The Climb at Crabtree

The view from the top of Crabtree Falls, VA



The very bottom of Crabtree Falls.

It was a cold, crisp, clear Saturday morning and we took a drive southeast to a beautiful part of Virginia south of Staunton.  Our destination for the morning was Crabtree Falls, known as the highest cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi.  The climb to the top of the falls is a 1.7 mile hike rising around 1200' in elevation.

 

When we began our hike, it was near freezing so we bundled up with hats, gloves and heavy coats.  It wasn't long before those extra layers started coming off.  The path led up the mountain with numerous switchbacks and warmed us up quickly.  At various points on the hike, the path took us to amazing views of the falls.  When we reached the 0.5 of 1.7 marker, I was questioning if I could make it to the top.  We were less than halfway up the mountain and my legs were burning.  The path was a mixture of steps, rocks and a dirt path, we plugged on.
      As we got to the 1.0 of 1.7 post, I began asking those on their descent if it was really worth the trip.  Most people said "absolutely yes" but a few said "we didn't make it, we had to turn around".  We made the decision to continue our climb to the top and were rewarded with more amazing views of the falls and the valley.

      The final 1/2 mile went pretty quickly.  We stopped and rested a couple of times, took more pictures and went at a much slower pace.  When we finally reached the top and crossed over the stream, we were greeted with an awesome view of the valley below. 
From the top, you can't see the falls very well, but the rest of the vista is spectacular.  The return trip down the mountain was a breeze as we passed all the people huffing and puffing on their climb.  These people were asking the same questions of themselves and of the other climbers as they struggled up the mountain.  The answer is simple: yes, it is definitely worth the climb to the top of Crabtree Falls.

Bridgeday 2013

     

On Saturday, October 18th, I traveled to Fayetteville, WV to join an estimated 80,000 people to watch adventure seekers jump off the massive (and very high) New River Gorge Bridge.  I like adventure as much as anyone, but these whack jobs are way out of my league.  I have always wanted to go to the annual Bridgeday, and this weekend, I finally had the chance.  It's about a 3 hour drive from home and was well worth the trip.  One would think walking across a bridge 900 feet above the New River Gorge would be scary, but it's not.  Getting close to the edge and looking over at the river below is scary.  Watching a line of Base Jumpers dive off the platform, one after another, is a crazy kind of scary.  And watching the real nut cases being flung into the air and over the edge by The Subaru Catapult is just pure entertainment.

     

We hit the bridge at about 10:30 am and started snapping pictures of the incredible view of the Gorge and the river below.  As we approached the jump site in the middle of the bridge, the crowd became thick.  The Base jumpers were at a stand still because of a passing train along the river below.  It wasn't long before the train had passed and these thrill-seekers were diving, flipping and doing handstands off the platform and free-falling hundreds of feet down before the chutes deployed.  One after another, an impressive line of slightly off-center men and women took their turn.  Most landed perfectly as planned, but a few ended up a little short, soaking wet in the river.  No fear, the rescue boat were quickly on the scene and all was good.

      It was a great day overall, but there were a couple highlights.  First, a paralyzed man rolled his wheelchair off the platform and hit the landing spot perfectly below.  Secondly, the American flag was brought in by parachute from a plane flying high overhead.  He did an amazing fly-by of the bridge jump site to the cheering crowd and also landed perfectly below.  The third highlight was The Subaru Catapult tossing these jumpers into the air and over the edge.  Five, four, three two one and wham, up and over they went as the crowd gathered around cheered.  The beautiful scenery and the amazing thrill-seekers made for a great afternoon at Bridgeday 2013 at the New River Gorge.

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A Summer of #Peaks

I spent the summer looking for #peaks as I visited 6 state highpoints

One of my favorite #peaks from my trip to the Smoky Mountains this summer



Reflecting #peaks in Central Park on a gray day.



Love the #peaks on the Ellis Island Building.



One of the strange rock #peaks on the Skyline Drive in VA that looks like a strange creature.

