Surprise Party

Souzz asked me how I wanted to celebrate my birthday this year, and I said I’d like to spend the night on the ground. I guess that makes me a bit of an outlier (ok, bad pun), but I do like colder weather camping. I also thought it might be fun to make a backcountry birthday cake.

So, with cake mix (and backpacks) in hand, we headed out to West Virginia’s Roaring Plains West Wilderness for a quick overnight. The Roaring Plains are on a high plateau bordering the Dolly Sods, with interesting terrain and some nice views. Despite the proximity to the Sods, the area doesn’t see tons of visitors (relatively speaking). Maybe that’s because it’s so primitive. Most of the trails aren’t blazed or maintained, and the trail maps are notoriously inaccurate. But I knew from a trip last year that it’s a fantastic destination!

As expected, the hiking was varied, rugged, and interesting. There were stretches of Forest Service road and a few good (albeit mostly unmarked) trails. There were some more challenging parts, too. We encountered rocky sections, some bushwhacking, patches of wet trail, and tricky route-finding.

The condition of the trails had us wondering about our camping prospects. But just as we emerged from the brushiest section of trail, we stumbled onto an excellent campsite. It was one of only a handful of “established” sites in the Roaring Plains, with a fire ring and space for several tents. It was also tucked in the trees and out of the wind, which was handy on a weekend with lows in the 20s.

We set up our camp and enjoyed lunch on the rocks overlooking the canyon, soaking up the solitude. We figured we’d have the place to ourselves, as we didn’t expect any other parties to be taking on the bushwhack so late in the day.

Then, almost on cue, a group of five backpackers rolled in behind us. We shared a friendly hello before they dropped their packs to scout further down the canyon for a more private spot. Other camping options were pretty scarce, though, and it was getting late. So we invited our soon-to-be-neighbors to join us (of course), moving our tent towards the edge of the site. It wasn’t really part of our plan, but I’m sure we weren’t part of their plan, either. 🙂

As is so often the case in the backcountry, our new friends turned out to be great folks! Todd and his four adult sons were on their annual family trip, having traveled from various cities across the Midwest and Northeast. They were super-friendly and accommodating (their wood-gathering alone was a sight to behold). We promised to be respectful neighbors, and offered to share some freshly baked birthday cake (maybe setting a tough precedent, I know!).

We’d never made a cake in the backcountry before, but it came out pretty well! We used three small (4”) pans, and we put a little water in the bottom of the frybake to even out the heat (thanks go to Ryan B. for the pre-trip consult). Todd and crew also helped out with wise counsel on baking times. We were camped at 4500 feet, so the elevation was definitely a factor.

We could have added more liquid and/or flour to compensate for the altitude, but we hadn’t planned for that. So we used a few more coals than usual and baked for 25 minutes instead of 15 (testing as we went). We topped the mini-cakes with frosting that we had made at home ahead of time. We ended up with a nice two layer German chocolate cake, and then a smaller second one (a little extra to share).

Our backcountry cake was a birthday first, but the bigger first was our impromptu party. The seven of us hung out by the fire well into the night, with lively conversation ranging from favorite hikes to family stories. What started as a hitch in our plans turned into five people I’d just met (plus Souzz) singing ‘Happy Birthday.’ That has happened to me once before–but it was at Chuck E. Cheese, I was eight years old, and the singers were dressed as giant mice. Not the same thing.

Surprise parties are usually by design. This one was just happenstance–maybe even serendipity. It wasn’t what any of us had planned, but we all seemed to take it in stride. It’s a pretty cool birthday when you see a new place, make a fun treat, and meet some terrific folks. Todd and his sons absolutely added to our experience, and I hope we added to theirs. I only wish we’d brought more cake.