Miata woes ; Spring trip to George Washington National Forest and Monongahela National Forests ; Daily walking
(posted from home)
(This post covers 19 April to 11 May, 2013)
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Saturday, 11 May -
Today we were scheduled to see Mom and Dad and I wanted to walk this morning rather than later. But rain threatened. I decided to go anyway.
I walked the six-mile loop at home. Rain started shortly after I had the first mile in but it was very light. I listened to The Moth podcasts as I walked and it went very quickly and pleasantly. I did end up a bit wet.
We drove over to Mom and Dad’s apartment mid-afternoon and then took them to supper at Bangkok Wok. This was Dad’s first visit and we were happy he enjoyed it since Mom seems to have taken a liking to the food there.
I did some research today on the Miata’s ignition switch.
That evening we watched the rest of disc 2 of ‘Downton Abbey’, Series 3.
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Friday, 10 May-
This morning I did a bit of blogging. When I started explaining my attempt to visit the Sinks of Gandy I realized I’d been very silly not to have simply looked it up on the Web. Sure enough, Wikipedia has an excellent article on it with photos and GPS coordinates. Why hadn’t I thought of that?
The ‘Sinks of Gandy’ refers to a natural tunnel under a mountain through which Gandy Creek runs. The location is indeed approached through a farmer’s field off Dry Run Road (as the fisherman had said). Unfortunately, both ends of the tunnel are on private property.
The article explains that the Sinks of Gandy were once considered a tourist attraction by the state of West Virginia, thus its still on maps.
The article was very good and I had been mis-directed by the Welcome Center, so I called to let them know what I’d learned. I spoke with Wanda, who handled it perfectly.
Late that morning Labashi told me she noticed our mailbox had been vandalized, apparently overnight. Sure enough someone had whacked it with a baseball bat or pipe. I used a mallet and hammer to get it pretty much into normal shape. I think we’ll just go with that for awhile. This is the second time our mailbox has been vandalized since we’ve lived here. But given that has been 30-plus years, I can’t complain too much.... at least until next time.
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Thursday, 9 May -
This morning Labashi and I drove to a retirement home in the Dover area to take the AARP refresher course for drivers. The four-hour course is required every three years in order to keep getting a driver education discount from our car-insurance company. The course is $12 per person and we get something like $100 off our insurance. The class is pleasant enough (and short enough) and we get information on what laws have changed.
Our instructor this time was a guy who claimed to have just this week won $8000 at the Off-Track Betting parlor, was a millionaire until the 2008 crash, has a Chinese-born wife who works two government jobs in DC at $80 per hour (and whom he only sees on weekends) and has had six automobile accidents, including hitting a pedestrian and being sued for it. I have no idea how much of this is true but his stories certainly helped pass the time!
Late in the day I mowed the lawn to get my walk in. 15K steps today.
That evening: ‘Downton Abbey’ Series 3.
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Wednesday, 8 May -
Today I worked on the Miata. I installed the replacement blower-resistor assembly and installed the new bezel for the the climate controls. The former gives me back all four blower speeds for the heat and A/C and the latter was needed to make the dash look better--- the old bezel had heat-wrinkled decals which looked very bad.
I didn’t walk again today but did get the new Fitbit. I had ordered it with two-day delivery but got next-day service. The process for switching to a new Fitbit went okay, no thanks to Fitbit’s Help screens. The Help screens don’t have anything about replacing a lost Fitbit but when I went through the installation process it gave me the opportunity to indicate this was a replacement unit and it was easy from there. The key was to click on the “Open Main Menu” entry in the Fitbit drop-down menu and then ‘Setup’.
I also worked on the problem with the CD player/radio’s wiring. All the wires had been simply twisted together so I soldered them. Unfortunately, it didn’t fix the problem.
That evening we watched ‘Downton Abbey’.
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Tuesday, 7 May -
Practically the first thing I did today was order a new Fitbit from Amazon. I elected to get two-day delivery for an extra $10 so my bill was just over $106.
I elected to not walk today, deciding to rest up and not chance an injury.
I unloaded the van and cleaned up the cooler and stored away the smaller items I remove between trips.
That evening we finished ‘Downton Abbey’ Series 2.
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Monday, 6 May -
This morning I was surprised to see raindrops on the van windows when I woke. I thought today was going to be a good one through the day, then rain tonight.
After breakfast and a bit of a walk around the van, I decided I’d go ahead and walk for a bit now and then head home since rain is coming for the next several days.
As planned, I drove to the nearby trailhead for the Big Run of Gandy Creek trail. The lady at the WV welcome center had told me this was the trailhead for the “Sinks of Gandy”, a place name on the West Virginia road map. But when I talked to a fisherman in the trailhead parking lot (asking about the Sinks), he said he thought the location was in a farmer’s field off Dry Fork road, several miles away. And I STILL don’t know what the Sinks of Gandy are! Nobody seems to know.
In any case, I need my step-count today and I want to see what’s up the Big Run trail so that’s that.
As it turns out, I liked the Big Run Trail though it did give me a few challenges. I very much enjoyed walking along the pretty stream but I didn’t expect all the crossings. The first required me to balance my way across a 12” downed tree about two feet above the water. I made the mistake of looking at the rushing water below when I should have been concentrating on the tree and made it shakily, slipping off the tree just after crossing.
I then had six more crossings, all in the mile-and-a-half to the intersection with another trail, the North Prong Trail. From that point the main challenge was mud. The trail came to a large, marshy meadow and skirted the meadow on the left, climbing the bank to do so. But there were many soft places perhaps 20 feet wide which required judicious walking to keep from sinking boot-deep into the mud. Still, it wasn’t bad and I just had to take my time to pick my way through.
At the end of the large meadow the trail began rising. I checked the Fitbit and it said I had walked 3.2 miles. I had started out thinking I’d walk two miles and return to give me four miles for my step-count. But at the two-mile mark the trail enticed me on so I changed it to 2.5 miles, then three. And here I was at 3.2 on a trail which, according to the local map, was 3.2 miles to the upper trailhead along FR112. So of course I continued.
The rising trail soon became steeper and steeper and I knew it was taking me up to FR112 at the top of the mountain and I topped out there at 3.8 miles on the Fitbit.
It was windy and raining lightly at the top so I had a quick snack and then started back. I took a short break as I neared the North Prong Trail junction and then started the seven stream crossings.
After crossing the downed tree of the last crossing, I tried to check the Fitbit and saw I had lost it! I began walking back up-trail but then decided the chances of finding it were slim. I had most likely brushed it off my pocket with my left-hand hiking pole while making one of the stream crossings. And I had made those stream crossings at random spots upstream or downstream from the trail, i.e., wherever it looked like a good spot to step from rock to rock. I continued on.
After getting back to Mocha Joe, I set the GPS for home and took the long drive down along Gandy Creek to the hard road and on to Route 33 and then 55 to Moorefield and then on to Winchester, VA and I-81.
I made it back home around 1900. We watched a ‘Downton Abbey’ episode.
That was a very nice little Spring getaway. The trees were in various stages of emerging. In the George Washington National Forest most trees had leaves and the view across a valley was one of seeing the pretty greens of new foliage. But up in the Seneca Creek Backcountry near Spruce Knob, it looked like winter. The view from atop Spruce Knob was one of seeing browns and grays with a hint of green here and there. I saw a few interesting birds, no fresh bear scat (though a few old ones), and the days were very pleasant for walking. I lost the Fitbit, found a camera, came upon a very puzzling car accident, slept and ate well, and walked lots of miles and done so for successive days. I feel like I’m cutting the trip short because of the rain but that just gives me the excuse to go out again soon.
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Sunday, 5 May -
My campsite at Long Mountain trail on FR 691 in the George Washington National Forest gave me an unexpected problem last night. I had parked there mid-afternoon and saw only an occasional car pass the rest of the day and well past dark... maybe five vehicles total. I went to bed around 2200 and all was quiet.
In such a quiet and remote area, you hear a vehicle coming and, since you don’t see many, you’re curious and watch it go by. About an hour after I went to bed, I was awakened by a pickup flying by. A bit later, another.... and another.... and another, etc. They weren’t traveling together--- there’d be a few minutes between--- but they just kept coming. In the next hour and a half, I bet 20 cars and trucks went by. Some would slow as they approached and idle past, probably after seeing my van’s side reflectors. But when you think you’re many miles from civilization, it’s a bit spooky to have a passing car slow down significantly at your camp. Also, I could sometimes see lights off to the left. They looked like someone walking with a flashlight just down the road. It took me a few iterations to realize that was an approaching car. Most had come from my right but the ones from the left gave this odd effect, apparently because of the way the road curves and because of the intervening trees. After 0100 I only saw two or three cars and was able to get back to sleep.
