Cozy Bear Cabin

For our 5 year anniversary, Jesse and I wanted to get away. Jesse looked online and somehow stumbled upon this cabin nestled in the woods of Williamsville, VA. This place really was in the middle of nowhere and it was just what we were looking for. We spent countless hours just sitting on the front porch listening to the wind and birds and saw a few deer walk by, a family of turkeys, a few bats... we never did see any bear and that was ok with me. We took a trip into Monterey, VA on Saturday. This was such a small town. We ate at one of 2 restaurants (that we saw) and had a good hamburger and homemade potato skins. Then headed back to the cabin with intentions to go to the swimming hole or for a hike, instead we spent the rest of the time hiding from the rain! It rained all through the night and into the morning. It offered Jesse and I a good time to talk about the next 5 years and what we hope to accomplish. We headed back to "the real world" this afternoon. A world of internet, cell phones, multiple radio stations (they only had one that played Grand Ole Opry style music)... Hopefully we will go back next year!

Disclaimer: If you get motion sickness, watch the below videos at your own risk! Jesse moves the camera pretty quickly...

Outside of cabin

I will have to post the other video later... it is taking too long to upload. Stay tuned!

A jourey of five.

This past weekend 4 friends and I set out on a journey that would take 2.25 days and stretch 24 miles. We left Lynchburg on Friday night at about 6:00 PM and ended up near Roanoke. We started out hiking to Dragon's Tooth and setting up camp at about 10:30PM. It was 15 degrees and super windy. My sleeping bag kept me warm... I didn't want to get out the next morning as it was roughly 24.35 degrees or thereabouts. So, we ended up breaking down camp and moving out at about 11:00 AM... we should have probably moved out a little earlier.

Just about to take off North on the AT to go to McAfee's Knob. Day two took us about 12 miles or so. By the end of the day I was feeling good yet excited to rest and sit around a camp fire. We made our way to the shelter and setup camp. Stoves came out, food packets were ripped open, and we ate a much needed meal. It was really nice to rest my feet and legs. I was in bed by 8:30 PM and asleep by 8:40.

This photo was at the summit of McAfees's Knob was taken early on last day of the journey. It was pretty cold up there. In fact, there was some pools of frozen water. Some really great views. We could see from the top where we headed (Tinker Cliffs). We finished the hike at about 5:30 on Sunday evening and frankly by the end I was happy to have finished. We climbed 3500 feet on Sunday over about 8 miles and then desceneded about the same amount over about 2 miles. Most people are happy to go down... I was not. The descent was obscenely steep and not good on my knees. Had I not had my friend Tim to talk to on the way down I would have been a very angry camper... literally. Chatting with Tim helped to keep my mind off how my body was feeling. Thanks Tim! Once we finished the hike we went to Burger King. I at a loaded burger, junior Whopper, large fries, and two hershey pieces. I did not feel good after I ate.

Hiking/Camping at St. Mary's Wilderness

This past Saturday and Sunday Branden, Josh, and I went camping and hiking at St. Mary's Wilderness. None of us really knew how difficult the hike would be. I would estimate that over two days we hiked 16 or 17 miles. It was a great time and the weather was perfect. I did get a little cold at night as my sleeping bags loft is not what it used to be. Overall, this was an excellent trip. I look forward to doing it again.

Yours truly. That is a waterfall behind me.

Water running about 3 feet under the rock wall. It must have been running for a very long time.

Branden telling his famous ghost stories...

The Priest wilderness where I went hiking and camping a couple months back with my dad, uncle and two cousins.

Crawfish for dinner. We searched for these in the stream that ran about 10 feet from our campsite. I will be honest and say Josh caught all but about 3 of them. He is a hunter!

Went hiking with part of our small group.

Last night we took off from Lynchburg at about 6:30 to go camping at McCafe Knob off of 311 in far away. We camped out and hiked to the top this morning. It was a great time and the view was amazing! We saw a black bear just down the trail from us. It is the first time I have seen a bear in Virginia. I look forward to another trip with the small group. The weather is perfect for hiking and camping now.Carrie is so good at making really cute faces!




That is one crazy cliff. Even sitting on the edge was crazy!
They thought it would be fun to have a knife fight.
A group shot minus Joe and Jess and boy. Sorry you couldn't come.

Three Ridges & The Priest Wilderness

So two weeks ago my Dad, Uncle, Cody (cousin), Ariel (cousin), and myself went hiking and camping on the Appalachian Trail. My uncle asked me to find a good place to go... naturally I found a place. I know of a couple of places around my house that provide great views and some good hiking. What I didn't know is that the section I took them on is considered by many to be the most difficult vertical climb on the entire trail. It was pretty brutal. Don't get me wrong, I am glad we did it and would do it again, I would just slim down my pack to essentials. Did I really need to bring my 6 person glass hookah? In hindsight, a 4 person would have been fine. Anyways, it rained for the better part of the first day, which kept us cool. I will post more photos later and a better write-up and maybe some links to what we hiked.




Not sure who this bozo is below... I think he was a through hiker. He followed us the entire time. We finally clubbed him and left him in a stream.