Dolly Sods Meadow, originally uploaded by Matthew Singer.

In the fall, I visited West Virginia’s Dolly Sods with my parents. The foliage on the blueberry bushes was amazing, but the trees had not yet turned. I was planning to return a week later to backpack through the wilderness area during its peak foliage, but my car [...]]]>

Dolly Sods Meadow, originally uploaded by Matthew Singer.

In the fall, I visited West Virginia’s Dolly Sods with my parents. The foliage on the blueberry bushes was amazing, but the trees had not yet turned. I was planning to return a week later to backpack through the wilderness area during its peak foliage, but my car broke down and I was unable to make the journey. So I decided I’d make a spring visit instead.

So, a week and a half ago, I did just that. I got together with Charlie (uvagolfer), another hiker and photographer I met on Flickr, and we did a one-night backpacking trip into the heart of the Dolly Sods Wilderness. We planned a route to cover all imaginable terrain, the northern high country along Blackbird Knob, the scenic views of Rocky Point, and the waterfalls and river terrain of the bottom of Red Creek.

Our initial plan was to hike in from Red Creek Campground along the Blackbird Knob trail, turn down the Red Creek Trail and camp behind the rocks at Rocky Point, then head up Big Stonecoal Creek and return the whole length of the Blackbird Knob Trail. But we had to change our plan when we found no suitable camping at Rocky Point. In fact, when we got to Rocky Point, we couldn’t find the cliffs initially. The trail comes out on a talus slope offering a small view over Stonecoal gorge, but nothing spectacular. On our way out, we found an unofficial side trail blazed with cairns and decided to follow it. Sure enough, it led to the top of an amazing rock outcropping showing off views up and down Red Creek Canyon. We had the evening light to shoot, but had to return to the trail before it got too dark.

When we reached the intersection of the Rocky Point and Big Stonecoal Run trails and had to make a decision: head upstream a little bit where the terrain flattens out and there might be a campsite at the stream crossing, or head down a steep 1.2 mile trail to Red Creek where we knew there was a campsite. We chose to go up, and it’s a good thing we did. Almost immediately after the intersection, we found the big waterfall on Big Stonecoal Run and had some time to shoot some long exposures in the dark light. We found an awesome campsite among the spruce forest next to the stream.

The next morning, we had to decide wither to continue on our planned route, or head down to Red Creek and circle back up the Red Creek Trail. It was a gray and cloudy day, and there were supposed to be more waterfalls below us. Had it been sunny, the scenic views and meadows would have been a better option, but we chose to go down and were not disappointed. We hit two more nice cascades on Big Stonecoal Run before hitting Red Creek. There were two gorgeous waterfalls on some side tributaries on the Red Creek Trail, and two more small, but wide drops on Red Creek itself. So, what should have taken us a few hours to hike ended up taking all day. We returned to the car just as the evening light was fading away.

There are some really awesome campsites in the Dolly Sods, some big enough to be called campgrounds. The first we came to was an island on Red Creek along the Blackbird Knob Trail. The island was mostly flat and grassy with a small patch of hemlock and spruce. Surrounded by water, it would have been a very serene place to stay. The second was at the confluence of Left Fork and Red Creek. Here, and area was cleared and grassy with room for lots of tents. In fact, a big group was using it that night. That site was probably once a homestead or a mining camp as there was once a railroad bed leading to it. The third big site was at the confluence of Big Stonecoal Run and Red Creek, another grassy area with 4 fire pits and lots of space to pitch tents. Of course there were some smaller, more private sites along the trails as well.

The Dolly Sods is possibly one of the most beautiful spot in the mid-atlantic, easily topping anything Virginia has, except maybe Mount Rogers. But the terrain and scenery at the Dolly Sods wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for its land use history. Regardless, the protection of this land as a wilderness area makes it a great reason to visit West Virginia. There are some other spots in the Monongahela that I hope to get to before I leave, but time is limited.

Hazeltop, originally uploaded by Matthew Singer.

This past weekend, my mom came to Luray to visit me. We spent Saturday in town at the annual Festival of Spring. Main Street is shut down to traffic and the stores and other vendors set up shop on the street. We spent a good deal of time at the [...]]]>

Hazeltop, originally uploaded by Matthew Singer.

