Canaan Valley Weekend

On an early fall weekend in September, the CORE club organized a weekend offroad-camping trip out to the Canaan Valley area. This is a follow-up to the limited group scouting trip that was organized almost exactly 1 year ago to explore the area and do the research required to plan a full on trip that was open to all members and guests of the club.

The original trip was limited to a small group because of the unknown size of the primitive campsites in the area, and an objective of the group was to find campsites that could accommodate a larger group. On that trip, we found some great sites that could handle a larger group, and we fell in love with one particular site right along the river that could easily accommodate 8+ vehicles and tents.

So, armed with the information we learned from the scouting trip, we set out for a weekend trip! The plan was to meet at Hellbenders in nearby Davis WV, and then head over to that campsite. Ken, Matt and Ben went out ahead of time in the morning to get the site and make sure we could claim it before it got snapped up by someone else.

After a hearty meal at Hellbenders, we headed on the short drive back to the campsite. There were two routes to the campsite, a scenic drive through the forest, or a river crossing of the Dry Fork of the Cheat River.

We did the river crossing, which was a bit bumpy, but not particularly deep due to the persistently dry weather that has been affecting most of the waterways in the area.

After crossing, we were treated to a gorgeous campsite riverside campsite, with plenty of room for everyone. I was testing out a new tent setup, essentially a swag type of setup. It’s a simple instant 1 person popup tent, that is designed to either be used on the ground or on a cot. I got the Teton Sports tent and cot combo. The goal was to have a tent that is up off of the ground, which would be more comfortable to get in and out of, as well as stay cleaner, and not be reliant on a perfectly clear and flat surface. It worked out great! I did have a minor rain issue, which I’ll touch on below.

That evening, I cooked a pack of the Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey pulled bbq pork, which was absolutely delicious, and we hung out around the fire and took in our first evening.

The next morning, we had a leisurely morning, and rolled out of camp around 10am, with the plan to meet the day-trippers at Hellbenders again. We were joined by a great group of folks, and after everyone was done with lunch, we met at a parking lot nearby, and Ken led us down to the start of the trail. He first led us to a hiking trailhead called Lindy Point Overlook. It was a nice short hike, about 15 minutes, and led to a beautiful overlook of the valley below.

After the hike, we hopped into the vehicles, and started on the Canaan Loop Trail. It was an awesome ride, with a mild, yet interesting trail. There were a couple of sections which were a bit more involved, with some larger rock ledges or rocky descents, but nothing the Jeep had any trouble with. A few of the newer folks in our group needed the occasional spot through an obstacle, but it wasn’t bad at all and we had fun making our way through the trail.

We continued on, and right at the end of Saturday’s ride, were met with a pretty wild rain storm as we pulled into camp. It wasn’t a big issue, I rolled out the Jeep’s side awning and had a nice dry area to hang out. Matt came over under the awning and cooked us up some delicious smash burgers. After we dried out, we once again collected around the fire and enjoyed a nice late evening hanging out.

The next morning, we packed up camp, and got ready for a final day on the trails. I discovered that a large puddle of water formed under my cot between it and the tent. A little condensation wicked through the floor of the tent, but nothing major, and I just have to make sure the tent is staked out and extends over the edge of the cot, but I should also just tilt the cot to drain out any water that collects during a heavy rain.

We planned on going up to the Olson Observation Tower, and then going down Canyon Rim Road. The drives through the area were absolutely beautiful, even with the fog and low clouds rolling in. Definitely gave us a bit of a mountain/valley feel as we drove around.

We came across two interesting obstacles, the first being a washed out culvert that we came across last year. Previously, however, there was an easy bypass on the left side. This time around, it was rocky on the bypass, and the washout was completely washed away. It made for some fun for the Jeep to cross, but it handled it with little fuss.

After that, we rolled on through the woods, and came across the last major obstacle, a bit of a washed out gully, with the straight line being a deep whoop and climb, and the alternate route, being a rocky descent, and the same climb, but at a sharper turn and off-camber angle. I took the latter route, as it looked more interesting, and it certainly delivered! It was fun to make my way down and pop up the exit!

A little more cruising through the forest put us back onto paved roads, where we planned our last stop, at Douglass Falls. It was a nice walk to the falls, and a climb down to the waters edge. A great way to finish a fun weekend, we made our way back home.