Richmond Riverside Safari

One of the best things about the City of Richmond is the James River Park System that offers over 500 acres of parkland laced with a variety of trails along the banks of the river.

On a crisp, clear fall day after hard rains had scoured some of the color from the trees but opened the view of the river, a hearty duo took a spectacular hike along some of these trails.


The "Richmond Riverside Safari" is a 7-mile loop hike that begins at Reedy Creek and continues upstream on the Buttermilk trail through Netherwood Quarry and then up along the bluffs overlooking the river. The geology of the James River is significant for a variety of reasons, but today, it was the sparkling view provided by our elevated position. We could see the Maymont mansion peeking out from the trees just before we crossed the river on the Nickel Bridge a.k.a. Boulevard Bridge from which we could see the Roman arches of the railroad bridge upstream.

Once on the other side of the river, the trail bears left and loops around under the bridge, ultimately passing along the back fence of Maymont Park from the Bear's Den to the Japanese Gardens.

About a mile further, the trail passes behind the biggest cemeteries in Richmond, The Mount Calvary/Riverview Cemetery and Hollywood Cemetery. Along the way, the trail was even dotted with the occasional scrapped tombstone, cooly conveying a reminder of our source and our mortality.

By the time we passed by the spring that gave the Buttermilk Trail its name, my blister was screaming - can you see my grimace? This spring was once surrounded by a wooden tub and farmers heading to the market at 17th St. would keep their buttermilk cool here. Less than a mile beyond this we arrived back at the starting point in the Reedy Creek parking lot. The entire loop takes about three hours to complete and there are more interesting sites along the way!

Annie Dillard

Despite her initial suspicion that her work would not be
taken seriously, Annie Dillard has become an author of
critical acclaim. Her first work, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek,
was awarded the Pulitzer Prize marking Annie Dillard
as a renowned author. Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
reads like a flow of consciousness, structured only by the
seasons; it mixes a varied amount of knowledge with
thought-provoking spiritual insight. After her near-death
experience due to the pneumonia, Dillard decided to truly
experience life. This decision led her to Pilgrim Creek where
she complied nearly 20 volumes of journals into a cleverly
crafted Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. The transcendentalist thoughts
expressed through Pilgrim at Tinker Creek were highly influenced
by Dillard’s two favorite authors: Henry David Thoreau and
Ralph Waldo Emerson. Through her degree in English from
Hollins College, Dillard searched for meaning in writing allowing
herself to be molded by the writers she was reading. In addition
to this, Dillard’s writing was also influenced by her affluent
childhood, allowing her to indulge in post-materialist concerns
such as the environment and religious beliefs. Dillard’s religious
curiosity is also expressed through Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.
Raised Presbyterian, Dillard rebelled against the fundamentalist
summer camps her parents forced upon her and searched for her
own enlightenment. She has been influenced by many religions,
such as Buddhism and Judaism, but now considers herself part of
the Catholic order. Dillard has continued to produce well-received works,
including an autobiography, An American Childhood, a book of poetry,
Tickets for a Prayer Wheel, and fiction, The Maytrees and many others.


Here is a video on Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, that I thought was very interesting.

burning beneath the town

Centralia, PA

When I read about Centralia in “A Walk in the Woods” by Bryson, I was astonished at how it was possible for a fire to be burning beneath the town since 1962. This sparkled my interest to do a research on the phenomenon and find more about the history of Centralia and where it all started from. In Colonial times civilization was making huge steps towards progress and discovering the benefits from mining.
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Colliery in the Centralia area from 1864.

Lehigh Valley Coal Company, Centralia Colliery, 1928

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Coal strip Mining in Centralia, 1963

Between 1856 and 1863, 5 anthracite coal mines opened in Centralia. Men working in the mines could earn money and provide for their families until the market crash of 1929 caused all 5 mines to close. Struggling to make both ends meet, some of the laid off miners became bootleggers – they would take out the pillars of the idle mines and as a result the roofs of the mines would collapse. This practice would make fighting the fire in the coal mines very difficult.






Later, in 1962 the Centralia Council decided to clean up the landfill so the city looks nice for Memorial Day. All holes in the pit were filled with combustible material but one – the one leading to the old coal mines. Since then fire has been burning and every attempt to extinguish turned out to be futile.