This past weekend, my mom came to Luray to visit me. We spent Saturday in town at the annual Festival of Spring. Main Street is shut down to traffic and the stores and other vendors set up shop on the street. We spent a good deal of time at the wine tasting area, where there ten or so local wineries set up with their products to taste. I tried everything. There were your traditional wines, Chardonet, Merlot, Shiraz, etc. And there were some new ones, wines made from fruits other than grapes, one made with hot peppers, and even a wine made with chocolate.

The other highlight of the day was the dog frisbee competition. Sandy entered Bizzy, who just couldn’t compete with the seasoned veterans. They did win 2nd in the free-style event. I didn’t even bother to enter Shadow. She was uninterested in the discs, but she was happy to watch all the other dogs.

Sunday, we went for a hike in the national park. I chose a nice 7-mile loop over Hazeltop, then down to Rapidan Camp and back to Skyline Drive. It was a bit cold out, but the weather was perfect. Spring had just hit the upper elevations, and many trees still had yet to produce their leaves. There were lots of Large-flowered Trillium and Wood Anemone along the Appalachian Trail. On the Laurel Prong Trail, we ran into a patch of Pink Lady’s Slippers, and later we found the elusive Showy Orchid.

Rapidan Camp was Herbert Hoover’s version of Camp David, a Presidential retreat to get away from the hustle and bustle of Washington, D.C. The camp is located at the confluence of the Laurel Prong and Mill Prong where they form the Rapidan River. All that remains are the Brown House (president’s house), the Prime Minister’s Cabin for distinguished guests, and the Creel Cabin, currently used to occupy park service staff. There are exhibits set up in the other two buildings, but neither were open at the time. We did sit on the back porch of the Brown House to eat lunch and enjoy the relaxing atmosphere of the camp. We returned back to Skyline Drive by way of the Mill Prong Trail, stopping at Big Rock Falls for a photography break.

Big Falls on Overall Run, originally uploaded by Matthew Singer.

It’s great to have my camera back. Two weeks ago, I bent a pin in the card slot which rendered the camera useless. After speaking with Canon support, I packed up the body and shipped it off to the nearest repair facility. It left FedEx that [...]]]>

Big Falls on Overall Run, originally uploaded by Matthew Singer.

It’s great to have my camera back. Two weeks ago, I bent a pin in the card slot which rendered the camera useless. After speaking with Canon support, I packed up the body and shipped it off to the nearest repair facility. It left FedEx that Monday and arrived at Canon on Wednesday. I authorized the repair and it was fixed on Thursday and shipped back on Friday. I received my camera on Friday. While I’m not happy to shell out the expense of fixing my equipment, I am very pleased at the speed and helpfulness of Canon’s support and repair.

In the weekend I didn’t have my camera, I hiked up Old Rag in Shenandoah National Park, which has the best views around. I brought my old EOS 3 and a roll of Kodak E100GX with me. Two weeks later, I still haven’t gotten the roll developed. Of course, it doesn’t help that I forgot to bring it to Maryland with me this weekend.

Monday and Tuesday we were on an overnight canoe trip with the most gorgeous weather. I left my camera behind until I get a good dry box to port my gear in. But Tuesday evening, I headed into the park to find the big falls on Overall Run. The 93 foot waterfall is the highest in Shenandoah National Park, but it also tends to run nearly dry in the summer. A few weeks ago, the falls would have been raging, but the peak Spring greenery made this week the perfect time to look for the falls.

I found it easy enough. After 3 miles of down-hill, the trail opens up atop a cliff with a great view of the valley and a great view of the Big Falls. There are a few other notable cascades before the big plunge and I’m sure there are some more after. At the bottom of the mountain, Overall Run has a nice water slide and swimming hole, easily accessible by the Thompson Hollow Trail.

I’m glad I have my camera back and I’ll surely be careful not to damage it again. There are so many places left in the area that I wish to visit, and my time is dwindling before I leave Virginia for Idaho.

View on Duncan Knob, originally uploaded by Matthew Singer.

I got up early this morning to hike before the heat of the day. I would have liked to have gotten up earlier to be at the summit for that early light, but I enjoyed what I got.

I arrived at my trailhead by 8:00 and reached the [...]]]>

View on Duncan Knob, originally uploaded by Matthew Singer.

