I want to ride my bicycle

To start the vacation last week, I tracked the bikes out to Luray to have them repaired at our local bike shop - Hawksbill Bicycles. These guys are really great - the shop is still pretty new, less than a year old, but we have stopped by there two or three times. They are located right by the Greenway so you can duck in during a walk, or ride.

There's more information about them on their website at http://www.hawksbillbicycles.com/, but they sell and service bikes, and rent them. They'll even consign used bikes. They've got all the accessories as well. And if you are visiting Luray to do some biking, they have little route guides that they will provide for free - some of these are as long as 30 miles and will take you through farm and field.

Mary's bike is an old Schwinn, dating from the '80's. Mine is an Iron Horse that I bought on sale from Big Wheel bikes in Bethesda. I made the mistake of riding it home to DuPont Circle from there the first day I had it - forgot about how hilly NW DC is. I am ashamed of how little I have used the bike since then...and that is why we took them out to the Hawksbill Cabin.

David helped us with the servicing. Everything you'd expect in a bike mechanic, and you don't often see this kind of commitment in the stores these days. I have a couple of photos here, of the store, and our bikes when they were ready to roll out, and then in the garage once I got them home.

As I was thinking about this post, I got a hankering for an obvious Queen video, so here you go:

Pool Opening

Uncle D's team came over a few weeks back and got the pool opened for us. There was still work to do once they'd balanced chemicals, taken the cover off, and all of those chores - mostly, a lot of leaf and tree litter had fallen in the water, and then we needed to do the shock treatment.

Cleaning out the over winter stuff takes a little bit of time. I used Dude, the pool 'bot, for a good share of the work, but I also skimmed and broomed the debris a couple of times a day. I put Dude in the pool for an hour or so at a time, twice a day, at times that I could supervise.

The three photos here show how the vents got clogged in the early going, and the full bag after a short time in the early part. Later, there's Dude on a break, and you can see that the pool is relatively clear already.

All the spring rains have been causing a few problems. For one thing, the rain and wind knock down all the little buds from the big pine - and they've encouraged an excessive pollin season from the big tree. Big mess, and everything floats, so it is a job for the skimmer - myself.

I shocked the pool, which requires using a dosage of chlorine, early in the week, and did a second shock to compensate for all the rain on Sunday before we left. Last view of the pool is one with the thermal blanket in place, this is how we leave it after we close for the weekend.

Good karma, bad karma

It’s Friday morning, and I am still holding out hope for a canoe float on this vacation. Today is the first fully sunny morning we’ve had on the trip – yesterday, after I did my pool chores, it grew overcast and threatening rain so I ended up running banking errands down in Elkton. So much for recreation, but I am resolved to relax here on the brick terrace for a bit today.

That banking errand was the next step in a long story about our property line that I will write about as soon as the issue comes to final resolution. The lawyer tells us it won’t be long now.
The sun is rising in the sky so I’ve had to move my Coleman Max chair into the shade so I can see the computer screen, and I want to write some more about what I’ve been seeing in the front yard of the Hawksbill Cabin this week – at least the events of those times when the clouds have broken up and it wasn’t raining.

I’ve mentioned our hawks that returned to nest in the big pine, and now we have another pair nearby. I saw two of the birds soaring on thermals this morning; at last I can tell the difference between them and the buzzards that are sometimes around. I would have thought our local ecosystem would require more space for these top-line predators, but apparently our little hollow is rich and abundant enough for more of them.

Add to that our little snappin’ turtle nest, the little pair of house wrens that live under the pool, the pair of blue herons nesting over by the beaver pond, and the beavers responsible for that feat of engineering – and we have some very positive karma emitting from this little corner of nature.

Yesterday, Jesse came by to consult on some projects and he spotted movement in some weeds near the driveway. It turned out to be a little box turtle clearing out a nest, and there she was, laying her eggs.

Jesse didn’t notice the beaver pond until he was on his way out, and he offered to stock it for me. I know there are fish in there because I see the little wakes, but I just don’t know what we’ve got in there. If we were to procure something indigenous, like some trout, small mouth bass, or even some kind of little sunfish, my hope would be that we could establish a little school here. I don’t know how long beaver ponds last though, so I worry that our interference in the process would be very temporary.