A video of the tragedy can be seen here:

The story of Centralia makes me ponder on the numerous ways such a tragedy could have been avoided. With more strict regulations the bootleg practice could have been restricted. With a moderate use of natural resources there wouldn’t be so many mines concentrated on such a small region. If the Centralia Council were more careful when making the decision to clean up the landfill and the filling of the holes in the pit were executed more precisely, then it’s possible that the tragedy would have been avoided. The few people still living in Centralia foster hopes for the fire to be extinguished, but there are no current plans for this to happen. These people have roots in the town, but these roots can burn out every moment – metaphorically and literary. I think that what makes it a huge tragedy is that the fire in the mine is a result of human error and negligence.

Author close-up: Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson’s 1998 travel memoir A Walk in the Woods achieved such popularity largely due to its comfortable, conversational style. The novel reads like a letter from an old friend, and works equally well read to oneself or aloud, perhaps around a campfire or elsewhere in nature. Equal parts encyclopedic fact and hysterical farce, A Walk in the Woods illuminates the lazy, artificial and consumer-driven modern American lifestyle, and the average man’s sore disconnect from nature: As Bryson puts it, the trail taught him to appreciate “low-level ecstasy – something we could all do with more of in our lives” (page 125).

Bryson’s hysterical, informative writing style is the result of years of experience. He wrote for The Times and The Independent while living in North Yorkshire, England for nearly 20 years. He is also a scholar of the English language itself, having written several books on the linguistics and usage of English and the language’s development throughout history.

In 1995, Bryson moved to Hanover, New Hampshire with his wife Cynthia and four children. It was from Hanover that Bryson spent a summer hiking the Appalachian Trail with childhood friend who appeared under the pseudonym Stephen Katz. This Katz is also featured in one of Bryson’s most recent works, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. This autobiographical memoir is Bryson’s wry account of just about the most all-American childhood you could get: growing up in the mid-century Midwest. Click here to watch the neat flash animation he created to promote the book.

Expect the same rapid pace and hilarious, informative and lively discourse in all of Bryson's works. I'm definitely going to check out that one, and "Mother Tongue", next.

Ramsey's Draft Virginia

Ramsey's Draft Wilderness Area is about 21 miles northwest of Staunton, VA and it is one of the more rugged hiking areas in the state. A "draft" or draught is a flowing source of water Ramsey's Draft is far more than a simple mountain creek. Over the years, the small valley through which it passes has been ravaged by hurricane caused floods such that old jeep trails and foot paths were wiped out or re-routed. The trail is rugged but beautiful and since it doesn't have trail markers, hikers must pay close attention.
According to the US Forest Service website:
Ramsey's Draft Wilderness encompasses 6,519 acres of the North River Ranger District. It was legislatively designated as Wilderness on October 30, 1984 under the Virginia Wilderness Act. Ramsey's Draft (draft and run are local names for creeks) is classified as rugged and steep with elevations from 2,200 feet to the top of Hardscrabble Knob at 4,282 feet. The area of Ramsey's Draft was included in a 38,399 acre tract purchased in 1913. About 1,794 acres in the headwaters of Ramsey's Draft and around Hardscrabble Knob have been managed essentially as wilderness since 1935. This area of Ramsey's Draft is considered one of the few virgin forests of its size in the East. A Civilian Conservation Corp Camp (CCC) was located just outside the present day wilderness boundary during the 1930's. CCC crews improved the road that crossed Ramsey's Draft, working on many fords, and constructed several of the trails in the area.

Ramsey's Draft has 30 miles of trails on the 6,518 acres and its Shenandoah Mountain trail starts at the historic Fort Johnson Confederate Breastworks and traverses the mountain with spectacular views of the valley. In the photo above, I am standing by an old chimney that was once part of the PATC Sexton Cabin which was dismantled and hauled out by draft horse when the area was given Wilderness status in 1984.

I have many wonderful stories about hikes and backpacking in this magical and challenging area, but that's for another post!

for more info:
Mid-Atlantic Hikes
North Ranger District

pre-semester retreat at Doyle's River Cabin

FRIDAY August 22

4:00pm: After a crazy hectic day of lugging heavy boxes of college-student-crap into our dorm rooms, getting accidentally locked out of Lakeview (I know I did at least a couple of times), nearly getting parking tickets in K-lot, and marveling over how beautiful is this new building we have the privilege of living in... we are finally ready to leave for our pre-semester retreat! Backpacks, sleeping bags and hiking boots ahoy, we take off in three cars.