I got up early this morning to hike before the heat of the day. I would have liked to have gotten up earlier to be at the summit for that early light, but I enjoyed what I got.

I arrived at my trailhead by 8:00 and reached the summit of Duncan Knob a little after 10 and I had the trail and the rocks to myself. I basked in the sunshine and enjoyed the view for almost an hour before heading back. When I got back on the Gap Creek Trail, I heard voices. I had to do a double take, but sure enough, there were people heading up. I guess I got there and left at the right time. Two pair of people passed me, and my perception of solitude was shattered. Oh well, they were headed up and I was headed down, I could still have the rest of the hike to myself, right?

For the most part, that was true. But as I drew nearer to the parking area, I passed a lone backpacker and then a group of 3 women and another family of 3. But by that time, I was minutes from the car. I guess I wasn’t the only one who thought Easter was a good day to take a hike.

National Aquarium in Baltimore

Originally uploaded by Matthew Singer

Last Saturday, Erin had to go to Towson to take her riding instructor exam. I dropped her off at Goucher College and headed to REI, only to find that they didn’t open for another hour, so I drove down the road to Borders, looked at books I couldn’t [...]]]>

National Aquarium in Baltimore

Originally uploaded by Matthew Singer

Last Saturday, Erin had to go to Towson to take her riding instructor exam. I dropped her off at Goucher College and headed to REI, only to find that they didn’t open for another hour, so I drove down the road to Borders, looked at books I couldn’t afford, and played on the reliable fast internet for a while. It’s funny, when I went into the the store at 9:30, there were barely any cars in the parking lot. When I left at 11:00, the lot was full. I did make it back to REI to play with gear, but Erin called to say she was finished early, so I drove back to the college and picked her up.

We returned to REI so I could exchange my shoes, which had blown out way before their time, and get a new pair. Then, with the whole afternoon ahead of us, we drove into Baltimore. Against my better judgment, we decided to go to the Aquarium. I’ve been wanting to go back ever since I discovered the new addition with the Australia exhibit. It turns out a lot has changed since my last visit in high school. They no longer have Beluga whales, only dolphins. The baby sharks in the old Beluga pool have grown up to be bigger sharks. The deep-sea tanks have become night reef exhibits. The jellyfish have moved to the dolphin pavilion for their own “Invasion of the Jellies” exhibit. The touch tank has been removed altogether. And, of course, the new Australia, which was awesome.

If you’ve never been to the aquarium in Baltimore, it’s worth a visit. Once you enter the aquarium, you’re brought to a big pool, pictured above. Long ago, this used to be where the Belugas lived and performed their shows. But that was a loooong time ago. Since they moved to the bigger amphitheater across the pier, this pool has been used to house small sharks, rays, sea turtles, and open-water fish. It’s kinda sterile, though. I wish they’d add some decoration to make it look more habitat-like. I think it’d make a great Chesapeake Bay exhibit.

From there, you move upstairs for three floors of small-tank exhibits surrounding the big tank. From each floor, you can always look down on the sharks and rays, but you’re mostly too busy enjoying the other fish. From the 4th floor, you rise one more level into the glass pyramid of the Amazon rainforest. This is my favorite part of the entire aquarium. In truth, rainforest exhibits are my favorite part of any zoo or aquarium. They generally exhibit live plants, free-flight birds, other animals, like primates and turtles, a flowing stream with a glass edge to look in, smaller tropical animals in their own habitats (frogs, snakes, lizards, small mammals…). But the birds are what make it. I love the warm, humid atmosphere with all the sunlight and the sounds of the birds.

Coming down from the rainforest, you are perched atop the giant reef tank. The reef is an oval, 15-20 feet deep, and you walk down the middle. Under the reef are the sharks, and under the sharks is the under water viewing area for the big tank we saw at the very beginning. You can see the window in the photo above. From there, an escalator brings you back up to the main level to the gift shop and exit.

But now, before exiting, you can go to the new Australia exhibit, which is very similar to the rainforest. A huge glass enclosure contains a stream with waterfalls and several underwater exhibits. There are also some snakes in tanks and lots of birds in free-flight. I was expecting a multi-level exhibit, but it was only one small path. Still, the open exhibit with all the birds was very nice.

