Fri, Feb 27 2004 - Canaan Valley Ski/Shoeshoe Weekend II (View Original Event Details) Event Organizer(s): Jesse Allen Participants: Jesse Allen, Emilio Ungerfeld, Stacy Robinson, Kristin Patton, Rob Copeland, Douglas Smith, Dave Kulansky, Marc Durant

Write Up:
We had a wonderful weekend of snowshoeing and skiing, as well as some fine eating. Dave, however, seemed to have a lot of trouble with his pants, (among other clothing-challenged moments), Abraham Lincoln invaded our thoughts far too often, and we had lady bugs for guests in the cabin.

The trip got off to a good start when all four cars managed to arrive at the cabin within minutes of each other (bumper to bumper in the case of Evonne and me, despite starting at very different times and places). Our cabin was a very pleasant place with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, a reasonable living space, dining room, and kitchen, all done in a nice light wood tone. The ladybugs of Harman were apparently driven out of hibernation when the caretakers turned the heat on for us. The cabin also came with a calendar with a rather peculiar theme: graveyards. Every month was a grave scene of some sort. (Note to self: bring my own calendar in the future.)

After initial introductions, there was a long awkward silence: most of us were pretty tired from the substantial drive up to Harman and the considerable effort of not looking out the window in sheer terror from a certain speeding car. Stacy chose to plant the unpleasant thought that every time there is a long silence such as this in a group of several people, at least one person is thinking about Abraham Lincoln. She later admitted this is a "mental virus": having said it once at the beginning of the weekend, it was almost completely guaranteed that future silences would be broken with that catch-up conversation starter: "So . . . how about that Abraham Lincoln fellow?"

Insincere threats of violence did surface throughout the weekend when the topic of Abraham Lincoln was brought up during almost every silence for the rest of the weekend. Thanks, Stacy.

The next morning, we woke up bright and early to a crystal-clear bright sky. Evonne, our token Canadian on the trip, expressed great pleasure that the waffles were served with Québec maple syrup. After breakfast and making our lunches, we got dressed in our snow gear and headed off to get snowshoes for the day. Dave shared at this point that he was missing a few things in packing because he had been unable to find his pants. This rather strange comment made more sense when he came out dressed for skiing in what I can only describe as being a sort of overalls style slicker: bright yellow plastic pants that would put waders to shame. Clearly there was going to be no losing Dave in the woods!

After picking up snowshoes for most of us (Marc and Emilio opting for skis for the day), we headed out into the woods in Monongahela National Forest and down on the Davis/Allegheny Trail into Blackwater Falls State Park. It was a reasonably substantial hike down the hillside into the canyon, with super trooper Emilio trying with remarkable persistence to make it all the way down on cross-country skis. Even experienced cross-country skier Marc chose to hike down with skis in hand. By 1:30 PM, we were ready to stop and turn around not long after passing the stables in the state park, but without having made it to the falls themselves. Doug expressed some minor disappointment at missing the falls, but not enough disappointment to hike the extra half-mile there and again back to see them.

Stacy gave up on facilities and experienced the joy of relieving herself in the woods. Claims of having written her name in yellow were made and met with skepticism. Dave announced he had attempted to do the same with his name, but "ran out" at the L. (Note: there is no L in Dave.) He then suggested writing the URL to the Maryland Outdoor Club in the snow. Clearly it was time to change the topic of conversation. Unsurprisingly, Abraham Lincoln came up very qui

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