Cranberry Bogs and Bears

jim65wagon

TundraBird1
 
Day 1 Sunday July 25
Our trip to the Cranberry Wilderness started out well…..we had Saturday off and got the truck all loaded up and packed neatly into camping mode. With the GPS (Garmin 780) set for a campsite we found along the Gauley river, we set off on a predicted 6 hour drive . The trip into WV was fine, good weather, light traffic, then we pulled off the highway and started running byways and layover roads following the Garmins direction. Though a little low on fuel, small town gas prices convinced us to head into the next town before refueling. ….our layover road turned gravel……the gas light came on…..I kept driving. Gravel turned to dirt as we switch backed up the mountain……I kept driving, and driving, and driving. Now when that low gas light comes on I have about 5 gallons left in the Tundra, at even 12 off highway miles to the gallon, that's 60 miles and more than enough to find gas, right?

The little hand on the gas gauge moved down to E at a frightening pace, it moved way faster than I remember on freeway jaunts….I'm calculating, thinking I've got about 25-30 miles of gas left….my wife leans over and says “let's see… 3inches on the map at 15 miles an inch …we've got 45 miles to the next town”…..aaaagggh! Now I'm sweating bullets, too far to turn back, maybe I can coast down the backside of the mountain to save fuel? The family wants to stop and take pictures of a wind farm …not going to happen!!! I'm thinking….now I wish I carried extra gas on a cool swing out bumper like everyone else! Then Beth thinks to check the GPS for the nearest filling station…..5.6 miles…..5.6 miles! Now that I can do!

It turns out, the old (crappy)2003 WV Gazetteer we have uses different scales on different pages, the map scale on the main page is large and easy to see. The map scale on the page we were on was small, nearly hidden and hard to read especially while moving down a bumpy road…..it turns out when you read the map with the wrong scale, you get waaay different mileage estimates. We managed our 5.6 miles, filled up with a tic over 23 gallons (that left me still 3 gallons in reserve….I could have gone another 40 miles!)

With lunch at the local Dairy Queen, we decided (again) to always check the route before we leave for a trip. We also checked our route to our campsite. Back in the truck, we got onto forest roads we expected to drive on, and arrived at camp….only to find our nice, big, clean dispersed campsite taken by another family -kids dog ,blue tarps and garbage strewn about……hhhhmmmm! Our discomfiture mocked by the sounds of happy children diving into the swimming hole from the edge of the camp site. First come, first served is the National Forest rule, so we left and began a frantic search for: 1) Cell phone reception and 2) another large campsite.

Cell phone reception was found in a 100 foot long stretch of forest road and we managed to call our friends and let them know the situation. The campsite was more difficult. With minimal time spent exploring the area, we hadn't had much time for scouting out proper sites, so the mad rush began. Down forest roads, along the river, all the nice, big dispersed sites were full. In desperation we even looked at campgrounds….we haven't been in a campground for 3 years, really didn't want to, but ultimately space and location had to win out. We found a nice shady creek side site next to Tea Creek in (naturally) Tea Creek Campground. We left again to find cell phone service and ended up at a pay phone by a small food mart/gas station near Edray .We called everyone with the new location and returned to Tea Creek. The campground had only a few sites occupied, most of the sites are private, separated by trees and mountain laurel . There is a hand pump for water and pit toilets. It started to lightly rain as we set up our campsite but it stopped by the time we finished .Then we waited for our friends. They arrived in short order and good spirits, setting up their equipment in the same camp site as ours.

The signs at the check-in post mentioned multiple black bears in the area. Not normally a concern to us, dishes are always washed before bed, all leftover foods disposed of properly (usually not much with this crew), and storage boxes locked away. Our number one rule when camping - No Food in the Tent- Ever!( hopefully humans aren‘t on the menu). The campground stayed relatively empty, only a few sites with people, nice and quiet as we sat around talking. At 7:30 PM Deb sighted our first bear, it was walking through the woods across from camp about 30 feet away (that could be a bad sign).