The morning was a fine one though it was only 41 degrees. After cleanup I drove west, following FR691 toward Lost City. At the bottom of the mountain I pulled over to allow a couple of locals to pass and a guy stopped to tell me my right-side brake light was out. Since I had the tools and a spare, I went ahead and changed it right there. That’s how I learned my left-hand rear door will not open now. Those two things are not related, of course, but now I’ll have to research that door mechanism. I had noticed it was harder to open recently so my guess is a cable was stretching and has now broken or stretched too far to work the latch.
I drove on down to Route 259 at Lost River and on to Moorefield to the closest Wal-mart. I needed ice and a few items. As I checked out I learned you can’t buy beer on Sunday in West Virginia until 1300... so I had to leave it. I told the checkout girl I only wanted to buy it, I wasn’t going to DRINK it until after 1300 but she just laughed and said she’d drink it for me when 1300 came.
I also gassed up the van at Sheetz for $3.59 a gallon, the price I’ve seen everywhere I’ve been in WVa. It was $3.23 back home!
I then drove south and passed through Petersburg. A few miles south I came upon an accident which appeared to have just happened. A small SUV had rolled and sat in the oncoming lane as two vehicles pulled off behind it. There was glass and several unidentified car parts lying in the road. The driver in front of me pulled over and got out. I pulled ahead of him and parked as I heard a woman ask ‘Should we call 911?’ of the guy who parked behind the SUV. He responded--- ‘That’s why I’m here!’ as he walked up to the door of the rolled SUV. He then said something completely unexpected: “Well, gosh, there’s nobody in there!”. We looked around the grassy area and it was open enough that we would have seen someone if he or she had been ejected by the rolled car. I assume someone saw the accident or came along right after and took the driver to the hospital.
As I drove away from the scene I saw other first-responders arriving with their emergency lights flashing and I warned other oncoming drivers to slow down by flashing my headlights as I drove. But as I drove I thought it odd that I hadn’t seen a car driving fast as I came south if indeed it had been someone taking the driver to emergency care. The road was virtually empty and anything out of the ordinary would have registered, I’m sure. That led me to think perhaps the driver had somehow fled across the field and was there hiding.
I continued south toward Franklin and then took 33 west. Eventually, I could see Spruce Knob off in the distance. Orat and I were there last Fall and the antenna tower is distinctive.
I followed FR112 up the mountain to the Spruce Knob parking lot and walked to the tower for a view. I was surprised to see how bare the woods are here compared with the woods just a few miles east in the George Washington National Forest.
I walked the perimeter trail, taking in the views and enjoying the fact that I had the place all to myself on a gorgeous day. There were other cars in the parking lot but I didn’t see anyone on the trail.
I then drove down the mountain to the Seneca Creek trail. Orat and I had noticed lots of cars parked there when was passed last Fall and I wanted to see why. The trail follows Seneca Creek and is an old jeep trail bordered by young spruce trees. I walked it for three miles and returned.
As I approached the intersection with the Swallow Rock trail I met a young couple from Illinois who were just coming down that trail. They are Tom and Jacqueline who have just finished up their school year and were on a short vacation. We walked and chatted the rest of the way back and that made the walking go easy.
At the parking lot I said goodbye to my new friends and drove down the mountain to the dispersed camping area where Orat and I had stayed last Fall and picked a site near the Big Run of Gandy trailhead.
After supper I read about trails here in the Seneca Creek Backcountry and wrote up the day’s adventures. The Fitbit says I walked 20k steps, climbed 52 flights, and netted 9 miles today.
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Saturday, 4 May -
I slept wonderfully last night. The temperature this morning was 41 degrees so I started up the Buddy heater for a few minutes to both warm up the van and warm up my wash-up towelettes. What a difference a bit of heat makes.
I just had a Doubleshot for breakfast and after staring at the maps awhile, decided I’d explore Forest Road 92 this morning. My fancy map of the George Washington National Forest shows a permanent gate across FR92 in my path but the gate is across right at an intersection with another road which itself should be gated (it leads to a water reservoir) so I’m guessing the map is wrong.
I first stopped at a small parking lot at the Little Stony Creek crossing and was surprised to find the lot full (a half-dozen cars). I’m thinking that’s because of fishing season but a hiking trail runs up along the creek so it could be a combination. That’s one I’ll want to explore sometime.
I stopped briefly at the parking lots on the map and noted that camping is allowed in the lots... I like that! They’re just parking lots and each had an informal fire-ring or two. But for self-contained campers like me, they’d be fine. The trails and creeks would give me something to do and the open sky above the parking lots would be good for a bit of star-gazing some nights.
The third lot serves the purple-blazed trail to Little Schloss. It was mid-morning and I was ready for a bit of a walk so I grabbed the daypack and thought I’d just take a sample. The trail made a steady ascent on a wide trail and I had a nice cool morning with fresh green foliage all around me. Before long I thought I’d go ahead and do a mile and then turn back. But at the mile mark, I decided I’d do two miles. And of course then I was far enough along to start seeing rock outcroppings above me. Little Schloss couldn’t be much further!
As I saw switchbacks ahead I also saw a flash of odd color. It was a brightly-colored cord tangled up in briars... and it had a camera on the end of it. Apparently the hiker had it clipped on his pack and snagged the briar. I hoped I might run into the hiker later, perhaps he too was making an out-and-back hike.
The switchbacks were steep but I also saw the top wasn’t far. I had come this far, I may as well make the top and see what’s there.
The ‘top’, though, wasn’t the Top. I took a break to snack break and decided I couldn’t really see that well so I should continue up. I’m glad I did. In another 100 yards I came out onto a rocky outcropping and I could see Big Schloss across the valley to the north. I got the Spot going and started scanning with binoulars. After a bit I saw a hiker outlined against the sky on Big Schloss.... very cool! I also saw I had five bars on the cellphone so I called Labashi to check in and be sure all is well there since I’ve been out of reach.
After 20 minutes I started back down. I heard voices as I neared the switchbacks. There were three climbers up atop the rock outcropping well above me. I asked if they had lost a camera but no, it wasn’t theirs.
Past the switchbacks and at the turn in the trail starting the long descent, I ran into five backpackers. They were college-age guys and were bemoaning the climb and looked like frat-boys out goofing around.
And just five minutes later I encountered a scout or Explorer troop of four adults and seven or eight teenage boys. They seemed to be well-prepared. They had the look of experienced backpackers and were cranking right along and happy to be doing it. I’d be willing to bet they’re preparing for a Philmont trip this summer and this isn’t their first training hike.
The rest of the hike out was an easy downhill. I was out by 1300 and had a quick snack and drink and moved on.
FR92 brought me back around to Wolf Gap Road in a few miles. I took it back toward the campground but turned off on FR789 and then FR691. I had seen that road from high above along the Tibbets Knob trail yesterday. It very quickly led me up the mountain on a steep and narrow road which would be just barely wide enough for two vehicles to pass.
On top I checked out the far end of the Tibbets Knob trail on the mountaintop, then continued out 691. I had expected a steep descent but instead had a mountaintop drive with nice views into the West Virginia mountains. I was also surprised to find dispersed campsites, and nice ones at that.
After checking out the dispersed campsite at the Long Mountain Trail termination point, I decided to stay overnight there.
I took a short nap and by 1600 I was walking again. I walked down the very nice, grassy Long Mountain Trail for about a mile until it turned into the woods and I could see it descending more than I want to climb out of later.
As I headed back to the van I encountered two young guys with hunting dogs. The dogs had GPS antennas and I know those are expensive units. I figured those young guys are with someone else and they’re helping train the dogs.
Some time after I returned to the van, two trucks with dog-boxes on the back came by and gave a friendly wave as they passed. Yep, those are the dog-training guys and they have eight or ten dogs. My guess is they drive their trucks along the mountaintop road and let off a guy or two and a couple of dogs at each of the trailheads for the descending trails. The dogs get a workout and the guys are there when they react to trail scents and keep the dogs under control. The trucks pick them all up at the lower ends of the trails. The GPS tracking units and two-way radios allow them to coordinate and to note where the dogs picked up scents and what type of scent.
I made a salad and heated up a small can of beef stew for supper--- that is really good out here!