This contemplation reminds me of a conversation from when I stopped by to see Howard earlier in the week. We talked about the splendor of what I see out front and compared it to what is going on in the backyard. “These things have a way of balancing,” he said.

Back there, we’ve had another black rat snake find its way into the laundry room. There is a photo here of the “shed” it left out on the back wall. “How do you know it was a rat snake,” you ask? They are climbers, and of the four or five species I’ve encountered out here they are the only ones that can climb like this. So when you visit, if I send you for an errand to the laundry room or to the back of the house, be sure to keep an eye out – and look up as well as in all of the other directions.

I don’t mind the black snakes for their being here, it’s just the surprise of finding them. I quickly get over it and set to work putting them back in their place, outside. But Mary gets the dry heaves when she sees them now. This is also mainly because of the surprise – my hypothesis – since she nearly put her hand on one turning off the main water valve a while back.

The other problem out back is this new paper wasp nest. We have the pest control coming out to take care of this later today; we will have them consult on a wasp infestation that we have found down at the pool cabana as well. I am also going to ask them to puff some Sevin into a few carpenter bee holes I found in the soffit of the addition – an area I neglected to spray earlier this spring. Once the bees are gone, I will fill the holes with wood putty, and I may install my carpenter bee chamber there, too.

So there you are, the balance at work: all of the beauty and wonder of our front yard, and the treachery and danger of nature in the back. Maybe there will be a change in a few weeks when the bee balm blooms, but at that point I guess I’ll need to keep an eye on what’s going on out front.

Vacation Thoughts from the Brick Terrace

Back from my golf round on Wednesday evening, again enjoying a break from the rain, I’ve got a 2-hour firelog going and I am indulging in a cigar and – finding a surprise in the beer case at the Food Lion – Shiner Bocks. This, while reading Michael Perry’s Truck: A Love Story, supervising Dude finishing up the pool-opening vacuuming, and watching my wildlife as it grows dark.

Howard invited me to an event tonight, but Mary’s been sick (food poisoning, we think from something she ate in H-burg) and I thought it best to be here tonight. She is almost through it, which is good.

The event Howard told me about is a steak fry to benefit the Boy Scout Council here in Page County. I wish I could have taken him up on it – looks like a great networking opportunity, and as we try figure out what we are going to do with this “weekends in Luray” lifestyle, that might have given some food for thought.

(Note to Howard: Thanks very much for the invitation! I will take you up on one of these things very soon!)

Back to what’s happening here in the hollow tonight. The sun has just slipped down to the right angle to light up the oak trees over on the ridge line, flooding me with reflected golden light here on the brick terrace. From over in the beaver pond, I have heard the “ker-plunk, splash!” from some beaver frolicking over there three times tonight. Off in the distance, the pileateds have been having a go at some tree, the bats are just beginning to rise, and I saw my first hummingbird of the season.
The little fire is petering out so I guess I’ve been enjoying the evening for a couple of hours now…time to decide about putting another one on – am I committed to two more hours out here? I think I might be…

The rain of the last two days has forced a reschedule of the hike Dave G. and I were going to take, Three Falls (#80 on the Hiking Upward site). I’ve got a rain check on that one; the other must do is a canoe float while the river is running like this (the photos here are from one of the landings off of US 340 near Newport, and two others from off of 675 west of Luray.)

There are still three and half days left to get in some prized recreation. We’ll get’r done.

Golf at Luray's Caverns Club

Finally, we caught a break today from the rain that was really dampening the vacation. It’s Wednesday, and I dialed in for a few work conversations before I struck out to play 18 at the Caverns Country Club here in Luray – the photos that accompany this show a few highlights from the course. It was overcast, but no rain, and the sun did break through in patches.

I’d been looking forward to this round over the winter – in September, Dennis and I played the ShenVallee course in New Market, on the west side of the Massanutten ridge. We settled on that one because the Luray course wasn’t open.