After a nice dinner of Tacos and wine, lots of good conversation and basic catching up , we all cleaned up . There was a discussion between my wife and I about whether or not to leave our new cooler out. You see it is a Yeti cooler and is certified to be grizzly proof but my wife said we spent too much money on it to have it scratched up and get bear slobber on it just so I could see how well it worked. We put it in the truck (marriage is all about compromise), then we settled down for the night. I slept well initially, only to be woken up to car alarms and much excited yelling. It turns out, the tenants of a site a ways down from ours had left their cooler out (apparently not a Yeti) and two of the bears decided to dine there for the night; ate most of their food and left without leaving a tip. You couldn't feel too sorry for them since there were signs posted everywhere about the bears and one sign posted prominently in the restroom specifically said to put all food in the vehicle. The people were just finishing packing their vehicle when I woke up just after daylight. They were gone by 7:00 AM. Thanks to my wife, there is no report on just how Black Bear proof a Yeti cooler is….yet.
 
 
4850578375_cc3a7b65a0.jpg


Sorry for the lack of Day 1 pics. but it was a rather hectic day, tiring, and waay too eventful. On the other side of the coin, I've got 5 more days to write up....with pics....
 
Last edited:

Haggis

Appalachian Ridgerunner
Entering stage right...

...The day by day Clan Haggis Cranberry Bog Appendix: Day 1

We love West Virginia. There’s not to many states east of the Mississippi that offer more scenery, cool forest roads, friendly people, and a feel of being deep in the backwoods than what West Virginia has to offer. And what’s even better is that it’s close to us. Even to the point where sometimes it’s a shorter drive down south than to head east to the heart of Pennsylvania’s (our home state) wild areas. Every year we head into the midst of WV’s Monongahela National Forest and if we’re there it’s a good bet that we’ll be meeting up with my sister’s family. Since Elizabeth (my sister) and her husband James (the esteemed jim65wagon) moved south to Virginia half a decade ago, we make a point of getting together around a fire as often as our schedules allow to get caught up, have some laughs (we’re a jokey, happy bunch), and give the cousins (known by the moniker of “Chimpancoons”) another chance to run around and enjoy each others company. Though they’re getting to be teenagers the Chimpancoons (Allison, Christopher, Maddy and Cam) always bring a great exuberance and appreciation for the wild places their respective sets of parents drag them to. And now that they older they are also a big help in setting up, helping with camp chores and tearing down camp. They’re all a great pleasure to spend time with. We’re lucky to have such great kids.

This year we decided to do a family trip to a spot Elizabeth and James had scouted out the previous year south of our usual mucking about grounds near Thomas, WV. As Jim described the Cranberry Wilderness area and the proposed campsite to us we decide to bring down our Fleetwood E1 pop-up as the weeks base camp since the entry to the site was an easy graveled forest road. Usually we tent camp in WV as the spots we chose are back along tight, rocky and washed out roads that are not conductive to the long term health of the E1. While it does well on forest roads and two tracks it’s not made for dragging down trails so if the truck needs shifted into 4 low or the tires need aired down the E1 gets a nice campsite to sit in as it awaits our return.

So Saturday we spent loading up the gear, packing up the grub (the most vital part of any of our trips) and getting the truck ready for the trip. That afternoon our friends Jay (mtnbike28) and Debbie and their daughter Sam dropped by our place on their way to join us for the first couple of days down in WV. Setting Jay and family and their Conqueror Compact, the Taj Majal, up in our backyard campsite next to the creek, we spent the remainder of the day getting caught up, shooting the breeze and giving the Capers a tour of the Clan’s hunting grounds. Originally the plan was for Jay to arrive earlier and get the Minister Creek/Tionesta Creek/Nebraska Bridge tour, but you know how reality gets in the way sometimes.