After touring the Aquarium, we drove around the city looking for a place to eat. We were in the mood for Thai, so we found the decent neighborhoods. Unfortunately, it was a Saturday night, so parking was nowhere to be found. So we started driving home and found a place off of Route 40 near Ellicott City. Actually, the entire strip mall turned out to be an asian shopping center. There was a huge asian food market and several asian restaurants of various ethnicities. The entire parking lot was full, but we managed to find a space. That’s usually a good sign, and we chose wisely. The food was great. It was a nice end to a nice day.

The Porcupine Mountains are simply amazing. Its Michigan’s largest state park and on a scale of 1-10, I [...]]]>
Lake of the Clouds
Originally uploaded by Up Nort.

This Memorial Day weekend was exactly what I needed. It was a weekend away from civilization getting some good physical exercise and getting in touch with the real world.

The Porcupine Mountains are simply amazing. Its Michigan’s largest state park and on a scale of 1-10, I give this park an 11. Parts of the park are covered in old-growth timber including some impressive hemlock stands. Other parts were once mined for iron and are covered in a very healthy secondary growth. Several spots are muddy and wet with marsh marigold while others are high up on the escarpment and dry with some low shrubs and some boreal plant species. Simply put, the North Woods is an incredible place.

My first night I hiked in from the east side of the park along the Union Spring trail and up the Government Peak trail to one of the ponds atop Government Peak. I got there rather early but set up anyway in anticipation of an afternoon thunderstorm. Turns out the rain didn’t come until after dark, and no thunder either, but it was a decent place to camp with a stream nearby to get water from. After 7 miles of hiking, I needed to stop anyway.

I woke up Sunday morning to some light rain and overcast skies. The air was cold, damp, and very windy. So I slept in a bit, till noon or so, before getting up and taking down camp. It had stopped raining by then, but the wind made the tent clean-up quite interesting. The cold and windy day turned out to be a blessing. The forest was brilliant green and carpeted with white-turning-pink Large-flowered Trillium and Dwarf Ginseng. The cool temperatures also kept the mosquitoes at bay. They had been somewhat of a problem the day before.

So Sunday I hiked about 7 more miles. My route took me down Government mountain on the Mirror Lake Trail. This followed a creek which had cut a deep gorge and nearly fell like a waterfall. It was so gorgeous that I stopped to get a photo. This is when I discovered my battery, which was working fine before I left, was indeed dead. So I was unable to photograph the rest of the trip. I think the worst part about it was that the camera was 3 lbs of dead weight.

The trail took me down to Lake of the Clouds where I stopped to fill up my water bottles in preparation to camp on the escarpment. After a short rest, I made the trek straight up to the escarpment ridge, only about 3-400 feet high at that point. I took my pack off and hopped back to the parking lot where the main overlook is, just so I could check out the view. I had a snack for lunch, grabbed my pack and continued down the escarpment which kept emerging onto greater and greater views on bare rock turning into cliffs 500 feet above Lake of the Clouds.

A bit farther down I reached my campsite an set up the tent. This time I staked everything down in case the wind was as bad as the night before. It was a much calmer night. In fact, the clouds were clearing as the sun was setting. The view from the campsite was amazing. It was situated over the Big Carp River within view of Lake of the Clouds and even Lake Superior beyond that.

Monday Morning was absolute bliss. The sun rose on the east and Lake of the Clouds was to the west. When I emerged from my tent, there was a cloud of mist above the lake as the warm water gave off steam into the cold air. Within an hour, the mist was gone. I got up and checked out the birds on the escarpment. I ran into a beautiful Indigo Bunting, a flock of Yellow-rump Warblers, and a few Raven. I did not catch any eagles.

After breakfast, I successfully took down my dry tent, packed up everything and took one last look at the view from the escarpment. This was honestly what I had come for: Great views, a great workout, and pure serenity. But it was time for a 7 mile hike back to the car as the loop met back up with the Union Spring trail. I made it back in 3 hours and could have hiked farther with a short rest. But alas I had to make the 8-9 hour drive back to Illinois for work the next day.

The Michigan Upper Peninsula is a wonderful and magnificent place. The forest, old growth or secondary, mountain or flat, is gorgeous and the land is riddled with some spectacular waterfalls. I ended up stopping at Bond falls on the way home and I haven’t seen anything like it. The remote landscape with few people and minimal impact is one to be visited, cherished, and preserved for all. I highly recommend the adventure.

