Weather on Dolly Sods is nothing, if it isn't fickle. We spent most of Saturday poking around on the sods, trying to avoid the numerous thundering downpours. One minute visibility would be a hundred yards, and the next, the sun would be poking out of the clouds. It made for some interesting photos. This panoramic was taken from the back of my jeep, with the rear door open and me perched with my camera protected from the drenching monsoon that stopped moments before.

Last weekend Martin invited us out to check-in on a family of Barred Owls living in a local park. I hadn't ever seen owls in the 'wilderness' of Northern Virginia, so I was in. We arrived Saturday afternoon around 4:30 and didn't leave until almost 8:00. I got a few nice shots, but nothing compared Martin's photos. While I didn't get the cool closeups like Martin, I focused on what I do best, I took panoramics of owls "in their natural habitat." Two rows of six images compose this image that I printed 20" x 35". The wind was blowing, so there were lots of parallax errors to be worked out, but because the image is so random and complex, it was easy to hide the issues.

On a related note, I think I need a longer lens. I am definitely feeling inadequate when shooting wildlife with Martin.

Wandering was the name of the game last weekend. On our way home from Canaan Valley, we decided to take the scenic route. How many great days start with, "Why don't we take a scenic route?" First we crossed the Oldtown Maryland bridge. Sitting two feet off the water and just barely wide enough for one vehicle, this little wooden bridge is a gem. When we arrived on the Maryland side of the river, we were delightfully amused to find a tollbooth. "Fifty cents please."

After crossing the river, we had a choice, either backtrack to Cumberland and get on Route 68 East towards home, or take the scenic route through Greenridge State Forest. It didn't matter that our only map lacked road names. It didn't matter that we didn't have any sort of GPS. We just figured, head northeast, and we'll be fine. After an hour on the boulder-strewn off road vehicle (ORV) trail that was sized for ATVs and motor bikes, we emerged onto smooth dirt roads, and a beautiful panoramic view of the winding Potomac River. After a quick panoramic photograph stop, we were back on our way. Before leaving the state forest, we had a chance to take pictures in an abandoned nineteenth century cemetery, photograph ourselves posing inside hollow tree, get bitten by the seasons first mosquitoes, spook a couple of horses, and get our jeep good and dirty.

Spring is the time to see the waterfalls of the highlands around Canaan Valley. On Sunday morning, after an evening of steady rain, I grabbed my gear and tiptoed across Red Run with my camera hung on one shoulder and my trusty photo backpack of gear. A short ten minute hike up the Pointy Knob Trail found the creek wet and wonderful--you know, originally that was going to be the state motto before they came up with wild and wonderful, but they changed their mind because they thought the prurient connotations of "wet and wonderful" would turn away tourists. Well this little creek was "Open for Business." ("Open for Business" is the newest motto of West Virginia. Several groups are trying to get it changed back to Wild and Wonderful.)

This shot was taken in four rows of nine images for a total of thirty-nine images. The resulting image is 143 megapixels. What you are seeing here is a crop of that image. As I write this, it is printing 24" x 48". This image is huge. If you didn't already, click on the image above to see one that is a bit larger. In the fully printed version, you can see each tiny follicle of green moss on the rocks.

I don't generally talk about photographic equipment here, but this was shot with my new favorite lens. I have been carrying my Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8 L for about three months. This lens is a tank. It weighs almost two pounds. I have never seen a lens so sharp and colorful. I loathe to remove this lens from my camera

I shot the image with a polarizer to reduce glare off the Rhododendron leaves. I have concluded that using a polarizer with the shiny leaves of Rhododendron and Mountain Laurel is essential to preserving the deep green colors of the image. As a result, I generally need to use a tripod because of the loss of light. That's okay, because when I shoot panoramics, I generally use a spherical ballhead mounted on a tripod anyway.

Whew! I photo-geeked-out there pretty good. Sorry for the diatribe. While the sun never showed itself on Sunday, the photos that resulted from an overcast day were excellent. This time of year is better than you might think for photography in the highlands. Although most trees are still bare, with only the smallest buds showing, the evergreen Rhododendrons are deep green and lush. So this time of year shows them off to their fullest without having to compete. On Sunday, everything was damp and saturated with color. The even lighting made textures leap out at you.

The flowers were out in full force along the C&O Canal towpath between White's Ferry and Brunswick. Along some stretches, it is no exaggeration to say that the ground was carpeted with flowers. The ground-cover was lush and green, but most of the trees didn't have too many leaves yet. This combination made for some beautiful views through the woods. The brown tree trunks contrasted sharply with the lush green leaves of the ground-cover.

The Virginia Bluebells were mixed in with a white, six-leaved flower that I couldn't identify. Nevertheless, the scenery was stunning. As an extra bonus, I also have to say, this stretch of the towpath was in excellent condition. For our first outing of the season, our posteriors were appreciative.

I have been traveling to Dallas for seven years. Over that time, I have learned some lessons about Texans. I remember asking my local coworkers, "Is there anywhere I can go for a hike or walk....you know a quick after-work jaunt?" My question was always met with blank stares. And then, here is the kicker.

"I suppose you could go to the mall and walk around there." Then they turned and walked away like I was a leper. That is Dallas in a nutshell. Mall-walking is considered getting out for some exercise.

So after spending so many years of evenings in Dallas at the mall, or the office, I finally decided to find some nature...in Dallas!

I found White Rock Lake near downtown Dallas. I got some suspicious looks from the inhabitants. Some might even say they looked incredulous at me walking around the lake.

With few exceptions, it was hard to capture an image without concrete of some sort in the image. I guess I shouldn't expect too much. This was, after all, the city of Dallas, at least the spandex-clad cyclists didn't run me over.

