Six Bear, Day Two

Wow! Two days in a row we have tied my personal best. Six bear sightings in one day! We may have even seen the same mother with two cubs that was caught on film Monday. The family was again up a tree, and we again saw three others. We may have to rename the eight mile loop "the bear loop" (formerly known as "Jeremy's really cool loop, where you see lots of really cool stuff").
I was unable to get any good shots of the bear, so instead here's a picture of Dolly. Dolly is a Skyland local who I saw on the way in. Dolly is also a diva that loves to have her picture taken, but how could you not when you look that good?

Six Bear, One Day

Some guys have all the luck! Today three Danish fellows got the full value Shenandoah experience. The weather was perfect, the views were incredible and we enjoyed FOUR separate bear sightings. The most crazy was the one were we stopped mid-step due to the noise above our heads. Looking straight up, we were alarmed to see three faces peering straight back. Simultaneously we back stepped and grabbed at cameras. The bear family scampered down mom first, with heads peeking from the trunk sides all the while.

Walking back from the lake yesterday with my father and brother I found three four-leaf clovers in the field. I guess some guys have all the luck.

Reasonable

This evening (9- 14 -08) the sunset over Old Rag mountain gave me one more stunning reason to show the place I'm from, to the people I meet.

The hard way down

Ink Blot

I don't like spiders either, but how cool is this guy?

Wild,Wild Life

Mountain Steward Weekend Aug 30 - 31 08



Two 'Astyanax' Red-spotted Purple butterflies on the summit of Old Rag, and I think they are in love.



These two poor ladies were offered shelter from the shower under this summit area boulder, little did they know what wild creatures lay in wait.



And here's why we don't carelessly leave our food on the summit. This food-attracted bear likes the hiker scraps, but may soon become dangerous and need to be relocated or worse. He needs to change his wicked ways ... or we do.

High Water

8 - 28 - 08
Don't think we saw anyone else brave enough (or dumb enough) out hiking all day. The waterfalls sure are spectacular when its been raining for two days.

Downstream ...

... awaits
Watersnakes
Put fear of free-



falls behind
tennis shoe wake.
Five new canyoneers,
hooked on a line.
At least ... three made it back this time.
Just joshing,
all loved the day through.
Question is,



how would you do?

Trails

8/18 - 8/20, 08

Here's the GWU Trails guides cooking up some good grub next to another SNP swimming hole. Each year we spend a few great days camping, training getting to know these trail guides. It's always a great trip but this year will be hard to top. With sightings of bears and snakes, the swimming, and the lost person training evolution this year was one for the books.

This week in review

Looking back on another spectacular Shenandoah week. There was lots of climbing and rappelling with the sheriff's camp as well as on the high cliffs of SNP, hiking, water slides. We topped it off with a great evening to full moon hike in the big meadow. Looking forward to this week, hope you are too.

Good Fun

Old Rag Training?

At 3,291 feet Old Rag mountain is a long hard hike. Although I have hiked it all my life this spring and summer I have had the pleasure of an inordinate amount of time back and forth across the top. The payoff for the strenuous hike is always huge. This year I have enjoyed the bonus write-off of many of these Old Rag summits as training. Training for what the Seattleites refer to as "the mountain". Last week the training paid off and our party of six attained the summit of 14,411 foot Mt. Rainier (without supplemental oxygen! ... which nobody uses). As seen in the pictures the weather was ideal, the conditions and company were incredible. It was a smooth enjoyable ascent and on returning I've begun to wonder one thing. Which mountain was training for which?

LSM

Wanna go rappelling?

Birds of Prey

Cruise up to the Hawksbill Mt. summit at around 10:30 am and not only will you be standing on top of Shenandoah, but you are likely to see one of these guys! The fledgling falcons have been reintroduced to the Hawksbill summit and the NPS serves them breakfast around 10:30. Feel free to ask the friendly, knoledgeable, park ranger questions as they observe and record info on the birds. Take a deep breath, a 360 degree look around, and enjoy the show!

Dirty Jobs

June 7-8, 2008

After two days to and fro, over and around Old Rag Mountain with the steward program, there are a couple things one has in common with this dung beetle. The beetle pictured above was found on the fire road cleaning up after some horses. Mountain stewards have also been found cleaning up after others, in fact they can even be seen picking up a little toilet paper (however unlike the beetle, stewards wear gloves, and do not walk backwards on their heads during the process). In near 100 degree temps hauling large amounts of water, first aid kits, and rescue gear can make a steward feel a bit like the beetle too; it feels like pushing a bunch of ... stuff. But when the sweaty weekend's all said and done the biggest similarity between the two creatures might be the smell!

Life is Good

Caught up with this relaxed reptile on the mountain the other day. The three legged amputee-tail skink sat soaking up some rays while we got a good look at him. Maybe he was so mellow because of the awe-inspiring views, or perhaps after a near death brush with the talons of a raven he learned to sit back and truly enjoy life. Then again, he was probably just slow.

