Well as you can probably guess, mother nature had other plans for my first star party.
After a windy twisty drive up a mountain road, I arrive at the site of the Almost Heaven Star Party located at the highest point in West Virginia, midday on Friday, September 7th, 2018 already aware that the forecast was bleak. One of the mandatory ingredients for star gazing is clear skies or at least some clearing. It was not looking good.
After receiving my assigned parking/camping site from the organizers I proceeded to my site and unpacked, remaining hopefully optimistic that the weather would get better.
As I setup, others were arriving and arranging their gear. That encouraged me and kept my spirits up.
My campsite and surrounding hopefuls… Nice Fog
Prior to sunset on the first night of AHSP, I sat in on an excellent talk by Dr. David deVorkin about “The Many Worlds of Fred Whipple”. Dr deVorkin provided wonderful color to the life of one of the 20th century’s most prominent astronomers. Mr. Whipple was instrumental in so many ways in the advancement of astronomy. Please follow the Wikipedia link above to learn more about him.
As evening approached there was some clearing, but it was fleeting and mostly overhead at the zenith. I was able to use my binoculars but did not bother to set up my telescope for the brief period that the clearing would remain. Even with my binoculars and with not great seeing the stars were abundant. Spruce Knob is one of the darkest sites in the country east of the Mississippi.
Unfortunately, the clear skies were short-lived and were gone by around 11 pm Friday and would never return. Although some intrepid folks did remain awake that first night and claim it did clear for an hour or so around 2 am.
On my first night in the hills of Spruce Knob, West Virginia I was asleep by midnight, comfortably ensconced in my tentcot.
I awoke Saturday morning to clouds rolling across the mountain tops, proceeded to the yurts that are part of the Experience Learning Center, and grabbed some breakfast.
Saturday was dreary all day…no rain but completely cloud-covered. Fortunately, some excellent talks were being given to distract us from the elephant in the room. As the day progressed many people started to consider packing up and leaving and by the end of the day, many had. There were some new arrivals but not as many as had left. I would estimate at the peak we had about 150 people.
A Fun Saturday Night / Sunday Morning…
So after a fitful sleep, I awoke Sunday morning to the same routine…Headed down to the Yurts, got my breakfast, enjoyed several wonderful lectures, had great conversations with fellow amateur stargazers, and then headed back to my tent for the night. Still cloudy and no forecast for any clearing. By this time the ridge I was camped on was beginning to become deserted as more people gave up and headed home. However, I was determined to stick it out even if it just ended up being a wet camping trip.
Sunday Night / Monday Morning…fun fun fun…!!!
Monday morning was pretty much the same…fewer people and as the day wore on it was clear that I was one of maybe a dozen people still at AHSP besides staff. We still had a few lectures to keep us occupied but it was clear that the 2018 AHSP was going to be a bust as far as stargazing goes.
As Monday evening approached it was down to me and perhaps 3 or 4 other diehards or lunatics who stuck it out. The staff that remained invited us to watch Marvel’s Infinity Wars that evening in the Yurt. I’d seen it before but hey I had nothing better to do…plus they broke out the bar and were providing some adult beverages so why not?
As I began the trek back to my campsite at around 11 pm the fog was so thick I could not see more than 20 feet. It was deserted as I came to the top of the hill leading to my campsite. As I did another of the five remaining folks at the star party wandered up to me and asked if I could help him find his tent. He was on another ridge and due to the fog, he was lost. We were able to follow some tire tracks and eventually located his tent. I said goodnight and proceeded to find my tent. Working my way through the fog I walked the 500 or so yards to the opposite ridge and eventually found my campsite. Let me tell you, being alone at night in the fog is not a comfortable feeling. When I had people around me I was just fine but with n one present I ended up getting nervous and slept in my truck. Not quite as comfortable as my tentcot but I certainly felt more secure.
The next morning I awoke said my goodbyes, packed up, and headed back home. Believe it or not, I would do it again. Even though I didn’t see any stars or even have a chance to use my scope, it was rewarding just to hang out with some like-minded people. My next star party will be WSP, the Winter Star Party which takes place in Key West. Barring a repeat of last year’s hurricane I am hoping for the best.
