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Spent Labor Day weekend camping in WV near Seneca Rocks, which is kind of the midpoint of the Monongahela National Forest, or for short, THE MON.



Here is how wiki describes it:



"The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over 919,000 acres (3,719 km2) of federally-owned land within a 1,700,000-acre (6,880 km2) proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Region and portions of 10 counties.The MNF includes some major landform features such as the Allegheny Front and the western portion of the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians. Within the Forest are most of the highest mountain peaks in the state, including the highest, Spruce Knob (4,863 ft), also the highest point in the Alleghenies."



Better description: THE MON IS AWESOME.



You might know the mon better as the home of Canaan, Timberline, and Snowshoe. It's also the home of world class climbing (Seneca) and some of the best backpacking on the east coast (Dolly Sods). Long story short, I'm going to be spending a lot more time there this fall and winter- it's only 2.5-3.5 hours to get there, depending on where you want to base camp.



PICTURS:



Cool skies and an epic sunset/storm driving in across Route 55:



















That same storm produced a DOUBLE RAINBOW:















On Saturday we hiked part of the North Fork Mountain trail, which Outside mag called the best trail in WV. The views were pretty stunning:







Looking down the valley towards Seneca:











Looking towards VA:















We then headed up to Dolly Sods- I think I'm going to be spending A LOT of time in the Dolly Sods/Roaring Plains/Flatrock Plains area this fall and winter. So many backpacking projects. So many backcountry skiing projects



Epic views from up there as well. We are now looking at North Fork Mountain on the right (with the cliff bands), directly where the previous pics were taken:







If you haven't heard of Dolly Sods, do some googling and read about it. The ecology and terrain are considered sub-alpine, and the terrain looks like you should be somewhere in the Canadian tundra, not WV:















Another view:







More tundra:











Canada, or WV?











Seneca Rocks is a climbers paradise. So many aesthetic lines and a wide variety of difficulties. Also, a sunset:











I got up early the next morning, but no clouds so the sunrise sucked. Did get this though- no post processing here other than a little sharpening, just a perfect gradient from nature:







The last day took us to a hike through Flatrock Plains. So much great hiking and backpacking potential in the area. I bet this is fun in the spring, with the snowmelt:















This hike took us to an overlook of the entire Dolly Sods area. POP QUIZ SKIERS: do you see what I see?

Northern Dolly Sods in the distance (and a power plant, BOOOOO):







Seneca again, EMBIGGENIZED for climbing line analysis:











A clear night out there is INCREDIBLE. Very little light pollution, so the milky way is very visible:







ANSWER TO THE POP QUIZ, AND A CHALLENGE: Who wants to do a winter ski touring trip with me to tackle this guy. No, this is not any kind of resort- just an open cut in the middle of the WV backcountry:







Ohhhhh yeahhhhh....



I have some other ski projects up there I want to scout this fall, but those will have to wait for another TR...

Beautiful Pics East Coaster.



One day, maybe my home state will shed it's stigma of poor, uneducated rednecks.



Hopefully others will appreciate what it has to offer as you did.

EC looking for skiing, telling his girl they are "hiking"

@mikebopp 219199 wrote:We are all looking aroung with skiing on the brain and telling the girls someting else.......



Its getting closer Bo's... And it sure feels good outside right now, with the shorter days and cooler nights..



Close it is. I am liking these shorter days and cooler temps. Only got to 92 today.

Beautiful pics!

re: Canada, or WV?



Actually, really far north Canada or Alaska, to get the same view as those pics from the sods. I didn't realize it was so barren up there in WV. That's a long drive from here for a camping trip but I'm just going to have to figure out how to do it. I bet winter can be vicious up there. Compare to this view from north of the Arctic Circle...







and that cut looks steeeeeeep. oh boy.

It would be interesting to find out what the cut is and if it's on posted land.



UPDATE: R U sure you are not seeing the backside of Timberline? The image from Google Earth looks very similar.

@hnhbaxter 219271 wrote:It would be interesting to find out what the cut is and if it's on posted land.



UPDATE: R U sure you are not seeing the backside of Timberline? The image from Google Earth looks very similar.



Positive its not Timberline. I'm pretty sure I know what it is part of and how to get there, but I'm also sure that some people who might be reading this from that area are saying "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" because they would rather not have a million wahoos up there. I plan on figuring out exact location and access this fall, but I might keep it somewhat guarded.

IS IT SECRET?? IS IT SAFE??