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.

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.

Sunday: I [...]]]>
View from Mount Rogers
Originally uploaded by mineral2.

Oops! I promised a detailed account of my Mount Rogers extravagansa, but forgot to post about it here. So here it is, almost two months late. Of course, you can visit the photo galleries for photos as they are now up there. But here’s my adventure:

Sunday: I left Alabama on Sunday. I said my good byes to everyone, including my 5-foot wild gray ratsnake rescue friend (hehehe), and my partings from Jen. We’re still together for now, but time shall tell if the distance thing works out. So anyway, I headed out of camp by around 11 a.m. CST with Damascus, VA as my destination. I spent the night in the MRO hostel and had some time to explore the town. There’s a really good italian restraunt and the outfitters store and other neat stuff. Basically, the town caters to backpackers since the Appalachian Trail runs through main street. Just over the border, in Tennessee, in the Cherokee National Forest, is a neat little area called Backbone Rock in which one of the mountain’s feet comes down into a big narrow rock gorge with the river making a complete u-turn around it. Originally, a railroad ran through the valley and an extremely short tunnel was built to get the tracks through. Now the road travels under the rock, but there’s a recreation area with trails on top of it and a gorgeous waterfall nearby. It was so neat that I went back Monday morning to photograph it.

Monday: After playing around at Backbone Rock, I checked out of the hostel and headed for Mount Rogers. Along the way, I drove up to the top of the neighboring mountain of Whitetop, with a summit of 5500 ft. (only 200 feet short of Mt. Rogers, the highest in VA). It was really neat up there and the views were gorgeous. In Damascus, the trees were all out in full foliage, but driving toward the mountains, the trees looked as if the leaves were only days old with that new-leaf bright green. On top of the mountains, the trees had not even opened yet. After playing around on white top, I headed down the mountain and ended up by the Grindstone Campground at the base of Mount Rogers (elevation ~3500 ft). I hiked 6 miles to the shelter just below the summit, located around 5500 ft. wtih gorgeous views of the mountains in North Carolina. The shelter is along the Appalachian Trail, and is one of the nicer shelters around. Its two floors and we slept proabably around 14 people in there that night.

Tuesday: I should mention that the weather on Monday was absolutely amazing. It was sunny with a few clouds in the sky, nice and clear, and perfect temperature for hiking. It remained gorgeous all week. Tuesday we woke up to an awesome sunrise on top of the mountain. It was cold and windy up there. I’m not sure what the temp. dropped to, but it had to be close to freezing. The sun felt good and it soon warmed up. After breakfast, I hiked over to Wilburn Ridge about a mile away and played around on the rocks for a while. Up there in the highlands are some herds of wild (feral) ponies which are now protected by the park. Then I headed across the Pine Mountain Trail which connected me back to the AT where I headed down the mountain to my next spot, Old Orchard shelter at around 4000 feet. When I got there, it was much warmer and sheltered from the high winds, so I had to change into shorts. I decided not to sleep in the shelter but pitch my tent and camp. It was a nice place to do that. It was a very serene area with lots of birds. Three Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers flew into camp and Barred Owls called to each other as the sun disappeared.

Wednesday: From Old Orchard, it was only about 5 miles back to the car. My plan was to take the Lewis Fork Trail back to the Mount Rogers Trail (the one I hiked up) and camp at that intersection. However, it would have only been a 3-mile hike and getting to camp that early would have left me sitting around for a long time waiting for night fall. Also, there’s no water source near the camp site. So I made the decision to return to the car. I really didn’t want everything sitting out in the hot sun too long anyway. So I hiked down the Appalachian Trail to the road, which would have left me two miles from the car for a 3-mile day to end on. But, I decided that this hike should be worth something more. So I continued on the AT for another two miles until it intersected with the Iron Mountain trail. That brought me down to 3500 feet to a really awesome birding spot where I saw Hooded warblers, Chestnut-sided warblers, a Canada warbler, Blue-headed Vireo, a Veery, a Black-and-white warbler, Black-throated green warblers, Scarlet tanagers, Red-eyed vireos, and much more. It was awesome. That was at the main road. The trail intersections were two miles up the AT at 4500 feet. Its tough to go uphill after coming downhill for so long. But I made it up there and travelled a mile and a half along the Iron Mountain Trail before coming down on another trail that led me to the car. So, it ended up being about a 5-6 mile day.

In all, the whole trip was only about 16 miles, and could have been done in two days, but it was so beautiful and relaxing up there that I had to stop and soak it in. It was so un-stressful and de-stressing. I can’t wait to go back.

Of course, I’ll have photos soon for all to see. : )

I reached the car at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday and was glad to get out of my boots. I drove out to the town of Marion and then made my way north to Fredericksburg, stopping in some towns along the way to see what was in them. I visited my friend Renee in Fredericksburg for a week and then came home. I’ll tell you more about that in another post.