I promise, my next entry will have some truly wild places. No more cities, for now.

We spent a few days in New York City. Just below Wall Street, I stumbled into the Waterfront area. I liked the worn signs on the side of these buildings. Someday I will need to write about how I got the panoramic projection to not suck, but I kind of like the shot. Keeping lines straight and appropriately parallel in a panoramic can be difficult, especially when the shot was taken handheld like this one was.

Now this shot breaks all the rules of panoramic photography, but I still think it is cool. I was walking through the East Village just snapping a shot every ten steps or so. Then I put together the results. There are all sorts of little misalignments and errors in the panoramic, but in the East Village, I don't think anyone would notice. I also uploaded a bigger version if you are interested.

Kara pointed out this little doorway as we were walking around West Village. There isn't much to say about this one except "cool!" I really like the low-key composition. Part of me wishes I had taken that darn business card off the intercom, but hey, you can't get everything.

This little panoramic was taken in the Trinity Church cemetery at the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway. There were a number of really cool headstones dating back to the late 18th century and the Revolutionary War period. It seems that the cemetery never sees much light in the shadow of all the financial district's skyscrapers. I could make a cynical comment about the irony of a church in the business district, but I won't. It was a really cool church and cemetery--for a guy who doesn't go to church.

Has autumn sprung on Dolly Sods? Well as of Saturday past, I would say yes. October 6th saw some pretty peak lookin' leaves to me. In one day of hiking around in the north end of Dolly Sods, we must have chatted with 25 people, many of them backpackers. I think everyone was pretty shocked by the high temperatures. It was about 80 degrees fahrenhiet. We started our excursion around noon and hiked until just after sunset. The afternoon light was doing a wonderful job of illuminating the leaves. There were large puffy clouds that occasionally provided some diffused shady light, but otherwise an ideal day.



We made a big loop with the Raven Ridge trail, Beaver View trail, and Dobbin Grade trail. Getting back to the parking lot at the top of FR80 took us almost ten miles. The first pano (above) was taken along the Rocy Ridge trail. Second one (below) was taken overlooking a meadow near the Beaver View trail. This shot is one of those that I really didn't think would work. Everything I have ever learned says, avoid haze and don't shoot directly into the sun. Well this shot was taken directly into the sun and through an afternoon haze. I like the way the dark Red Spruce trees are fringed with light green with scattterred yellows and reds mixed throughout.

This weekend we hiked the High Falls trail in the Shavers Fork area. It was a more strenuos trail than I expected. It was all either steep up or steep down. At the top of the ridge, there was a primeval area of hemlock, ferns and mosses.

When we arrived at the High Falls, we realized that there was a scenic railroad that stopped at the falls. So as we made our way down to the falls to eat lunch, we were accompanied by forty-some-odd passengers from the train. That was when I fell (see "A Beautiful Place to Break a Camera" below). We sat on the rocks and watched people rapidly descend on the location like they were paratroopers at the beaches of Normandy. I think I took a picture for a man and woman who were probably dating or something. THEN, as quickly as they arrived, everyone was gone. It was peaceful. I made some pictures. We ate lunch. Some hikers came through and took a swim.

So I am standing at the top of the High Falls of the Cheat in Shavers Fork area of the Mon Forest. I turn to walk away from the edge and lose my footing on some mossy, wet rock. As I am falling on top of my Canon 30D, the following thoughts flash through my head...

My 17-40 L lens doesn't have a UV filter to protect it from this fall. I don't really have any time to protect the camera with my hands, arms or face, so I guess this lens is toast. I have always been in the camp of people that figures if you spend money to get a good lens, you shouldn't put a cheap piece of glass in front of it just in the name of protection. I always say that if you don't take your camera into risky places, then you will never get a great shot. It is only a matter of time before any piece of well loved camera equipment gets damaged or broken.....OUCH...skin on my elbow is scrapping off....OUCH, the lens is shattered. I guess I am gonna have to get that 24-105 that I have been considering. Let's have a look...Damn!!

The lens wasn't shattered, even though I came down hard on the bottom of the lens. It still seems to take sharp photos. No damage was done to the best of my knowledge.

...and to add insult to injury, I fell directly in front of an observation deck with a bunch of horrified people looking on. One man offered me a paper towl he was carrying. I used it to dry off the camera. I think he meant it for my bleeding elbow.

I was going back over pictures I have shot over the last few years. It never ceases to amaze me how much my perception of an image can dramatically change over the course of a few years. Today I am going back into the Trailpixie archives to drag out two images from last summer.

The first image is taken along the C&O Canal, about a mile southeast of Great Falls. The day was hazy and humid. I recall feeling disappointed about my pictures from the day. I came home and didn't even look at them for a week or two. When I did, I found this panoramic of a little island with a cedar tree on it. I thought it was okay. Now I look at it and think it is a wonderful little vignette from nature. What do you think?

This second picture was taken on an outing to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. We had planned to go kayaking at Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge, but there were a bunch of storms kicking around. So, we just knocked around Chestertown, Rock Hall and the refuge for most of the day. We had a really good time, but again, the weather wasn't cooperating for picture makin'. I did manage to snap a few panoramics of wildflowers. At the time, I was totally obsessed with catching the dozens of butterflies that were in the image, but those little buggers just wouldn't sit still. So, when I came home, I wasnt't too enthusiastic about the images I shot. A year later, I think I was being a bit self-indulgent and crabby. This image is pretty nice. I hope you like it.

Adam, who lives in the shadow of Dolly Sods, wrote me a nice email last week that I thought I would share. He also sets me straight on a the names of a few places. I will need to update some pages here at Trailpixie.net to get the corrections straight. Here, you can read his email yourself...pretty interesing.

