Above: Mazz fords a stream in snowshoes

Above: The crew sets up camp in the valley

Above: Tom builds a fire out of frozen twigs to save Nick's foot, which had earlier plunged through the icy water of a stream (Nick wore cotton and did not pack extra socks - a NORSA no-no!!)



The National Outdoor Recreation Society of America's inaugural trip was an overnight incursion into the Dolly Sods Wilderness in the Monongahela National Forest. The trip took place when the Society was still under its original guise of the Georgetown Prep Outdoor Club (GPOC). located at Georgetown Preparatory School in Maryland. The first-ever expedition featured Steve Maczynski as the moderator and both co-founders, Adam and Tom Saffell. The inaugural charter members were Manuel Dominguez, Nick Douglas, and Denis Dwyer.

The trip was a good one with a hike that began at the trailhead to a river a ways up the mountains. After finding the river too wide to cross safely in the cold weather, the crew set up camp about 400 ft or so up a hill near the stream where a fire was built immediately to prevent the loss of feet. Adam cooked honey-lime chicken with rice and baked his traditional cake-in-a-bag ... this particular trip featured rum cake.

After a cold night outdoors in sub-zero temperatures and following a quick breakfast, the crew struck camp and prepped for the hike back down out of the mountains to the trailhead. The whole trip was hiked in snowshoes rented from REI Outfitters, and overall it was a huge success.