Backpacking in the Cranberry Glades

OVERVIEW

Do you like camping? What about unique ecosystems? Do you long for the sweet scent of sphagnum moss? If so, check this out:
The Cranberry Glades are a series of mountainous, forested, boreal bog in the Monongahela National Forest of West Virginia. Some say that the land kinda like what you find in Canada, but in West Virginia. Beautiful and unique plants live in the Cranberry Wilderness, like the sundew plant, pitcher plant, and (of course) cranberries.
I’ll be exploring this ice age botanical relic next weekend via a backpacking trail. If you wanna come along. Here’s the deeds:

A Simple Plan:
– We’ll be hiking Cranberry Wilderness Loop. It’s a very secluded trail that follows both a river and a ridgeline; it tallies about 17 miles in total.
– We leave on Friday around noon, and drive for 3 hours to the trail. Though the trail is usually an overnight hike, we’ll be camping for two nights to account for the drive. Hiking is more enjoyable when you aren’t crunched for time, and this way, we don’t have to leave cville super early. Besides, two nights under the stars are better than just one 🙂
– After arriving on Friday afternoon, we’ll hike for 2 or 3 miles or so and set up camp for the evening.
– On Saturday, we should have about 14 or 15 miles of wilderness loop remaining. We’ll hike about 6 or 7 miles to our Saturday night spot.
-On Sunday, we’ll cover the remaining 7 miles of ridgeline back to the parking lot, arriving around early afternoon.
-Eat a BIG lunch somewhere that’s great and greasy, and drive home.

You MUST bring:
1. A real backpacking backpack. (not your school backpack)
2. A headlamp/flashlight (preferably both. your phone doesn’t count)
3. Warm clothes and a rain jacket. It may get below freezing at night, and it may also rain. I recommend that you have a backup pair of socks, a beanie, and dress in layers that aren’t cotton.
4. Water. 2.5 or 3L should be fine since we’ll have water at the camp spots. During the Sunday hike, we’ll be on a ridge and won’t have ready refills.
5. Food. Eating is nice; please bring enough food. Clif bars, trail mix, oatmeal packs, and tuna packs are good during-the-day food. Ramen, beans, macaroni, are good dinner food. If you’re a first year, you can pack some dining hall food in tupperware. If you plan to cook your food, don’t forget to bring something to cook it in.
6. A sleeping bag and pad. I prefer a heavy pack over a cold night, so I recommend that you air on the warm and heavy side when choosing your sleeping bag. The gear room has a bunch of bags to choose from.
7. A tent. We can coordinate tent-buddies.
8. A stove. Not everybody needs their own, but we need more than just my single one. The gear room has some stoves, and we can coordinate.
9. Trash bags. bring several legitimate trash bags to keep your clothes, sleeping bag, food, and maybe even your tent in. If it rains while we’re hiking, they will keep your items dry even if your pack gets soaked.
10. The right shoes. This isn’t necessarily easy terrain, and you’ll be carrying a pretty heavy pack. Please don’t roll up in your sandals or vans.

¡¡These items are not negotiable!! They are necessary for your general well-being on the trip, so if you show up at Echols without the necessities, I reserve the right to leave you in Cville.

Our wonderful officers at the gear room can get you most of the gear on this list.