May 29, 2007
Hi, My name is Adam and I live under Dolly Sods.. My Family is the reason there is a road from the Maysville side to the top of Dolly Sods because of a handshake deal way before my time between the Gov and my Great Grandad... I am an active Bear Hunter and Hiker of Dolly Sods and Dolly Sods has been a Fascination Obsession and its true beauty has captured my attention since I was a small child. I'm always looking on the net for pics and taking my own and I love the place and I'll probably get married there and live here the rest of my life unless priorites carry me elsewhere. The purpose of my email was in regards to your "Unnamed View." This place is called Phares or pronounced by local hunters "Fares" Hollow Rocks. and the Hollow below it is Phares Hollow its a split hollow....the hollow next to it the even rougher one is called Greenbriar.

One thing that i think hikers and hunters alike should push for is more opening of trails and the old railroad grades from the historical past of Dolly Sods... A few trials are wonderful hikes and Beautiful Scenery as always.. But a lot of trails are growing over and some of the old railroad grades are becoming non existent... exspecially the ones that link bbknob and fisherspring knob and the ones in Red Creek. One thing I've never understood is, that on any map ive ever saw or any pics I've ever scene, Fisher Spring Knob is not on there. Its the knob beside the trail and has the old grade running around it. Its def. unmarked on maps but fully visable. Keep up the Good Work! Your pics are the best I've found so far of the inside of the sods. and their clearly marked on location which is really good.

Thanks for the nice comments Adam. So it's Phare's Hollow Rocks. That sounds pretty cool. I'll update the page soon. Thanks for the note.

Brother Dave wants to click on the image and see a big version. Click on this...

Well, here is another pano. This one was shot from the top of Angel's Landing. The hike is a dandy little jaunt up over 1200 feet above the valley floor. the last 500 feet of vertical is done across a narrow rock outcropping with chains along the way to prevent you from plunging to your death. This stitched panoramic photo is made up of six images looking south towards the Zion Lodge.

Shot over 1000 images. I got source material for dozens of big panos too. Here is a quickie that I threw together this evening. (It looks better when viewed bigger or even biggest.) This image is made with 1x3 shots. I will be working on some that were as large as 3x13 shots. We'll see if any come out.

As the last days of winter pass by, I thought I would go back through my library and highlight some more images that I made this year. This shot was made on a windy day at Bald Knob above White Grass and Canaan Valley. It is a very similar angle to an image I made two years ago in the first days of winter as the snows just started to settle over the highlands.

We also finally got a chance to make the acquantaince of Jonathan Jessup during a short photo seminar he was holding. During that time we snowshoed along the edge of the woods at White Grass and took photos as the weather changed from sunny overcast to fast blowing snow. I managed to make this photo while hiking with a dozen or more other photo enthusiasts.

One other note, trailpixie.net has finally gotten the comments function working again. Hopefully with the upgraded software, I will be able to control the spamming that had gotten out of control. Please leave your responses by clicking the "Add Your Comments" link below.

The latest goin's on here in the land of Trailpixies has been backcountry skiing. We have spent the best part of the last month of weekends in the Canaan Valley area skiing at White Grass, the refuge, and Canaan Mountain. Of course I took pictures. So, I'll get right to telling stories with pictures.

Over President's Day weekend we spent all three days exploring the winter wilderness. On Saturday mid morning we started out on some rather icy trails. We were pretty wrung out from the week, so we began with rather modest expectations for a gentle tour. By noon, it was starting to snow, and our energy level was rising as we began to penetrate the deep winter woods above White Grass. We decided to head out the Cabin Mountain Trail to see exactly where it came back into the trail system. The photo above was taken about half-way around the Cabin Mountain Trail. It was pretty cold and snowy by this point. Four hours after starting our tour, we were elated to come back out just below Bald Knob. The snow was accumulating on our hats and backs, so we decided to head for the lodge. After an exhausing tour, we were happy to kick back and relax by the fire for the evening.

On Sunday we decided to really take that gentle tour, so we headed up to Canaan Mountain for an out-and-back on Canaan Loop Road. The snow was still falling pretty hard. I guess around 6-8 inches had fallen since Saturday noon. Canaan Loop Road was peaceful and quiet as the snow was swirling like a banshee. Occasionally, the snow clouds would part for a moment and some sun would reveal itself. In this picture, Kara was skiing out ahead while the snow was swirling and the sun was shining. I am not sure a more magical combination could be made.

Of course I had to stop and take a panoramic image. That involves setting up a tripod, attaching the tripod head, tamping down a spot in the snow so I can get on my knees in front of the tripod. Then, I have to make some calculations with some charts I carry in my gear. Finally, I have to shoot 10 or 20 images in quick repetition. Since it taks so long to setup the whole thing--about 5 minutes--I generally take at least two or three panoramic images. So, after 15 minutes standing in 15 degree fahrenheit temperatures with snow swirling around (remember that banshee I was talking about), Kara convinced me to pack up and get moving again. I was pretty happy about the image that resulted.

To round-out the long weekend, I got up at 6:00 on Monday morning to take a pre-dawn photographic trek into the refuge. The photos were pretty pedestrian untill I stumbled into a copse of trees that were dripping with warm glowing light. I fell to my knees--which is pretty difficult when you are wearing snowshoes in two feet of snow-- and immediately setup my panoramic equipment. It was about 8 degrees fahrenheit, so when I put on my thinner gloves for using my camera, my fingers were immediately numb. My fingers clumsily stumbled through three versions of the same image--two rows of 15 shots. I was practically shivering, so I packed up my gear and headed back to the cabin.

