Oct 16 Haw River Trail

The Haw River Land Trail is a proposed 70 mile trail from Haw River State Park to Jordan Lake State Recreation Area. Several sections are completed but it will be years before the proposed trail is completed. Today, I hiked from Glencoe paddle access to Stony Creek Marina. This is just outside the Burlington city limits in the Glencoe community. Abandoned mills dot the sides of the river. there were two on this short section. The dam for the first is shown above and below. 

This section is maintained by Alamance County Parks. There is ample parking at several spots. Near the dam is a side trail on the strip of land between the mill sluice and the river. A number of picnic tables and benches are found here. Briefly, you follow a road as you pass the mill and the mill house community.

Soon, another mill is encountered. There was a family engaged in a photo shoot here. After crossing and road and then another, you hike by the one "bad neighbor" of the trail. The maintainer of this section told me this guy piles his yard waste and debris adjacent to the trail. He does his target practice deliberately to scare off hikers. There were some other issues too. It sounded as though attempts to rein this guy in have failed and a feud has ensued. No sign of him as I passed by twice.

Oct 12 Old Rag Mountain

Its Old Rag time again. I had no intention of hiking Old Rag today but when I met my friend in Richmond to visit breweries, he stated he was headed this way and would I like to join him. I didn't have my pack, hiking shoes, and worst, I had only blue jeans. How many times do you get opportunities like this? Not often so I decided the blue jeans would have to make the trip.

We arrived at the parking area just before 10 and we began hiking up the approach road shortly afterward. It was a chilly morning but humid. I was half soaked by the time we got to the actual trail .8 mile from the parking area. Then we began the long upward climb. To me this is the worse part of the hike. We got through the first easy rock scramble but only after my partner got stuck in the rock briefly. From here there is a good long break with some great views. Then the rock jumble scramble begins. The very first encounter is a crack we must drop down about 6-7 feet with one foothold which is not clearly visible. This is one of the hardest spots to traverse. I suspect some people turn back at this spot. We managed to get through but it was a struggle.

Proceeding from here, there are numerous spots which require good traction and balance. There are some tight squeezes and some seemingly impassible spots but somehow we worked through them all. 

I understand the Park Service applies super glue about every 6 months to hold this rock in place.

Now we are clear of the rock scrambles. There are 4 or 5 that really get the attention of even the experienced scramblers.

This boulder is typical of what you see on top.

Looking southeast, it is great view.

Oops, one more scramble

On the summit we had lunch and got rested before the long descent. We had hiked only 3.8 miles to this point with 5.2 miles to go. The descent trail is rocky at first but after a mile and a half, becomes a driveable road. 

It was a great day for the climb and a pleasant walk down. Lets do it again.

Oct 10 & 11 Capital Bikeway

The Capital Bikeway is a new trail, opened during 2015, connecting Richmond with Jamestown Settlement. From Jamestown one can proceed to Williamsburg via the Colonial Parkway. Thus the trail is said to connect the old capital with the new capital.

I'm riding a portion of the 53 mile trail today. Beginning in Charles City and pedaling 20 miles to Jamestown and back. It is paved surface so the route is rather easy. Driving along Route 5 prior to stopping at a trailhead, I noted the trail right next to the road. It was in the open, passing through huge soybean fields. Did I forget sunscreen? Yes.

Fortunately, I was able to get some sunscreen from a local couple. They spoke highly of the trail and suggested I take the route toward Jamestown since it was shaded most of the way. In the first few miles, there were power trucks restoring electricity lost during Hurricane Matthew. One place still had a generator roaring out back. The wind had left a lot of little debris on the trail but only one tree partially blocking the trail.

There was one long high bridge over the Chickahominy River. I never saw the James River although Rt 5 roughly follows it from Richmond to Jamestown. Almost all the time I was next to or close to Rt 5 until the final 2 miles to Jamestown.

Rt 5 and the trail

On my second day of riding, I visited the Shockoe Bottom area of Richmond. The trail officially starts beneath I-95. When you travel northbound on I-95, cross the James River and the magnificent Union Station building appears right next to the highway, you are directly above the trail. Not only the trail, also, the canal and an elevated railway.

The James River has some rapids just downstream from downtown Richmond. To avoid these and get ships navigated to downtown, a canal was built around 1820 to bypass the rapids and provide access to downtown. There was a 12 block long wharf where ships could dock for loading and unloading. The canal front is lined with 3 to 6 story high warehouses. Now being converted to luxury lofts and offices, the area appears to be thriving again.  

