Date:         Mon, 29 Mar 2004 12:33:42 -0500
Reply-To:     Kim Brennan <kimbrennan@MAC.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Kim Brennan <kimbrennan@MAC.COM>
Subject:      Syncro de Mayo Este 04
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A belated notice to announce the East Coast version of Syncro de Mayo
for this year. This will be on the 7th, 8th and 9th of May. (Early
arrivals can come in on the afternoon of Thursday the 6th).

The main activities will be scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, so
please try to be there by 9am on Saturday (we hope to hit the road no
later than 10am, and perhaps a bit earlier).

Like last year, this will be held in WV, (about one hour west of
Harrisonburg, Virginia) near the George Washington National Forest,
where the weekend activities will take place.

Activities scheduled are:

Friday
Arrivals. Come in and relax. if you arrive during the day, take a hike.
Wildlife is a plenty.

Saturday
10am leave base camp, and head out (via some scenic roads...different
than last year) to Reddish Knob. Hopefully the skies will be a little
better this year and the view will be visible.
Then north along the ridge to the beginning of the first jeep trail.

There is a clearing at the beginning of the jeep trail which we should
be at around noon, so we'll stop there, grab our lunches prior to
heading on to the introductory jeep trail. This is a rocky, narrow road
that should take us a couple of hours to traverse down the mountain.

Then we'll grab another jeep trail back up to the top, cross the
mountain and head back to base camp for the pot luck dinner.

Sunday
10am, group photos, door prizes etc.
11am head out, early departures. The die hards can join me on a trek to
the top of North Mountain (Monongahela National Forest) near the Smoke
Hole (a rocky road, but nowhere near as rough as the jeep trail on
Saturday).

Notes:
Last years storms have left their mark, I've been clearing fallen trees
and branches along the challenge road (still not completely cleared).
Based on this, I would not be surprised to find roads in the National
Forests similarly still littered with fallen stuff. In short, there may
be chain saw work, if someone else hasn't done it first.

Not only the dirt and gravel roads were affected. Several of the paved
roads got torn up pretty substantially, and the extended winter means
paved roads are pretty rough in spots. I don't know how much will have
been done by WV's Department of Transportation by the time of the
event.

Cautionary notes:
Base camp is on private property. There are known and unknown hazards,
including but not limited to wildlife (poisonous snakes, bears,
coyotes, etc.) swampy areas, caves and sinkholes. Please take care.