Life in the mountains is good. You know it's the good life when the strong wind hits your back and you begin to lower off a hundred foot cliff. It makes you feel alive, and then you know you're alive. The wind changes directions, hitting you square in the face. You begin to hear the thunder across the valley. The electric sky has become nearly black. You're running, and you can see, hear, smell, and feel the tornado-spawning storm. You round the final, still dry corner of the trail. The ride pulls up, doors and sky open simultaneously, but before the drenching begins you're in.

Baby Steps

5 - 22 - 08

As with most hikes its not the grand vistas or tumbling waters that prove the most memorable, but rather the unexpected along the way.

After we watched the momma Doe lick this newborn clean we think it may have gotten a little confused. Not sure exactly where in the world it belonged the fawn wobble stepped towards our attentive eyes. Maybe realizing the mistake it hesitated nearly close enough for us to reach out and touch. Stumbling sideways and turning around the little guy realized momma was waiting in the other direction and the opening performance continued its unbalanced show on elsewhere in the woods.

After School

I don't know if this falls under Teamlink or Shenandoah Mountain Guides but I figure it's worth putting up the picture.  Every year at the end of the school year we try to do something special for the kids in the after school programs.  This year straight rock climbing didn't seem like enough so we added the cargo net.  So you're halfway up a vertical rock face and you have to leap to a free hanging cargo net; would you be having a ball?

Mountain Stewards

May 10 - 11, 08

The Old Rag Mountain Stewardship program kicked off this cold rainy weekend and we're looking ahead toward an exceptional program!

stew·ard·ship
: the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially : the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

The SMG staff have been honored and entrusted in working with the park service on the initiation of this program. We will do our best in the careful stewardship of this precious resource.

Between helping folks with directions, litter removal and several sweeps of the mountain we had to take a few moments to play around on some thin Old Rag slab climbs.
















When viewing these pictures you may want to make note of the lack of ropes, the shoes, and the direction of gravity pulling on shirts.

Attending to litter

(and other LNT topics)

May 4 - 9

While the rest of the SMG staff did real work last week, I (Chad) spent the time being trained in the ethics of Leave No Trace. My Master Educator course was held on the 17,000 acre BSA camp Powhatan in Southern Va. The three knowledgeable instructors included Co-founder of LNT Jeff Marion. The course was excellent. With this class I become the final SMG full time staff to be a LNT Master.

One of the many interesting things I learned over the week was that in one study held in Great Smoky Mountains National Park no Lady Slipper Orchids like these pictured above could be found within fifty feet of the trails due to user impact. Props to SNP users, the above were observed just off trail on Old Rag Mountain Saturday 5-10-08

Litter Attending

Had to put up this picture of SMG guide Matt hanging off the side of the cliff litter attending at the tech rescue training. Nice job Matt

High Angle Rescue

April 21 - 26, 2008

"Because gravity,

even more than the sea,

does not forgive."

This years NPS Eastern High Angle Rescue course was held at Buffalo National River, Arkansas. The Buffalo is a long drive from Shenandoah but three SMG staff were able and excited to make the trip. On the trip down, after driving all night, we were thrust into an appropriate rescue course warm up when flagged to the side of the road by a panicked woman next to a minivan. The 37 year old male in the back of the fully loaded van was having a medical emergence, trouble breathing and vomiting. Working through a language barrier Jeremy reported to EMS our exact location while Matt and I evaluated the patient. In ten minutes we turned over our SOAP notes to the local EMS and continued on through the cold Tennessee daybreak.

Once at the Buffalo it was five very full days of rescue training learning everything one needs to know in order to perform a rescue of someone stuck or broken on a cliff. Here's a couple pics from the week.

Jack, ascending a large overhang.


Mike performs a pick off in the Buffalo indoor facility.


Jo Practices ascending during a great day on the cliff.


A little sunset bouldering before the course began.

Tracy, a Buffalo River Rescuer on rappel.

High Angle Technical Rescue

Venture Climbing

4 - 12 - 08

Great weather and Camp Rock Enon rocks make for an unforgetable first climb for many venture crew members.

3 - 27 - 08

Enjoying a great spring break view of Lewis falls!

Adventure on Old Rag

March 22 08

The April 08 edition of National Geographic Adventure magazine states that "Old Rag Mountain" is not "a walk in Shenandoah National Park." The Instant Adventure article goes on to state that if your looking for a guide, we at SMG are your guys.

As for the climbing we did on Old Rag Saturday; with passing hail storms, standard Old Rag runouts, and loving on the slab nubbins, its always an adventure!

Back to Old Rag

3 - 21 - 08

First trip up the mountain for the season and what a day for it! Perfect temps and great granite views always leave you wanting more, just one reason we'll be climbing there tomorrow and many other days to come.

"Follow the dream...

... doesn't mean leave the love. Roam if you must, but come home when you've seen enough..."

Feb 29 - Mar 02

Guides and friends enjoying some east coast style thin ice before another meltdown.

"... with a smile and a hint of sarcasm he says, I beg your pardon but this is my secret garden. In the land of ice and snow." -Atmosphere