5:30pm: We stop for the purposes of securing "provisions," namely, enough food to feed a dozen hungry college kids and one very hungry professor for five meals. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip. In the parking lot of a Charlottesville "Giant", we split into teams of 2 or 3 and were handed a small piece of paper detailing our mission: one meal per team. My team of Jimmy, Elizabeth and I were in charge of Saturday lunch. A handbasketful of PB&J, apples, and bread later, we were all ready. Other meals included oatmeal, bananas and bagels as breakfast foods, ramen noodles, and this really amazing prosciutto/mozzarella roll thingy that we sliced up and munched on Friday night whilst making pita pizzas over an open fire. Camp food is great.

9:00pm: Campfire underway, pita pizzas as described above. Everyone was sitting around, laughing, talking, getting to know each other. We played a few games of cards and called it an early night. Due to a limited number of bunk beds, some people had to share- Elizabeth, Molly and Natalie decided that it was necessary for them to have an absolutely bug-free night, and so we helped shut them up in their "cage": mosquito netted boards completely sealing off their lower bunk from the "elements" outside. From what I hear, it was a very close night. (Anyone have pictures?)
We talked some more, all of us from our bunks, before going to bed; Carleton, from his bag under a tree outside, described hearing our laughter bubbling out of the cabin as the most beautiful sound ever. Which I think is pretty cool.

SATURDAY August 23

12:30pm: Woke up, breakfasted on some oatmeal and bananas, and set out on a hike for the day. Despite the drought, we came across some pretty waterfalls (again, anyone have pics?). There was some swimming, some head-soaking, and some waterfall-climbing. We met some people taking pictures of one of the falls, and in exchange for taking over the whole damn place with a bunch of laughing folks, we gave them some trail mix cookies (oatmeal, coconut, chocolate and cranberry...will post recipe soon!). We talked about Earth Abides while sitting around at that waterfall, too, which was definitely a cool experience. I think I would have liked CORE more, or all of my classes for that matter, if class discussions based on the readings were held on mossy rocks while listening to the gentle trickling of drought-drained waterfalls nearby.




5:00pm: After our epic hike ended, estimated about 8 miles, we trooped back to camp and got down to business: naptime. Everyone picked out a spot in the grass or the cabin and settled down to rest. Quiet time was nice, and everyone woke up at their own pace, talking quietly, playing cards again, and gathering some wood for the evening's campfire.

8:00pm: After a delicious dinner of ramen noodles and smoked sausage cooked over an open flame, we all sat around again and laughed and talked, this time even more comfortably than the night before. I think this retreat definitely made our hall closer than most of the floors in Lakeview. I can't imagine just getting to school the day before classes started and trying to get to know everyone amidst the chaos of classes, homework, clubs, and various weekend activities. At Doyle's River we were totally secluded, just the Earth Lodge, and we got to know each other very well right away as a result.

SUNDAY August 24:

9:00am: Woke up early and packed up camp. Time to get back to school! Classes start the next day. We head home, tired but happy, full of dried fruit and other camp delicacies, looking forward to a nice shower and to living around this cool group of people that make up our Lodge.

from Pilgrim at Tinker Creek - chapter 4

"With a wingspread of up to six inches, the Polyphemus is one of the few huge American silk moths, much larger than, say, a giant or tiger swallowtail butterfly. The moth's enormous wings are velveted in a rich, warm brown, and edged in bands of blue and pink delicate as a watercolor wash. A startling 'eyespot,' immense, and deep blue melding to an almost translucent yellow, luxuriates in the center of each hind wing. The effect is one of a masculine splendor foreign to the butterflies, a fragility unfurled to strength." (61)

this is a Polyphemus moth

Note the two "staring eyes" on the underwings. These are known as "distraction patterns" and they are a common method of self-defense for moths. According to Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Forests:

"Often when a butterfly or moth is at rest, it will be cryptic, blending very well with its background, but many butterflies and moths "hedge their bets" against escaping predation by also employing distraction patterns in the event of discovery." (354-55)