I think the image was worth it. I printed a 13x40 inch print when I got home and it warms my heart to look at it. During my trek back to the cabin I didn't know if any of my shots came out well, but I did have a wonderful feeling of warmth and satisfaction. As I crested one of the hills, I turned back and saw my meandering path arch across the hillside. I was cold, but I was rejuvenated by the beauty of the wilderness refuge. I recall thinking that it would be fun to throw myself down on the powdery snow and and wriggle around on my back like a dog does in the soft green grass of spring.

Hi folks, you may be seeing some erratic behavior with Trailpixie.net this week. I am in the process of moving my webhosting service. As you can imagine, that can cause all kinds of issues. Hopefully everything will be worked out in the next few days so that I can move on with some upgrades on the site.

This weekend we took a nice little excursion around Dolly Sods. We hit most of the highlights of the Southern portion of the area. One of my goals was to reshoot an image I took three years ago along Big Stonecoal Trail. I had taken a decent little handheld panoramic with my old A70 digicam. I really liked the composition of the shot, but the image wasn't suitable for printing due to its low resolution. For three years, I have wanted to remake that waterfall image. I think the new image is an improvement over the old one. I wonder if there are any other images I should try to remake.

I was going back through my old photos and found the 6 images that comprise this panoramic. I kind of liked the dark boulders on the beach with the bright sky background. When I stitched the images together I liked it even more. Sometimes I to go back through my old shots and think, "why didn't I do anything with that shot?" This photo was started last summer in Acadia. The print was just made last night. That is a long exposure.

I have been waiting to get this image up on the site. This one winter shot saved my photography season. I got up at the crack of dawn after we got about twelve inches of snow. I hopped in the Jeep and headed the mile and a half down to the Middle Patuxent River where it runs past the town of Savage. After a short hike down the snowy trail, I decided to descend the steep bank of the river and crawl out on a rock to take a couple of panoramas. I know I wasn't solo free climbing El Capitan, but I was crawling out on a deep snow covered rock perched 10 feet over a cold, rocky river that was flowing swiftly that morning — all with my camera mounted on the tripod. I must confess to using the tripod and camera as a walking stick a few times as I gently scooched my way out on to the rock. So I set up the tripod and shot for a half hour or so. The color of the water is exactly as it looks in the picture. The snow had fallen so thickly that a slushy slurpee of green water was flowing down stream. This panoramic shot was taken with 2 rows of 10 images. I think I figured out that it was about an 80 megapixel (15,700 x 5100 pixels)image when all is said and done. I had a good time that morning. The snow had half melted by noon and was almost completely gone two days later.

This has been a hectic winter at the Trailpixie homestead, but we did manage to get out for some pics of the cherry blossom trees one morning before work. We arrived around 5:45 am. There were already dozens of people, mostly pathological photographers like me and my friends. The sun rose around 6:00 am. Good light hit around 6:20-6:30 am. I shot a bunch of nice cherry blossom pictures. It is kind of hard not to take some decent photos with such a great subject matter at hand. I did manage to get one nice little panoramic that was unusual. I shot this with a bright sunny background which should have silhouetted the blossoms, but I also used fill flash, so the image turned out pretty neat. Usually I don't like flash on natural subjects, but this seems to be an exception. I was pretty pleased with this little shot. I hope you are too.

This is your last chance to provide input to the Monongahela Forest Plan. The next time the Federal government will revist this plan will be in 20 Years. Terence Major sent me this information about the public comment period for the Monangahela's 20 year plan. Please provide your input so that we can continue to enjoy mountain adventures winthin the natural splendor of the Mon.

After public comment and based on forest service recommendation only Congress can add land to the National Wilderness Preservation System. Wilderness designation protects an area from logging, mining, building of roads or other permanent structures and motorized use in perpetuity. Examples of Wilderness areas in West Virginia include Dolly Sods and Otter Creek.

Only 9% of the Monongahela National Forest is permanently protected as wilderness. The new forest plan calls for extensive road building, logging and development. Your letters can help prevent this.

Today the big areas are roaded, and our opportunity has been considerably diminished. We have seen an enormous amount of road building and forest fragmentation in the last 20 years. Imagine what will be left twenty years from now if we do not protect the remaining areas.

The 1964 Wilderness Act states that wilderness, "�in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain." The act went on to require that a wilderness retain "its primeval character and influence" and that it be protected and managed in such a way that it "appears to have been affected primarily by the force of nature."

The Forest Service released its �Draft Management Plan� for the Monongahela National Forest in August. The Forest Service�s Preferred Alternative (#2) threatens the future of the Mon�s wild lands by rolling back protections for roadless areas and failing to recommend an adequate number of new wilderness areas. Only Alternative 3, with changes, goes the furthest in recommending new wilderness areas and protecting the Mon�s remaining special wild places. Please take a moment to write a letter to the Forest Service and tell them you want them to keep the Mon wild. The public only has 90 days to submit comments to the Forest Service (Deadline: November 14, 2005).

Write to:
Monongahela National Forest
Attn: Forest Plan Revision
200 Sycamore Street
Elkins, WV 26241

Or email your comments to: comments-eastern-monongahela@fs.fed.us

for more information:
West Virginia Wilderness Coalition
Monongahela National Forest Web Site
West Virginia Highlands Conservancy

The Labor Day weekend was spent trolling around for photographs and scenic spots. We were lucky on both accounts. The most fruitful (no pun intended) photographs came of the cranberries and pitcher plants we fond along the Canyon Rim Road. I have found cranberry bogs elsewhere in the highlands region, but I am amazed each time I traipse down into a bog and find little berries growing down in the muck. This time they were interspersed with pitcher plants--West Virginia's carnivorous orchid.

We also slogged through a marsh in the Canaan Mountain area where there were plenty of cranberries to be found. The Labor Day weekend was punctuated by a hapenstance sighting of a young bear galloping across Canaan Loop Road only a few hundred feet in front of the car.