Using the term “settled” is not meant to suggest that there was anything to disappoint about the course there, it was simply that the Luray course was closed for four days to do grounds maintenance, so we had to change plans and drive over there.

The Luray course is on the east side of the ridge, and there are three or four holes on the back nine that form a sort of corner along the South Fork of the Shenandoah. You catch a glimpse of it here and there through the trees, from the tee boxes, along the cart path, or as you walk up to the greens.

Some of the highlights of the course – I have photos here of the number one green, looking back at the clubhouse down number one fairway, the first par 3, one of the big par fives, a house with Duncan Knob in the background, and the charming little bird houses that form the 150-yard markers on most of the par fours and fives – include that river view and the views of two of the dominant Massanutten peaks, Duncan Knob and Kennedy peak, which are visible from most points on the course.

In previous posts (here: http://hawksbillcabin.blogspot.com/2009/03/weekend-hike-duncan-knob.html - three posts document the whole hike) I’ve written about the excellent Duncan Knob hike; it is so far my favorite over there.

The Caverns Club offers memberships and that is one of the reasons I have been wanting to check out the course. The big question will be, can a weekender count on a good start time Saturday or Sunday morning? Or will I have to take what I can get as a walk-on…the unasked question is whether or not there is a threesome looking for a regular fourth.

The results of my round – I shot a 98, with one triple bogey and two pars, the rest mostly single bogey with some doubles. I did take a few extra mullies off of the tee, but I played every hole to the score I wrote, so I am happy with this round, breaking 100 for the first time in a couple of years. I even pulled out the driver for a ceremonial tee shot on 18, and wound up with a nice 245-yarder. I haven’t hit that club in two years.

And to top it off, there was even a riddle for me as I left the parking lot: four Ontario-tagged SUVs were parked there, owners still out on the course somewhere. Did they drive down for a golf vacation in the Shenandoah Valley? Did our natural beauty tempt them to make a break for the sun after a bleak winter up there?

Fear the Snappin' Turtle

On Monday morning, as we were getting up to start the rainy holiday morning, Mary happened to look outside and saw something she couldn't quite make out in the front yard. It turned out to be a Snapping Turtle that had crawled up into the yard to lay eggs.

Remembering from my Florida days to be careful not to disturb her, I kept my distance to take a few pictures - here she is while laying, then another photo of her moving back down the hill when she was done.

There may have been a second nesting site, or she may have started in one place and finished in another. We put up wood stakes to keep the mowers out of the area until the little ones are hatched and gone.

A quick look at Wikipedia reveals that her trip up the hill is not unusual for turtles laying eggs - it says they lay from 35 to 80 in a batch, once per year. The incubation runs from 9 to 18 weeks, depending on temperature (I imagine the Virginia summer means a shorter period).

She is of average size (10 t0 18 inch shell diameter). Their lifespan in the wild is around 30 years, although they have been kept up to 47 years in captivity.

Here's a photo looking downhill to Beaver Run - the beaver pond is just to the north across the road. This is a little area of the stream where the water widens out and is fairly placid. Not much sun in there, but that's where I guess she went.

Diary of Gracie's Canine Renal Failure - 8

During this week we have all been out at the Hawksbill Cabin, so I have been serializing my wife's diary of Gracie's treatment for canine renal failure here on the blog. We'll be back with unscheduled posts on Monday.


May 19, 2009

One of my neighbors passed on a suggestion for getting more fluids into Gracie
-- mix some electrolyte-enhanced water in with her regular bowl of water, maybe a ½ cup or so. This product is sold under the brand name Smart Water, but Trader Joe's also carries the same thing under its store brand name. Don't get anything flavored, just the regular water. This helps with keeping her hydrated as she's urinating more because of the subcutaneous fluids that are helping to flush her kidneys.


