This might be the best backpacking trip I've ever done! If I could only choose one word to describe the North Fork Mountain Trail, that word would be "views". This trail is a 24-mile point to point hike along a mountain ridge in West Virginia. You're never more than a couple of minutes away from extraordinary views on this trail, especially during the times of year when there are no leaves on the trees.

We got off to a less than ideal start in dense fog, rain and fairly high winds. The first five hours of the hike we weren't able to experience the beauty of the mountain views, but the dense fog draped the forest in a beauty of its own. When visibility is limited, you tend to focus on and enjoy the less dramatic things that nature has to offer. Luckily, the fog eventually burned off and the mountains started sharing their beauty with us.

The overlooks on this trail are simply stunning. It was cool to be able to look across the valley at various points and be able to spot Spruce Knob, Seneca Rocks, Roaring Plains and Dolly Sods. Those are all places we have backpacked before and this trail stretches so far that you walk past all of them, it was a pretty cool experience. Along with the amazing views, we walked through very diverse forest scenery. The trail winds through pine forests, deciduous forests, rock fields, forest service roads and along a pipeline.

We decided to set up camp at the halfway point of the trail, which is when the wind really picked up. It probably took us an hour to set up our shelters. Per usual, I was sleeping in my Warbonnet Blackbird hammock, sheltered from the wind with my Warbonnet Mountainfly tarp, Wooki underquilt and Diamondback top quilt. The temperature only dipped to about 35-36 degrees, but we had sustained winds all night of 30mph with constant gusts up to 50-60mph.

Sara constantly struggles with staying warm during fourth season backpacking trips. Her cutoff is typically around 40 degrees or else she just can't stay warm. We've been working on multiple different ways to keep her warm. I purchased another Warbonnet quilt for her, a Diamondback rated for 0 degrees. She has been using an insulated Nemo Tensor pad with an R-value of 4.2 which hasn't quite been cutting it. For this trip we also brought along a Thermarest Z-Lite pad which provides 2.0 extra R-value. This is the first "winter" trip she's ever done where she stayed warm enough, mission success.

There is no other way for me to describe day two other than amazing. We spent hours walking along cliff edges with endless views. Per usual, the video doesn't do it justice even in 4k at 60fps. I can't stress this enough, get out there and experience this trail for yourself! We wrapped the trip up by voyaging up to Chimney Top rocks and taking in the amazing views there. After Chimney Top, the hike down to the car was 2,000' of elevation drop over the course of about 2.3 miles. I'm really glad I had my Cascade Mountain Tech trekking poles for this trip, they definitely helped save my joints on the way down from the mountain.

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Looking for a place to stay in West Virginia? Check out the Renovated Barn at Seneca Rocks!

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