I haven’t given up hope on getting down to West Virginia this autumn. While I think it’s possible the weeks of best color have come and gone, especially in the high country, I’m still thinking a lot about the possibilities, researching trails and things to do in Tucker County part of West Virginia. It’s really possible but maybe unlikely that I could leave as soon as Friday, if not Saturday next week. Depends a lot on the weather. It’s too hard to have any accuracy of forecasting beyond seven days, besides the general strokes of the 8-14 day outlook. Some places like AccuWeather try to give you forecasts beyond a week out, but you’d be just as good to look at seasonal averages and the broad-strokes of the 8-14 day outlook then any local forecast that far out.

I still want to get down there and set up camp for the balance week, and have decided I should make sure to stock up at Walmart and refill my propane tank at Tractor Supply in Keyser, WV as services are pretty limited in Thomas – Davis part of West Virginia unless I want to drive 40 miles north to Oakland, MD or back to Keyser. Not planning to see as much of West Virginia or Virginia as I try to ram into trips some years. Much rather have a relaxed trip once I get down the Mountain State, ride my bike around the Canaan Backcountry, take shorter day trips, no farther then Dolly Sods or Seneca Rocks but mostly trips into town to get groceries at that little Stop and Shop Express in town, maybe check out the Mountain State Craft Brewery in Thomas, WV and the Blackwater Canyon Rail Trail.

I am okay with waiting another week. This week would have been so cloudy, damp, and at times rainy down in West Virginia. I’ll take cold and even a dusting or an inch of snow to wake up to but I want lots of sun come the day time, so I can enjoy time outdoors and the solar keeps charged on my truck. Maybe it won’t happen next week, some of the really-long range “junk” forecasts for West Virginia are mixed, but then if that’s the case I’ll reconsider and maybe think about taking a 3 or 4 day trip out to Madison County instead. It’s quite possible that WV gets entirely dropped from my plans, replaced with several shorter trips to various places in New York State or maybe the Green Mountain National Forest. Or I could do the Finger Lakes, Western NY and Allegheny National Forest. But I really want to still do West Virginia if at all possible.