May 20, 2009

I am a little concerned with Gracie's condition in general. Since last weekend, she's been showing signs of weakness again--tripping, slipping on the floor, laying down a lot rather than standing. The vet said that if this occurs, we should increase the fluids to everyday for a few days. We did this the weekend before last and will start her again on fluids everyday for a few days this week. It means her numbers are probably rising again. Not good. However, I am getting her to eat, but she's now responding to turkey "meatloaf" -- pound of ground turkey with two eggs and about a third cup of plain bread crumbs mixed in and baked. She just seemed to get tired of the grilled meat. Turkey baby food (about a teaspoon) mixed with warm water also helps to incentivize.

Diary of Gracie's Canine Renal Failure - 7

This is the last post of the week - continuing today with Mary’s journal about our dog Gracie’s canine renal failure. Also, this is the last post in the series for now, until Mary writes a new one. Gracie’s next vet appointment is June 6, so we’ll have more news then if not sooner.

May 7
The vet called today with the results of the latest tests:
Gracie’s BUN is down from 79 to 77 but her creatinine level has gone back to 5 from 3.6. It was at 5 when she was hospitalized. If she seems to be lethargic, the vet has suggested we go back to a ½ bag every day for a few days then go back to ½ bag every other day. (Today, Gracie does seem a little tired, but I’m not sure if that is due to the long walk we took this morning in humid weather – she was kind of dragging behind Sofie, which was unusual). More fluids will also help if she starts to lose her appetite
I need to reduce the Calcitriol to 0.65 ml 2Xs a week from 1.0ml. The Calcitriol is to be given 1 hour before or 2 hours after the AlternaGel.
I need to adjust the timing of the meds and eating; giving these at the wrong time could be having an effect on Gracie’s numbers:
Give AlternaGel after Gracie eats or in her food
Pills (blood pressure, Pepcid, tramadol) give 1 hour before or 2 hours after she eats
Again, Calcitriol two-times a week (.65 ml) should be given 1 hour before or 2 hours after she eats BUT not at same time of other pills

I’ve made the next vet tech appointment for an Istat blood test (ionized calcium) in about a month (Monday, June 8th 9:30 am). I will also need to bring a urine sample. (Yes, that’s always interesting – I prefer to do this in the privacy of our back yard since following a dog around with a plastic cup looks odd to the neighbors. The vet provides a sterile set up – latex gloves and a lidded cup but, since the cup is too large to fit under Gracie as she squats, I’ve found that a small, flat plastic container—I use a hummus container from Trader Joe’s – works best for collection then transfer to the larger cup. Since the vet is checking urine content, not bacteria, a sterile sample isn’t absolutely necessary.)

Diary of Gracie's Canine Renal Failure - 6

Continuing today with Mary’s journal about our dog Gracie’s canine renal failure.

April 1
The test results are back. Gracie’s BUN is down to 79 and creatinine is down to 3.6, both very good numbers. Her phosphate numbers are also down, to 6, which is within normal range but the vet wants to bring it down to 4 or 4.5. ALT is 136. The vet has taken Gracie off the carafate and put her on AlternaGel (a phosphate blocker), which can be ordered OTC at the pharmacy. She gets 7 ml 3Xs a day (2100mg). She’s also now on Calcitriol – 1 ml 2Xs a week. That has to be obtained through a compounding pharmacy (I use Wedgewood Pharmacy 1-800-331-8272 and the Calcitriol is $90 for a three month supply, plus $10 shipping.) Gracie is now on 500ml of fluids every other day but her other meds are the same.

May 6
Blood and urine checked again today. Gracie’s lost a pound, unfortunately. But, she seems interested in food. She gets a cup of brown rice in the morning and evening with 1 ounce of grilled turkey pattie (she loves it grilled), ½ of a very finely crumpled hard-boiled egg, and, as incentives, a ½ to 1 crushed Iams weight-control dog biscuit, ½ a crumpled Greenie pill pocket hidden in the rice, and as a plate-cleaner, some torn pieces of baguette not to exceed the nutritional amount in the original Hills recipe. She also gets no more than a teaspoon of turkey baby food either slathered on the bottom of the bowl or mixed with warm water to create a sauce. Normally, she would get 2 ounces of grilled turkey per meal but I’ve reduced the amount slightly because of the protein-based incentives. She also gets about a ½ cup of rice and maybe ½ ounce grilled turkey with some of the incentives as a small mid-day meal.

