The forest is my element

I went hiking again this weekend. This time to McAfee's Knob, off route 311 in Catawba, VA. This is, hands down, my favorite hike in Virginia. The first time I went here, it inspired me so much that I decided I wanted to hike the entire AT (Appalachian Trail). My career track (and lack of money) have prevented me from carrying out this wish in its entirety. I have hiked 120 consecutive miles of the AT in Virginia (in 10-30 mile sections over the past couple years), and I plan on going on section hikes while I finish my education. At the moment, I work out of town during the week, so its very hard to make it back home on Friday with enough time to pack and set out on the trail for a weekend trip.. so these have been abbreviated for awhile... but soon (one month) I will be in school again, living in one place (not two, as i do now), and I will be able to simplify and hike again... And after I graduate I will hopefully be financially stable enough to take off a summer and hike the entire thing.

My heart grows restless when I am apart from the forest. I feel it within me always. I crave returning there, and I always leave a hike with a sigh of frustration that I can't continue onward... but I remind myself that the AT will be there when I graduate, and I have to prioritize my education first..

Anyway, the hike started out in the pouring rain and thunder.. I love a day hike through the rain.. it's invigorating and very sensory and you see so many animals that normally hide during the heat of the day... like salamanders and turtles. We saw a lovely male box turtle about halfway up (at 2500 feet).. It's amazing to think that he will spend his entire life on this mountain.. he's miles from a road. Imagine the serenity! At this point, the rain leveled off. The view from the top was great.. kind of hazy, but it made for a surreal landscape.


This is Sakari, my troublesome pup. He has had some aggression in the past with Mercury, my collie. But he's so protective and doting over me that we work it out. He's a very cute dog.


Mercury was in a rather snippy little mood on the hike, as I accidentally closed his tail in the car door (and didn't realize it for a few minutes). He got over it, though, and we cuddled at the top.



I of course took the obligatory feet-hanging-over-the-drop-off shot that so many people take. I don't consider it cliche, and I post it here..



I spotted many blackberry, raspberry, huckleberry and blueberry bushes along the trail.

The forest was so rich and alive after the rain! The flickr page with all my hiking shots from this (and future) trips is linked here. I have decided to move from webshots for these shots. It seems like there are more people on flickr who are interested in this type of stuff.. So goodbye webshots!

An appalachian sort of weekend with a pot of gold at the end

I had the most lovely weekend.. it makes me sad that its over.

I was going to go backpacking, but an ankle injury Thursday eliminated that option. Instead, I hung out in Blacksburg, saw some friends, and went for a short hike on Sunday with friends.

Dragon's tooth is a hike that I have done many many times. I particularly like it after a rain, as lots of critters come out that you normally might not see.

It began to rain as we began the drive out to Catawba valley, Virginia, but the rain subsided as we began the 5.2 roundtrip mile hike. About 2/3 of the way up to the top, we spotted this little salamander


A short bit later, I nearly stepped on his little guy:


Thank goodness I had my eyes to the ground! He was about the size of nickel.

When we got to the top, the clouds had broken, and the sun was shining. We were the only hikers at the top, so it was very peaceful.

You can spot McAfees knob in the distance, and the Peaks of Otter can be viewed beyond that (although it didn't show in the photo).



I went with my good friends Bryan (a friend from high school), and Kelly (faeleaf from etsy, a good friend of mine for several years).



Dragon's tooth is a GREAT hike if you are in the Blacksburg area, and it is on the Appalachian trail.

I also took along the pups, but sadly didn't take any photos of them. They were too busy bouldering and running wild through the woods.

Kelly showed me some blueberry bushes growing along the trail. If you look closely enough you can see some unripened berries. I ate a few ripe ones and they were delicious.



I also spotted many sassafras trees. The roots can be boiled to make sassafras tea.



When we finished the hike, we came out into the parking lot to a BEAUTIFUL rainbow that spread across the whole sky.



And on our drive back, we could see the spot where the rainbow touched the earth.. We did not go looking for a pot of gold, as seeing this rainbow was rewarding enough.


It's not terribly visible from the photo.. I need to buy a really good camera..

The rest of the evening was spent bathing Mercury and two of my cats that somehow have fleas...

I also watched a cute movie called "The Watcher in the woods"..

Have a nice Monday everyone!

Knitting news and Glen Alton

One more square left on the blanket! I can't wait to finish it.. working on one thing hard for a month and a half makes me antsy to move on... although I do have to repair a tear.. last night I accidently cut the largest square when I was trying to unstitch it from another square. This will be my first lesson in repairing a hole, I suppose. I still hope to have it done by Saturday for our game versus Miami, which I should be able to easily do. I am feeling a bit wishy washy about doing the scalloped border. It may be a lot of work for something that may look out of place. I think what I will do is knit a test corner and sew it to the blanket to see how it will look... Thoughts?





Here is the blanket so far. Last night I knitted some of the squares together and today I finished square 15/16. I will start the last square tonight.

On Sunday I took Mercury and Hunter's dog, Sakari, on a nice walk through Glen Alton. If you have never been there, you should make it a point to go... It's a lovely old 300+ acre family farm that the government is now turning into a nature retreat. Here are some photos from the trip.

The stables at the back of the property. There's a watchtower at the top where you can climb up into and play lookout..

This is one of Mercury's favorite places to come visit.. so many smells and sights! A collie on a farm is about as novel as a labrador in the water..

I love the swamp area. There were still water lilies!

This is the pond as you first enter the property.




And on the drive home, I saw something most unusual!







I will post the rest of the pics up on flickr soon... and if you are near Blacksburg, VA... go visit Glen Alton! I read the government plans to strip the barns and turn them into nature centers and play areas for children... quaint, yes, but the barns as they are now are a part of our heritage.. the family farm is disappearing! I was able to get some lovely shots.. I hate to think how crowded this place will be in the future.. although I am thankful that our government stepped in to save this place. I am even more thankful that I have a place like this I can visit.

Here are photos from a Bloody Mary picnic we had last year there.