Sunday the Capers were on their way south to meet up with Beth and Jim, while my wife Michelle had to work. So we weren’t heading down till Monday. We were lounging around the house relaxing abit after the packing when the phone rang. It was Jimbo and the news wasn’t good…the campsite was full of people and Elizabeth and James were in search of a new site. I told Jim that if he couldn’t find a trailer friendly site just to let us know so we could repack the tenting set-up in the truck. I wasn't looking forward to repacking, but sites in an unscouted area can be hard to come by in a short notice time frame, so if it helped the cause we'd get it done. But with Jay on his way with his trailer and us already to go James said he’d find a site for the trailers. And when Jim says he’s going to do something he does and a few hours later we had our new rallying point. And so passed the first “day” of the trip for us.
 

jim65wagon

TundraBird1
Day 2 Monday July 26

After our conversation with the “victims” (face it, the cooler was the real victim here), we began our day with bagels, honey cream cheese and a nice, fresh coffee. Last year we had a lot of trouble out of our GCI Lexan French press, ultimately breaking it on our first day at Cape Lookout. Our new French press is by Freiling and is a stainless steel beauty.
31GY2g06qOL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

MMMmm Coffee good….

Our new Triton shower unit worked great, cleaning away at the previous days road grime.
4775129703_c8cedf4032.jpg

The Triton shower provides near instant hot water, and provides water pressure like a genuine real home shower. Not the trickle our now defunct Zodi provided. It's also great for heating dishwater. Thumbs up for the Triton! Perhaps I'll post a full review in the future.

We all (Jay, Beth, Deb and I) decided we had plenty of time to run some forest roads until Haggis and his crew would arrive. Beth and Jay decided on FR219-1 which looked promising on the gazetteer, so we grabbed cameras, and maps, got the kids in the trucks and set off.

A couple roads intersected our chosen forest road near each other and were found to be dead ends with nothing of note. The next road (135 I think…) was open and we continued along it realizing we must be on old strip mine lands. Beavers had done a little engineering on the streams and left us with some beautiful ponds to gaze at. Now with a professional photographer in the mix, I was feeling like an underacheiver, so as Jay set off to find the perfect reflective picture, I managed to find the perfect rock. With Jay snapping happily away, I gave the rock a throw to the center of the pond. My mind said I was going to get a growling reprimand and maybe a chuckle afterward. What I got was a thank you, the resulting picture was quite interesting. That's Jays photo though, these are mine...

4851211912_153706833f.jpg
4850600943_e4ece3fa50.jpg


4851244022_24e3c34871.jpg


Around the corner from the pond we found an unusual concrete building, I have no idea what it's usage was. Beth believes it had something to do with coal storage.

4854874967_5b676afa1e_m.jpg
4850634641_e784f6a64f_m.jpg


An unmarked road appeared to our left not far from the building, we followed along through a pretty field with some huge rock cliffs on the far side. With a gate at the end we were disheartened, but got out of the trucks to look around. While everyone was peering down a precipice at a pit pond, I walked over to look longingly down the road. Joined by my friends we discussed open lands and closed gates. I gave a wishful tug on the gate and it opened right up. Now we're at a moral dilemma. No signs about restricting any kind of travel, no signs indicating private land. Ultimately we decided on a short hike up the road and closed the gate into its original state as we found it. Our hike revealed a few bear tracks, and some red-spotted newts. A pleasant walk in the woods.

4850643965_45e7eb616c_m.jpg

4851271112_9b80290879.jpg


4854869661_46ede02917.jpg


Back out on our forest road we continued along kicking up dust in the dry gravel. Another Y in the road, another decision. Left?, right? Right…all the way to a gate. And a definite sign. Plum Creek property. We didn't know who Plum Creek was, but if it was their property we'd leave it go. Back to the Y and now to the left (well right, since we're now turned around the other direction). This one led to a small junction of three hiking trails, one of which led back down to the campground. My wife was really wanting to hike back to camp but I talked her out of it. She really loves hiking, but we talked it over and she finally agreed. No trail maps, No GPS, No water, No way.
4854874097_d707bb1734.jpg


We all got back in the trucks and drove back to camp to meet Haggis, setting up his trailer. We watched and talked while they worked.
We began cooking supper, it was to be chicken cacciatore tonight…..one small problem….we left our home canned chicken at home. Looks like its going to be vegetarian chicken cacciatore tonight! Jay rescued our dinner with some leftover chicken from their previous nights dinner.

