Travel – Cam-era

Apalachia September 2020

Technical issues with the front control board (“eyebrow”) of our campervan “Serenity” had prevented us going on a July / August trip and while we were pretty annoyed with that, in hindsight it was the right choice. We had a 3 month heatwave with temperatures 28-30C every day, mosquitoes the size of small cats and just brutal humidity. We could have gone West to – say – Idaho but neither of us really had the motivation to spend days and days in the van just to “get there”. So, we staid home until the weather cooled a little, labor day arrived and forced children and parents back into their suburbs.

So, we planned a short 4-night trip to West Virginia and Virginia, in part following routes that we had previously scouted. The idea was to explore left and right on the way, keep the miles low and allow for sidetrips and stops to check out interesting things. We checked out the camping spots online but did not really research hikes and attractions. We sort of thought we could do this on the road – that was a mistake as there was hardly any internet or cell phone connectivity.

Wednesday 09/10/2020. Left the house at ~ 11:00 and heading (via McDonalds!) to Savage River State Park in Maryland. We had been there twice already and its a great space to camp, by a decent-size creek with lots of firewood nearby. We have rarely seen anyone there, its a $10 fee and basically its about as isolated in a fairly steep valley as it gets. We scoped around and instead of camping in the “Big Run” valley, we headed out to the Elk Lick run – for no good reason other than that we had not been there before. It turned out to be just the same, maybe a little more traffic on the road (the road leads directly into New Germany State Park). The camp was nice, the dog could run free and explore a little but being in the steep valley means that the sun drops quickly and rises late, i.e. its dark. Really dark. There also isn’t a real hiking trail anywhere. I think the entire park is designed as a convenient camp site for fishermen using the adjacent Savage River Reservoir – which really looks amazing. We should bring a canoe next time and explore that a little.

Camp at 39.60424, -79.09118

Thursday 9/11/2020

Pretty dark morning but good weather, headed out without starting another fire. Checked out a few more possible campsites on Savage River Road between Elk Lick and Big Run. More overflow but they should work. Headed generally south, passed Dolly Sods and headed to Seneca Rocks. A really nice picnic site right by the trailhead, parked Serenity and headed up the obvious trail. The trail has some ascent but rewarded with an awesome view from the lookout. The trail seemed to continue but tons of signs warn against it and especially with dog / leash, we didn’t feel like exploring beyond the marked trail.

Headed back, dropped the dog into the creek to cool down and got back into the van. Quick stop for ice cream at the local tourist trap where the most displayed items were confederate flags carefully venerated by sneezing women who proclaim that Corona Virus is an invention from “The Libs”. I am sure they sell white robes and hemp ropes as well but we didn’t stick around too long.

Btw, these mountain routes take their toll on our already pathetic gas mileage. We were filling up every time we hit 3/4 tank, Serenity makes about 12miles/gallon out there which is still slightly less than a battle tank but please don’t anyone tell Greta Thunberg. Headed out toward the campsite Island Camp Ground with some navigation challenges. Basically, there is no cell phone or data connectivity anywhere and navigation is entirely by map – we use Gaia which works reasonably well but it is a transition from following a prepared route to navigating 1980’s style.

Island Campground was my favorite campsite of the trip – despite being neither spectacular nor having real hikes nearby. Its a small place, clearly designed for hunters to just camp out for the night but nobody was there when we set up at the farthest spot. It has a solid creek (“East Fork Greenbrier River”) right behind it with tons of opportunity for the dog to fish for gnats and me to collect firewood. The road is quite close but there was little traffic at night. Great place.

Camp at 38.57842, -79.70436

Friday 9/12/2020

Headed out toward the next place with few ideas where to hike and what to do. Found a friendly USFS guy at a “closed” office in Marliton who recommended the “High Rocks Trail”, a short (3 miles) in/out relatively flat hike along the “Highland Scenic Hwy”. Really nice place, great for lunch breaks and amazing views.

Yeah, that trail was really nice.