#Grateful Indeed

With it being Thanksgiving weekend, it is very fitting that today's #FriFoto theme is #grateful.  Here is a recap of my submissions from some of the pictures I have taken recently.

I am #grateful that my girls have not killed each other....yet!
 



#Grateful for the the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice.  #Arlington National

So #grateful to live in this amazing country, with Lady Liberty on lookout.

Very #grateful to the guides who led our team safely through the Class V whitewater on the Youghiogheny River

Forever #grateful for those who died at Gettysburg, trying to make this world a better place.

We are all #grateful to Todd and the other passengers of Flight 93 who stood up to the terrorists

So Many Secrets on #FriFotos

The theme for #FriFotos this week is #SECRETS.  Here are a few of my submissions.

For years, Deep Creek Lake, has been known as "Maryland's Best Kept #Secret".  Lately, it seems the #secret has gotten out.  It is a very crowded place on a warm summer's day. 

Long known as "Maryland's Best Kept #Secret"

I took this picture a couple years ago of a #secret garden in Williamsburg, VA

A #secret garden in Williamsburg, VA

The #secret to my happiness is to hike a challenging trail to find a place like this small stream in the Great Smoky Mtns.

The #secret to happiness is to hike and find a spot like I found in the Great Smoky Mountains

I seems like President Kennedy took a bunch of #secrest to his grave.

How many #secrets did he take to the grave?

 

There are many #secrets behind the walls of this restaurant, but it's not a #secret to the people of Savannah, Georgia; The Moon River Brewing Company is haunted.

There are many #secrets inside the Haunted Moon River Brewing Company.

I wonder how many #secrets have been buried in this swamp in southern South Carolina?

How many #secrets are buried in this South Carolina swamp?

On a secluded rock ledge, over looking the Blackwater River Canyon in WV, is a great place to watch a sunset and ponder the #secrets of life.

Pondering the #secrets of life

 Sharing #secrets away from the crowd.

Sharing #secrets

 

A FALL day with #FriFotos

          A couple weeks ago I stumbled onto #FriFotos on Twitter and I am hooked.  Each week, they announce the theme and people all over the world post pictures based on themes like "CURVES" and "GOLD".  This week we will be sharing pictures about "FALL".  At first, you would think it will be a bunch of pictures of yellow trees and red bushes, but #FriFotos will be about much more than autumn photos.  Here are my entries for the week.  These are my pictures, taken by me or taken of me.

          On a summer afternoon, we took a day-trip to Dolly Sods Wilderness Area in West Virginia.  After a couple hours of hiking and exploring, we found "Bear Rocks".  High above the valley, the vistas were stunning.  As Maria was taking this picture, she said "be careful, please don't FALL"

I'm glad I didn't FALL off "Bear Rocks"  It would have left a mark!

 

 

          Just before Sandy hit the east coast, I took an afternoon trip to Ohiopyle, PA for a late-season leaf peeping trip in the mountains of southwestern, PA.  Our first stop took us to the amazing architectural site know as Fallingwater.  Created for the Kaufmann department store family and designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, this beautiful home was built in the late 1930s, is constructed over a stream and waterfall and was featured on the cover of Time magazine many years ago.  It is now National Historic Landmark and the grounds offer many photographic opportunities.

FALLingwater on a FALL day in SW Pennsylvania

          In late September, I was lucky enough to visit New York City (before Sandy) and captured a number of great pictures worthy of a #FriFotos entry.  It was during our trip on the Hudson River that I caught these two choppers flying past the new World Trade Center building that is under construction.  Without a doubt, if I was working up there and the choppers buzzed the tower, I am sure I would FALL to my death.

I would FALL to my death if I was working up there and got buzzed by those choppers

          A snow#FALL that began on October 30th did extensive damage to trees and shrubs in our area.  Nearly 30" of heavy, wet snow was no match for young trees like these Birch.

