Starting 2021 Off Right!

So far in 2021, I've been hiking six times and for 33 miles.  Now that I caught up blogging about my last hikes in 2020, I'm going to write about a few of the new year hikes while deciding whether or not to keep the blog going.

My first hike was January 2-3, backpacking at Belle Isle State Park.  I went with a group of 11: nice people, a number of them first time backpackers.  It was a short hike, only about 1.5 miles each way in this coastal park that is as flat as a pancake.  The weather Saturday was amazing - highs of around 60 degrees F.  During the night and Sunday, not so much - lots and lots of rain, and lows around 42.

Here is some of the crew on the flat and short hike in.

Arriving at camp, first order of business is to set up one's tent, so we each did that in quick order.

Second order of business - a mug of hot tea and a cookie.

The hike-in camping area was on a little point on the Rappahannock River, with some nice water front views.

Soon enough, the sunset started to roll in, and it was time for dinner.  The sunset quickly progressed to spectacular.

Backpacking is a lot more fun with a group and with a campfire (and a dry place to sit).

We chatted around the campfire until well past 10:00, and eventually turned in.  

Out in the river, huge flocks of Canada geese loudly chatted until well past midnight.  Eventually, I fell asleep, although my feet never quite warmed up.  At some point, rain was pouring down for some time, and when I got up, some of the areas had big puddles.

I think I had an energy bar for breakfast.  The rain had stopped, and several of us packed up early and hiked out before it began again.  Plenty of time and opportunity at home to dry everything out.  This was a fun place to hike and camp, and I shall be back!!!

Seven Minus Six Plus One Equals Two

A couple of months ago, I organized a backpacking trip to False Cape State Park, down in Southeast Virginia on the North Carolina border.  I immediately got six people to sign up, and was very happy about that.  Then two dropped out, then two more.  Seven had become just three. I collected the money from the couple that remained, reserved the site, and contacted them on Monday before the trip to set up final arrangements.  "Sorry, hiked 40 miles this weekend doing the AT through Maryland," she said.  "Ankle is swollen, Achilles tendon is sore.  Have to drop out!"

So, down to just me.  But I contacted a friend, and he was able to join me - even though he nearly had to drop at the last minute when his boss wouldn't give him that Friday off.  They compromised, he left work a couple hours early, and hiked into the campsite just at dark.  This was Friday, April 7.  I'd started hiking about 12:30 and even though it was incredibly windy, had enjoyed the hike in, set up my new tent, done some bird watching, and had eaten dinner by the time Carlton got there.

Here is where we were,  The top part, above the red line, is the hike in Friday and out Sunday.  Below the red line is where we hiked Saturday.  The state line is indicated by the dashed line (and arrow). The park is part of a narrow barrier beach with the Atlantic Ocean to the East and Back Bay to the West.  It's a wonderful place to hike and camp.

The hike in through Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge is always interesting.  Due to the cold and windy conditions Friday, I didn't see any snakes or turtles, but did see a number of birds, starting with these American coots:

Most of the hike in is through open marshes, but eventually, you reach a pleasant maritime forest to hike though with pines and live oaks.

When you get to the park, it is maybe another mile and a quarter to the campsite.  We camped near the ocean.

I loved these red maple seeds on the way to camp.

After setting up my tent, I went down to the beach.  About five miles down the beach is North Carolina, with its "McMansions."  I am glad that Virginia protected our beaches here from that kind of development.

Because it was a nice level hike in, and I was camping from a base camp, I carried in a little extra gear, including a small fry pan to make pancakes for breakfast.  And of course, what are pancakes without maple syrup? So I packed in a little of that as well.  It hit the spot!

Next post: Saturday's 14 miles of day hiking and bird watching (and listening).

Birds and Dragons in the Low Country!

First, a little milestone - this is my 500th post on this blog!  Plus, my 6.4 miles at Pinkney Island National Wildlife Refuge in South Carolina last week put me over 100 trail miles for the year - halfway to my goal!

We were mainly in South Carolina for some beach time in the wonderful and warm ocean.  But one morning, I was out at daybreak to get in a little hiking and see some birds.

Here is my route, starting and ending at the blue arrow in the lower left.  The point on the right that I hiked to is Bull Point.  The small loop towards the right was my walk around Nini Chapin Pond.

This is a very level hike, walking along wetlands and through maritime forests and coastal zones, and going by several freshwater ponds that were put in for wildlife.  I saw many birds and land crabs, but no alligators - although a volunteer told me that a 13 foot gator lives in one of the ponds.  I did see a surprise animal on the hike back - a dragon!

The first pond I got to is Ibis Pond.  It has a fantastic amount of birds.  There are also alligators living in this green soup.  They discourage raccoons and opossums from crossing over to eat eggs and baby birds.  But they also require "protection money."  When a young heron or ibis falls in, they become a meal for the alligators.

Here are some of the white ibises and a young heron at this pond.

This refuge is only open to the public because of volunteers.  I talked to one of them.  Ten years ago, the US Fish and Wildlife Services did not have the resources to maintain the refuge to keep public access.  Nine local people volunteered to do work there, and this great area continues benefits humans as well as wildlife because of them.  Volunteer efforts created this butterfly garden at Ibis Pond.

This is a rare long leaf pine forest, once common throughout the Southeast.

Prescribed burning is used to keep the long leaf pine forests viable.  Their bark can protect the tree from fast-burning forest fires.

A wood duck nest box stands in one of the wildlife ponds.