I’ve also decided that every person should go backpacking at least once in their life. It really is the greatest experience one can have to reconnect with the world.

Observation no. 1: Zoos

Last weekend I went into [...]]]> Everywhere I go I make observations on the world that would be great commentary for this journal. Unfortunately, I never write them down and most of these notes get lost in the millions of thoughts going through my head. But I will try to recall what I can.

Observation no. 1: Zoos

Last weekend I went into Chicago to visit Lincoln park and wandered around the Lincoln Park zoo. As a kid, I liked zoos and then I kinda lost interest with all of the fakeness. Lately I’ve been into checking out various city’s zoos to see how they compare. Habitats nowadays are getting more realistic and natural, especially for indoor exhibits. The Lincoln Park Zoo had some pretty nice displays for being a small and free zoo. I especially liked their small primate house, small mammal house, reptiles, and birds exhibits. I also enjoyed their Africa Expedition.

This weekend, Erin and I went to the National Zoo in Washington, another free zoo but that was made up with parking fees. The national zoo is bigger and funded by the Smithsonian, but is in need of a renovation. The relatively new panda habitat is quite nice, but the big cats and African mammals had the old-fashioned concrete step enclosures and the primates had cage-enclosed trees to climb on, though most were inside for the winter. The small mammals building was set up with better habitats, but there were too many repeat species among the displays. The reptiles were set up nicely as were the invertebrates. I really liked the bird habitats. Like the Lincoln Park Zoo, the exotic bird house in Washington included a large free-flight room which you could virtually bird-watch with binoculars. My favorite part of the National Zoo is the Amazonia building which was newly built the last time I was there senior year of high school. You walk into Amazonia greeted by a shallow flooded forest aquarium with sting rays and other fish. Then you move on to some river displays including some rather large fish of the Amazon and some turtles and so forth. That’s followed by a discovery area with some small animals in 10-gallon tanks. But the best part of all is the rain forest upstairs with plants, free-flying birds and free-climbing monkeys.

At any rate, I’m a sucker for forest exhibits whether at zoos or aquariums. The best zoo with continental enclosures is Toronto’s. But many aquariums have rain forests too. Most of us, if you live in the mid-Atlantic region, are familiar with the Baltimore Aquarium’s forest. Well, as we were wandering around Inner Harbor, I noticed the entrance to the aquarium was newly remodeled and sure enough there was a second forest exhibit to walk through. The original one appears to be there as well, so now I really want to check out the aquarium.

Observation no. 2: Airports

When you look at a map, the sheer size of Chicago’s O’hare airport dwarfs the city much like JFK, which could easily fill the lower half of Manhattan. Midway’s airport looks tiny in comparison, taking up one of those square blocks made up by the grid of major roads in the suburbs. I mean, just compare the two on the map. But maps are deceiving. Midway was quite larger and busier than I expected, though it didn’t service any planes larger than a Boeing 737 or Airbus A320 (about the same size). At any rate, I was amazed at the terminal size and the amount of food options. Then you realize that O’Hare is about 6 Midway terminals spread out, so yeah… its huge.

I’ve flown out of Baltimore many a time as a kid, and its a bit bigger than Midway, but no giant that I remember it. Its also not nearly as busy as it used to be. In fact, walking around the ticketing loby, Southwest was the only airline to take up all of its counters. Many of the ticketing counters were just empty, perhaps just under half of the total check-in booths. Security, which used to be at the front of each terminal had been moved up so that only ticketed passengers could go to the shops and restaurants. I guess the FAA and security agencies don’t want visitors just hanging around anymore. Then again, most of the security measures implemented since 9/11 are just an unnecessary joke and probably cause more feelings of paranoia than safety. Perhaps that’s the downfall of the airlines. Sometimes I get the feeling the government just wants U.S. citizens to sit around at home like shmucks rather than travel and explore the world.

Observation no. 3: The Weather

Here in Chicagoland, its anywhere from 10-20 degrees colder than its been out East. As a result, we still have snow on the ground and got another inch last night. Its supposed to warm up by the weekend so maybe I’ll find something fun to do by then.