Feeding and fluids can take up to an hour in the morning to administer. Also, I have to allow time during the week to cook her food.

Hi from Gracie and Sofie - on Vacation!

There are still a few posts to come on the canine renal failure series, but in the meantime, the girls are at the HawksbillCabin enjoying a well-earned vacation.

Here's Gracie, the border collie, near some zinnias and flags, and then Sofie in one of the spots where she keeps an eye out for deer.

Diary of Gracie's Canine Renal Failure - 5

Continuing today with Mary’s journal about our dog Gracie’s canine renal failure.

March 17th
Another follow-up vet tech appointment with blood and urine tests. I’m at the vet’s office so much that I jokingly tell the patient coordinators that I should have a reserved parking space. I’m getting to know some of them by name, and all have been very caring toward Gracie and me during this ordeal.

I’ve shifted Gracie to homemade food based on the Hill’s diet: white rice, white bread, hard-boiled egg, calcium from ground egg shell, but have replaced the beef with boiled or baked chicken. She’s still not eating very much of it and it takes a while to get a full serving into her, using incentives and tears. I’ve switched the blood pressure medicine prescription to Costco from Target – I’m now paying around $6.00 for the same amount I paid $57 for at Target.

March 30th
More follow-up blood work. Gracie’s up to 43 pounds. In desperation regarding her food, I’ve consulted a holistic vet regarding Gracie’s diet. I’ve switched Gracie to brown rice and turkey, and replaced the white bread with French baguette (not through the holistic vet – I accidently dropped a piece of French bread on the floor one day and Gracie gobbled it up.) I don’t put the calcium in her food any more because she doesn’t seem to like it but otherwise I’m trying to keep the nutritional amounts from the substitute foods relatively the same as in Hill’s recipe.

Diary of Gracie's Canine Renal Failure - 4

Our dog Gracie was diagnosed with early stage canine renal failure last year. She had some issues earlier this year – lethargy, declining to eat or drink – that indicated her condition had progressed to the final stage. During this week week, while we are at the cabin on vacation, without regular internet access, I’ve scheduled for chronological posts of my wife’s account of the events since Gracie was diagnosed as being in this stage.


March 11th
Gracie’s about the same, eating a bit more but it's still a struggle. I'm getting used to sticking in the needle between her shoulder blades after pulling up some skin to form a “pocket” but I've got needle pricks in my fingers from my learning curve. Occasionally, she will bleed if I hit some capillaries. It’s a huge bore needle and Gracie flinches when I stick it in her flesh. Jim has become adept at holding the fluid bag and pushing the fluids to regulate the flow. But, Gracie’s a very calm dog and takes the pain stoically. Jim sits on a chair to hold the bag up and I sit on the floor in front of him with my knees up around Gracie, sort of forming a corral. She sits between us and only gets restless towards the end of the treatment. She gets her G3Chews and Pet Tabs as a treat as we begin the treatment and after is rewarded with a few tosses of her fluffy soccer ball. The fluid collects under her skin and forms a big mound which eventually seems to move down around to the front of her neck. To make her more comfortable, we warm the fluids bag in a pot of warm tap water to bring it closer to her body temperature, and we warm a bath towel in the dryer and lay it across her back and sides as we administer the fluids. This acts to keep her calm and also helps keep her warm.

The carafate and blood pressure medicine are costing a small fortune for a one or two week supply, which is disheartening. I’m also buying five bags of fluid with set ups and needles from the vet every 10 days. The fluids cost about $10/bag. The medication regimen is fairly rigid, administering the carafate an hour or so after the others since it will prevent the other medications from being absorbed in the stomach. We have a follow-up with the vet next Tuesday. Hopefully, Gracie’s numbers will have stabilized—that’s about the best we can hope for at this point.

She's still a trooper—enjoying our walks and the small fluffy soccer ball tossed up to her as she waits at the top of the stairs to catch it. She the rolls it down the stairs, starting the game again.

Diary of Gracie's Canine Renal Failure - 3

Continuing today with Mary’s journal about our dog Gracie’s canine renal failure.

