Try not to freeze game – Elliot Knob overnight!

OVERVIEW

If you weren’t able to commit to Winter Weekend but still want to get sendy this weekend, come try to stay warm with me up on Elliot Knob!

Maybe I’m crazy, but whenever the weather gets to be really cold out I just can’t help but get this bizarre urge to go spend a night outside trying to push myself and all of my gear to the limit trying not to freeze. Anybody else? Noone?

Well, one of my favorite places to push the limits of my warmth is the abandoned old lookout tower up on Elliot’s Knob. If eight of us can get up into that tower and heat it up a bit on the inside with our body heat, we might just stand a chance!

Work will have me cooped up until 2 on Friday, so the plan is to leave from Echols around 3pm and drive ~1hour to the roadside parking where we will begin our venture up a grueling 2,425ft in elevation over roughly 4.25 miles to reach the rickety old lookout tower at the top of Elliot’s Knob. If we’re really lucky, we might even get snowed on a little! My best guess is that we’ll make it up to the tower sometime around 7pm, at which point we will proceed to reward ourselves with a nice warm meal and do whatever feels right for the remainder of the night (this may very well be just trying to stay warm). We’ll catch a gorgeous sunrise from the tower @ ~7:20 (i.e sick photo ops), be on our way back down by 8, which should put us back on grounds around 10:30am. Waffle House is also an option.

If those numbers don’t mean a whole lot to ya, and I don’t mean to scare ya off here, let’s just say it’ll require a bit more grit than your traditional Humpback sunrise. It’s a long and very steep hike, it will be very cold and dark for part of our hike, and if we all manage to make it to the top in one piece, you’ll never have been happier once we set eyes on the tower.

If any of this sounds exciting, nuts, or some combination of the two, keep on readin.

Officially, this is an intermediate backpacking trip to Elliot Knob! Ordinarily I would say that a one night backpacking trip would be very beginner friendly and that anybody and everybody should join, but given the nature and destination of this trip (hiking in the dark, in the cold, and up a very strenuous hike) I would not recommend joining if you have not at least backpacked before, preferably under similar conditions or to a similar location.

If you haven’t yet had the pleasure of summiting Elliot’s fine knob, it’s truly a VA gem. There’s an abandoned old lookout tower perched about 40ft high at the very summit of the mountain that provides 360 views in every direction as it is one of the highest peaks in Virginia, and the last time I brought a group there we actually all ended up sleeping in it together to stay warm and it turned out to be boatloads of fun. The tower has a hardwood floor so sleeping pads are recommended for comfort, and highly highly recommended for warmth.

More about Elliot Knob + pics of the tower: http://www.hikingupward.com/gwnf/elliotknob/

A campsite below the summit has lots of trees and is ideal for hammocks, the small bald at the top by the tower has sufficient grass for pitching a tent, but I would suggest for both fun and warmth benefits that everybody plans on sleeping in the tower together. At the end of the day tho, it’s totally your call.

FOOD: Everybody will be responsible for bringing something for themselves to eat for dinner and breakfast the next morning. I will be bringing my own stove and small pot to cook my meals with and am happy to share if you would like to bring a meal that requires cooking, but please bring extra water or anything else your meal might require to prepare. Bringing no-cook foods like sandwiches is also an option and is highly recommended. A Clif bar and a piece of fruit make for a quick and easy breakfast.

CLOTHING: It will be cold! The summit is very exposed so the wind will make it feel significantly colder than the air temperature. The air temperature will probably be just South of 30 degrees, so it could easily feel like less than 20 degrees with wind chill. Think layers, layers, layers. A combo of polyester/wool baselayer, fleece, puffy, and shell will certainly keep you more than warm enough to be comfortable, but you know your needs more than anybody else! On a one night outing, it’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

Logistics:
-3:00pm Friday, meet at Echols to load packs
-3:05pm departure
-4:00pm start hiking
-7:00pm, summit
-7:18am sunrise, hike out ~8:00
-leave in cars @9:30, shooting to be back on grounds by 10:45

To bring:
-Backpacking backpack
-sleeping bag and pad
-good sturdy shoes to hike in
-Clothes:
-Clothes to hike in; pants/ leggings, synthetic top
-wool socks if you have them
-warm clothes for the top, IT WILL BE COLD
-Under Armours, fleeces, pants, windbreaker if you have one
-rain jacket/ poncho in case of rain
-headlamp
-water (2+ liters)
-snacks
-toothbrush and toothpaste
-trashbag/s to rainproof clothes and gear
-musical instruments??

If you need a backpack, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, or headlamp, we can provide that for you! The gear room has all of these things and they can be checked out for one week at a time (see gear room emails).

PLEASE CHECK OUT GEAR FOR YOURSELF! I can help picking up things for you if you cannot make a gear room, as I don’t want for this to keep you from getting out, but it makes things a lot easier for everybody if you are able to check out and return your own gear.

Dining halls are a great place to rob food for putting together trail meals, but if you can’t make that happen I can help you get food. Don’t hesitate to reach out.

DRIVERS NEEDED!
-Drivers need to show up to Echols with a full tank of gas!
-Drivers get priority off the waitlist. The club reimburses for gas +50% tip!