I spent the rest of the evening catching up the blog and checking maps.
The Fitbit says I did 147 flights today and 16K steps or a little over 7 miles.
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Friday, 3 May -
This morning I feasted on two helpings of instant oatmeal and then started walking the Mill Mountain trail from Wolf Gap campground. I was headed to Big Schloss, a large rock outcropping about three miles in.
The trail quickly turned to switchbacks up the mountain but those soon put me on top for a pleasant walk out the mountain’s spine. The morning had started out sunny but was now clouding up and the light wind coming up the eastern side was a bit cooler than I liked since I didn’t have a jacket in anticipation of the warm day. Fortunately the ridge-top walk descended a bit to the western side and that slowed the wind enough for comfort.
I was surprised to find a large and modern wooden bridge at Big Schloss. The outcropping had a deep cleft so the bridge turns what would otherwise be an impassable (or at least dangerous) gap into a photo opportunity.... for those who didn’t FORGET to bring their cameras (like me)!
I hung out enjoying the views there at Big Schloss while I waited for the Spot to send its signal, letting Labashi know where I am. That process takes about 20 minutes and that was just perfect for slowing me down enough to look around with the binoculars and have a snack for the trip back.
On the way back I saw a pair of scarlet tanagers. If memory serves I’ve only seen two of these in the wild before today so to see two together now was very special. I had just been walking along head down and saw a flick of color out of the corner of my eye. And there they were-- two males very close by and flitting from branch to branch but staying close. It was magical... right up to my attempt to draw them closer (like you can with chickadees) by making psshtt sounds. They were having none of that.
Just as I reached the descending switchbacks I ran into a couple ascending. They live in Arlington and are retired. When I said where I live I learned he had been an engineer who had worked on a plan to bring a railroad siding to the very large warehouse along I-83, not far from my home. The warehouse has no sign or logo but directional signs call it ‘ES3’. The engineer tells me it turned out the railroad line would be too expensive but the trucks I see leaving the warehouse there take the goods to a rail trans-shipment point at York. They distribute groceries throughout a 300-mile radius.
After saying goodbye to that couple two more guys came along. One of them was from the area but he was bringing his Canadian friend up to see Big Schloss. The Canadian guy was from Pickering, east of Toronto.
I made it back to the van for a late lunch and took a short nap. I’m not sure I slept but I did rest and read some of the brochures I had picked up from the welcome center.
Around 1500 I decided I’d head for Tibbets Knob via the yellow-blazed trail running south from Wolf Gap campground (Big Schloss is north).
The trailhead sign said the knob was only 1.6 miles but it was all uphill and much of it steep enough to require lots of stops to catch your breath. I made pretty good time considering but at the knob outcropping I only climbed half-way up. The trail turned from a hike into a climb and I wasn’t comfortable with it.
The return to the van was uneventful. When I checked the Fitbit I had done 22K steps, 209 flights of stairs, and 10 miles of walking today.
I was back by 1730 and made mac-and-cheese shells with Rotel, a wonderful meal for a tired and hungry hiker. This time I avoided the cheesy-mess cleanup by cooking the pasta and after draining it I put it in a freezer bag. I added the cheese and Rotel packets and gave it a good stir. I then spooned the cheesy shells right out of the bag. Afterward, I just trashed the bag and rinsed out the pot.... no mess!
After watching the sun set I turned on the laptop and caught up the blog and read.
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Thursday, 2 May -
I slept badly last night but woke at 0700, dragging a bit. I started gathering up my gear for a trip to West Virginia or Virginia, I’m not quite sure where.
I realized after packing most of my gear that I really should mow the lawn rather than leave it up to Labashi. She’s busy planting the smaller trees and the lawn is, after all, my job. But the grass was wet this morning.
I continued my prep but merely decided I could leave later and instead of driving the five hours to the Canaan Valley, I’d head for the Virginia/West Virginia line in the George Washington National Forest not far off I-81 at Woodstock, VA.
I left home around 1400 but still had a bit of shopping to do at Wal-mart so didn’t get out of York until 1530 or so. I drove across US30 and down I-81 and took a break at the West Virginia Welcome Center.
There I met Cansa, a very nice lady who showered me with maps and brochures and recommendations. I loved talking to her because she was familiar with the places I like in West Virginia and she had some others for me to try.
I drove on to Woodstock and then west to Wolf Gap, arriving about an hour before dark. Just before turning off into the Wolf Gap camping area I saw a very big pileated woodpecker, one of the largest I’ve ever seen. The red feathers on top of his head were amazing.
I quickly made up a salad for supper and then as dark fell I fired up the laptop and started the long process of catching up the blog from my notes. I didn’t last long, though. By 2130 I was too tired to go on and turned in.
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Wednesday, 1 May -
Today we planted the two larger trees. The first took most of the morning as we hit several roots and then hard clay which had to be dug with a pick. After lunch we started the second one only to hit even bigger roots but, fortunately, they cut fairly easily.
After the second was in place I still needed steps so walked the six-mile loop at home... a little more than I really should have done given how much walking I’ve been doing lately.
That evening we watched ‘Downton Abbey’ Series Two, disk 2 (3 episodes). I like Downton but these episodes seemed a little too over-the-top. I’m willing to suspend disbelief and all that but the plot is being tied into neat little packages a bit too much for me at this point.
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Tuesday, 30 April -
Today started out foggy and looked like it was going to be another rainy one, again keeping us from planting the trees.
About mid-day I checked the weather and saw we weren’t supposed to get rain even though we had a fairly heavily overcast sky.
I rode the GS down to Starbucks and then Rocky Ridge Park for my walk. I again took the hilly (north) side but then extended my walk because I was feeling really good. I did 100+ flights of stairs, 19K steps and seven miles, my longest walk ever at Rocky Ridge. Thank you, Fitbit!
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Monday, 29 April -
Today was an unexpected rainy day. The rain wasn’t hard but was steady through early afternoon. I had to get some steps in and decided I’d just have to walk in the rain today.
I took Labashi’s car down to Rudy park and found the rain had nearly stopped. I walked the rail-trail section and a bit more to get a four-mile walk in.
That evening Labashi and I started an Netflix-Instant movie but abandoned it when Labashi decided to go to bed early. I stayed up and watched ‘Fixnation’, a short documentary about fixed-gear bicycling on the West Coast. The subject was interesting enough but the documentary style seemed lacking. It seemed more like a film-school project.
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Sunday, 28 April -
Today we had visitors. Maypo and the missus came to visit. Maypo has been off work for a week because of his broken leg and is starting to go a little stir-crazy in the house.
After catching up we drove down to the East York Chili’s for margaritas and fajitas. We had a round of their extra-good El Presidente margaritas with a bump on the side--- very nice!
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Saturday, 27 April -
Today we went tree-buying. Labashi has been out measuring, placing stakes, and looking from all angles and we’re now ready to buy. We had some problems finding the trees we wanted and ended up on the grower’s web site looking for nurseries to call in our area. That’s how we learned that Dutch Tree Farm in Frederick had the only Monrovia Leyland Cypress Emerald Isle trees in a larger size.
We drove Mocha Joe to Frederick this morning and found Dutch Tree Farm easily enough. We liked the seven-gallon-size trees and bought two of them but we didn’t like the looks of their smaller ones (two-gallon size). The tops were flopped over. One of the guys told us that was because they hadn’t been watered enough and they’d stand right up very shortly after watering. But it put us off enough to try elsewhere.
We then drove west across I-70 out of Frederick and up I-81 to Chambersburg. Labashi had located a stash of two-gallon ones there. And they looked better. We bought five of those.
We arrived back home around 1500 so after unloading the trees I went for a walk. I did the six-mile loop at home.
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Friday, 26 April -
This morning I had a thought about the CD Player/radio in the Miata. I’m not sure what to do with it at this point since tightening the ground and cleaning the connector didn’t fix it’s loss-of-power issues. I had noticed from the installation instructions that the installation required splicing wires. So I removed the electrical tape from one of the wires to check that it hadn’t broken and had been soldered properly. It wasn’t. The installer had simply twisted the wires together and hadn’t even used a wire nut. He just twisted them and laid them over and taped. Incredible.
I’m trying to figure out whether it makes sense to keep looking for the problem or simply remove the old CD Player/Radio and install a new one. The old one was an expensive unit but doesn’t have a socket for an MP3 player. A new one is cheap enough-- a decent Sony for about $75 -- but the newer models don’t control the CD changer in the Miata’s trunk.