This is Nini Chapin Pond, which I walked around, and saw much wildlife, such as

  this pair of white ibis, and

this young tri-colored heron.  I also saw several purple gallinules and many green herons, but could not get a good photo.

Much of my hike went through coastal maritime forest,

where Spanish moss, always picturesque, was much in evidence

I also saw dozens of these little land crabs in the paths while walking to Bull Point.  They were an inch or two in size and skittered across the path like big beetles.

Here is the view at Bull Point across the Inter-Coastal Waterway.

I saw a number of shy birds while hiking along the shore of Starr Pond on the way back, like this young egret, and

this green heron.  I saw at least a dozen green herons on this hike, but they are a very shy bird and usually fly before one gets close to them.

Returning by Ibis Pond, I saw these adult white ibises high in a tree,

As I got closed to my car, I spotted this dragon along the marsh.  I think the species is a Rebel Barker.  It didn't spot me, and I was able to avoid becoming its breakfast!  I think it was sleeping because it never moved a muscle.  ;^)

To me, the perfect hike combines exercise, wildlife, and scenery.  I'd have to say - although the views in the Low Country can't match mountain scenery - that this hike meets those requirements really well.

Short Evening Hike, and Heading Back

After Saturday's long day hike, and relaxing a bit, chatting with my campsite neighbors, it was cold and windy, and folks were hitting their sleeping bags, but it seemed too early to get in the tent, so I decided to hike over to Widgeon Point.  It was about three miles round trip, and I have indicated the route on the map below.  The purple circle on the left is my campsite, and the arrows show the track to the point (ignore the blue lines going north and south in the middle - they are track lines from other hikes).  The orange circle shows where campsites 1-3 are located, and the red circle is Widgeon Point.

Along the way, I went up to the campsites to see if John and Catherine were still up, and they were sitting at the picnic table at their site and chatting.  I wish I had taken a photo of John's hammock - it was pretty cool.  We talked for a while, then walked together out to the point near their campsites, which actually had a real bathroom!  The wind felt like it was going to simply carry the building away!

Then I headed to Widgeon Point, with Catherine coming along.  We enjoyed the beginning of the sunset for a bit, then headed back to our respective tent sites.  I listened to a great horned owl calling as I walked back.  I had heard the owl the prior evening when I returned from a short hike.

Here are a few photos from Widgeon Point.

I slept reasonably well, but woke several times as the wind buffeted my little tent.  When I got up for good it was cold - near freezing - so I made tea and a hot "meal in a bag."  I packed up and hit the trail to hike back to my car 6.5 miles away.  Since the route was the same as my day one hike, I didn't take many pictures, but here is one to show what a pretty day it was.

Despite the wind, I did see a number of birds on the way out, including a beautiful male northern shoveler, a harrier, and a pair of mature bald eagles flying together - the wildlife highlight of my three day hike!

I loved exploring False Cape, finally getting there to camp after over 20 years in Virginia.  I plan on returning, maybe in the fall!

If You Don't Like the Weather, Wait Five Minutes

On the second day of my three day trip to False Cape State Park, I had planned on going hiking into the Wash Woods area.  This is an historical site to commemorate a place where there was once a community.  They even had a church.  So after a hearty breakfast, I joined the six hikers that I had met from Hampton Roads Hikers, and off we went.  It was fairly chilly, and quite windy.

Our hike was about 10.5 miles and covered a nice section of the park.  It was essentially an out and back.  This map shows our track.  We started at the visitor center, which is just north of the map.  At the southern part of the hike, there is a small loop.  Also, about halfway down, see the little spur that we walked heading southwest to the bay?  That is essentially where the other six campsites are located.  So if you wanted to camp there, you would have to carry in water at least 2-3 miles from the spigot near the visitor center.

As we hiked, the weather changed continually.  It would cycle through cold and windy to sunny and warm.  At one point, a squall came through and it snowed for a few moments.  I was continually adding and removing layers, including gloves and a winter knit hat.  Anytime we reached an open area, the wind was fierce!

Here are some pictures from the day of hiking, starting with one of the six people I met and hiked with from Hampton Roads Hikers - what a great group!

Do these look like stones?  We thought so, but upon checking, we found that each was a big ball of some kind of lichen.

Much of the path is essentially a woods road, very easy walking.

The winds were fierce this day.  Here some of the group looks at a map and several others relax.  Because of the wind, we did not see any meaningful wildlife.

Like every Virginia State Park that I have hiked in, the trail network is exceptionally well marked.

This is the "Blue Goose," which transports visitors from the Back Bay NWR to False Cape State Park for a brief visit.  I saw it again the next morning as I hiked out.

This is all that remains of a church that used to serve the once-upon-a-time community here.  It's kind of sad.  The bricks mark the church's approximate footprint.

Just yards from the church site is a little graveyard.

We climbed an observation tower and ate our lunches up there.  Over the flat terrain and the tree tops, we could see the ocean.

Know a good mechanic and body shop?  This car can be yours for a very reasonable price.

I believe that this is some kind of wild azalea.

Some of the group walk down the path through pine forest.

I really liked the budding red maple.  I can still remember, long ago, seeing ruffed grouse in early spring high in red maples feasting on the buds.

Our hike ended in mid-afternoon, and I relaxed at my camp for a while with a mug of hot tea as the wind whipped by.  I chatted with my fellow hikers for a bit, and we shared dinner together at one of their sites.  It had been a really good day, changeable weather being what it is.