This summer we managed to sneak away to Acadia National Park for a long weekend where we shot some cool pics. Thunder Hole is a narrow little channel that runs in from the coastline about 50 yards. At the top of the channel, there are cavities in the rock, that, when the conditions are correct, make thunderous sounds as the waves crash into them.

Jordan Pond is another pretty spot in Acadia National Park. The thing that was most stunning to me about the mountians of Acadia was their shape. they were very steep and rounded-off on the edge. In this panoramic image of Jordan Pond, I am not sure anyone can look at the twin mountain peaks and not think of breasts. They seem to defy the gravity that has worn down the Appalachian mountains. The steep rounded mountains of Acadia present a fluid and almost organic shape that is very un-rock-like.

Well, as usual, I have been shooting lots-o-panos. The first one shown here was taken along Canaan Loop Road in the Canaan Mountain area. This shot is comprised of one row of 4 images stitched together. The printed the image is 12.5" tall by 32" wide.

Initially, I wasn't too big a fan of this vertical shot, but it's been growing on me. this image is comprised of 1 column with 5 rows of images stitched together vertically and its printed size is 12.5" by 27.5". This shot was also found near Canaan Loop Road. I took the shot in the morning when there was still some light coming in from the side. The morning was starting to give way to the haze that prevails in our humid summers which gives the image that slightly phosphorescent background.

I would like to have taken this image as two or more columns of images, but my equipment doesn't make that easy to do. Precision panorama photography is rather equipment intensive. To get the images to line up precisely enough for printing and subsequent close examination, you need to use a tripood with a special panoramic tripod head. In order to do single columns or rows of images, you need what is called a cylindrical head (as if you are taking a picture from inside of a cylinder), but to make multi-row/column, "mosaic" panoramas, you need a spherical head (as if you taking pictures from the inside a sphere). I have been using a cylindrical head. I will need to post a picture of me messing with the contraption. This equipment is pretty cool and makes the process of stitching on a computer much easier.

Panoramania has definitely set in for me. I find myself consumed by the idea of being able to print these images of scenery and wildlife in very large formats. You might remember some of the old wallpaper that people put up in the 70's and 80's that were a wooded scene put together with columns of wallpaper. Digital panoramic photography can provide the same sort of size, but with far higher resolution allowing the viewer to resolve details that could only normally be seen in real life. For example, in this 1x3 panoramic image of a tide pool in Acadia National Park in Maine, you can pick out lots of cute little aquatic critters. Since it is difficult to see the details on a computer monitor, I have enlarged the image to show the detail. In the image on the left, you can see the valves in the mussels. The image on the right shows a periwinkle hanging out on a mussel.

Some thoughts on perspectives

This weekend we were priviliged enough to spend a day planting marsh grasses—Spartina alternaflora and Spartina patens— with lots of nice volunteers and folks from the National Aquarium in Baltimore. It was lots of fun traipsing around in the muddy, mucky water of Poplar Island.

The story about Poplar Island is pretty interesting. Apparently the island has been eroding away for the last 100 years to what is today less than one fifth the original size (check out the Google Map of the island. Loss of habitat from erosion, along with development, is a contributor to unstable critter populations in the Chesapeake Bay. To counteract the loss of habitat, The National Aquarium in Baltimore with the Army Corps of Engineers is rebuilding the island using dredgewater from the Baltimore Harbor and the Chesapeake Bay channel. Poplar Island will help add habitat for Diamondback Terrapins, Blue Crabs, and a multitude of waterfowl. When we were planting grasses, we even found some small blue crabs beginning to come into the marsh of the island to seek cover from predators.

It was a fun time being out in the sun all day. The team from the National Aquarium takes good care of their volunteers with lots of water, snacks, and cheerful fun throughout the day. I left with muddy clothes and a smile. I was even lucky enough to have come away with minimal sunburn—damn that short haircut I got last Thursday.

Here is a new pic I took in the Canaan Mountain area. I like this picture because it captures the straight lines that make up the canopy of the forest. While the picture makes the trail look relatively flat, the actual trail is heading up a hill steeply--that's the only way you could see the path of the trail easily.

It is pretty funny that the best photos are frequently the ones with the least conscious thought. You are in the moment, clicking away and something great comes your way. I don't think it is a coincidence that these great pics come when you are not expecting them. Actually, that little pine tree may have been just the warmup that I needed to see the possibilities of the panoramic shot. A great photo is more than just technically well executed, it has to capture a unique moment in time with spontaneity and credibility.

I am not sure, but I think that high resoution panoramas are not particularly well suited to online publishing. Their quality lies not only in composition, but also in detail and their expansive quality. The panorama above was printed 12 inches tall by 41 inches long. You can view it from 8 feet away and get the general feel of the photo. Then you can walk up to it and look closely at the footpath that winds its way up the side of the hill. You can examine the trees to see their individual branches. These qualities are lost in online publication.

I haven't been spending much time here at the Trailpixie hangout on the web because I have been working in the real world on some cool photography techniques. Check out Max Lyons Panoramic Images for a cool primer on digital panorama and mosaic images.

A few weeks ago, the dog woke me up at 5:45 am on a Sunday morning with a dire emergency requiring her to visit the yard. As you can imagine, I was pissed. But when we stepped out the back door the clear, dark dawn with the stars shining bright revealed that it was a perfect day for picture-making. So Instead of going back to bed, I set out to capture this panoramic image near Brown's Bridge in Maryland. I wish I had been able to set my equipment up sooner because I might have caught the beaver in this panoramic photo. This panorama uses three images stitched together with tools that are described at Max Lyons site I mentioned above. That morning, I saw a beaver, two blue herons, and a bald eagle. Not too bad for a morning started byour dog's small bladder.