That afternoon the lawn guy came to apply the grub treatment (#2). I exercised the old Concours in a ride down to the county park at Lauxmont, along the river south of Wrightsville. I again wanted to walk some hilly trails and I had only been on the main trail here.
I made two loops of the trail and walked the Mason-Dixon Trail segment to the Christian camp’s fence for a total of three miles.
That evening we finished ‘House of Cards’, season one. I had read a review somewhere that said the script didn’t keep up with the abilities of the actors (Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright-Penn) so I was expecting a let-down. But I never had one. I thought the series did a fine job of keeping us interested. The device Francis (Kevin) uses of talking directly to the camera was a bit off-putting the first time but I later realized I adapted quite easily to it. We’re looking forward to next season.
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Thursday, 25 April -
Today Labashi and I worked in the front yard. Our tree guy had suggested we could run over mounded-up dirt and stump-chips to help them settle. I first got out the ATV, thinking its 600-pound weight should do the trick. But that just didn’t do much.
Since the lawn has been quite dry, I tried using Mocha Joe for this. That worked much better. The stump-hole areas will still sink over time but we hastened the process along.
I then mowed the yard with the mulch door of the mower closed. Running the mower slowly back and forth over the areas where the tires had crushed down the grass brought most of it back up. It’s not nearly so evident I was running back and forth through the yard in the van.
I spent much of that evening exploring YouTube for new music.
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Wednesday, 24 April -
This morning I walked the six-mile loop at home. I normally walk in the afternoon and a morning walk was just perfect today. The roadside was filled with flowers, particularly blue bells.
‘House of Cards’ that evening.
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Tuesday, 23 April -
I ran into York to the Mazda dealer today to pick up the parts I had ordered yesterday. I’m amazed these old parts (the Miata is a ’90) can still be had quickly.
I then went on to Rocky Ridge and walked 15K steps on hills for 90 flights of stairs.
Rocky Ridge is, as it’s name says, a ridge (and a rocky one at that!). The northern side is pretty steep so all I have to do to get some flights is take the trails on the north side for some steepish descents and, once I’m way back in the far corner, a long, VERY steep ascent.
That evening we watched two episodes of ‘House of Cards’.
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Monday, 22 April -
I spent the morning and part of the afternoon working on the Miata. I removed the blower-motor resistor assembly and saw that it does indeed have the safety link blown. The blower operates on high but not on the lower fan speeds. A resistor assembly mounted under the blower motor enables it to run at slower speeds. However, it has a safety device in case it overheats. The device is a solder joint. I considered trying to re-solder it but the assembly is clearly marked “DO NOT ATTEMPT REPAIR”, I’d guess because the solder is a special mix which lets go at a specific temperature and a repair might not do that.
I also removed the CD player/radio assembly. I found the ground wires loose and fixed that, then pulled out the plug assembly and cleaned it with contact cleaner. But when I tested it, there was no improvement--- still a short or open somewhere.
I had trouble with the climate control assembly. The little knobs have tiny screws in them and one would not budge. I ended up having to use the Dremel tool to gouge out the plastic behind the screw so I could slip off the knob and remove the screw. If I can’t get a replacement knob I can still use this one, I’ll just have to glue it on with something like a thread sealant so it will stay for everyday use but can still be forced off if necessary.
Later in the day I rode down to Rudy Park and walked the hilly section to get some stair-flight count on the Fitbit. I did 50-couple flights and about three miles of walking.
That evening we watched the first disc of ‘Downton Abbey’ Series Two from Netflix.
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Sunday, 21 April -
I spent most of today researching how to fix a few of the Miata’s many problems. I found the procedure for testing, removing, and replacing the fan blower resistor and for removing the ‘tombstone’, which is the cover over the heater controls and radio.
That afternoon I rode the GS down to the Tollgate Starbucks south of York and then on to Nixon County Park. As I approached the park I saw a sign for the rail-trail at Seven Valleys so rode there hoping to rent a bicycle. I had been there last year and wanted to return for both a ride and also to try out a bike or possibly two of them. I’ve been thinking I’d like to ride a few rail-trails this summer and I’d like to find a better bike for that than my little folding bikes. The Dahon’s are great for travel but they’re not well suited for rail-trail riding. I’d like to have something more comfortable and something with normal-size wheels. Alas, the rental place was closed. It looks like it has gone out of business but perhaps it’s just too early in the season to attract enough customers to make it worthwhile to open.
At Nixon Park I picked up a map for the nearby Kain County Park. I’ve walked Nixon’s trails several times and last time I took the connector trail to Kain Park and that piqued my interest.
WIth the map I planned out a walk on Trail 1 so I’d get some uphill and could circle back to my parking place. I could see from the map that Trail 1 connects with Trail 7 via a bridge under I-83.... something I had no idea existed. So of course I chose to check that out. When I got to the bridge, though, I saw it’s a smallish tunnel, only about five feet high and maybe nine feet wide. But the tunnel floor is also the creek bed. There’s only a few inches of water but the far end of the tunnel looks to be about the size of a postage stamp it’s so far away. That is creepy. No wonder I didn’t see any indication it’s used! It would be a great adventure, though.
That evening we watched three ‘House of Cards’ episodes.
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Saturday, 20 April -
Today I rode the F650GS to Boiling Springs and walked the Appalachian Trail south. I’ve not been on this section of trail for quite some time and wanted something with some --- but not too much --- uphill to it. I walked the four miles from the furnace parking lot to the Alex Kennedy shelter and back.
On the way in I met ‘Jackrabbit’, a young through-hiker. He started from the southern end of the trail on February 17th and was planning on being at the northern terminus in June. That’s over 2200 miles of walking in four months!
Jackrabbit also said he had done the ‘Four-State Challenge’. I’ve not heard of that one but I suspected I knew what it is. The challenge is to leave Virginia and cross West Virginia and Maryland and get into Pennsylvania, all in one calendar day.
At the shelter I simply had a snack, signed the log, and took a 15-minute break before starting back.
On the return leg I saw a hiker ahead of me struggling with his load. He was carrying a massive pack but also a long bag of what I can only assume to be tent poles. His body language said he was barely making it and I saw him stop several times and take off his pack and sit on it. He’d only sit a few minutes, though, then would jump up, heave the pack on and pick up the long, heavy bag.
I caught up with him about a half-mile from the parking lot. He was a pleasant-enough guy who said he’s from Philly. He said he had planned to camp overnight but had changed his mind. When I said something about getting out to clear the mind, he said something like, ‘if only it were that easy’. He subtly let me know he was having some mental struggles. My impression was he has problems with his mind continually racing and he can’t get any peace. I didn’t have the impression he was dangerous or violent or even anything more than a bit pre-occupied. We only chatted ten minutes or so while we rested.
I made it back to the car around 1700 and rode home quite tired. The Fitbit said I did 8 miles and 155 flights of stairs.
That evening we watched more ‘House of Cards’. Good story-telling.
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Friday, 19 April -
This morning I caught up the blog and posted an update. That afternoon I drove Labashi’s car to the new-to-me soccer fields near the Brunner Island power plant to look around while getting in my 10k Fitbit steps for the day.
This area was an old dumping-ground for coal ash from the plant. After covering up the ash with topsoil and planting grass and adding a parking area and a few fences, PP&L now leases it to the township as a recreation area. It’s a massive grassy area with ample parking and a few equipment-storage units. It has something like 10 sets of soccer goals, apparently for tournaments.
I walked the outer boundary of the grounds several times and checked out the nearby Susquehanna and Conewago Creek banks. This seems like it would be a pretty nice fishing area so I’m surprised I wasn’t seeing any evidence of fishermen’s trails along the water.
I walked back to the hard road and crossed the creek bridge to get to the entrance to the wetlands area. The wetlands are a series of ponds in the low-lying areas along Conewago Creek. There’s a nice picnic area and a large deck on one pond for wildlife observation. Today the picnic area had visitors-- trucks carrying spools of electric cables for the massive new towers being erected to the west of the wetlands area. I talked to one of the truckers and he said the new lines have two additional conductors and are needed for additional generating capacity (actually, he responded to my question about whether they’re needed for additional generating capacity with a ‘yes’). But come to think of it I don’t see any evidence of new generation capacity going in (such as construction projects at any of the power plants.
After checking the ponds I walked to the creek but I could see workers along the powerline and thought they may suspect I’m spying on them or something. I headed back to the soccer fields and took another lap there in the nice grass.
That evening we watched the Netflix series ‘House of Cards’ with Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright-Penn.