March 6th through 8th
Gracie is in crisis—lethargic and weak – and has had to be hospitalized for three days with IV fluids, antibiotics, and a host of other medications. Her BUN and creatinine levels are through the roof. She’s down to 39 pounds, a loss of more than 12 pounds over the past year. The crisis has forced Jim and me to face the fact that Gracie may not be with us much longer. We are discussing how much intervention we think is appropriate for our dear girl. Our other old dog, Sofie, is anxious and nervous, looking for her missing friend.

March 9th
Thankfully, Gracie’s rallied and is now home. We must now give her 500 ml of subcutaneous fluids every morning, plus carafate for her stomach, amlodipine besylate 2.5 mg every 12 hours for high blood pressure, Pepcid, plus her tramadol (1 to 1 ½ tablets twice a day for arthritis), G3 Chews for glucosamine and Omega 3 fatty acids, and a Pet Tab vitamin once a day. The pills are given in a Greenie Pill pocket, which she loves. She’s also still interested in Iams dog treats (weight control variety which is lower in protein than other varieties.)

Diary of Gracie's Canine Renal Failure - 2

Continuing today with Mary’s journal about our dog Gracie’s canine renal failure.

February 27th
Another follow-up visit to the vet for blood and urine testing today. Gracie’s been shivering and she’s still not eating enough. I’m trying hard to find prescription food that she will eat. She doesn’t like the Hill’s k/d or the Royal Canin Renal, canned or dry. I’ve tried to incentivize with small amounts of regular dog food, boiled chicken, fresh chicken broth, but she’s not interested. I’m trying her now on a homemade diet based on Hill’s canine restricted protein diet (from our vet via the internet):

¼ lb ground beef, not lean
2 cups cooked white rice without salt
1 hard boiled egg, finely chopped
3 slices white bread crumbled
1 teaspoon (5grams) calcium carbonate (ended up grinding up eggs shells for this)
Cook beef in skillet until lightly brown, add rest of ingredients and a little water if too dry. Keep in refrigerator. Yields 1 ¼ lbs
(Analysis: 6.9% protein, 5.5% fat, 21.1% carbohydrates, 65.5% moisture)
A 40 lb dog such as Gracie should eat 1 ½ lbs of this mixture per day. So one batch is slightly less than one day’s worth of food. (Daily amounts according to Hill’s: 5 lb. dog, ¼ lb of food; 10 lb dog, ½ lb of food; 20 lb dog, 1 lb food; 60 lb dog, 2 lbs food; 80 lb dog, 2 ½ lbs food; 100 lb dog, 3 lbs food)

Diary of Gracie's Canine Renal Failure - 1

Our dog Gracie was diagnosed with early stage canine renal failure last year. She had some issues earlier this year – lethargy, declining to eat or drink – that indicated her condition had progressed to the final stage. Starting today and over the next week, while we are at the cabin on vacation, without regular internet access, I’ll chronologically post my wife’s account of the events since Gracie was diagnosed as being in this stage. As of these postings, Gracie is still with us - pretty happy and comfortable.

January 9th
Gracie, our 14 year-old Border Collie, has been diagnosed with canine renal failure. Her kidneys have been weakening for about a year. In retrospect, one of the first signs was weakness in her legs; she wouldn’t stand for any length of time, preferring to lie down even if we stopped for a short time on our walks. She’s also lost a lot of weight. She’s not eating, and really hates the renal prescription dry and wet foods. (And, it’s very difficult to get this special food, too. It either has to be ordered through a vet or bought on line – a big waste of money if the dog won’t eat it. Petsmart sells canned Hill’s k/d and Royal Canin, but a prescription card is needed.) Loss of appetite is another symptom of the disease. Apparently, the toxins built up in the blood by failing kidneys makes the dog nauseous and can even lead to stomach ulcers.

Signal Knob - Flora and Fauna

In the first post, I mentioned the black rat snake we saw on the trail, after the church group breathlessly warned us about it as they moved quickly back to the trailhead. That wasn't the only snake we saw, although the second one was a juvenile. It was brown colored, about a foot long, and I couldn't make out markings - unidentified.

