Blue Skies & Sunsets Over Southwest Virginia Signal Change For The Blog

I have been waiting for a time to announce changes to the blog and my trip late last week is as good a time as any. 

I love doing the blog, but that feeling is sometimes tested as it takes time to get posts up. Writing the blog and working on pictures can get time-consuming. Besides normal life, I have other projects I want to begin work on. This means that when I put blogs up they will be shorter and most of the pictures will be linked to SmugMug and Google Photos. I will still do longer blogs when it is warranted. Also, I will have more on these projects on here soon.

The Cabin from above

The main thing to note about the trip to the Cabin was getting to fly the drone over Scott County. I flew it over the Cabin on Thursday, including for sunset. Then I took it out Friday for five different spots. The first meadow on the way up Wood Booger Ridge and the George's Meadow. Then it was down to Deer Meadow and decided here to go up to Buckner Ridge. Because it isn't totally clear on our property I got to test my pilot skills here. The final spot was on the other side of the other barn in the open road at Franklin's Place. So, enjoy some of these birds-eye views above Southwest Virginia...

View from the First Meadow

From George's Meadow on Wood Booger Ridge

From Deer Meadow

Valley view from Buckner Ridge

The Other Barn at my last stop

Photo Links: SmugMug & Google Photos

Spring Over St. Clair (Drone Style)

Today marked the start of Meteorological Spring and while I didn't go hiking I did do something cool, played with my drone, Nostromo, again. As I said yesterday I took my drone out for its maiden flight Monday. However, I tried to err on the side of caution and not fly too high. Well, today I decided to take it higher and move it around more. Once you get the hang of it it's not too hard to fly. Oh, and interesting thing while I had it up it attached the attention of our resident Red-Tailed Hawk who circled it. But the drone came home unharmed.

Test Flight Of The Nostromo (My New Drone)

You know I bet someone will say to me you swore that you would never buy a drone. Well, technically I did as it was a Xmas Gift. So, today was the test flight of the new drone.

The drone, a DJI Mini SE, is a small lightweight beginner craft. It just weighs 249 grams which places it on the line for registering it with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), since it didn't cost much I went ahead and did it anyway. I named it after the ship in Alien, the Nostromo. This one has good battery life and a good camera that moves Like most beginner drones it uses a cell phone as the screen hooked up to the controller. I did end up getting an extra battery, landing gear, and pad. You might ask it is the end of February, so why am I now doing a test flight. Well, there are a number of reasons let's just say I needed to learn to drive it. 

Oh, when I went to finally fire it up I had forgotten I needed to charge the controller up. Finally, after I got the stuff ironed and it was time for the test flight. I decided to play it safe and do a flight that was mostly up and down and just 20 meters up (I preset the height). I mean I didn't want to break it on the first flight. I took it up and then down without breaking it. 

So, there will be pictures on this blog from the drone, but there is only one first flight... 

I would Be Crazy Not To Make My Chair A Crazy Creek!

One leftover item that I briefly touched on in my Roan Highlands blog about my camp chair. For those who read my blog, you know that back at the start of September that I had my Crazy Creek Chair stolen, most probably by a bear. While that was all in good for the bear, it left me without a chair! As it so happens I got another one and it was a Crazy Creek too.

I mean there never was any question that I was going to get another chair like my original Crazy Creek. Unlike a folding camp chair, they can be used as a tent doormat, emergency sleeping pad or just to add additional cushion to a lumpy spot (I used it that way at the Roans). But, what kind to get? Crazy Creek is the best but is pricey. I looked at Coleman, REI, and Kelty. However, after looking at reviews I decided on a Crazy Creek, but not just the original one, no I got the 2.0. 

This new one is lighter (5oz less) and I will say a little firmer plus I do like the color better. It rolls up like my old one so it can hold my tent poles, which it did. I might put my name and address on it, so a bear can send it back after using it.

