I miss you.
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Toaster
He was a living, breathing creature. A child of divorce. Family pets have become part of the circle of life, however he was the only pet that was truly mine. His name was Toby. Which sometime turned into Tobster. Which then evolved into Toaster. The unconditional love a pet provides has a special place beyond that of a human. Nothing is exempt from the circle of life. Nothing. So cruel yet so natural.
I miss you.
I miss you.
Man
The WWII generation is near extinct at this time. One can wonder what it would be like if one was born in a different generation. Its history now, but it sure did produce a good amount of respectable humans. Major Winters grave site did not stand out, a sign of how humble he was. Despite all the fame from a TV series there was clearly much more to life.
New for the year of 2015 is a memorial, built by the town of Ephrata.
Research reveals that the Winter's family strongly objected against the memorial as Dick would not have wanted it. Some body needed to claim the fame so the town stepped in despite the Winters' refusal to cooperate. It is a nice memorial, but so what? A good man has passed and while he was living he consciously objected against such things. Goes to show where society's priorities are.
A plaque next to the memorial highlighted Dick's leadership principles. I truly believe if these were adhered to in all forms of leadership roles this planet would be a lot better off. One can dream.
Falling into fall, elsewhere
My favorite season has come. The chill is in the air again. Our surroundings are changing their appearance. I shot down to Virginia to combine my first autumn hike with knocking out another high peak. Virginia's highest peak is Mount Rogers coming in at 5,729'. The Blue Ridge mountain range is a glorious range on the eastern seaboard. I wish I lived closer, then again, I say that about a lot of places. Drove down during the day, slept in a Walmart parking lot then set out at sunrise.
The park has a well known feature to it, wild ponies. Not quite my idea of wild though, as they are fenced in to keep them in the park and they were introduced to the region to keep the mountain top clear of brush. How thoughtful. A sign greets you at the entrance.
They kick and bite. Do not walk behind. Hm. Okay. Spotted one right away.
Seems docile enough. Found a bunch more.
Hey wait stay there.
Oh come on now I have to walk behind the pony! The sign warned me not to. Jackass.
They didn't seem to care about much. Just doing their thing. Onto the mountain!
The scenery was definitely worth it as the path begins up the hillside.
The foliage was not really that different than what one would find in the Catskills. Surprising seeing as it is 10 hours away.
Mount Rogers is up there somewhere. There are very few places where you can actually see the peak from a marked trail.
This peak was nearby and had some nice boulders to scramble across. As I went higher, the air grew colder. Before I knew it I was in the clouds. The cool humid air blew all around. Not much traffic up here either. None actually.
Gotta be careful with the low visibility, a herd of vicious ponies hid not far from the trail.
The next two hours I spent essentially lost. The ponies did create one problem, lots of paths crossing everywhere. Although the main trails were well marked, if you stopped paying attention you could quickly go off trail and not know it for awhile. Which I did, Multiple times. I'm not going to complain though as I saw plenty of wonderful sights..
It did eventually get old though, especially when I ran into the same gate three times. Enough of this dilly dallying, onto the peak!
Not exactly what one would expect at a "high peak". The top is heavily forested. There is no view. None the less it was beautiful forest. Very moist, lush and green. I kicked the peak marker then wandered around.
I love this type of forest.
Once satisfied I shot down the mountain. And got lost again. Damn pony trails! As I later found out, one of the intersection signs was actually rotated 90 degrees incorrectly and the sign lined up with a pony trail so it didn't look odd. Getting back out of the clouds meant I ran into them, again.
It was a peaceful pass. I had a lot of time still left in the day despite my dilly dallying so I decided to do another loop in a different part of the park. A waterfall marker is enough to hold my interest.
I loved this trail. Absolutely no traffic and offered a completely different experience from climbing Mount Rogers. All within the same park.
One has to wonder how a tree grew like this.
A beautiful creek running through the ravine, complete with a few waterfalls and even contained trout.
Virginia is noted as having really nice parks and I would have to agree. The layout was friendly, parking was cheap and the peak wasn't exactly difficult yet still worth it. Plus there is no denying that autumn can spice anything up.
The park has a well known feature to it, wild ponies. Not quite my idea of wild though, as they are fenced in to keep them in the park and they were introduced to the region to keep the mountain top clear of brush. How thoughtful. A sign greets you at the entrance.
They kick and bite. Do not walk behind. Hm. Okay. Spotted one right away.
Seems docile enough. Found a bunch more.
Hey wait stay there.
Oh come on now I have to walk behind the pony! The sign warned me not to. Jackass.
They didn't seem to care about much. Just doing their thing. Onto the mountain!
The scenery was definitely worth it as the path begins up the hillside.
The foliage was not really that different than what one would find in the Catskills. Surprising seeing as it is 10 hours away.
Mount Rogers is up there somewhere. There are very few places where you can actually see the peak from a marked trail.
