On a frigid day in January, our hardy troupe of 6 ventured into the Cranberry Backcountry for the first West Virginia Highlands Conservancy outing of the new year. We skied down the icy road that divides it from the Cranberry Wilderness, along the South Fork Cranberry River, until the junction of the North and South Forks. Here we were treated to the bizarre sight of a limestone plant which was built adjacent to the wilderness, in fact on land which once was the wilderness (whose boundary was adjusted for the plant). The plant dumps limestone into the North Fork to offset the effects of acid rain for the benefit of the ecosystem. or was it trout fishers?

We were lucky to have a former Cranberry wilderness ranger on hand in Dave Saville, who told us stories about the history of this largest wilderness area on the Mon. A blizzard buried us with six more inches of snow that night. We survived thanks to our warm bags, bad senses of humor ("this molasses is as thick as molasses in January!"), and high stove-to-camper ratio. On the way out we glided around the Cranberry Glades Botanical Area, a beautiful sight in winter with the sphagnum hummocks and dried pitcher plant flowers peeking out above the snow.

I recently relocated to the area after fighting for the forests of the Northern Rockies and spending my free time in the big wilderness of the west, so I was anxious to experience the wilderness of the east. Well, you’ve got smaller trees and a few more roads, but a wild character for sure.

I can’t wait to go back to the Cranberry Backcountry when it’s green.