There were toads all over the place, but they were not the most remarkable amphibians on this route. These little orange salamanders were all over the place a one point in the trail. They were out in the open and more than 100 feet from a stream nearby. As I subsequently learned, this is a juvenile stage for this species, when they are terrestial - more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_newt, where there are more pictures.

The salamanders are called red efts at this stage. That wikipedia article reports the lifespan of a salamanders as 15 years - I did not know that. And no luck for us spotting any adults.

A final note, these wild azaleas were at their peak during our hike. From time to time, a flash of color was visible in the peripheral view - these pink flowers. The rain that day did its damage, and with the days warming every day it won't be long until there aren't any left. Bob at the Old Rag blog - check my blog roll - has more photos.

I've heard back from Chris, Tom and Andy. All agreed that we had a good day despite the unexpected difficulty - and we're all looking forward to next time.

Signal Knob - Technical Matters

Actually, on the Signal Knob hike, the Knob is not the first “peak” you encounter. The trail stops ascending about a mile from the summit, on a nearby peak.

From there, you can see the summit and the tower itself, and the trail takes you around a ridge line until you reach it. The first photo is looking back at that first peak, and the second is of the guys on a logistics break – Chris having adopted a pirate demeanor.

About a third of this trail runs along the ridge line. Just like at Duncan Knob, where there are a couple of camp sites near the summit, here there are also a number of good camp sites along the ridge – a fact that just about every review of this hike references.

One thing the reviews do not caution hikers about is the tallus fields and rocky areas, especially in the critical first ascent. If you are familiar with the geology of this ridge, the mountains are caused by giant folds that left a stratus of limestone exposed at the peak. Sometimes there is a second layer down the mountainside, and that will be symmetrical, with a similar layer on the other side of the ridge.

Unlike at Duncan Knob, where hikers pick a line to go straight through the tallus to the summit, on Signal Knob, the trail traverses this loose layer of very large rocks for several hundred yards. Good hiking shoes, or boots, are a must, and even with them you may not avoid an ankle sprain or bruises.

As we reached the ridge, thunder started. The forecast predicted a 30% chance of a severe storm. Although we were lucky with rain, a lot of it had fallen on the eastern side of the mountain while we were on the west – our hike down was just a bit more slippery for it. And the last scout group we saw came through on double time because of the rain and lightning. Still, even with thunderstorms nearby, we avoided the rain until the very end, walking only the last 200 yards or so in the rain back to the cars.

Here is a view from the summit of Signal Knob looking west across to part of Front Royal, near exit 6 on I-66. The big building visible is a shopping center, maybe even the Wal-Mart, and there is a housing development down below. Near this view, we found this little group of talismen that some prior group had carefully arranged, looks like they are sitting around the campfire.

After the walk along the ridge, the trail descends part way down a valley. After crossing a stream, the trail picks up the ascent for the final part of the 2,500 feet of altitude gain here – it’s steep with many switchbacks and the trail is strewn with rocks.

The photo is of our group taking a break after this second summit, just as we prepared to descend. As shown in the picture here, Chris has a rule that if the packs come off, the jerky comes out. And there you go.

The descent is steep in places, but generally not as rocky as the trail up, so good footing wasn’t difficult to find, despite the earlier rain. Last photo is of the final stream crossing – there were two on our route. From here it was only a mile back to the cars.

Signal Knob - A Moderate Day Hike

On Saturday, my new “hiking group” got together for a hike on Signal Knob, a mountain in the Massanutten Ridge that is near Front Royal. About two months ago we did the Duncan Knob hike together, so we decided to follow-up with this one, a little more rigorous and technical – a 10.5 mile trek with 2,500 feet of elevation change in two ascents, and two stream crossings.

Chris and I started out from the cabin, while Andy and Tom came down from the Leesburg area. The logistic challenge of meeting halfway came off without a hitch, as we arrived at the trailhead at exactly the same time! Here’s a photo of the group at the start of the hike.

