We all know what a hiker is. Most should know that Mania is an obsession with something. It is the excessive interest in doing something. And Maniac is someone who shows great enthusiasm for doing something, ie: hiking. I guess that describes most serious hikers, which is why I chose these domains and titles for my websites dealing with hiking.
I believe I consider myself a Hiker Maniac who suffers from Hiker Mania.
Are you a Hiker Maniac?
Many of my co-workers and I go camping in the Nat'l Forest twice-yearly. Click this link to see one of last year's trips.
I have a few more hobbies besides hiking, camping and websites. I like to put words to my experiences in the form of song lyrics. Click on www.ValleyBridgeLyrics.com, another site of mine. In old English, my last name 'Delbridge' translates to 'Dell' meaning valley (ie: old children's song, 'The Farmer in the Dell') and of course 'Bridge'= Valley Bridge. Take a look at the lyrics and drop me a line as to what you think about them.
Lyme Disease is on the rise and is a very serious disease and not understood by most in the medical field. Many times, Lyme Disease is misdiagnosed as ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), Bell's Palsy, MS, arthritis, Fibryomyalgia, chronic depression, among many other chronic diseases. The trick is to catch it and diagnose it correctly early, before the bacteria get a chance to take hold in not only the bloodstream, but, the muscualar system, and nervous system, including the brain. If caught early (correctly diagnosed) and treated correctly, these chronic problems can be avoided in most cases. Whenever you have a day of fever, muscualar aches, and severe headaches (and sensitivity to bright light) that aren't associated with the flu or cold as in my case (I had no congestion, runny nose, sore throat, etc.), ensure the doctor tests your blood for Lyme Disease (ELISA and Western Blot test). Immediate antibiotic medication is imperative to avoid Chronic Lyme--which is many more times harder to diagnose and treat. Many times health insurance will not cover medications for "chronic" Lyme because it leads to certain other diseases--they will treat those spin-off diseases but not the underlying reason for those diseases (Spriochete bacteria invading the nervous system and brain and joints, etc..). The correct treatment for Chronic Lyme is years of IV antibiotics and it is expensive. Not all doctors agree there is a such thing as Chronic Lyme. The CDC calls it Post-Lyme Disease and treats the spin-off complications, but not what is proven to rid Chronic Lyme. To put it simply, doctors and the CDC are pressured by the academians who have "no" clinical experience. These doctors do not see patients. These doctors have no clinical experience. These doctors simply read the research of other academics who, too, have no clinical experience. They sit behind a desk and decide what gets published in prestigious medical journals. They don't beleive what the doctors 'in the field' are finding out. Because academic doctors don't recognize Chronic Lyme, insurance companies, who are in it for a profit, don't want to recognize Chronic Lyme.
McAfee Knob on the A.T.
Go to my Old Rag Mountain Hike site
Go to Abandoned cars in the Shenandoah National Park
I went for a relaxing drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway when I decided to pull off onto an overlook to check out the scenery. Well, I got more than what I bargained for Check out what happened here
Go to my Old Rag Mountain Hike site
Go to My trip to Cumberland Gap Nat'l Park and Damascus, Va-the Friendliest town on the AT
Go to Abandoned cars in the Shenandoah National Park
Go to my main site
© 2009 J. Delbridge.
©
Updated August 27, 2010
Please send me mail.
andy@delbridge.net
The links herein are not exclusively about hiking, but, to put it loosely, camping areas and historical areas around Virginia, with some North Carolina, and eventually will include West Virginia, and perhaps Maryland as well.
The many trips I have taken and will take will be linked from here so that you can get a good idea of what Virginia has to offer the outdoorsman.
Thanks for dropping by!
Ottie Cline Powell, The Little Lost Boy in the Virginia Mountains
My hike (April 20, 2010) to the peak of Bluff Mountain, near Buea Vista, Va and the sad Legend of Ottie Cline Powell. The 4 year old boy who became lost on Bluff Mountain and froze on top the mountain in 1891, whose body was found 5 months later.
Lyme Disease Alert!!
PLEASE READ--FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!!
Click here for my story and what hurdles must be overcome to get treated correctly.
