I discovered that if you hike Cold Mt., you need to call the ranger station. They are having controlled burns between now and April.

Most places that allow fires are pretty well picked clean of wood in the surrounding area. You can find some, but need to look further from your site.

I usually don't hike the SNP in the summer, so I've never had any trash problem or teens hanging around.

yep...I be here in Richmond.

Love to do the Dolly Sods sometime. I went last year in November. OK, not a wise thing to do. Maybe we can hook up in the future.

Sounds like a plan!
I've kinda looked at the Dolly Sods a few time.

I'm not familiar with Roaring Run. Do you know which district it is in? The GW and J Nat'l Forests are really stretched out along the western part of the state so the district would help.

http://www.hikingupward.com/GWNF/RoaringRun/

I'm going for a day hike Saturday. Should be zero out there!

I go with other people, then camp alone. I don't want to hear someone snoring and I'm sure that they don't want to hear me either. Not really alone but safety in numbers as long as everyone is competent. I do hike alone and someday I'd like to try the wilderness alone.

Are you going to Roaring Run on Saturday? If so, please let me know how it is! I can't believe how cold it is right now, like 8 or something.

That sounds cool. I have a core group of friends that I know I can count on, so I don't mind going with them. Good conversation and plenty of time to catch up. I've never camped like this before so I'd much rather not going alone.

Larrold

Lead, you are certifiably nuts - but in that perfectly acceptable backpacker sort of way!
Too cold for me, I'll be cuddled with the kitties while I sip coffee.

Enjoy, stay warm and tell us all about it!

Leadfoot, if that temp range is way beyond your norm, beware that your feet will freeze. There are chemical "toe warmers" that can go a long ways making up for too thin of boot.

I hear the temps in the south have dropped to near zero and I've also heard that southerners do not own warm clothes, and have a problem with dressing warm. I asked my sister in tennessee what she wears to work driving her car in that cold and she thought I was crazy - "why my high heels and normal clothes of course."

I had a Filipino neighbor in California. It might be 50 and foggy and cold and hes out there in flip flops and a tee shirt telling me how cold it is. I asked him why he didn't put on a coat and he said" Pilipino don't own no coat!".

Jim

Thanks, gang. I have my Keen Growler winter boots which I have used in below zero temps and snow and they worked great. I also have a thick down coat, my Montbell UL down inner vest, several layers of wool shirts...plus face protection, OR Windstopper hat, another wool hat to go over that....extra socks, mittens with windstopper covers....fleece pants with my rain pants....I think I will sweat!

Also have my emergency gear with me just in case my partners are unprepared. I do have some handwarmers as part of the kit. I ran out of the toe warmers.

It's 5 here right now...but the mountains will warm up by the time we get there.
I'll let ya know how it goes. BTW....I consider myself a woodchuck and don't own one pair of heels.

I used to live in Utah...brutal white-outs. Skiied in -20 in Vermont as a kid.
BRING IT ON!

The day was great. The three of us decided to hike up and back on the AT in SNP. Several reasons: Both were afraid of their gear not cutting it, and this allowed us to bail out easily. I suggested we hike to a shelter, turn and head back. This allowed us to have a fire if needed. So we entered the park, told the ranger our plans and hiked from McCormicks Gap to Calf Mt shelter and back, which was a total of 8 miles. Had views on both sides of the mountains, covered in trees to break the wind, had a short bald area, and had the place to ourselves.

Temps were at zero and warmed to 10...slight breeze. The sky was sunny and clear. Everyone was shedding layers after the first climb and all was well. On the return, the sky clouded up, the wind picked up and the layers went back on! But the wind was to our backs, and most was downhill or level.

Everyone loved the hike, the linear idea and the safety of knowing there was a shelter. Plus, the ranger knew what our plans were. I called my neighbor (who is a SUL hiker) and told him as well.