Luckily, the moon was full, because the hike began at 9 p.m. Friday. By road, we reached the sods (plains) by 10 p.m. and began our hike down a once-visited path into the sods. At 10:30 p.m. we forded an icy portion of the upper Red Creek. There was no other convenient way to cross. The section was 10-12 feet across and we took off our shoes and socks and rolled up our pants to cross. Sheets of ice floated by as we quickly crossed the creek. On the other side we quickly shook the water off our feet and slapped them with our hands to convince ourselves that we were okay. It actually wasn't that bad; the colder the water, the more quickly the feet dry.

   We found a patch of snow to camp on; unfortunately, even though the sods were covered with a light layer of snow, there wasn't enough to cross country ski on for any length. But we melted the snow just outside of our tent for drinking water.

   Dave was battling a sickness involving coughs and chills, which the wind and cold exacerbated. He suppressed his coughs to build a protective layer in his throat to keep from hacking the whole time. Hiking and a -40 sleeping bag helped stave off the effect of the chills.

   The following day took us deeper into the plains and to an area where we camped in October 2001. We revisited the sandstone faces and sand pits on the ridge above Canaan Valley. Next, we hiked our way to an ugly muddy road. Seeking an escape from the road, we set off into a field, which we knew to be a marsh but hoped to be less messy than the road. Although it was nice to escape the road, the marsh was an unpleasant place to hike. The second night, we camped on another patch of snow, within an hour or two of the car.

   Jon experimented with a turkey dinner in a package that turned out to be a mess to make. On the outside it looked like just another dehydrated meal, but it was actually quite frustrating.