*************** END OF POST *************
(posted from home)
(This post covers 19 April to 11 May, 2013)
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Saturday, 11 May -
Today we were scheduled to see Mom and Dad and I wanted to walk this morning rather than later. But rain threatened. I decided to go anyway.
I walked the six-mile loop at home. Rain started shortly after I had the first mile in but it was very light. I listened to The Moth podcasts as I walked and it went very quickly and pleasantly. I did end up a bit wet.
We drove over to Mom and Dad’s apartment mid-afternoon and then took them to supper at Bangkok Wok. This was Dad’s first visit and we were happy he enjoyed it since Mom seems to have taken a liking to the food there.
I did some research today on the Miata’s ignition switch.
That evening we watched the rest of disc 2 of ‘Downton Abbey’, Series 3.
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Friday, 10 May-
This morning I did a bit of blogging. When I started explaining my attempt to visit the Sinks of Gandy I realized I’d been very silly not to have simply looked it up on the Web. Sure enough, Wikipedia has an excellent article on it with photos and GPS coordinates. Why hadn’t I thought of that?
The ‘Sinks of Gandy’ refers to a natural tunnel under a mountain through which Gandy Creek runs. The location is indeed approached through a farmer’s field off Dry Run Road (as the fisherman had said). Unfortunately, both ends of the tunnel are on private property.
The article explains that the Sinks of Gandy were once considered a tourist attraction by the state of West Virginia, thus its still on maps.
The article was very good and I had been mis-directed by the Welcome Center, so I called to let them know what I’d learned. I spoke with Wanda, who handled it perfectly.
Late that morning Labashi told me she noticed our mailbox had been vandalized, apparently overnight. Sure enough someone had whacked it with a baseball bat or pipe. I used a mallet and hammer to get it pretty much into normal shape. I think we’ll just go with that for awhile. This is the second time our mailbox has been vandalized since we’ve lived here. But given that has been 30-plus years, I can’t complain too much.... at least until next time.
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Thursday, 9 May -
This morning Labashi and I drove to a retirement home in the Dover area to take the AARP refresher course for drivers. The four-hour course is required every three years in order to keep getting a driver education discount from our car-insurance company. The course is $12 per person and we get something like $100 off our insurance. The class is pleasant enough (and short enough) and we get information on what laws have changed.
Our instructor this time was a guy who claimed to have just this week won $8000 at the Off-Track Betting parlor, was a millionaire until the 2008 crash, has a Chinese-born wife who works two government jobs in DC at $80 per hour (and whom he only sees on weekends) and has had six automobile accidents, including hitting a pedestrian and being sued for it. I have no idea how much of this is true but his stories certainly helped pass the time!
Late in the day I mowed the lawn to get my walk in. 15K steps today.
That evening: ‘Downton Abbey’ Series 3.
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Wednesday, 8 May -
Today I worked on the Miata. I installed the replacement blower-resistor assembly and installed the new bezel for the the climate controls. The former gives me back all four blower speeds for the heat and A/C and the latter was needed to make the dash look better--- the old bezel had heat-wrinkled decals which looked very bad.
I didn’t walk again today but did get the new Fitbit. I had ordered it with two-day delivery but got next-day service. The process for switching to a new Fitbit went okay, no thanks to Fitbit’s Help screens. The Help screens don’t have anything about replacing a lost Fitbit but when I went through the installation process it gave me the opportunity to indicate this was a replacement unit and it was easy from there. The key was to click on the “Open Main Menu” entry in the Fitbit drop-down menu and then ‘Setup’.
I also worked on the problem with the CD player/radio’s wiring. All the wires had been simply twisted together so I soldered them. Unfortunately, it didn’t fix the problem.
That evening we watched ‘Downton Abbey’.
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Tuesday, 7 May -
Practically the first thing I did today was order a new Fitbit from Amazon. I elected to get two-day delivery for an extra $10 so my bill was just over $106.
I elected to not walk today, deciding to rest up and not chance an injury.
I unloaded the van and cleaned up the cooler and stored away the smaller items I remove between trips.
That evening we finished ‘Downton Abbey’ Series 2.
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Monday, 6 May -
This morning I was surprised to see raindrops on the van windows when I woke. I thought today was going to be a good one through the day, then rain tonight.
After breakfast and a bit of a walk around the van, I decided I’d go ahead and walk for a bit now and then head home since rain is coming for the next several days.
As planned, I drove to the nearby trailhead for the Big Run of Gandy Creek trail. The lady at the WV welcome center had told me this was the trailhead for the “Sinks of Gandy”, a place name on the West Virginia road map. But when I talked to a fisherman in the trailhead parking lot (asking about the Sinks), he said he thought the location was in a farmer’s field off Dry Fork road, several miles away. And I STILL don’t know what the Sinks of Gandy are! Nobody seems to know.
In any case, I need my step-count today and I want to see what’s up the Big Run trail so that’s that.
As it turns out, I liked the Big Run Trail though it did give me a few challenges. I very much enjoyed walking along the pretty stream but I didn’t expect all the crossings. The first required me to balance my way across a 12” downed tree about two feet above the water. I made the mistake of looking at the rushing water below when I should have been concentrating on the tree and made it shakily, slipping off the tree just after crossing.
I then had six more crossings, all in the mile-and-a-half to the intersection with another trail, the North Prong Trail. From that point the main challenge was mud. The trail came to a large, marshy meadow and skirted the meadow on the left, climbing the bank to do so. But there were many soft places perhaps 20 feet wide which required judicious walking to keep from sinking boot-deep into the mud. Still, it wasn’t bad and I just had to take my time to pick my way through.
At the end of the large meadow the trail began rising. I checked the Fitbit and it said I had walked 3.2 miles. I had started out thinking I’d walk two miles and return to give me four miles for my step-count. But at the two-mile mark the trail enticed me on so I changed it to 2.5 miles, then three. And here I was at 3.2 on a trail which, according to the local map, was 3.2 miles to the upper trailhead along FR112. So of course I continued.
The rising trail soon became steeper and steeper and I knew it was taking me up to FR112 at the top of the mountain and I topped out there at 3.8 miles on the Fitbit.
It was windy and raining lightly at the top so I had a quick snack and then started back. I took a short break as I neared the North Prong Trail junction and then started the seven stream crossings.
After crossing the downed tree of the last crossing, I tried to check the Fitbit and saw I had lost it! I began walking back up-trail but then decided the chances of finding it were slim. I had most likely brushed it off my pocket with my left-hand hiking pole while making one of the stream crossings. And I had made those stream crossings at random spots upstream or downstream from the trail, i.e., wherever it looked like a good spot to step from rock to rock. I continued on.
After getting back to Mocha Joe, I set the GPS for home and took the long drive down along Gandy Creek to the hard road and on to Route 33 and then 55 to Moorefield and then on to Winchester, VA and I-81.
I made it back home around 1900. We watched a ‘Downton Abbey’ episode.
That was a very nice little Spring getaway. The trees were in various stages of emerging. In the George Washington National Forest most trees had leaves and the view across a valley was one of seeing the pretty greens of new foliage. But up in the Seneca Creek Backcountry near Spruce Knob, it looked like winter. The view from atop Spruce Knob was one of seeing browns and grays with a hint of green here and there. I saw a few interesting birds, no fresh bear scat (though a few old ones), and the days were very pleasant for walking. I lost the Fitbit, found a camera, came upon a very puzzling car accident, slept and ate well, and walked lots of miles and done so for successive days. I feel like I’m cutting the trip short because of the rain but that just gives me the excuse to go out again soon.
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Sunday, 5 May -
My campsite at Long Mountain trail on FR 691 in the George Washington National Forest gave me an unexpected problem last night. I had parked there mid-afternoon and saw only an occasional car pass the rest of the day and well past dark... maybe five vehicles total. I went to bed around 2200 and all was quiet.
In such a quiet and remote area, you hear a vehicle coming and, since you don’t see many, you’re curious and watch it go by. About an hour after I went to bed, I was awakened by a pickup flying by. A bit later, another.... and another.... and another, etc. They weren’t traveling together--- there’d be a few minutes between--- but they just kept coming. In the next hour and a half, I bet 20 cars and trucks went by. Some would slow as they approached and idle past, probably after seeing my van’s side reflectors. But when you think you’re many miles from civilization, it’s a bit spooky to have a passing car slow down significantly at your camp. Also, I could sometimes see lights off to the left. They looked like someone walking with a flashlight just down the road. It took me a few iterations to realize that was an approaching car. Most had come from my right but the ones from the left gave this odd effect, apparently because of the way the road curves and because of the intervening trees. After 0100 I only saw two or three cars and was able to get back to sleep.