We all settled by the fire and talked, one of my favorite parts of camping, just Bsing with friends by the fire. Bedtime came along too soon and we tucked in for a good nights sleep. A bit after midnight I heard a dog go into some crazy barking nearby, and I thought “ he must be seeing a bear…” My eyes were just drifting closed again……”AAAAEEEEEIIIII!!!!!” Beth and I both sat up, that was a woman screaming and very nearby. We bailed out of the tent, I grabbed my trusty Fiskars axe, Beth grabbed a shovel (our bear repellent stick was currently in the kids tent) and nearly ran into Mark with his axe. We decided to go into our ExPo version of Charlies Angels and go save the day (night).
4852515715_4f00bedaed.jpg

We told Jay to stay in camp with all the kids and we walked down the road. It's dark, its quiet, no one is about. I know I heard screams; Beth knows she heard screams; Mark knows he heard screams. Puzzled, we got into my truck and drove around the entire campground. Nothing, Nada, no people stirring, no lights, no dogs, no bears, nothing out of place. What gives? Back at camp we crawled back to bed and slept restlessly through the night.



I'm sure Mark and Jay can fill in any blanks I leave, I neglected to take notes and the ol' memory ain't what it used to be....
 
Last edited:

Haggis

Appalachian Ridgerunner
...Clan Haggis Appendix: Day 2

The second day found us leaving the Clanhold early in the morning. Passing out of our holler and on towards I-79 we headed Tundrabird 2 south with a blue sky and warm temps. The drive down was uneventful and we soon found ourselves driving down the blacktop along Williams River through Forest lands. Well the Forest Service decided that the ditches needed a good cleaning. So with a grader and a backhoe and not much of a plan they proceeded to pile a huge ribbon mound of dirt and debris right in the center of the road. I’m talking a pile a good 18” high with numerous basketball sized rocks scattered down the road. We were flagged through and as the road is narrow as it is, add the debris, and it gets real narrow. We tracked through with some delicate driving and had to jump the “ridge” a few times to make it to the campsite but got it done. The guy behind me in the Cadillac CTS was having a much tougher time as he couldn’t jump the pile to get to the wider section of the road.

Once at the campsite we found Jim and Jay’s spot and checked it out. We haven’t camped in a campground for a couple of years but Jim had found a good spot. Plenty of foliage to privatize it and a gorgeous creek running directly behind it. Our fellow ExPoers were gone when we showed up, out having the above fun and all, so we got to work. We couldn’t make up our mind whether to share the site or set up in a neighboring site. Well we knew we’d be spending all of our time there anyways and as there was plenty of room we set the camper up in the same site as the others. We were just about done when the crew rolled back in. After that it was an evening of BSing and camaraderie.

Here's a pic of the E1 along side Elizabeth's camp kitchen...

4861476870_60516f0948_z.jpg


And one of Tea Creek directly behind the campsite...

4861476864_9032979a31_z.jpg


Like James, I was sleeping soundly when I heard the women’s scream, quickly followed by another. What a blood chilling way to be woke up. This was the classic horror or suspense movie scream. Whoever this chic was, she screamed good. I grabbed the axe (Bruinslayer +3) and with my hardy brother-in-law and capable sister we set into the night to put the ********** down on some troublesome bear, Viking style. Ah good times…a chill in the air, a damsel in distress, some nefarious creature doing nefarious things and good steel in my hand…life is good. But alas, as James said, we didn‘t get our good fight or even find the source of the commotion that night so back to bed to await the next day‘s adventure.
 
Last edited:

mtnbike28

Expedition Leader
Added photos...

072610podA.jpg


My reflection picture "ruined" by James.

072610podC.jpg


I am always amazed how much my daughter Sam likes just exploring!

072610podAA.jpg
 

jim65wagon

TundraBird1
DAY 3 Tuesday July 27

Mmmmm….Pie! That extra special dessert that seems a bit difficult to find in a backcountry setting. For her brother's birthday Beth woke up early enough to bake a pie for Marks birthday breakfast. She made the crust at home (froze it for transportation purposes), pressure canned an apple pie filling (I had the task of testing the first batch to see if actually made good pies), and brought along a crumbly mix for a topping. Baked in our Coleman oven that sets on our stove, she made an awesome pie. The smell of pie baking before the coffee is even ready is pretty much unbearable in the woods.