Bear Theft Chair...An Ode To My Crazy Creek

Well, I don't know if what happened to my Crazy Creek Portable Chair was a highlight or a lowlight, but it was one of the more memorable moments of my backpack at Rocky Fork State Park. 

Since this is a blog in honor of my good old Crazy Creek Chair let me just talk a little about it. I acquired one back in the Summer of 2016 after I saw Will's (Skelton) on my first backpack out with the Sierra Club at Mount Rogers. I liked it so much I got one of my very own from REI. It had served me well on many backpacks, including five this year. While it served as a chair most of the time it did have to pull double duty. It has filled in as a sleeping pad, I have used it to protect my sleeping pad, served as a place to put my food, as a doormat for my tent, plus I rolled my tent poles in it and there is probably something else I am not thinking about. After five years it still performed its duties with no problems. 

My chair: 1st time out in 2016 (L), 2017 (TL), 2020 (TR & B)

With that said, I started out my backpack to the Blockstand Backcountry Campsite last Friday. This hike was no different than any other. Since I was taking my Kelty Salaita 2 it came along. When I got to camp I put up my tent, put my sleeping stuff in it. When I decided to go on my day hike I decided to put my backpack in the bear box along with my food bag. The reason bears sometimes equate backpacks with food, but I left my chair out like I had many times before. 

Under the log is the last time I saw my Crazy Creek (T). I should have put it in the box (B)

On my hike, I saw plenty of bear sign, including some really good bear tracks. So, when I got back and started getting my camp ready something was missing...my Crazy Creek Chair! So what happened to it? Well, really there are only two candidates for stealing my chair. The first would be another human. First I didn't pass or see anyone else up on the Blockstand Creek Trail. When I talked with Ranger Joe on my way out he agreed because the only people in this area are ones camping at Blockstand. Also, I had items in my tent that is more valuable than my Crazy Creek Chair. 

This was all at camp

So, that leaves a bear. I know they are in the area and then when looking for my chair I noticed a yellow jacket nest that had been dug up not too far from my camp. Then talk with Ranger Joe I mentioned where I keep my chair. I hooked it to the outside bottom,m of my bag which means I sweat on it. He said that they are attached to the salt so he agreed it was most likely a bear. Well, I forgot it could have been a Squatch...but Wood Boogers don't do that to each other. 

That is where a carried it

Suspect #1

Anyway, while Pete got a good laugh I was sad because it was such a great chair...you will be missed. So, if you go to Rocky Fork and see a bear lounging in a chair, tell him the Wood Booger says hi. 

This Disco From NEMO Is The Best Of Both Bags

 

If you are familiar with camping you know there aren't many pieces of gear more important than your sleeping bag. Whether backpacking, base camping, or car camping it is what one will spend the night in. So, at Christmas, I received as a present a new bag, the NEMO Disco +15. 

As you might have noticed I already own two sleeping bags. My original sleeping bag is my REI Lumen +40 that I got back in 2013. I will admit it was a budget buy so it is pretty lightweight, but it packs okay. However, its Achilles heel is that it is a 40-degree bag. When I bought it I thought it would be used primarily in the Summer. But I would soon realize that it can get cold at night in the higher elevations...it just wasn't very warm. So, I needed to improve the warmth of my sleeping bag. This led me to acquire a Sea to Summit Thermolite Sleeping Bag Liner. This liner, the Extreme, could add up to 25 degrees of warmth to the bag. While it helped, it was pushed past its limits on my backpack in September to Coldsprings Mountain. 

I did get a cooler weather bag, the Teton LEEF 0. This mummy bag while warm is big and heavy so its primary function is car and base camping, which it has done a good job of. So, what I need was the lightweight of the Lumen but the warmth of LEEF, so it was the NEMO Disco +15.