The morning was a fine one though it was only 41 degrees. After cleanup I drove west, following FR691 toward Lost City. At the bottom of the mountain I pulled over to allow a couple of locals to pass and a guy stopped to tell me my right-side brake light was out. Since I had the tools and a spare, I went ahead and changed it right there. That’s how I learned my left-hand rear door will not open now. Those two things are not related, of course, but now I’ll have to research that door mechanism. I had noticed it was harder to open recently so my guess is a cable was stretching and has now broken or stretched too far to work the latch.
I drove on down to Route 259 at Lost River and on to Moorefield to the closest Wal-mart. I needed ice and a few items. As I checked out I learned you can’t buy beer on Sunday in West Virginia until 1300... so I had to leave it. I told the checkout girl I only wanted to buy it, I wasn’t going to DRINK it until after 1300 but she just laughed and said she’d drink it for me when 1300 came.
I also gassed up the van at Sheetz for $3.59 a gallon, the price I’ve seen everywhere I’ve been in WVa. It was $3.23 back home!
I then drove south and passed through Petersburg. A few miles south I came upon an accident which appeared to have just happened. A small SUV had rolled and sat in the oncoming lane as two vehicles pulled off behind it. There was glass and several unidentified car parts lying in the road. The driver in front of me pulled over and got out. I pulled ahead of him and parked as I heard a woman ask ‘Should we call 911?’ of the guy who parked behind the SUV. He responded--- ‘That’s why I’m here!’ as he walked up to the door of the rolled SUV. He then said something completely unexpected: “Well, gosh, there’s nobody in there!”. We looked around the grassy area and it was open enough that we would have seen someone if he or she had been ejected by the rolled car. I assume someone saw the accident or came along right after and took the driver to the hospital.
As I drove away from the scene I saw other first-responders arriving with their emergency lights flashing and I warned other oncoming drivers to slow down by flashing my headlights as I drove. But as I drove I thought it odd that I hadn’t seen a car driving fast as I came south if indeed it had been someone taking the driver to emergency care. The road was virtually empty and anything out of the ordinary would have registered, I’m sure. That led me to think perhaps the driver had somehow fled across the field and was there hiding.
I continued south toward Franklin and then took 33 west. Eventually, I could see Spruce Knob off in the distance. Orat and I were there last Fall and the antenna tower is distinctive.
I followed FR112 up the mountain to the Spruce Knob parking lot and walked to the tower for a view. I was surprised to see how bare the woods are here compared with the woods just a few miles east in the George Washington National Forest.
I walked the perimeter trail, taking in the views and enjoying the fact that I had the place all to myself on a gorgeous day. There were other cars in the parking lot but I didn’t see anyone on the trail.
I then drove down the mountain to the Seneca Creek trail. Orat and I had noticed lots of cars parked there when was passed last Fall and I wanted to see why. The trail follows Seneca Creek and is an old jeep trail bordered by young spruce trees. I walked it for three miles and returned.
As I approached the intersection with the Swallow Rock trail I met a young couple from Illinois who were just coming down that trail. They are Tom and Jacqueline who have just finished up their school year and were on a short vacation. We walked and chatted the rest of the way back and that made the walking go easy.
At the parking lot I said goodbye to my new friends and drove down the mountain to the dispersed camping area where Orat and I had stayed last Fall and picked a site near the Big Run of Gandy trailhead.
After supper I read about trails here in the Seneca Creek Backcountry and wrote up the day’s adventures. The Fitbit says I walked 20k steps, climbed 52 flights, and netted 9 miles today.
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Saturday, 4 May -
I slept wonderfully last night. The temperature this morning was 41 degrees so I started up the Buddy heater for a few minutes to both warm up the van and warm up my wash-up towelettes. What a difference a bit of heat makes.
I just had a Doubleshot for breakfast and after staring at the maps awhile, decided I’d explore Forest Road 92 this morning. My fancy map of the George Washington National Forest shows a permanent gate across FR92 in my path but the gate is across right at an intersection with another road which itself should be gated (it leads to a water reservoir) so I’m guessing the map is wrong.
I first stopped at a small parking lot at the Little Stony Creek crossing and was surprised to find the lot full (a half-dozen cars). I’m thinking that’s because of fishing season but a hiking trail runs up along the creek so it could be a combination. That’s one I’ll want to explore sometime.
I stopped briefly at the parking lots on the map and noted that camping is allowed in the lots... I like that! They’re just parking lots and each had an informal fire-ring or two. But for self-contained campers like me, they’d be fine. The trails and creeks would give me something to do and the open sky above the parking lots would be good for a bit of star-gazing some nights.
The third lot serves the purple-blazed trail to Little Schloss. It was mid-morning and I was ready for a bit of a walk so I grabbed the daypack and thought I’d just take a sample. The trail made a steady ascent on a wide trail and I had a nice cool morning with fresh green foliage all around me. Before long I thought I’d go ahead and do a mile and then turn back. But at the mile mark, I decided I’d do two miles. And of course then I was far enough along to start seeing rock outcroppings above me. Little Schloss couldn’t be much further!
As I saw switchbacks ahead I also saw a flash of odd color. It was a brightly-colored cord tangled up in briars... and it had a camera on the end of it. Apparently the hiker had it clipped on his pack and snagged the briar. I hoped I might run into the hiker later, perhaps he too was making an out-and-back hike.
The switchbacks were steep but I also saw the top wasn’t far. I had come this far, I may as well make the top and see what’s there.
The ‘top’, though, wasn’t the Top. I took a break to snack break and decided I couldn’t really see that well so I should continue up. I’m glad I did. In another 100 yards I came out onto a rocky outcropping and I could see Big Schloss across the valley to the north. I got the Spot going and started scanning with binoulars. After a bit I saw a hiker outlined against the sky on Big Schloss.... very cool! I also saw I had five bars on the cellphone so I called Labashi to check in and be sure all is well there since I’ve been out of reach.
After 20 minutes I started back down. I heard voices as I neared the switchbacks. There were three climbers up atop the rock outcropping well above me. I asked if they had lost a camera but no, it wasn’t theirs.
Past the switchbacks and at the turn in the trail starting the long descent, I ran into five backpackers. They were college-age guys and were bemoaning the climb and looked like frat-boys out goofing around.
And just five minutes later I encountered a scout or Explorer troop of four adults and seven or eight teenage boys. They seemed to be well-prepared. They had the look of experienced backpackers and were cranking right along and happy to be doing it. I’d be willing to bet they’re preparing for a Philmont trip this summer and this isn’t their first training hike.
The rest of the hike out was an easy downhill. I was out by 1300 and had a quick snack and drink and moved on.
FR92 brought me back around to Wolf Gap Road in a few miles. I took it back toward the campground but turned off on FR789 and then FR691. I had seen that road from high above along the Tibbets Knob trail yesterday. It very quickly led me up the mountain on a steep and narrow road which would be just barely wide enough for two vehicles to pass.
On top I checked out the far end of the Tibbets Knob trail on the mountaintop, then continued out 691. I had expected a steep descent but instead had a mountaintop drive with nice views into the West Virginia mountains. I was also surprised to find dispersed campsites, and nice ones at that.
After checking out the dispersed campsite at the Long Mountain Trail termination point, I decided to stay overnight there.
I took a short nap and by 1600 I was walking again. I walked down the very nice, grassy Long Mountain Trail for about a mile until it turned into the woods and I could see it descending more than I want to climb out of later.
As I headed back to the van I encountered two young guys with hunting dogs. The dogs had GPS antennas and I know those are expensive units. I figured those young guys are with someone else and they’re helping train the dogs.
Some time after I returned to the van, two trucks with dog-boxes on the back came by and gave a friendly wave as they passed. Yep, those are the dog-training guys and they have eight or ten dogs. My guess is they drive their trucks along the mountaintop road and let off a guy or two and a couple of dogs at each of the trailheads for the descending trails. The dogs get a workout and the guys are there when they react to trail scents and keep the dogs under control. The trucks pick them all up at the lower ends of the trails. The GPS tracking units and two-way radios allow them to coordinate and to note where the dogs picked up scents and what type of scent.
I made a salad and heated up a small can of beef stew for supper--- that is really good out here!
I spent the rest of the evening catching up the blog and checking maps.