Many of us who ramble around the mountains and valleys are afflicted with a malady which is related to obsessive compulsive disorders--Technical Gear Obsession. While this obsession can threaten to diminish the simple pleasures of being in the wilderness, it doesn't have to. By maintaining the right attitude about our disorder, we can still hike, ski or paddle throughout our happy and productive lives.

One type of therapy can be seen at Backpack Gear Test where some truly fanatical gear nuts can be found. God bless them, they provide some excellent reviews including the reviewers height, weight, torso length, city, and gender. I especially like the section where they review a variety of devices that allow women to pee standing up. This inequity between the genders is a big obstacle to getting more women out in the wilderness. So, I guess these gear nuts aren't that bad if they are solving problems that bring more people to the wild lands.

All of us live our lives with a different point of reference for risk and adventure. For some, an adventure may consist of trying a new brand of deoderant. For others, an adventure may be a kayak expedition to Antarctica. Adventure Philosophy represents adventure and risk as ways to explore our role in the planet and civilization. John Muir, Henry David Thoreau, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark all set out on adventures to discover nature and ended up discovering themselves.

Our adventures needn't be as extreme or dangerous as mountain climbers; they can be as mundane as Thoreau's humble and secure experiment in living simply. But, risk and adventure, however you seek it, helps us to maintain a balanced view of ourselves and our place on the planet. So, as we are on the cusp of the temperate season, choose your wilderness adventure. Cross the Chesapeake in a kayak, climb Mount Porte Crayon from the bottom, or bike the length of Canaan Mountain's Plantation trail.

...and if you do nothing else, visit Adventure Philosophy.com.

God Hate's Shrimp. It is always great when someone comes up with a crystal-clear example of closed-mindedness and reveals it for what it is--ignorance! "And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you"

Yeah!! You tell em God!

I found a cool Weblog about kayaking the Chesapeake Bay. It is nice to see outdoors focused weblogs since the format is ideally suited to trip/trail reports. I haven't seen many outdoors focused weblogs (Rick Reed's excluded perhaps, but his is more of a personal weblog with some outdoors related stuff thrown in.). So, Woody's Kayak Trip Reports is a nice site to read about the wilderness of the Chesapeak Bay. So instead of "Ramble the Bogs and Scramble the Boulders," we can "Paddle the Marshes and Ride the Swells."

I had the pleasure of my first solid weekend of backcountry skiing this weekend. I headed straight up to Round Top and then on To Bald Knob. This panorama was taken in the beautiful glades behind Bald Knob along the trail called Beech Lick. I was the first person to ski through in a few days, so most of the trails were covered with untracked snow. There is nothing quite so spiritual as gliding silently like a ghost through the woods with nary a sound besides the friction of ski on snow. I stopped in this spot and took this 3 frame panorama.

Earlier in the day, I visited the shelter at Sawmill Flats. There was a generous supply of Granola Bars (otherwise known as 'John Denvers') as well as a nice little wood stove. After a break, I set the camera up on the stove, set the timer and shot a "portrait of the Pixie as a young Skier." It was one of those pictures where you look a little bit like the super-hero that you are in your dreams. I guess the picture reflects my mental state at the moment. I was in the only place in the world I wanted to be doing exactly what I wanted to be doing. Life doesn't have enough of these moments, so if the picture looks like I am about to "leap a tall building in a single bound," you will have to forgive me. I felt on top of the world.

Check out WhiteGrass.com for more information about how you can get that super-hero, dreamy feeling.

There are some beautiful pine trees clinging to the top of the rocks at Seneca Rocks. They live their lives overseeing a breathtaking vista generally reserved for rock climbers and mountain goats. Seneca Rocks offers those of us who don't lead-climb access to these views.

This weekend we planned to cross country ski at Whitegrass but there wasn't much snow and it was melting fast. Instead, we drove down to Seneca Rocks and made the quick 40 minute hike to the top and a view that couldn't be beat. I have visited Seneca Rocks several times in the summer only to be a bit disappointed at the hazy skies. But a winter hike is much better. The skies are crystal clear and you can see for miles and miles.The views are better all along the trail because the leaves are off the trees. So, if you are in the area and disappointed by a lack of snow, take a quick jaunt down to Seneca Rocks. You won't miss the crowds of summer and the view is inspiring! Panaorama from the Top

Pixies are running up and down the mountains and coast of Taiwan. I have been traveling in Taipei Taiwan on business and managed to sneak away for the afternoon to see some sights.

I have been staying in city of Taipei and I can describe in a few words: energetic, frenetic, polluted, smoggy, and friendly. If my descriptions betray mixed emotions about this country, that's okay. Read on:

I have been constantly struck by how westernized Taiwan is. I had lunch at Burger King today (more about that later), there is a Dominos Pizza, 7 Eleven, and Ponderosa restaurant nearby. While Taiwan is highly westernized, there are distinct qualities that seperate it from anything western. Motor scooters travel the streets like schools of fish, somehow miraculously never running into each other and causing a catastrophic chain reaction. People everywhere are polite, friendly, and defferential. Yet, the most unique features of this country are the marketplaces that are unlike anything you will ever see in the US.

Today I walked through a marketplace in the village of Chiufen. I was compelled to try foods that I didn't recognize. Only half of the unusual foods that I tried were difficult to swallow. (Note to self, next time take some strong mints or gum to counteract unpleasant flavors that seem to hang on the pallete like a long humid afternoon.) The narrow pathways through the marketplace had a dirty film over the buildings and cobblestones deposited there from a combination of smog and street cooking. Several of the food stands would wash pots and pans or even rinse foods out onto the walkway. One stand cooked their sweet potato dumplings by placing the dumplings in a colander and washing hot water over them and allowing the water to run down the side of the walkway. The result is smells that tug wildliy on your senses, running from the warm, soothing smell of tea to the putrid odor of slightly rotten meat or fish. I experienced sensory overload. They must have been laughing at the wide-eyed white guy. Tomorrow night I am going to a much larger "Night Market" in the city.