From there headed back out on 39 toward the next campsite – Blowing Springs Campground in Washington & Jefferson Forest. The campground has 2 “tiers” with the lower one having far bigger spaces but is overgrown with grass and has tons of bugs. The upper tier has fairly small pads but there was only one other group and we squeezed the van into a flat area and took off for a hike along the local river. The trail is flat, basically a road and the scenery was more like Colorado than Virginia. It was absolutely gorgeous. We took a swim in the creek with the dog, paddled along a wee waterfall for some time and basically enjoyed being in the water. It was awesome. I wish I had a working drone, that was the perfect place for some areal shots.

Camp: 38.069263, -79.883455

Saturday 9/13/2020

Headed out relatively late, dog and I explored the campsite for a while, went back to the creek and tried to find the “Blowing Springs”. Gaia suggests its at the entrance of the park on the other side of 39 and yes, there are springs coming out of an old concrete wall with some cemented pipes that could indeed blow air – didn’t really see anything though.

Left toward the Shenandoah ridge again with rain coming down for the first time this trip. Quite a bit of rain, actually. We headed into the park itself and had a long lunch break to see if the rain would clear but when it didn’t, dog and I took a quick local walk, Dear Den peak or something. Drenched and miserable, quite a steep climb, the dog hated it and definitely thought there were bears, barking, neck hair raised, all of that. Interestingly, the local ham radio club had set up a repeater up there with a water station. When we came e back down, fired up the HT and chatted with the guy who actually manages that repeater. Great guy.

Headed to the last campsite of the trip, a local winery in Virginia called Five Oaks Vineyard. Small operation but they allow camping there via the Harvest Host membership. We parked the van at an absolutely stunning position overlooking the entire valley and up into the Blue Ridge Mountains. Amazing location – loved it. Slept with the back of the van open, no bugs, weird owls but otherwise quiet and just perfect last night.

Camp : 38.139308, -78.319041

Sunday 9/14/2020

Alright, lets go home! Took of relatively early since the weather was gorgeous and we (ok: me) wanted to get a nice hike in before we get on the highway. We decided to drive back into the Shenandoah Natl.Park – by now we can gauge how long it will take us to get home which makes planning much easier.

The weather was awesome, could not have been better. Some eerie fog blew off with the sun and then all that was left was a perfect walking day. We had lots of recommendations but chose a circular hike starting at “Fisher’s Gap Overlook”, 4 1/2 miles of pretty steep up/down. Quite a busy hike – I mean its Sunday, gorgeous weather and we are in a National Park and the dog really resented to be on-leash all the time and was completely wiped out by the end.

And that was it, heading back home via known routes. Lots and lots of traffic as usual, maybe coming back on Sunday isn’t such a great idea. But it was a great trip.

Buchanan State Forest

The hiking season is heating up, quite literally and Maryland is getting steaming hot. We decided to check out the State Parks and Forests north of the MD border and headed for a quick overnight trip to Buchanan State Forest in Southern Pennsylvania. The Forest requires reservation but is “free”, i.e. there are no facilities of any sorts – suits us fine.

We ended up here

Quite nice place, basic, of course but plenty of dead wood for a small cooking fire and a few hikes nearby. The old, abandoned PA turnpike is quite eerie, it sort of looks like from a Zombie apocalypse movie. It also has a pretty cool “historical” site, an old workers camp that was temporarily used as POW camp for German soldiers between 1944-1946.

Camping was quiet, the site is closed in with trees and hence quite dark at night.

Next day, headed out to Micheaux State Forest / Park and did a beautiful hike toward the Long Pine Reservoir from Caledonia State Park. That entire area has a lot to offer and we definitely need to come back. Some fairly narrow roads there, gravel roads etc but Serenity was doing just fine. Would have loved to have a smaller turning circle and a little more clearance in the back. Maybe changing the suspension in the back could make her a little softer and not bounce as much?

Sherando Lake and Shenandoah

Our second trip with Serenity and our last for the season took us back to Virginia – traveling known ground made it easier to get used to the van and logistics.