The Fitbit says I did 147 flights today and 16K steps or a little over 7 miles.
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Friday, 3 May -
This morning I feasted on two helpings of instant oatmeal and then started walking the Mill Mountain trail from Wolf Gap campground. I was headed to Big Schloss, a large rock outcropping about three miles in.
The trail quickly turned to switchbacks up the mountain but those soon put me on top for a pleasant walk out the mountain’s spine. The morning had started out sunny but was now clouding up and the light wind coming up the eastern side was a bit cooler than I liked since I didn’t have a jacket in anticipation of the warm day. Fortunately the ridge-top walk descended a bit to the western side and that slowed the wind enough for comfort.
I was surprised to find a large and modern wooden bridge at Big Schloss. The outcropping had a deep cleft so the bridge turns what would otherwise be an impassable (or at least dangerous) gap into a photo opportunity.... for those who didn’t FORGET to bring their cameras (like me)!
I hung out enjoying the views there at Big Schloss while I waited for the Spot to send its signal, letting Labashi know where I am. That process takes about 20 minutes and that was just perfect for slowing me down enough to look around with the binoculars and have a snack for the trip back.
On the way back I saw a pair of scarlet tanagers. If memory serves I’ve only seen two of these in the wild before today so to see two together now was very special. I had just been walking along head down and saw a flick of color out of the corner of my eye. And there they were-- two males very close by and flitting from branch to branch but staying close. It was magical... right up to my attempt to draw them closer (like you can with chickadees) by making psshtt sounds. They were having none of that.
Just as I reached the descending switchbacks I ran into a couple ascending. They live in Arlington and are retired. When I said where I live I learned he had been an engineer who had worked on a plan to bring a railroad siding to the very large warehouse along I-83, not far from my home. The warehouse has no sign or logo but directional signs call it ‘ES3’. The engineer tells me it turned out the railroad line would be too expensive but the trucks I see leaving the warehouse there take the goods to a rail trans-shipment point at York. They distribute groceries throughout a 300-mile radius.
After saying goodbye to that couple two more guys came along. One of them was from the area but he was bringing his Canadian friend up to see Big Schloss. The Canadian guy was from Pickering, east of Toronto.
I made it back to the van for a late lunch and took a short nap. I’m not sure I slept but I did rest and read some of the brochures I had picked up from the welcome center.
Around 1500 I decided I’d head for Tibbets Knob via the yellow-blazed trail running south from Wolf Gap campground (Big Schloss is north).
The trailhead sign said the knob was only 1.6 miles but it was all uphill and much of it steep enough to require lots of stops to catch your breath. I made pretty good time considering but at the knob outcropping I only climbed half-way up. The trail turned from a hike into a climb and I wasn’t comfortable with it.
The return to the van was uneventful. When I checked the Fitbit I had done 22K steps, 209 flights of stairs, and 10 miles of walking today.
I was back by 1730 and made mac-and-cheese shells with Rotel, a wonderful meal for a tired and hungry hiker. This time I avoided the cheesy-mess cleanup by cooking the pasta and after draining it I put it in a freezer bag. I added the cheese and Rotel packets and gave it a good stir. I then spooned the cheesy shells right out of the bag. Afterward, I just trashed the bag and rinsed out the pot.... no mess!
After watching the sun set I turned on the laptop and caught up the blog and read.
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Thursday, 2 May -
I slept badly last night but woke at 0700, dragging a bit. I started gathering up my gear for a trip to West Virginia or Virginia, I’m not quite sure where.
I realized after packing most of my gear that I really should mow the lawn rather than leave it up to Labashi. She’s busy planting the smaller trees and the lawn is, after all, my job. But the grass was wet this morning.
I continued my prep but merely decided I could leave later and instead of driving the five hours to the Canaan Valley, I’d head for the Virginia/West Virginia line in the George Washington National Forest not far off I-81 at Woodstock, VA.
I left home around 1400 but still had a bit of shopping to do at Wal-mart so didn’t get out of York until 1530 or so. I drove across US30 and down I-81 and took a break at the West Virginia Welcome Center.
There I met Cansa, a very nice lady who showered me with maps and brochures and recommendations. I loved talking to her because she was familiar with the places I like in West Virginia and she had some others for me to try.
I drove on to Woodstock and then west to Wolf Gap, arriving about an hour before dark. Just before turning off into the Wolf Gap camping area I saw a very big pileated woodpecker, one of the largest I’ve ever seen. The red feathers on top of his head were amazing.
I quickly made up a salad for supper and then as dark fell I fired up the laptop and started the long process of catching up the blog from my notes. I didn’t last long, though. By 2130 I was too tired to go on and turned in.
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Wednesday, 1 May -
Today we planted the two larger trees. The first took most of the morning as we hit several roots and then hard clay which had to be dug with a pick. After lunch we started the second one only to hit even bigger roots but, fortunately, they cut fairly easily.
After the second was in place I still needed steps so walked the six-mile loop at home... a little more than I really should have done given how much walking I’ve been doing lately.
That evening we watched ‘Downton Abbey’ Series Two, disk 2 (3 episodes). I like Downton but these episodes seemed a little too over-the-top. I’m willing to suspend disbelief and all that but the plot is being tied into neat little packages a bit too much for me at this point.
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Tuesday, 30 April -
Today started out foggy and looked like it was going to be another rainy one, again keeping us from planting the trees.
About mid-day I checked the weather and saw we weren’t supposed to get rain even though we had a fairly heavily overcast sky.
I rode the GS down to Starbucks and then Rocky Ridge Park for my walk. I again took the hilly (north) side but then extended my walk because I was feeling really good. I did 100+ flights of stairs, 19K steps and seven miles, my longest walk ever at Rocky Ridge. Thank you, Fitbit!
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Monday, 29 April -
Today was an unexpected rainy day. The rain wasn’t hard but was steady through early afternoon. I had to get some steps in and decided I’d just have to walk in the rain today.
I took Labashi’s car down to Rudy park and found the rain had nearly stopped. I walked the rail-trail section and a bit more to get a four-mile walk in.
That evening Labashi and I started an Netflix-Instant movie but abandoned it when Labashi decided to go to bed early. I stayed up and watched ‘Fixnation’, a short documentary about fixed-gear bicycling on the West Coast. The subject was interesting enough but the documentary style seemed lacking. It seemed more like a film-school project.
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Sunday, 28 April -
Today we had visitors. Maypo and the missus came to visit. Maypo has been off work for a week because of his broken leg and is starting to go a little stir-crazy in the house.
After catching up we drove down to the East York Chili’s for margaritas and fajitas. We had a round of their extra-good El Presidente margaritas with a bump on the side--- very nice!
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Saturday, 27 April -
Today we went tree-buying. Labashi has been out measuring, placing stakes, and looking from all angles and we’re now ready to buy. We had some problems finding the trees we wanted and ended up on the grower’s web site looking for nurseries to call in our area. That’s how we learned that Dutch Tree Farm in Frederick had the only Monrovia Leyland Cypress Emerald Isle trees in a larger size.
We drove Mocha Joe to Frederick this morning and found Dutch Tree Farm easily enough. We liked the seven-gallon-size trees and bought two of them but we didn’t like the looks of their smaller ones (two-gallon size). The tops were flopped over. One of the guys told us that was because they hadn’t been watered enough and they’d stand right up very shortly after watering. But it put us off enough to try elsewhere.
We then drove west across I-70 out of Frederick and up I-81 to Chambersburg. Labashi had located a stash of two-gallon ones there. And they looked better. We bought five of those.
We arrived back home around 1500 so after unloading the trees I went for a walk. I did the six-mile loop at home.
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Friday, 26 April -
This morning I had a thought about the CD Player/radio in the Miata. I’m not sure what to do with it at this point since tightening the ground and cleaning the connector didn’t fix it’s loss-of-power issues. I had noticed from the installation instructions that the installation required splicing wires. So I removed the electrical tape from one of the wires to check that it hadn’t broken and had been soldered properly. It wasn’t. The installer had simply twisted the wires together and hadn’t even used a wire nut. He just twisted them and laid them over and taped. Incredible.
I’m trying to figure out whether it makes sense to keep looking for the problem or simply remove the old CD Player/Radio and install a new one. The old one was an expensive unit but doesn’t have a socket for an MP3 player. A new one is cheap enough-- a decent Sony for about $75 -- but the newer models don’t control the CD changer in the Miata’s trunk.
