Sky Meadows hiking

Sunday, November 15, 2009 -  With much nicer weather than previous NORSA outings, Matt, Steven S, and Emily decided to check out another Virginia state park at Sky Meadows. Less than an hour from the DC area, the park was recommended by a fellow hiker at Duncan Knob. The park has 12 miles of trails and also connects to the Appalachian Trail.

Starting on the North Ridge Trail, the group explored a couple miles of the AT, stopped for lunch, then returned on the Ambassador Whitehouse and Piedmont Overlook trails. From the portion of the AT that intersects the park, it is a 21 mile hike south to Shenandoah National Park and about 26 miles north to Harper's Ferry. The Sky Meadows trails go through a mix of woods and pastures, with views of the Blue Ridge in the distance. Several groups of hikers and a few runners were out enjoying the warm weather.

The ridge trails were moderately challenging and the connection to the AT offers some options for future hiking trips.  Matt, Steven, and Emily also checked out various items of historical-ness such as the Mount Bleak House and ye olde ice house by the visitor's center.  After the hike they ate at Big Buns - the usual post-hike stuff plus some Jack Johnson tracks.

Veteran's Day Expedition to Great Falls

NORSA veterans Steven S., Emily, Nora, and Matt celebrated Veteran's Day with a hike at Great Falls National Park in Virginia. Undeterred by the frigid temperatures, driving rain, and impending floodwaters, the four intrepid hikers explored several miles of the southern bank of the Potomac River. The hike started early at the main parking lot and proceeded west along the Powtowmack trail. Although the group was actually many miles away from Alcohol Island (site of many previous NORSA expeditions), Matt convinced the other three hikers to keep pressing westward in the hopes of finding the elusive island. However, as the rains increased and Nora, Steven, and Emily's faith in Matt's sense of direction decreased, the group decided to turn around and head back for the visitor's center.

Steven does a rain dance and casts his spear into a pond in the hopes of getting the rains to ease up. His efforts failed.

Nora says "Follow the rules" while Emily tries to stop Steven from climbing over a fence. Later, Steven ventured out on his own into the forest in search of elk. He did not find any.

After the hike, the four stopped at Potbelly's for a sandwich - the usual post-hike kind of stuff.

Duncan Knob Hike

Sunday, October 25, 2009 - A beautiful day with clear skies set the stage for the latest installment of the 2009 NORSA fall hiking series. Hoping to see the fall colors at their peak, Matt and Steven S headed out to Duncan Knob, site of previous NORSA excursions. On the way out they stopped for gas at BP and couldn't help but note the billboard advertisement for body massage. Then they initially missed the the left turn from 211 E onto Crisman Hollow/R 274 (if you see a parking lot on the right for another trail, you've gone too far). The rest of the trip was smooth sailing.

The Duncan Knob hike started with a steep section on the Scothorn Gap trail, then followed a ridge below Middle Mountain to the Gap Creek Trail. In the clearing after the first climb, the NORSA hikers looked for the (memorial?) wooden marker for another Steven from 1974, but could not find it. After a couple of switchbacks on the Gap Creek trail, a white blazed trail from Peach Orchard Gap lead them to Duncan Knob, situated at the southern tip of Catback Mountain. The rock scramble to the top was no problem at all for the tactical pair. They stopped for lunch and were treated to great views - layers of red and yellow to the west, Middle Mountain, Massanutten Mountain, and Strickler Knob to the south, and the Shenandoah River, Luray, and the peaks of Shenandoah National Park to the east.

Returning on the Massanutten Trail, they descended along a ridge surrounded by bright yellow leaves, which Steven's untrained eye identified as birches and tulip trees.

In all it was a great day for hiking, and the fall colors never fail to impress.

NORSA sends EOTW on its way!

NORSAites Steven and Andrew traveled to Hampton, VA to see off the Eye of the World Crew on their around-the-world voyage.

Unfortunately, the weather turned very bad, very fast. Fast-thinking Andrew emphatically announced an imminent "white squall" to a nervously laughing crew:



Adam fired up the engines and ran on deck to steer the ship clear of trouble. But, alas, something went wrong:




Footage of the actual white squall was lost when the camera got wet (footage on the video card from before the squall didn't get wet).

NORSA has been contacted by Hollywood Pictures to make a film based on the incident. Adam is played by Jeff Bridges. Here is early footage of the movie: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6khjd_white-squall-1996_shortfilms

The boat doesn't fare so well in the movie, but this is purely Hollywood embellishment of a minor incident. The actual voyage of the EOTW crew can be followed here http://www.eyeotw.org/