This peak was nearby and had some nice boulders to scramble across. As I went higher, the air grew colder. Before I knew it I was in the clouds. The cool humid air blew all around. Not much traffic up here either. None actually.
Gotta be careful with the low visibility, a herd of vicious ponies hid not far from the trail.
The next two hours I spent essentially lost. The ponies did create one problem, lots of paths crossing everywhere. Although the main trails were well marked, if you stopped paying attention you could quickly go off trail and not know it for awhile. Which I did, Multiple times. I'm not going to complain though as I saw plenty of wonderful sights..
It did eventually get old though, especially when I ran into the same gate three times. Enough of this dilly dallying, onto the peak!
Not exactly what one would expect at a "high peak". The top is heavily forested. There is no view. None the less it was beautiful forest. Very moist, lush and green. I kicked the peak marker then wandered around.
Tip of this rock was the peak.
I love this type of forest.
Once satisfied I shot down the mountain. And got lost again. Damn pony trails! As I later found out, one of the intersection signs was actually rotated 90 degrees incorrectly and the sign lined up with a pony trail so it didn't look odd. Getting back out of the clouds meant I ran into them, again.
It was a peaceful pass. I had a lot of time still left in the day despite my dilly dallying so I decided to do another loop in a different part of the park. A waterfall marker is enough to hold my interest.
I loved this trail. Absolutely no traffic and offered a completely different experience from climbing Mount Rogers. All within the same park.
One has to wonder how a tree grew like this.
A beautiful creek running through the ravine, complete with a few waterfalls and even contained trout.
Virginia is noted as having really nice parks and I would have to agree. The layout was friendly, parking was cheap and the peak wasn't exactly difficult yet still worth it. Plus there is no denying that autumn can spice anything up.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
The way life should be
It is just a state slogan for Maine and now it is beginning to make sense. Life is not static and it is certainly silly to think the way it is now is the way it will always be. The sun fell behind the tree line as we set up camp while the harvest moon gave way to a lit up forest.
The skies were vibrant to the west while at the same time the moon lit up the east sky. It was peaceful to see both while standing in a wide open space. Of course the iphone camera can't really capture the night sky in all it's glory.
Prior to heading to Maine, the weather forecast called for overnight lows in the low 40s. Everyone has been saying how much colder Maine is but if you compare internet statistics it is not much different than upstate NY if not the same. The misinformation on the internet is astounding. It was a chilly first night, I knew it was colder than 40 but I didn't know how much.
A frozen fog hovered over the forest. Ice had formed on my tailgate.
As I later figured out, Maine forecast is a mere guideline. Microclimates and human error account for the variety. The following night was the same. And the one after that. All of which were supposed to be in the 40s but changed their mind and dropped into the 20s.
Morning fires were now mandatory along with the regular evening fires.
Getting to work was a good way to stay warm. Since it was obvious we were going to have a lot of fires, a fire pit was in order.
Now with a comfortable hang out spot our lives could move forward. There's nothing like pooping on a frost covered bucket in the middle of the woods while the sun rises.
The moose grunted in the distant marsh while the morning birds chirped away. In the evenings deer would snort at us from the tree line as our presence was obviously foreign. Coyotes would howl from a different direction every night. A daily hike revealed apple trees, beaver dams and separate ecosystems.
Even cleared and leveled a small section by hand.
There is no rush. No demand. I could get used to this.
"If you want to be free, learn to live simply. Use what you have and be content where you are."
- J. Heider
The skies were vibrant to the west while at the same time the moon lit up the east sky. It was peaceful to see both while standing in a wide open space. Of course the iphone camera can't really capture the night sky in all it's glory.
Prior to heading to Maine, the weather forecast called for overnight lows in the low 40s. Everyone has been saying how much colder Maine is but if you compare internet statistics it is not much different than upstate NY if not the same. The misinformation on the internet is astounding. It was a chilly first night, I knew it was colder than 40 but I didn't know how much.
A frozen fog hovered over the forest. Ice had formed on my tailgate.
As I later figured out, Maine forecast is a mere guideline. Microclimates and human error account for the variety. The following night was the same. And the one after that. All of which were supposed to be in the 40s but changed their mind and dropped into the 20s.
Morning fires were now mandatory along with the regular evening fires.
Getting to work was a good way to stay warm. Since it was obvious we were going to have a lot of fires, a fire pit was in order.
Now with a comfortable hang out spot our lives could move forward. There's nothing like pooping on a frost covered bucket in the middle of the woods while the sun rises.
The moose grunted in the distant marsh while the morning birds chirped away. In the evenings deer would snort at us from the tree line as our presence was obviously foreign. Coyotes would howl from a different direction every night. A daily hike revealed apple trees, beaver dams and separate ecosystems.
Even cleared and leveled a small section by hand.
There is no rush. No demand. I could get used to this.
"If you want to be free, learn to live simply. Use what you have and be content where you are."
- J. Heider
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