That afternoon the lawn guy came to apply the grub treatment (#2). I exercised the old Concours in a ride down to the county park at Lauxmont, along the river south of Wrightsville. I again wanted to walk some hilly trails and I had only been on the main trail here.
I made two loops of the trail and walked the Mason-Dixon Trail segment to the Christian camp’s fence for a total of three miles.
That evening we finished ‘House of Cards’, season one. I had read a review somewhere that said the script didn’t keep up with the abilities of the actors (Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright-Penn) so I was expecting a let-down. But I never had one. I thought the series did a fine job of keeping us interested. The device Francis (Kevin) uses of talking directly to the camera was a bit off-putting the first time but I later realized I adapted quite easily to it. We’re looking forward to next season.
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Thursday, 25 April -
Today Labashi and I worked in the front yard. Our tree guy had suggested we could run over mounded-up dirt and stump-chips to help them settle. I first got out the ATV, thinking its 600-pound weight should do the trick. But that just didn’t do much.
Since the lawn has been quite dry, I tried using Mocha Joe for this. That worked much better. The stump-hole areas will still sink over time but we hastened the process along.
I then mowed the yard with the mulch door of the mower closed. Running the mower slowly back and forth over the areas where the tires had crushed down the grass brought most of it back up. It’s not nearly so evident I was running back and forth through the yard in the van.
I spent much of that evening exploring YouTube for new music.
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Wednesday, 24 April -
This morning I walked the six-mile loop at home. I normally walk in the afternoon and a morning walk was just perfect today. The roadside was filled with flowers, particularly blue bells.
‘House of Cards’ that evening.
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Tuesday, 23 April -
I ran into York to the Mazda dealer today to pick up the parts I had ordered yesterday. I’m amazed these old parts (the Miata is a ’90) can still be had quickly.
I then went on to Rocky Ridge and walked 15K steps on hills for 90 flights of stairs.
Rocky Ridge is, as it’s name says, a ridge (and a rocky one at that!). The northern side is pretty steep so all I have to do to get some flights is take the trails on the north side for some steepish descents and, once I’m way back in the far corner, a long, VERY steep ascent.
That evening we watched two episodes of ‘House of Cards’.
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Monday, 22 April -
I spent the morning and part of the afternoon working on the Miata. I removed the blower-motor resistor assembly and saw that it does indeed have the safety link blown. The blower operates on high but not on the lower fan speeds. A resistor assembly mounted under the blower motor enables it to run at slower speeds. However, it has a safety device in case it overheats. The device is a solder joint. I considered trying to re-solder it but the assembly is clearly marked “DO NOT ATTEMPT REPAIR”, I’d guess because the solder is a special mix which lets go at a specific temperature and a repair might not do that.
I also removed the CD player/radio assembly. I found the ground wires loose and fixed that, then pulled out the plug assembly and cleaned it with contact cleaner. But when I tested it, there was no improvement--- still a short or open somewhere.
I had trouble with the climate control assembly. The little knobs have tiny screws in them and one would not budge. I ended up having to use the Dremel tool to gouge out the plastic behind the screw so I could slip off the knob and remove the screw. If I can’t get a replacement knob I can still use this one, I’ll just have to glue it on with something like a thread sealant so it will stay for everyday use but can still be forced off if necessary.
Later in the day I rode down to Rudy Park and walked the hilly section to get some stair-flight count on the Fitbit. I did 50-couple flights and about three miles of walking.
That evening we watched the first disc of ‘Downton Abbey’ Series Two from Netflix.
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Sunday, 21 April -
I spent most of today researching how to fix a few of the Miata’s many problems. I found the procedure for testing, removing, and replacing the fan blower resistor and for removing the ‘tombstone’, which is the cover over the heater controls and radio.
That afternoon I rode the GS down to the Tollgate Starbucks south of York and then on to Nixon County Park. As I approached the park I saw a sign for the rail-trail at Seven Valleys so rode there hoping to rent a bicycle. I had been there last year and wanted to return for both a ride and also to try out a bike or possibly two of them. I’ve been thinking I’d like to ride a few rail-trails this summer and I’d like to find a better bike for that than my little folding bikes. The Dahon’s are great for travel but they’re not well suited for rail-trail riding. I’d like to have something more comfortable and something with normal-size wheels. Alas, the rental place was closed. It looks like it has gone out of business but perhaps it’s just too early in the season to attract enough customers to make it worthwhile to open.
At Nixon Park I picked up a map for the nearby Kain County Park. I’ve walked Nixon’s trails several times and last time I took the connector trail to Kain Park and that piqued my interest.
WIth the map I planned out a walk on Trail 1 so I’d get some uphill and could circle back to my parking place. I could see from the map that Trail 1 connects with Trail 7 via a bridge under I-83.... something I had no idea existed. So of course I chose to check that out. When I got to the bridge, though, I saw it’s a smallish tunnel, only about five feet high and maybe nine feet wide. But the tunnel floor is also the creek bed. There’s only a few inches of water but the far end of the tunnel looks to be about the size of a postage stamp it’s so far away. That is creepy. No wonder I didn’t see any indication it’s used! It would be a great adventure, though.
That evening we watched three ‘House of Cards’ episodes.
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Saturday, 20 April -
Today I rode the F650GS to Boiling Springs and walked the Appalachian Trail south. I’ve not been on this section of trail for quite some time and wanted something with some --- but not too much --- uphill to it. I walked the four miles from the furnace parking lot to the Alex Kennedy shelter and back.
On the way in I met ‘Jackrabbit’, a young through-hiker. He started from the southern end of the trail on February 17th and was planning on being at the northern terminus in June. That’s over 2200 miles of walking in four months!
Jackrabbit also said he had done the ‘Four-State Challenge’. I’ve not heard of that one but I suspected I knew what it is. The challenge is to leave Virginia and cross West Virginia and Maryland and get into Pennsylvania, all in one calendar day.
At the shelter I simply had a snack, signed the log, and took a 15-minute break before starting back.
On the return leg I saw a hiker ahead of me struggling with his load. He was carrying a massive pack but also a long bag of what I can only assume to be tent poles. His body language said he was barely making it and I saw him stop several times and take off his pack and sit on it. He’d only sit a few minutes, though, then would jump up, heave the pack on and pick up the long, heavy bag.
I caught up with him about a half-mile from the parking lot. He was a pleasant-enough guy who said he’s from Philly. He said he had planned to camp overnight but had changed his mind. When I said something about getting out to clear the mind, he said something like, ‘if only it were that easy’. He subtly let me know he was having some mental struggles. My impression was he has problems with his mind continually racing and he can’t get any peace. I didn’t have the impression he was dangerous or violent or even anything more than a bit pre-occupied. We only chatted ten minutes or so while we rested.
I made it back to the car around 1700 and rode home quite tired. The Fitbit said I did 8 miles and 155 flights of stairs.
That evening we watched more ‘House of Cards’. Good story-telling.
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Friday, 19 April -
This morning I caught up the blog and posted an update. That afternoon I drove Labashi’s car to the new-to-me soccer fields near the Brunner Island power plant to look around while getting in my 10k Fitbit steps for the day.
This area was an old dumping-ground for coal ash from the plant. After covering up the ash with topsoil and planting grass and adding a parking area and a few fences, PP&L now leases it to the township as a recreation area. It’s a massive grassy area with ample parking and a few equipment-storage units. It has something like 10 sets of soccer goals, apparently for tournaments.
I walked the outer boundary of the grounds several times and checked out the nearby Susquehanna and Conewago Creek banks. This seems like it would be a pretty nice fishing area so I’m surprised I wasn’t seeing any evidence of fishermen’s trails along the water.
I walked back to the hard road and crossed the creek bridge to get to the entrance to the wetlands area. The wetlands are a series of ponds in the low-lying areas along Conewago Creek. There’s a nice picnic area and a large deck on one pond for wildlife observation. Today the picnic area had visitors-- trucks carrying spools of electric cables for the massive new towers being erected to the west of the wetlands area. I talked to one of the truckers and he said the new lines have two additional conductors and are needed for additional generating capacity (actually, he responded to my question about whether they’re needed for additional generating capacity with a ‘yes’). But come to think of it I don’t see any evidence of new generation capacity going in (such as construction projects at any of the power plants.
After checking the ponds I walked to the creek but I could see workers along the powerline and thought they may suspect I’m spying on them or something. I headed back to the soccer fields and took another lap there in the nice grass.
That evening we watched the Netflix series ‘House of Cards’ with Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright-Penn.
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posted by Bezabor&Labashi | 14:01
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