And I learned that calcium salts can dry over time and plug them. I've backflushed them now with dilute vinegar water and they are fine. But it was pretty sobering last Friday to get to camp and not be able to filter water. To compound my mistake, I'd left my water purification tablets at home too. Fortunately one of my hiking buds loaned me her filters. But a good lesson learned. I will always test my filters before leaving even though I've flushed them carefully at the end of the previous hike.

    The second lesson was to plan "plan B." The hike involved some fairly vigorous sections and our group contained a mix of newbies and experienced hikers. The hiker who hurt her ankle was a relative newbie and hadn't hiked on rock strewn trails before. We were fortunate to have Seneca Creek trail as an option. This hiker was able to negotiate this trail slowly while hiking back up to the Spruce Knob summit would have been a challenge.

    I hope we can go back to Seneca Creek this fall to see the foliage. There are lots of maples and birches along the Creek. They should be stunning.
    Last edited by JSH; 07-25-2021 at 21:53.

  2. #2
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    Thanks for sharing this report JSH, I'd like to visit Spruce Knob/Seneca Creek one day. Made my first trip to the Mon this year (Cranberry Wilderness) and it is a beautiful area.

    I recently had my filter clog on a trip as well due to not testing before leaving. A group of fellow hikers on the trail gave me one of theirs. Hope you're able to get out again before another 18 months pass, fall foliage in those forests would be great.

  3. #3
    Senior Member JSH's Avatar
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    I'm planning on going back with my local backpacking group in the fall. Several folks have already indicated a willingness to go. My filters are OK now but you can be sure I will check them prior to leaving. Never did that before assuming they would be fine after I'd backflushed prior to putting them away from the last trip.

    The forest is filled with a variety of trees, many getting mature. I can imagine what that valley looked like when it was filled with old growth. I saw one hemlock that must have been missed by earlier logging or was too small. It was over 3 feet in diameter, a big sucker. The forest canopy two weeks ago made it feel like you were in church. Really pretty.

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    Thanks for the trip report. I've hiked the Seneca Rocks area before, but it's been probably 10 years ago and not the specific area you were in. You've given me incentive to plan another trip there. Good advice about testing your water filter. Another thing I always test: headlamp and batteries!
    ~ All I want is affordable, simple, ultralight luxury. That’s not asking too much is it?

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    Senior Member JSH's Avatar
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    Agree with you about the headlamp checks. I also carry some redundancy for lighting. Really lightweight mini's. And I carry two Sawyers including a mini. Extra water filter weight is negligible given the price of being unable to filter water. This time I messed up. Both filters were plugged. But learned a lesson. Will check prior to going out and will periodically backflush with some dilute vinegar water instead of just clean water.

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    I tried backflushing with very diluted bleach last time when I got home - couldn’t believe the nasty looking stuff that came out of there. I read about this somewhere, probably here.
    Last edited by Tpatter; 08-07-2021 at 02:04.

  7. #7
    Phantom Grappler's Avatar
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    Right after a heavy rain, I got some water from fast flowing creek. I could see the water was not clear in plastic bag. Filtered muddy water with Sawyer squeeze filter. And it quickly became slower and slower then stopped.

    Backflushed right then, but did not get it going completely back to speed. It worked, but slow

    Backflushed again at home.

    After reading y’all’s posts, I’ll backflush again and check its flow before next backpacking trip.

    Carrying a spare filter is now something for me to think about

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    gunner76's Avatar
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    Carry a spare paper coffee filter to pre filter your water
    I am still 18 but with 52 years of experience !

  9. #9
    Senior Member JSH's Avatar
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    The dilute bleach backflush is something I'll do going forward. Just better science to sanitize the inside of the filter. Never did that previously. Always backflushed with fresh water using a couple of cups of water or until nothing came out of the filter. But I hadn't realized that calcium salts could build up in the filter that a dilute vinegar flush can dissolve. The salts are what got me after letting the filter sit in my backpacking storage area for a year. I was fortunate that my buddy's had working filters so it was easy to get fresh water. Guess we always learn new things.

    But carrying a coffee filter to pre-filter water is a smart move. I'll add one to my filter bag. A couple years ago I camped in Dolly Sods, WVa. The creek we used for water had a lot of dissolved minerals in it and I was running out of filtering capacity within a day+. Another lesson learned. I didn't carry my backflushing syringe then. Do now.

  10. #10
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    We should really start a thread with photos of the worst looking water that were filtered.

    I was on a trip a few months back in an area that I had been before, but due to extended no rain was dried up. The alternative was pretty scary looking, but I filtered it.

    Looked and tasted like dark dark tea, but had no ill effects. I think it may have actually improved the flavor of the instant coffee actually!

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