4850690621_50a08652d4.jpg



While the pie was baking we took our early morning walk, encountering a lady walking a dog. Beth asked if she'd heard the screams. The lady kind of grinned and said, “Yeah, that was me” Her dog barking at the bear woke her up and when she opened her eyes she saw it right next to her tent window. I'd have screamed too, to be honest. We told her about our “rescue” attempt and she thanked us for the effort and said she was sorry to be a bother then went on her way.

Back at camp we enjoyed the pie Mark was generous enough to share (Thanks Mark!), and we cleaned up camp and watched (trying to help) Jay as he packed up the Taj Majal. They were staying until lunchtime, so once the Taj was packed we decide we could hike the trail to the honeycomb rocks and stop by the visitor center for the Cranberry Glades Botanical Area.

We drove up Scenic Highway 150 to the trailhead, gathered what gear we thought we needed for the short hike and took the requisite before pics.
4850685811_bc8f03820b_m.jpg


We struck off only to find our hike was merely a short walk along a very well defined path with signs at every rock explaining in detail the reason for their presence. I will admit I was expecting something a bit more grand…..maybe house-sized rocks…..or at least truck sized. They were much smaller than I imagined, but they are still quite an interesting formation. We left with some spectacular photos of the rocks and I was having a craving for a well-known breakfast cereal.
4855497970_b9a4026101.jpg



Onward we went to the visitor center….only to find it closed on Tuesdays (and Wednesdays) . This was a minor setback to our plans, as the center has some really neat stuff to see and lots of maps, if you're into that sort of thing. This group can roll with the punches though, and when one plan falls apart we can quickly change our direction. The big map on the outdoor kiosk showed we were a stones throw from the Cowpasture Trail, and we decided to find it. Jay grabbed some brochures and showed us a pic of a waterfall he wanted to see.

We left in search of Cowpasture Trail, winding up at the parking area for the Cranberry Glades boardwalk trail. None of us saw the trail, trailhead, or a parking area. We looked around for a few more minutes and decided to try a Plan B (or C at this point). The waterfall in the brochure Jay found was from the Falls of Hills Creek. Beth located it on the map and it was very nearby. Now we have our next direction!

Another short drive put us in the parking area for the falls, and soon we were walking down the path to a pretty creek (Hills Creek) over which a nicely built bridge spanned. The trail became a wooden walkway perched on the side of the very steep hill. Well engineered for its task we were soon at the steel stairway leading to the Upper Falls observation deck. The stairs were impressive, lagged into the stone from the mountain, they didn't so much as wiggle as we clambered down them. The deck was roomy and provided a great view of the Falls.

4850700571_2a058ff92c.jpg


4850713491_91cfaa1d13_m.jpg
4850719753_bae5c1e677_m.jpg



After photographs we went back up where we departed company with Jay and Deb and Sam. It was fun guys and we'll have to get together again!
4850747287_8962563061.jpg


Back at camp we spent the afternoon watching the kids play,BSing and playing photographer.
4851378608_31037d1301.jpg

Madeline worked diligently all week (nearly every free moment we weren't actually doing something) practicing with her slingshot. She got quite good by the end of the week.
4851370448_0cfe91abbd_m.jpg
4851389454_29e3dbd9ee_m.jpg
4851376620_bb1db26934_m.jpg


A pesky squirrel tried to steal our food, gnawing on the lid of one of our plastic totes.
4851348500_229fcff06a.jpg


The kids switched to Nintendos as darkness settled and we all went to bed wondering what was going to happen tonight.
4851402424_b3ff7055ca.jpg
 
Last edited:

mtnbike28

Expedition Leader
More pics...

072710podA.jpg


The middle falls.

072710podD.jpg


The lower falls (second largest in WV)

James and Mark, thanks again for letting us tag along! And it was GREAT pie!!!
 

Haggis

Appalachian Ridgerunner
...Clan Haggis Appendix: Day 3

Well James covered it all with great aplomb. Not much to add from our end other than...

