Monthly Archives: April 2007

[This is the chronological version of a series of posts on my Mount Rogers Hike] I spent the weekend on the best hike I’ve ever done in the Appalachians. We started near the foot of Mount Rogers, in the southern … Continue reading →

This lovely creek was just about 50 yards from the highway. A wonderful end to our journey. (actually we still had about 5 miles to go, but it was right next to the highway. Mount Rogers Wilderness is a bit … Continue reading →

Sunday, our last day on the trail. Apparently one of the through hikers wasn’t sure this trail marker offered enough information, so he or she added a handy waypoint:

I was even able to get this “art shot” of the owl with the moon in the background. I’d like to remove that branch in the foreground, but my photoshop skillz aren’t quite up to it. I decided not to … Continue reading →

This owl perched on a low branch right next to our camp site. It sat still long enough for me to take a couple of flash photos: I’m thinking it’s a barred owl, but I’ll defer to any ornithologist who … Continue reading →

Mauro is proud of the fact that he actually smiled for this picture (inside joke). (Don’t believe me? click on the photo for an enhanced close-up).

My other companion, Marcio, takes a look off the edge of a precipice we climbed later Saturday morning (there was an easier way up…

As I mentioned, these ponies aren’t shy. I suspect many of the hikers give them treats, but since they’re “wild” animals, I decided not to. This one approached me so quickly I didn’t have time to adjust the shutter speed, … Continue reading →

The first job on Saturday morning was to get water. On the way to the spring we came upon this small group of ponies. They’re definitely not shy at all. The mare to the left had a foal, which can … Continue reading →

I woke early enough on Saturday to witness the sunrise. Not as colorful as sunset the night before, but dramatic nonetheless (click for larger version): There was a pony grazing about 30 yards from where I took this picture. I … Continue reading →

After an easy four-mile hike to the shelter near the top of Mount Rogers, we dropped off our packs for the half-mile scramble to the top. Since the mountaintop was heavily forested, there wasn’t much to see there. But a … Continue reading →

This was our first glimpse at the wild ponies which populate the area around Mount Rogers. They are descended from domesticated horses in the area; there are two herds, with a total number of about 120. The herd is thinned … Continue reading →

One of my traveling companions, Mauro Bothello, heads off the trail for a better look at the view:

I spent the weekend on the best hike I’ve ever done in the Appalachians. We started near the foot of Mount Rogers, in the southern part of Virginia: The weather was beautiful for the entire trip. Plenty of open meadows … Continue reading →

Yesterday evening I finished up processing six (count 'em) tax returns — Federal and state for me and Greta, and for each of the kids’ college funds. What boggles my mind is why the Powers That Be still require that … Continue reading →

I’m sitting in a Panera (waiting for Nora and her friends to finish up at the mall), and the place is literally crawling with babies and toddlers, up to about age 5 (I imagine anything older is across the street … Continue reading →

As I’ve hinted in the last couple posts, all is not well in Word Munger land. For the last week, I’ve had tremendous email problems, and then last night if you visited Word Munger you would have seen an ugly … Continue reading →