If you want to see my pictures, take a look at my family gallery under Marc in Taiwan.

About that Burger King: I must admit that I am a sucker for a hamburger and french fries--even one from a fast food joint like Burger King. Today I strolled into the Burger King, pointed to the meal-deal menu on the counter, and used hand gestures to indicate what I wanted. The cashier held up a cup to ask me what I wanted to drink. I said "Coke." She knew what that meant. I guess that Coke is a universal term. I got my burger and headed off to a counter to devour it. I need to tell you something else about my burger and fries addiction. It also includes ketchup. This is not merely that I like ketchup with my fries and on my burger. I see the ketchup as a side dish. I am the only one I know who agreed with Ronald Reagan that ketchup was a vegetable, and for me, it is! I like to hold a bottle of ketchup and pour it on my burger, individually, for each bite. Well, here in Taipei, you get one ketchup packet with each order. I didn't want to be rude so, I had to make do with only one ketchup packet. Nevertheless, after eating excellent Chinese dumplings, yummy tropical fruits, and noodles and rice with everything for the last week, I was highly content to eat my burger without additional ketchup and ration out my ketchup for each fry. Taipei is cool, but I miss home.

We've been hiking the backwoods watching the signs of autumn gradually overtake the land with a colorful carpet of fallen leaves. Morgan the puppy (I know she is 100 pounds, but she is always a puppy) is thrilled to be prancing around in the cool, mountain weather.

The colorful leaves were contrasted against the dark green of hemlock, spruce and fir trees. The blue sky framed the spires of bright colors.

I recently picked up a Friends of the Blackwater Canyon newsletter and was interested to read the following

250 bats killed at Backbone Wind Facility! Friends of Blackwater is very concerned about the record number of bats killed at the Backbone site just over the ridge from Blackwater Canyon. This large mortality points to the need for strict regulations on the sitting of these industrial wind facilities. The friends of the Allegheny Front was granted a 15-day extension on comments to the West Virginia Public Service Commision which is writing sitting criteria regulations for wind facilities. Thank you to those who commented. We will keep you updated on this issue.

This is a potentially disturbing development. While I feel that this is an issue, how many animals are killed by a strip-mine? Perhaps we need a new metric for measuring impact to the environment. It could be something like biomass killed per killowatt hour generated. You could rate the type of animal killed with a multiplier. for example if the animal was on the endangered list, they may count as 3 times the number of deaths. If a person is killed, perhaps you could use a multiplier of 10 (or perhaps .005 for those of us who are cynical and hate people). Clearly generation of electricity will kill animals and damage the environment. How much is too much. I like bats and it sucks that they are killed by the windmills. Couldn't the windmills accidently kill worthless animals....... like...say... Republicans?

Wow! It isn't often that I read about something that is so completely cool that I have to instantly write it on Trailpixie, but this one got me.

World Beard and Moustache Championships

I am speachless. I feel like a kid in a candy shop trying to pick which one I want.....I think I like Willi Chevalier's triple beard. Those are some serious brooms. You could lose a bagel in there.

I finally got the pages up for the Spruce Knob and Seneca Creek areas. I took some of my nicest pictures on our recent backpacking trip to Spruce Knob. We started our trip below Spruce Knob and headed down the relatively boring Lumberjack trail and from there everything was beautiful.

I have talked before about waterfalls, and this area has its share of cascading waterfalls. The Falls of Seneca Creek rumble over a 30' ledge into a deep green pool. The Rhododendron overhang the falls while the tall Hemlock trees lean over the stream and darken the deep wooded cathedral.

I also added some destinations to the Canaan Mountain area. Lindy's Point is a beautiful and easy hike while Canaan Loop Road is a rugged forest service road that can be treacherous at times.

Pixies have been flailing over here for awhile. I still haven't put up my pictures of the Spruce Knob area. Last weekend, We hiked in the Flatrock Plains area of Dolly Sods. A short 4 mile hike into the wilderness along Forest Road 70 put us on top of a 4495' high mountain with a beautiful view to the southeast, looking down on Seneca Rocks.

Several new comments have been added by Trailpixie contributors. John Holded added his confirmation of the winds of Dolly Sods to Round Hilltop, Russ Sypen let his voice be heard about unofficial established campsites in the backcountry at Lion's Head Campsite, Gray Max backpacked at Dolly Sods, Jim Kirk hiked the length of the Otter Creek Trail, and Rick Reed gave us a personal tidbit about Bald Knob.

We need a new Pixie Poll. Any suggestions out there?

Pixies have been rambling the hills and valleys around Spruce Knob. Check back soon for stories and pictures of our journeys along the Seneca Creek trail. Rained lots up there. Temperature was in the low 70's. We took shelter from the rain under a large rock outcropping. We felt like prehistoric man with a fire in the opening of a cave. It was too cold to swim, so we had to be content to view the High Falls of Seneca Creek from afar. "I'll be back."....I guess we will be hearing that mantra repeatedly.

Check back soon...

These windmills are a few miles south of Thomas along Route 219. The line of windmills dots the ridges running north from this location. I had seen them before from a distance--lined up along the horizon. On a clear day when the sky is blue, they stand out like sentries on the horizon, but on hazy or cloudy days when the sky is white or gray, the windmills fade into their background.

Some have suggested that they are unsightly or eyesores. Some environmentalists have suggested that they will have a negative impact on the local environment, although their claim isn't yet substantiated. In my mind I havan't dismissed the possibility of some unconceived-of environmental impact akin to the salmon population declines that have been caused by dams in the Pacific Northwest.