The pie was awesome and a great treat for my sister to share with me. Now I (and the truth be told, all of us) love pie and the Clan has more than it's fair share of expert pie bakers. But Beth's Coleman oven pie was one of the best. Thanks Elizabeth! And thank you for the B-Day presents! The dark side of me wanted to hoard it like Gollum clutching the One Ring, but my better side won out and the pie got shared with the gathered adventurers. Though I did save one piece back for dessert the next night. :elkgrin: :drool:

James and Mark, thanks again for letting us tag along! And it was GREAT pie!!!

Well Jay, you know you folks are always a great addition to any adventure and getting together with you guys is always a fun time. We need to do it more often!
 
Last edited:

jim65wagon

TundraBird1
Day 4 Wednesday July 28

Nothing. Not a peep. All night, no alarms, no screams, just the sounds of the creek and the occasional small furry creature trying to scurry underneath the rainfly of the tent. We did find a paw print, it was small, but it was definitely the hind foot of a bear. Beth found it as she reached down to set our kitchen chuck box back up on it's stand (we set it on the ground at night to keep it from getting knocked over by some wayward animal). There it was, faint but a still discernable paw print, right on the top of the chuck box. The youngest bear was on our chuck box all of five feet from our tent….

We took our time this morning eating breakfast and cleaning up. It was decided we would hike the Cranberry Glades boardwalk (I really wanted to see the Glades) and to find that darned Cowpasture Trail.

The Glades are pretty and they have a nice boardwalk built over the bog. Parts of the walk have various warning signs routed into the boards allowing for some fun shots and jokes. I'm hoping Mark has some of these shots, I think Allison was taking the staged jokes as we came across each sign.
4851427806_14f97a53d4.jpg


4851437444_9b1743bd5a.jpg


After the Glades Beth got out the map and her Garmin Legend and determined the trail we wanted followed along another trail not far from the Glades parking area. We made it this time followed the marked trail and was rewarded with a sign not far down, where the trails diverged and Cowpasture trail was followed. It leads through hemlock trees, crosses streams, fields chock full of butterflies, and opens up to the occasional mountain view. About halfway through our hike Cam slipped and twisted his ankle. Beth, always prepared, dug the ACE bandage out of her pack and she and Michelle had him patched up and walking in no time. With the aid of hiking poles he finished hiking the trail like a champ. Near the end of the trail, Mark and Beth double-timed it back to the lot for the truck and picked us all up. During our lunch at the parking lot we discussed the afternoons activities.
4850826141_906e5a7591_m.jpg
4851456836_16c55b4589_m.jpg

"The Jay Trap" ......................................Madeline

4851451358_9b696b8a81.jpg

"Hi, my name is Cameron, and I love to hike. I could be miles down the trail by now, but my parents are taking pictures of butterflies.
Stupid butterflies!"

4851463620_547a05a922.jpg


4850855981_fd010c832b_m.jpg
4850860907_e9f1e6d0f6_m.jpg


After our hike wa stopped at camp for the "tick check" a necessary evil in this area of the country. Ticks are prevalent, and it's always a good idea to check yourself over real well after a hike (especially through tall grass).
Everyone came out clean, except Allison who had a few found on her...
4851483012_dbd6a9bb80.jpg


To get to the Tea Creek campground, you have to cross a low-water bridge over the Williams river. The river is a sight to behold, scenic, rocky, with lots of dispersed camping and swimming holes. We were in camp long enough for our tick check and to grab our swimsuits and towels and headed out to a spot along the river. The drive down FR86 to the swimming hole was interesting. The road crew that Mark had encountered on Monday was still at it. But with some early morning showers it was mostly mud and boulders they pushed into the road. To this point my truck was just dusty from flying on gravel roads, but just a few miles on this paved forest road, and it looked like I'd been rollin' mud bogger style.
The site we found has a long rock shelf to relax on, a deep spot for swimming, and some cool rapids to float through. All afternoon the Chimpancoons (and parents) swam, floated, and shot the rapids. Madeline got to learn firsthand the meaning of the phrase “If it's green, you're clean; and if it's brown, you're down” by running into a shallow pool on the rocks and promptly went down hard on her side. Bruised but laughing, she got back into the river and swam the day out.

The afternoon was completed by the roasting of GIANT marshmallows.

4850868601_be22029301.jpg
 
Last edited:

Forum statistics

Threads
185,527
Messages
2,875,534
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top