Besides the cool name, the Plus-15 means its comfort limit is 15 degrees. Besides being much warmer than the REI Lumen and it is far lighter (about the same weight as the Lumen) than the Teton LEEF 0. On the NEMO Disco's first test I camped near the Cabin at my Wood Booger Ridge Campsite. It was in the mid-30s and I was never close to being cold. If needed I can also pair it with my sleeping bag liner. Another thing I love about my NEMO is that it's not a true mummy bag, but more like a spoon shape. This makes for better side-sleeping which I prefer. It passed this first test and then proved just as warm and comfy on my backpack to Rich Mountain. It is already my favorite sleeping bag!

An AT 'Crown Jewel' Of Guides Is A 70-Year Old Trail Capsule

I have written before about my love for old Appalachian Trail (AT) Guide like I talked about in May and August. However, recently I found one of the "Crown Jewel" of old books when I procured a copy of Guide to the Appalachian Trail in the Southern Appalachians. 

Before they were split into separate books the Tennessee-North Carolina and North Carolina-Georgia Guides were under one umbrella covering the Southern Appalachians. The one I acquired was a third edition published in 1950. That makes the book over 70 years old! 

The Guide was split into NC-GA (L) & TN-NC (R).

The 1950s third edition!

The AT was only 13 years old when this volume was published and the first thru-hike happened only two years before by Earl Shaffer. Just think the second thru-hike by Gene Espy and the first one southbound by Chester Dziengielewski happened a year after this guide came out. So the trail they experienced is in this book. That AT is different that is for sure. While a lot of changes have happened to the AT in seven decades the biggest of these in Georgia was the Southern Terminus was still on Mt. Oglethorpe. In the Tennessee section, the trail had not yet been routed over the Roans. The maps in this volume show this.

Map One: The National Forest in the Southern Appalachians.

Map Two: Map of AT in Carolina Mtn. Club Section.

Map Three: Route of AT in Georgia.

The book needed a little TLC, especially on the maps. While it had them all there were some worn spots and one map was detached. I used tape, but not the ordinary kind. No, I got a special book repair tape, which is acid-free and doesn't damage the book. 

The Bone Folder, Tape & how it was applied.

Besides repairs, I also needed a place to store it so a got a wood box. To decorate it I added an AT logo on the outside and a replica of an early AT metal trail sign on the inside.

You can just look at the book and see it exudes history it is special...

The box with acid backing in box & AT sign.

Inside the Completed Box & Outside (B).

Now Batting Cleanup...Coleman Sundome!

If you regularly read this blog you know that camping is more than a hobby, but a passion of mine. With that said I added a new tent to my lineup...a two-person Coleman Sundome 2

No, my Kelty Salida 2 is fine, I just wanted a tent to use for some car camping and at the Cabin. I decided on the Sundome because it had good reviews, it wasn't too expensive and I had a gift card from Tractor Supply on something I returned, so it paid for half. It comes in at 7.5 pounds and most of that is the tent poles.

As always I like to pitch a tent before I use it and that is what I did Tuesday afternoon. Since it is a free-standing tent it doesn't have to be staked down. Like my REI Flash 1, the instructions are attached to the carry bag which I like better than a separate sheet like my Keltys. On the carry bag, it says 10 minutes set up (but it does say maybe longer on first set-up). 

It is similar to how my Kelty Salida goes up but also had things in common with my six-person Kelty Discovery 6. Like the bigger Kelty, the poles go into sleeves at the top of the tent. The one different thing is there are small metal rods that go into the tent poles. The rain fly is much smaller and it had a small rod that runs down the middle of it, kind of like the one in my REI tent. I will admit it wasn't that hard to put up, but it took longer than 10 minutes.

Oh, one cool thing it came with a gray may that I figured was a doormat (and I was right). I have used trash bags for this in the past. Now with this, I will not use it just with the Sundome, but also with most of my other tents. Inside it is pretty roomy. It also has a vent on the bottom on the back. Now all I need to do is take it out for a camping trip. I think it is going to work pretty well. But first I need to get a trap for a ground cloth...