Sherando Lake and Park is beautiful, fairly small but it is in a great location within a fairly narrow valley. The road into the site has a few tight turns and I can imagine that it would be quite challenging in winter but with clear sky and dry roads, it was no issue.

The camp sites are dry, flat and with full hookup, its quiet but at that time of the year, the weather can turn iffy any time. We were lucky at Sherando this time, gorgeous sunsets against the foliage.

There are not all that many hiking trails, especially when it gets dark in the steep valley. Sunset comes early, sunrise comes late and unfortunately it was overcast, so no moon or stars.

The only “issue” were the deer that hang out right behind the camp. They sleep there by the dozens and our dog really wasn’t used to that all. Barking is of course an issue on any campground and our though has been that dogs bark when they are afraid and they are afraid when they don’t understand. So, in order to prevent the dog from barking, I took her (on a long leash) to the lawn where the dear hang out and let her sniff (not eat) the droppings. It made for some spooky scenes where the headlamp illuminates pairs of eyes all around us.

Quick morning hike(s), sun doesn’t come up until 9am or so and dog and I were already 5 miles in when we started breakfast.

When the sun came out, we packed up and headed north toward the Shenandoah National Park where we had reservations to stay that night in Big Meadows. On the way, we checked out Humpback Rocks, a spectacularly beautiful area and hike, quite steep with a tremendous view point on top. The last bit was a little to steep for the (exhausted) dog and we took turns taking photos and watching over the pooch.

We headed back down, stopped at a Walmart and refilled on dog kibble, then headed back into the Shenandoah and with a couple of short hikes went to Big Meadows. Weather was pulling in, it was getting windy and weirdly enough sitting by the fire wasn’t relaxing. Big Meadows is the largest campground in the park and it seemed completely booked. Neighbors are nice and all that but I can more of a nature experience sitting in our backyard than in that campground.

At night, real rain rolled in and we agreed that we much prefer to be in the van than in a tent. It would have been miserable. There is one thing to be in a tent in real wilderness where no other mode of transport exists but packed like sardines into a campground and still be freezing is not fun. Nah, a campervan is a great solution.

Dog woke me up at 6am, it was pitch black outside and wind was howling. We walked for about 2h when it started to get reluctantly light and decided to just have quick breakfast and get on the road. It was so overcast and windy that we really didn’t feel like another day hike, so we just kept going back home.

Shenandoah is a gorgeous area for hikes and camping but quite crowded. Restrictions on what to do with the dog and where to make a fire etc, are slightly annoying and I think we’d be better off in a National Forest across the road. That’s what we will aim for next time.

Rocky Gap and Antietam

Our first shake-out trip with “Serenity” went to Rocky Gap State Park in Maryland, a couple of hours drive. The idea was to use whatever season we had left to test the van, equipment and attitude before we mothball her for the winter. Rocky Gap is close, easy to get to and quite nice, it has a large lake with limited hiking but overall is pleasant for a quick outing. We squeezed Serenity between other vans, trailers and tents and with early dusk, didn’t have much time to explore before starting the fire and shutting down for the evening.

There is a weird atmosphere in these shared camp grounds, neighbors on all sides and even though everyone is considerate, the background noise of “camping” is always there. People walk with bouncing headlights to and from the washrooms keeping the dog on alert. Having the dog on-leash (a long one) kind of works but it would be great to have her free to roam the site and explore.

Overall, the camp-site and park are nice site but there isn’t much to do – other than the lake itself, the trails are not very inspiring and the entire park is boxed in by roads and agricultural land. Its alright for a night out but I would not want to spend more time there

The dog wakes up ~ 6am no matter what which means that we are going for a walk. Its dark in October and the landscape is not super exciting. Overcast as well, so no real good photo opportunities during sunrise but we put in a 2h walk along the lake shore to spend the time. When we come back, quick breakfast and departure, heading roughly back.

