Positive Identification

The picture of what I called a salamander in my last post is actually a Red Spotted Eastern Newt.  According to the website I was reading this one is a juvenile.  Juveniles are typically bright orange and don't always have their red spots until they mature.  The scat that I was wondering about is probably from a fox.  That's right, I was reading up on identifying animal turds.

Sunday Hike

I must start by saying that I couldn't have all of the fun adventures that I get to have without my wife.  Usually I'm a minor pain in the rear but yesterday I was probably a little more.  She drove me about an hour round trip on bad roads to drop me off at Sleepy Creek Lake to start my hike and I am very grateful.  My intentions were to link up with the Tuscarora Trail in Sleepy Creek WMA and back track to fill in a section of the trail that I hadn't hiked.  I know I was on the trail when I was near the lake but I soon lost it.  I'm learning that trails in Sleepy Creek are not always well marked or maintained.  I found a trail that got me around the southern end of the lake and heading up Sleep Creek Mountain and towards what I imagined to be the Tuscarora Trail.  My understanding of the Tuscarora was that it stayed along the top of the ridge through that area but evidently I'm wrong.  When I got to the top of the ridge a trail was there but not the Tuscarora.  So I hiked south on the unnamed trail to hopefully link up with the Tuscarora which I eventually did but really only got to cover about two miles of it instead of the ten miles I had planned on covering.  I was able to figure out the Tuscarora's course through that area and will cover the parts I missed on another hike.  I did pass a test yesterday though, I hiked in the rain and stayed relatively dry.  I bought a cheap poncho from Wal-Mart and wore it over my pack with my bucket hat and it worked well.  I was prepared with a zip-lock bag for my phone and wallet and everything stayed dry so as a novice hiker I was pretty proud of that, and the fact that I hiked just short of 12 miles in the rain in a little over 4 hours.  I saw a turkey, several squirrels, tons of birds and one awesome salamander that I haven't had the chance to identify yet, but if anyone knows what it is please let me know.  I also found a lot of small animal scat in one area that looked about as suspicious as animal scat can look.  I could see small bones in it and I used a stick to tear it apart and it was full of what looked like small rodent and bird bones.  I'm pretty interested in what type of animal left it.  I still haven't seen a bear yet, but I'm on the lookout, hopefully I get a picture.  Next week is Spring Break and I'm pretty excited to get back out on the Appalachian Trail to continue my section hike.

Salamander in Sleepy Creek WMA. 

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Trail markings in Sleepy Creek WMA

The southern end of Sleepy Creek Lake.

Protein Cookies

I'm going to try a new recipe I got from a runner friend.  They are basically no bake cookies made with peanut butter, protein powder and oatmeal.  I've always been a Clif Bar/Power Bar kind of guy but the thought of making my own and knowing every ingredient is a good thing.  On top of it all, they dont taste too bad.

Here's the recipe.  If anyone reads this and has any other recipes please share them.  This recipe makes a dozen I believe.

1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup milk
4-5 tablespoons chocolate protein powder or cocoa
1 1/2 cups Splenda sugar substitute
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 1/2 cups quick oats
2-3 tablespoons vanilla

1. Melt margarine in a saucepan and add milk, protein powder and Splenda.
2. Bring to a boil for no more than a minute or until thick.
3. Remove from heat and add in the oats, peanut butter and vanilla.
4. Mix well.
5. If too crumbly add a touch of water, but this should not be needed.
6. Press into cookies and set to cool on wax paper.
7. Enjoy!

Sleepy Creek and TT Pictures

Sign where the TT runs into Shockeysville Road, in Virginia

Massive bolder with blue TT blaze.  I considered doing a little bouldering but I was pressed for time.

Looking southeast from Pee Wee Point.

Shockeys Knob Shelter on the TT.  According to the log, there's a resident bear but  I didn't see it today.

Shockeys Knob from the TT.  That's actually fog hanging around the top of the mountain in the late morning.

Above is High Rock, a 30 foot tall monolith sitting atop Sleepy Creek Mountain.
Below is the view looking East from the top of High Rock.  It's my favorite spot in Sleepy
Creek WMA and the view is worth the hike.

Sleepy Creek and The Tuscarora Trail

Sleepy Creek WMA

I've lived near Sleepy Creek Wildlife Management Area my entire life and had no idea they had hiking trails.  I had never heard of the Tuscarora Trail either, but recently learned that a long stretch of it passes through Sleepy Creek.  Most of my hiking has been on the AT, but I live 3 miles from Sleepy Creek so out of convenience I've been spending a lot of time there.  So every Sunday for the past 6 weeks or so I get up early and go over to Sleepy Creek and explore their trails.  My first hike in Sleepy Creek took me to a place called High Rock which is a huge rock monolith proably 10 yards high and maybe 60-70 yards long.  I climbed all over the rocks the day I was up there but would probably avoid it in the summer because it looks like a snake hideout.  I hiked with my brother in law to a spot named Pee Wee Point a few weeks ago and checked out the awesome views of the Back Creek Valley.  My true interest over in Sleepy Creek is the Tuscarora Trail.  The TT is a spur of the AT that was created in case the AT needed to be rerouted.  It is 250 miles long and leaves the AT in Shenandoah National Park in VA and rejoins the AT near Marysville, PA.  From what I've read online the TT is not always maintained.  I hiked the TT yesterday from Shockey's Knob to Shockeysville Road just to check it out and can say that it is alive and well in that area.  It appears that it is used by a lot of mountain bikers which has probably kept it pretty well maintained.  I didn't see any other hikers yesterday, I never see any in Sleepy Creek anyway, but I did see a lot of squirrels, birds, chipmunks and bugs.  The trail is pretty easy going with a few easy climbs and downhills.  With confirmation that the trail is there my goal for this summer is to section hike as much of the TT as I can, maybe 100 miles or so.  I do read that a lot of the trail is on roads which I don't care for because I'm there to get away not to mingle with the rest of society but I'll manage.  I'm a teacher and I'm looking at spring break being a big hiking week for me here in about 2 weeks.

First Post...

In my past life I was a basketball player.  I played in high school and continued my basketball career at Shenandoah University.  Towards the end of college my knees started to break down and after college I stopped playing and exercising all together and wouldn't you know it my weight ballooned.  So I decided I'd try my hand at being a runner to get back in shape.  I started with a mile or two and worked up to running 5K's, 10K's, Half Marathons and even ran with a group in a few 200 mile relays.  Running got me back in shape but I can't say I ever fell in love with it.  Competing in races is what kept me going. 

In my present life I'm a backpacker/dayhiker.  I wouldn't say a real hiker yet but I'm working on it.  I've hiked off and on since college but never put much thought into it.  My transition from being a runner to being a hiker is an effort to preserve my knees and also to find a little peace and quiet and escape my own reality.  In my reading I've discovered that a lot of hikers manage journals and blogs.  I've already hiked a good bit this year and have seen some pretty cool places.  The purpose of my blog is to keep track of where I've been and also hopefully make contact with other hikers and promote hiking as a worthy endeavor.  I'm going to log as many hikes as I can and take/post as many pictures as I can.  Any comments or suggestions are certainly welcome.