Weekend snowshoe backpacking trip in Pennsylvania

[MichaelMerry]

My wife and I just wrapped a perfectly wonderful snowshoe backpacking trip on the Morrison trail in Allegheny National Forest, PA. It’s a favorite place for us to play in the deep snow because of multiple loop options, plowed parking lots and great camping. We hiked about 14 tough miles. Snow was deep. It was slushy during the day in the warmer temperatures, but would refreeze at night; not enough to create a crust. It was like chunky sand until the sun softened it. When we arrived, we hiked in a mile in the dark in a snow squall that was not forecast. It stopped as we set up camp and we didn’t even see a cloud the rest of the trip. Days were warm and calm and nights were calm, starry and cool.

 

[Robin]

I have to hand it to you, that’s a pretty hard core trip imo, 14 miles on snow shoes, and cold camp. Was it one overnight? Very nice pics, Your camp looks like you have some expedience. Wow, very “cool”

 

[MichaelMerry]

We got in late Friday and hiked out Sunday afternoon. Two nights!
Thanks for the kind words. We love to do this and spend a lot of time out there.

 

[snapper]

Looks like a wonderful trip. The majority of my winter overnights have been in tents. The only "open" shelters I've ever slept in have been lean-tos in the Adirondacks or Catskills of NYS. They're not bad unless the wind comes in from the open front. My guess is you have very good sleeping bags or there was little wind that night; maybe both!

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

 

[MichaelMerry]

Looks like a wonderful trip. The majority of my winter overnights have been in tents. The only "open" shelters I've ever slept in have been lean-tos in the Adirondacks or Catskills of NYS. They're not bad unless the wind comes in from the open front. My guess is you have very good sleeping bags or there was little wind that night; maybe both!

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

If weather allows, we cowboy camp. We pitched the tarp for frost as the nights were incredibly still. The first night, we arrived to a brief, intense snow squall.

The only reason we ever really use a tent is to keep insects away. That is one of many reasons we love winter wilderness travel.

We do not mess around with low quality gear for winter time. Those are 0 degree sleeping bags with draft collars and zipper draft tubes and silk liners.

Also, quality sleeping pads including a foam pad under the thermarest neoair and vapor barrier ground cloth.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Thanks for the interesting snow trekking and camping report, Michael. The fluid colors in this photo create a surreal effect:

 

[lowangle al]

It looks like you had a great time, I hope you didn't have to break trail the whole way. Did you wait for things to warm up, or is that just how the timing went? I did a ski camping trip with my wife in the Allegheny National Park back in the eighties, but don't remember any details. It's a great time of year to get out as the days are a little longer.

 

[MichaelMerry]

We broke trail about half the time. Another snowshoer, ironically from the Cleveland area, came through some of our route from the opposite direction. It saved a lot of energy for that portion.

The days were unseasonably warm. Once the sun was up, temps quickly climbed above freezing. Clear skies made for cold nights; I’d guess based on the freezing that occurred that it got down around 15 Fahrenheit.

 

[snapper]

Sounds like your sleeping set-up is similar to mine. I currently use a 0 F bag from North Face but used to have a -40 F bag from Bristlecone Mountaineering. It was a godsend on a weekend trip I led in the Catskills as the first night went down to -28 F and the second night it dropped to -32 F. Other than the cold, what was most memorable that night were all the trees cracking while watching the magnificent star show above us. It was really magical.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

 

[ppine]

excellent. The wilderness boundary to me in winter always feels like about 2 miles from the trailhead. There is no one out there.
We just got whalloped by a big Sierra dump. Five to Eight Feet. Eight people are missing in an avalanche.

Have you ever used your tarp more as a lean to to reflect heat? You can build a fire in front of it. You can sleep that way. I usually wake up maybe twice a night to stoke the fire.

 

[MichaelMerry]

We rely on our gear for warmth. The fire is ambiance. I don’t prefer the odor of the fire on me or my gear and worry about sparks damaging my gear. Even when we stay in lean tos, we prefer to sleep in a cold lean to and, if we have a fire, have it outside.

I’ve been following that Sierra dump. My wife and I are planning a JMT thru and keeping an eye on things for planning to get over passes. We’ll do it late in the season, but I last hiked portions of the JMT in mid September and we were slowed by heavy snow in the passes from the previous winter. That was about 10 years ago.