Bicycling out from Richmond, the trail quickly opens up into soybean fields alongside Rt 5. I rode for several miles before deciding to turn back at the overpass on Pocahontas Parkway, below. 

Here is the scene as you enter the canal area. The large brick building is prime real estate now. Just a few years ago, that would not have been the case.

The restored canal and canal walk in the I-95 area.

Sept 15 Summer Trailcam Photos

Sept 5 Mt Hood and the Timberline Trail

The center of activity on Mt Hood is Timberline Lodge built as a WPA project in the 1930s. It is a massive and impressive stone structure with wonderful architectural features designed to make it a grand showcase of a Western mountain lodge. It boasts oak floors, huge wood beams, unique doors and hardware and even has a WPA tile mural in the entryway.

The 40 mile Timberline Trail loop is usually accessed here. We walked a couple miles out and back to get a feel for the area. I was stunned by the barrenness of the terrain.  

The trail was built in 1930 by the CCC. It shares some of its trail with the Pacific Crest Trail. Also, it was part of the predecessor to the PCT, the Oregon Skyway trail which went from Crater lake to Mt Hood. 

Mt Hood, at 11,235 feet is the highest point in Oregon. There are 12 named glaciers on it with the largest, Eliot Glacier at 73,000 acres and 360' at its deepest point. We saw skiers on one of the snow fields, whenever the clouds parted.  

Mt Hood is volcanic. Its last eruption was 1781. There are a number of vents on the mountain which spew various gases. In 1934, someone exploring an ice cave, dies as a result of venting gases. Someday it will erupt again but like, Mt St Helens in 1980, there will be sufficient warning. Our B&B host was on top of Mt Hood when Mt St Helens erupted but did not witness the eruption. Later that day, he saw the smoke and ash cloud from Mt St Helens floating eastward.

Sept 4 Multnomah Falls

Multnomah Falls was on our itinerary for the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. Not the best time to try to visit, but it was then or never. Multnomah Falls is on the Columbia River Gorge about an hour west of Portland. Its water flows into the Columbia about 1/2 mile from the base of the falls. As you can see, it is a two tier drop with combined measurement of 620 feet, highest in Oregon. The USFS sign says it is the second highest US "year-round" waterfall. This claim was from a decades old promotion of the falls and nearby lodge. The World Waterfall Database ranks it 154th in the US.

My photo took patience. There were thousands of people in the area. See what it really looked like, below.

An interesting story dates to 1995. A wedding party was on the bridge right above the splash pool for the first drop when a 40 by 20 foot, 400 ton rock dislodged from rock face near the top and fell into the pool. A 70 foot wave drenched the wedding party and injured several.

Before visiting Multnomah, we hiked to Wahkeena Falls nearby. Parking was easier at it but we had to hike a mile between them. On our return hike, the road below was at a standstill for about a mile.

Aug 12 Buffalo Mountain

As you look north from the Sauratown Mountains or many other regional locales in which you see the southern profile of Buffalo Mountain, it resembles a buffalo (or bison). It is the most recognizable mountain feature in the area, from the south. 

As a Virginia Natural Area Preserve, it has significance for its occurrences of rare plants and animals. The magnesium rich soil is an anomaly in the area. Some of the naturally occurring plants are more prevalent in the midwest and not see elsewhere in Virginia. The trailhead kiosk tantalizes us with its claim to fame as the only known occurrence of Puto kosztarabi in the world. A mealybug. I didn't spend much time looking for one but I did want to see a wildflower, Grass of Parnassus. Didn't see one of those either. We did see a couple Peregrine Falcons soaring above. Twice I saw one initiate a dive but both times, broke it off after a very short distance.

At 3971 feet, we were well above the local landscape. As you can see, there is significant forest with some pasture land but no towns or communities in the area. The drive to the trailhead is a single lane rutted dirt road. The parking lot looks like it get some visitation but I would hate to meet a vehicle on that one lane road. We could see that some cars had parked about a mile away and walked in as it was a rough and steep road. The trail to the top is just a mile but uphill all the way.

In addition to its natural history, there were some famous landowners of the property. It was part of a land grant given to General Harry Lighthorse Lee for his service during the Revolutionary War. Upon his death, it was passed on to his sons Charles Carter Lee and Robert E Lee. Charles lived on the property and his log cabin law office still stands on adjacent property.

Hard to miss this Chicken of the Woods right next to the trail.