On the way back, we stopped over at Antietam and drove / walked the various locations. Its close but I had never been there and like all battlefields, the idyllic, pastoral settings creates a very disconcerting contrast with the description of the slaughter that happened here. Unlike Gettysburg, Antietam appears very small in size. The sheer number of soldiers and artillery that squeezed into this tiny area must have been staggering. It probably contributed to the death count simply because in close quarters communication failed with smoke obscuring the field and lines never clean. Constant skirmishes and outright barrages without the ability to retreat, reform and resupply must have made for a horrifying experience for everyone who lived through it. In the end, there are no winners, just losers.

It didn’t help that it started raining hard and neither of us was really in the mood for more hiking, soaked, cold and with home so close by, we heading back.

Overall, Rocky Gap can easily be missed but Antietam is worth a visit – maybe take a guided tour next or read up beforehand.

Serenity

We bought a campervan! She (of course female) is a 2015 Pleasure-Way Excel based on a Ford Econoline 350 with the 5.4L Triton V8. She has 40k miles on the clock and we found her in Florida baking in the sun at a dealer. Her price was good, the condition decent and I flew out to see a client and on my way check her out and – if she passed – drive her the 750miles home.

She is called Serenity after the “Firefly”-class cargo hauler from the short-lived Sci-Fi Series. Its one of our favorites and the dependable, slightly worn but lovable ship is a perfect namesake for the van that allows us to explore.

Quick note on why we selected this specific van. We knew we wanted a Class B, basically a campervan, not an RV. It had to be 20 feet or less so it fits into State / National Park camp grounds (not RV parks) and basically needs to remain maneuverable without tugboats. At the same time, there is of course the requirement for additional luxury like a flush toilet, proper bed, a TV / DVD player, air conditioning etc. Basically, the higher end Class Bs have all the amenities but remain on a normal cargo can footprint, something that can be driven around towns and smaller country roads without issues. There are a huge number of vans to choose from and they all seem to be based on Ford, Dodge or Mercedes Sprinter chassis with either a dedicated cabin or – far more common – a converted people hauler. Virtually all of them are too tall, the place where we park her has a hard (=structural beams) ceiling of 9’3″. This really limited the model choice but also focused us on the type of van we could get, basically the pre-2015 Ford E350 Econo Line. And those vans were the chassis for a few campervans, namely the Pleasure Way models from Canada.

Now I started looking specifically for this model, 2008 up with a max of 50k miles. A few of them have V10 engines which is nice in mountains but basically means that one has to haul a fuel tender since the fuel tanks are the same size. I could not find any Diesel engines which would have been really nice from the torque perspective (and mileage), with all the amenities, these vans are actually quite heavy. And lastly, the Pleasure Way Excel specifically has a widened cabin, 2-3″ on each side make a huge difference inside and give the van a “fat rump” which of course led to her name.

We test drove one in Maryland but couldn’t agree on a price, it was in pristine condition but quite old already and had a fair number of miles. Then a few months later, one came up in Oregon (V10) and the one in Florida that we finally bought.

Buying a campervan basically combines the worst parts of buying a house with the worst parts of buying a car. One deals with a used-car dealer with all the greasy, fake smiles, friendly chumminess that is so repellent that I’d rather pay sticker price than shake their limp hands. Add to that that a RV is fairly complicated. Its got all the 12 & 120 V electrics, 3 separate water tanks, a full propane system with tanks, lines etc, A/C plus of course the van itself. Yes, I spent 6 hours checking it out and having them repair all sorts of things but in the end didn’t check all the parts that the dealer – quite skillfully hid.

The deal was struck and I took off, basically heading straight north on I95. Driving her was a little daunting, I don’t really drive anything larger than an SUV ever and being in Flordia didn’t help, people seem to not use indicators at all. The radio is complete garbage, the standard Ford “comes with the truck” kind of thing and despite trying I could not get anything other than Christian Rock, Christian Country or Christian Talk shows for the next 600 miles. And of course, she is slower in top speed, acceleration and – crucially – deceleration. The plan was to head North, find a Walmart, eat, sleep and keep going.

That’s pretty much what happened as well and 23h later with 750 miles down I got her home. Where she fit under her roof just about (with 2″ to spare).