An early snow#FALL buckled my birches

         
          We took a trip north two years ago to Niagara Falls.  It is a beautiful place, but this is definitely a place that you do NOT want to FALL into.

You climb, you slip, you FALL, you die.  Niagara FALLs, USA

          Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast beginning on October 30th.  While the coast got reavy rain, wind and storm surge, the mountains of western Maryland recieved a heavy wet snowFALL.  Power was out for most of our county thanks to a snowFALL of nearly 30" that brought down trees and powerlines everywhere.  This tree would FALL, blocking my street on Wednesday, November 1st, some 36 hours after the snowFALL began.

I never expected a heavy snowFALL to cause a tree like this to FALL and block my street on November 1st

          Early this summer, we took a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains.  On one of our hikes to a waterfall (there are quite a few in the Smokies), we found this sign.  We took it's advice and were very careful so that we would not FALL into the ravine below.

Be careful, or you may FALL into the ravine below

 

          When leaves #FALL on top of 2' of snow, the sun will then heat the leaf and it will melt the snow below, causing the leaf to sink in creating a mini "Grand Canyon" in the snow.

Sinking into the snow.

 

          FALL is this week's #FriFotos theme and I have tried to be a litle more creative than just using beautiful FALL pictures, but I could not resist posting the following picture that was taken in October at New Germany State Park in western Maryland..  This is what FALL looks like up here in the mountains.

This is what FALL looks like up here in the mountains of western Maryland

 

          My final entry for #FriFoto was also taken on our trip last month to Ohiopyle, PA.  This shot of the FALLs was taken from the far side in an area known as the Ferncliff Natural Area.  It was a short hike along the river and we had a perfect view of the FALLs.

The FALLs on the Youghiogheny River in Ohiopyle, PA on a warm FALL day.

 

         

The Squad and Old Misery

          This week's adventure took us to the Catoctin Mountains in Frederick County, Maryland.  The autumn colors were near peak in their beauty as we wound up Rt 77 from Smithsburg to our destination.  Things got interesting real fast as we were greeted by numerous rescue squads and fire trucks along the road as we entered the park.  When we finally got the the parking area, there were more emergency vehicles clogging the place up.  We never found out what happened, but after reaching the Cunningham Falls, we concluded that one or more of the hundreds of people climbing the rocks must have fallen.  The presence of the emergency vehicles did not seem to deter the climbers in the least.

          We finally found a place to park and when we got to the trail, we were faced with a choice.  The short, easier, flatter trail to the right or the more difficult, steeper, longer trail to the left.  A kid smoking in front of us went right so, of course, we went left, straight up the rocky path.  The tougher path was much less traveled but when we got to the falls, we found the crowd.  Minus all the people, it was a beautiful sight, the fall colors, the bright blue sky and the cascading waterfall.  We hung around for a few minutes, snapping some pictures then headed off to find a less crowded part of the park.  We took the easier, quicker path back to the parking lot and headed to the other side to try out Old Misery Trail and make the climb to Cat Rock.

It was listed as strenuous in the brochure but that didn't scare us off, and again, we headed straight up the incline.  The first 1/2 mile was the harderst, steepest, rockiest part of the hike and once we got on top, it was smooth sailing.  There were numerous spots with scenic views and places to sit for a spell and rest my weary knees and hips, and of course, snap a couple pics!  Old Misery Trail lived up to it's name on this day, especially for this 53 year old man.

          When we finally reached the end of our journey, we were greeted with the amazing rock formation known as Cat Rock.  We climbed up Cat Rock and the vistas were fantastic.  The perfectly sunny day was giving way to the incoming clouds and the cool wind was biting on the ears, but the view from Cat Rocks was worth it.  Again, we spent about 15 minutes resting, enjoying the peacefulness and snapping pictures before we started our descent.  About 45 minutes later, we were back on level ground, then in our vehicle and headed off to find a good place to eat.  It was a great afternoon in the Catoctin Mountains and after having endured the rescue squads and Old Misery Trail, we headed on home.