What I do know is that I right now I am writing on an electric computer in my air-conditioned house. Industries need to try clean alternatives to fossil fuels that blacken and scar our landscapes. If we reveal that the windmills have harmful impacts, we need to be prepared to fall-back and try something else. As for their asthetic impact, they look better than the strip mines that dot the West Virginia landscape.

To me, these windmills are monuments to innovation in pursut of clean sources of power. Even John Muir was an inventor as well as a naturalist. Perhaps someday new old-growth forests will grow up around the windmills and create a grand forest of man-made and nature-made sustainable spires, converting wind to power and CO2 to Oxygen.

Pixies have been busily working on the site here. We have changed the banner of the site with a new panoramic picture of Lion's Head in Dolly Sods. We also added the ability for You to add your comments about any page in the site.

Please accept my invitation to become a TrailPixie contributor by adding your trail reports, responses or other stories that you have about our wild and natural places.

My work has just begun, stop back soon to find pictures from our recent excursions to Otter Creek, Dolly Sods, and Canaan Mountain areas.

This last weekend Kara and I went to the Purple Fiddle. We were somewhat reluctant like you always are when you try some new hangout. We quickly felt at home at this little out of the way place in Thomas West Virginia. I can't stress enough that it is out-of-the-way. If you have ever been to the Birchmere in Arlington Virginia, this place is like it in miniature with kids, comfy chairs and great ice cream. You can also get beer if you want.

So next time you are rattling around in the Monongahela Highlands, drop in. It's in Thomas. You can't miss it.

Well after weeks of rain upon rain upon rain, we finally got our new kayaks out on West River. We went on a Friday night after work. It was a good thing too, because the weekend didn't net us anymore paddle-worthy days.

NOTE: This is probably the first time that I have placed my picture on the front page of TrailPixie.net. If this results in a dramatic decrease in traffic to the Pixie website, I will learn my lesson and never repeat my mistake. Also, this is the first time that Kara's picure has been up on the front page of the site. We will see how this goes over.

I have also finally added more pictures. After completing a Geocache at Table Rock, I took some new pictures for the site(the old ones were all on cloudy days). I also got a decent panorama to put up there too.

During the same weekend, we got some nice flower pictures too. One of the pictures was of a Lady Slipper--perhaps the most lude flower found indigenously in the US--and the other was a low marsh flower which I haven't identified yet. Both are quite pretty.

Her picture is a very small picture. I can't imagine that she would be that upset....

After taking a long winter hiatus, I am back hiking the backwoods of the Monangahela Highlands. My most recent addition is Lindy's Run of Canaan Mountain area. We hiked there last weekend and had a fantastic time.

There is one question that I had. How do you tell the difference between a Balsam Fir and a Red Spruce. I think I saw Balsam Fir in the area.

Take a look at the picture above. Which is it? Red Spruce or Balsam Fir? Respond by answering the poll in the left column of this page.

I also took a really cool panoramic picture at the north end of Lindy's Run Trail. I am learning to use my new digital camera to take nature pictures. I am not sure whether or not it will replace my 35mm camera, but it's lots easier to carry my little Canon A70 camera than my big heavy Nikon 6006. So far the results are encouraging. On this hike I did drop the camera and put a nice scratch on it. I guess I can stop worrying about messing up my new camera. It is already besmirched.

Also added recently is a page on Lion's Head. Take a look at the view.

We started by creating a perimeter of briars in the middle of the woods. We dragged sticker bushes from all over the area into our small fortress area. We encircled a twenty-foot perimeter with sticker bushes arranged like concertina wire. After a few days of this difficult work, we were scratched and bloodied. But, we weren�t satisfied yet. We figured that they could easily crawl under the briars or cut them away with clippers (yes, we thought people would crawl under them). So we gathered a bunch of old beer bottles that had been left in an abandoned fire-ring near the construction sites � no doubt the site of drunken construction-worker binges. We took the beer bottles and shattered them all around the perimeter of the fortress. We intermingled the broken bottles in through the sticker bushes and all over the ground. We left a narrow path through the sharp, prickly carnage where we could barely crawl into the fortress. A fox would have had a difficult time following this little wildlife trail.

Our defensive preparations were going well. We rested for a few days while we worked on the observation platform that was suspended by sisal twine fifteen-feet up in the trees (it was actually probably seven feet, but boys will always exaggerate lengths). The platform consisted of a few sticks lashed to three tree trunks making a triangular stand without a platform to sit on. We sat or stood on the sticks while we yelled obscenities at AJ who was trying to break through our perimeter.

One day, AJ finally got through the perimeter. We reasoned that if AJ could get in, the construction workers certainly could. So we set out to improve the perimeter. This time we got axes and bow saws. We cut down large pine trees so that when they fell, their branches overlapped each other making a thick impenetrable wall that was hiding briars and broken beer bottles. It was indeed an imposing obstacle for any intruder. AJ gave up trying to play with us when we retreated to the fort since he was unable to manage the hand-over-hand jungle gym like maneuver required to get over the fallen trees and onto the platform. Eventually like all early forts, it was abandoned to the elements. The construction never did extend to the fortress; we turned back the intruders, although eventually we could see the house from our observation platform. Our need for a wilderness fortress was over.

How do Children become so xenophobic?

We spent Saturday afternoon rambling around Bald Knob and some of the areas above, behind and below the overlook area. The weather held out for us, and we spent the day poking around the valley trying at one point to take a trip down a trail in the Canaan Valley Wildlife Refuge. Unfortunately, the trail only went a few hundred yards before disappearing into beaver ponds and bogs.

As we traveled north past Red Creek Campground, th