The route we had chosen (from the Hiking Upward site) starts immediately with a 1,600 ascent over three miles, to the summit of Signal Knob. Following the summit, there are several peaks and a ridgeline walk in the route. We started in the sun, with temperatures around 80 and with a forecast of several thunderstorms possible.

We were only about 500 yards into the hike when we met a group of Koreans from a church group heading downhill fast. As they passed us, one of them told us there was a snake laying on the trail ahead. Well, I have my history with snakes now, thanks to encountering one in the cabin laundry room twice (check the "snakes" label), so we pressed on, and soon found a six-foot black rat snake sunning itself there on the trail. Hearing us approach, it quickly moved off and over the edge, disappearing into some brush.

Continuing upwards, we came across a group of 30 or so people, kids and adults, sitting around on some rocks and having lunch. Further along the trail we eventually ran into three more groups – two groups of scouts and one of some guys dressed in tie-die shirts, which we immediately dubbed the dead-heads. This was the most people I have seen on any of the Massanutten hikes. Other than these groups, which we encountered early in the hike, during the ascent – there was no one else on the trail.

Once you are most of the way up this first ascent, the view opens back to Fort Valley; this photo of me was taken there. We had stopped for lunch at this point, and needed to assess progress. The heat and the climb had made for a slow trek and we figured we were only three miles in on a 10.5 mile hike, so we were a little worried, given our past history of not getting off of the mountain until after dark.

I'm not saying we're slower than average. But maybe we are - the Hiking Upward site shows this as a 5.5 hour hike, and reading the reviews, on average it takes longer. So the fact that we found this a challenging trail is probably a typical experience.

Lunch out of the way, we got started again, heading for signal knob – which coincidentally, has a (television) signal tower on it, it turns out – shown here. In my post tomorrow, I’ll write about some of the technical aspects of the hike, and more of the views.

So, about that Star Trek Movie

Saw it, liked it. I think it was unanimous. If you can, go see it first run, so you get the big screen effect - it's worth it.

We went to the new Cineplex down at Gallery Place - an area of downtown DC that has really come along the last 10 years or so, since the Verizon Center was built. The 9:30 club was down here back in the day, and the walk back to the car could be uncomfortable. Not so anymore! (photo of the area today)

Here's a prize for readers today, go see Star Trek!

Mary's Green Thumb

The other night I took a stroll around the back yard in Alexandria with Sofie and Gracie. With everything so lush and green after our recent rains, I noticed again a couple of special trees that Mary has nurtured back there, and I thought I might write a short post about them. These trees are "volunteers" - Mary started them from little seedlings that came off of a parent tree, or from a twig or branch that was carefully rooted and now grows as a mature plant on its own.

The first one is this curly willow. This actually started from a cut branch - no more than a stick, really - in a flower arrangement that Mary received back in the year 2000. After the flowers passed, she kept the little branches because they made an attractive arrangement on their own. A couple of weeks later, they'd sprouted little leaves, and she got the idea she might be able to root one of them. Here we are, nine years later, and we have a tree.

This next one is a little Japanese Maple. A friend had a larger tree in her yard, up in Kensington, MD. Every year, as it cast its seed, there would be two or three little saplings that would spring up in the yard underneath the tree. We took one of them home - it was no more than a foot tall, a fragile little sprout. Now it's been seven or eight years - this has even survived a savage beetle infestation a couple of years ago.

The last one is my favorite - the Rose of Sharon Hibiscus. We got this as a seedling from the parent tree in the yard at our townhouse on Linden Street. The spot where this is planted can be viewed from the kitchen window, so when the purple-throated white flowers show up from July to September, you can have a quick glimpse of them from there.

We have a new volunteer that Mary collected from the hibiscus. It's in a pot, and we'll probably take it to the Hawksbill Cabin with us later in the year and transplant it there, where it will be a connection to this house and our previous one.

As for the curly willow, they are fairly easy to propogate - our friend Eric showed us two that he has grown in the same way that shade his yard (and help soak up a very wet back yard). They are more than 20 feet tall, and are only five or six years old. So we are thinking about starting a few more that we can plant along the stream bed at Beaver Run, which runs along the property line out there.