Hiking, Snow, Cutting Trees, Lunar Eclipse & A Mystery Too...A Great Way To Spend Three Days In Virginia

Usually, when I go to the Cabin I just do a photo blog, because I have described my hikes on a number of ridges around it. However, on this trip over I hit some new spots, plus we cleared some trees and even had a mystery.
First was the hiking, where I headed out Friday as the temperature was a "balmy" 18 degrees. I headed out like I normally did hiking up the old road going left at the meadow. Then right past the gate to the second barn.

The hike starts at the first barn...

...up the old road bed...

...left at the first meadow...

...up the from here

Snow on moss.

The second meadow...

...past the gate...

... the road is a little rutted.

This is where the new hiking started as I headed to a spot I hadn't visited, Buckner Ridge. Part of it I had done hiking up through the meadow (where I ran over that snake with the Bush Hog). The trail here follows an old logging road, past these old Poplar Trees. Eventually, it runs out at the fence line and then turns up. While not too far to the ridgeline, it was off-trail hiking from here which meant leaves and briars.

The second barn was the starting point for second part of the hike.

Big Poplar Tree.

Looking down at the farm from the fenceline.

I also found this cow carcass.

Up to Buckner Ridge.

Once I reached Buckner Ridge it was a pleasant hike up the fence line. The National Geographic Map showed that on the other side of the fence was National Forest land, but it didn't look like that from some of the fence lines I was looking at. Another thing I found on top of Buckner Ridge was snow, which made it feel like winter for the day. I also got a signal here so I did a quick blog. Coming down it was more off-trail hiking and briars.

Buckner Ridge...

...snow & winter...

...views.

The end of the property line.

Old deer stand.

Maybe the sight of the old fire tower?

Where I came down from.

Once back I hiked to the barn it was back the way I came. However, once back at the upper (first) gate, I decided to take the road less traveled... again. I followed the fence line again and once in turned I climb a small rise until it came downhill to the old cemetery. I finished the hiking with another trip over Russell and Robert Knobs. However, that wasn't it for the day as I returned to the first meadow on a night hike to look at the Penumbral Lunar Eclipse.

Back to the second barn...

...headed past the second gate...

...headed back out.

Headed into the woods along the fence line...

...to the Flanary Cemetery.

Headed up to...

...Russell Knob...

...then forward Robert Knob...

...which had a view of Camp Rock.

Headed back to the cabin.

It is time for a night hike...

...up the trail...

...to view the...

...Penumbral Lunar Eclipse...

...I also got a great look at Mars & Venus.

It wasn't all fun and hiking as I helped my Dad with a couple of odd jobs. The first we did on Thursday as we loaded the tire for the back-ho. What we did on Friday was a little more fun as we cut a couple of trees down. The first was a dead Cedar Tree, that I had to use the pole saw on. Then my Dad fell it right between two trees. Then we cut down an old, dead Cherry Tree. What all this allowed me to do was build a nice, relaxing, Donald the Orange free fire..nice!

Dad with the Back-ho tire...

...we loaded into Big Red.

Pole saw...

...& a Wood Booger going to work.

Dad with the chainsaw...

...bring down that dead cedar.

Grilling dinner.

The cabin...

...& my fire pit...

...with the sun going down.

Now for the mystery...On Friday after returning from hiking, my Dad and I were finishing lunch when I talked about going up the knob closest to the Cabin and it was then that I spotted something silver fluttering in the breeze. I got my monocular out to take a look and the silver strip was hanging from something orange. With the sun shining it wasn't too hard to spot. I then got my camera out zoomed in to get an even better look that I could enlarge. I could only speculate, but the first thing that came to mind was a weather balloon. However, with no Internet, all I could do was a guess. I thought about going up to investigate, but between cutting wood, grilling dinner and fire building I decided maybe to go up Saturday.

There is the mystery item in the tree.

Here is a picture off the Internet I found...

...& another of a parachute from the National Weather Service.

So, on Saturday morning I decided to head up that knob. It took me a few minutes to find the remains of the old logging road Dad told me about let's just say that was the easy part. About a tenth of a mile of mostly off-trail style hiking, I came to a small plateau where the tough part of the hike started. Let me just say if you haven't hiked knobs in Southwest Virginia, they are steep, really steep! Add to that no trail, leaf cover with soft footing, it was a slog going up. As I ascended I looked for the orange thing in the trees and when I finally crested the knob. Guess what I couldn't find it, I will say it was almost like it disappeared. But since I don't think that way I chalked it down to two things, it was either behind a tree or it was the cloudy conditions making everything seem gray.

Where I am headed.

From the sight of this old spring...

...means a steep climb up...

...made...

...through the trees, I can see the Cabin...

...but no mystery item in the trees.

After not finding it I decided to hike to the other two knobs, with the third being almost like a small ridge top I decided to name the triumvirate, the Three Sisters. The trip up and down the second one made me realize that there was not going to be an easy way down as it was steep anywhere I looked. So when I finally started toward the Cabin, it was a butt scooting trip down, but on the way, I still looked for that mysteries orange object (no luck). Even when I finally got to the bottom and walked up the hollow beneath the Three Sisters, still nothing. I was starting to think a Squatch had climbed up and taken it down.

Headed up the second sister...

...up the third.

View of the bridge across the Clinch River.

Head back across the Sisters...

...& a steep climb down.

No mystery item.

The Three Sisters.

However, when I finally got back to the Cabin, sat down and looked up...there it was. Maybe it was a ghost, or it was phasing in and or more likely that spot on the porch had the best angle on it. Anyway, after looking on the Internet later I think it was (like I first thought) the parachute off a weather balloon (the other stories sounded cooler). Overall, it was a fun three days and it was hard to leave the quiet and peace. Oh, there is also going to be a PhotoBlog.