Henrico County is celebrating its 400th Anniversary 1611-2011.
How about showing your hiking pride to everyone who sees your vehicle. Get an AT license plate from the DMV next time you renew. Let's show 'em how many Appalachian Trail hikers there are out there. Proceeds go to the AT conservancy for a great cause. Go to www.DMVnow.com to do so.
Wait! I recognize that site on the plates! Ah, yes, McAfee Knob on the A.T., not far from Catawba, north of Roanoke, Va.
Go to My October, 2011 week vacation in the mountains of the George Washington Nat'l Forest
Go to My trip to Cumberland Gap Nat'l Park and Damascus, Va-the Friendliest town on the AT
Go to Our 2000 trip to the Great Smoky Mountains Nat'l Park and Fontana Lake in North Carolina
Go to Our Annual Sherando Area Camping Trip and hike through St. Mary's Wilderness Area May 15, 2010
One of my favorite poems is by Joyce Kilmer and is entitled Trees. If you get the chance and are near the Great Smoky Mountains, you must stop near Robbinsville at the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest , part of the Nantahala National Forest. There are trees as old as 4 centuries, and Tulip Poplars over 100 feet high and 20 feet in circumference. I went there in 2000 during our trip to Fontana and the Great Smoky Mts Nat'l Park.
Wanna see some bears? I usually see a few on my annual Graves Mt trip (see link below)
Go to My Annual Trip to the Graves Mountain Bluegrass Festival
Ottie Cline Powell, The Little Lost Boy in the Virginia Mountains
My hike (April 20, 2010) to the peak of Bluff Mountain, near Buea Vista, Va and the sad Legend of Ottie Cline Powell. The 4 year old boy who became lost on Bluff Mountain and froze on top the mountain in 1891, whose body was found 5 months later.
How 'bout an ATV trip in West Virginia on the beautiful Hatfield-McCoy Trail System? Click Here for pics of our trip a bunch of us take twice a year. and hiking
A cool site called Mountain Laurel click
James Madison's Montpelier Archaeology Program where you can participate in the archaeology digs.
www.HikerManiac.com
Some of my websites:
www.PonderedThoughts.com
Trees, Trees and more Trees. Check out these wonderful sites regarding trees in Virginia
Virginia Department of Forestry. Download a pdf of their copy of native trees in Virginia and see what programs they have available Here
Va Dept of Forestry: Identify trees native to Va
Henrico Parks and Rec guide
Appalachian Trail Thru Hikers Companion pdf
Virginia's Big Tree Program. This is a database of the top 5 biggest reported trees in each species in Virginia. Very interesting.
National Forest Service< Publications.
National Forest trees click here.
We can be proud that Virginia has a claim as having the Nation's largetst White Oak which is beleived to be 500 years old...it may have been here when Columbus hit some strange land and probably when Jamestown first inhabited white men.
Remarkable Trees of Virginia. Check out this book (apparently the first in an upcoming series) and website about Virginia's remarkable trees.
Others' interesting sites relating to hiking/camping:
How many people have actually thru-hiked the entire 2,160 miles of the AT each year? Find out Here. info from Appalachian Trail Conservancy
Noteworthy 2,000 milers throughout the history of the Appalachian Trail from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy
www.skywalkerAT.com
www.hikingupward.com Detailing the Old Rag hike
USGS Geology of Old Rag
Shenandoah Nat'l Park Bookstore
National Park Map of Old Rag Mountain (pdf)
Henry Heatwole's famous and indepth book of the Shenandoah Nat'l Park's hikes Guide to the Shanandoah National Park and Skyline Drive
Same link as above but diff. url www.guidetosnp.com
Maps of the Shenandoah Nat'l Park in pdf format
www.WalkingWithFreedom.com The Lion King's hiking trips
www.swimmingholes.org/va.html Swimming holes to hike to
Kevin Callan, author of several camping books
www.TrailJournals.com Trail Journals website
www.AspenBarn.com Aspen Barn walking sticks
www.REI.com
www.Campmor.com
www.BackpackingDeals.com
Dandylion's AT site
Hiking-gear-and-equipment-used-for-camping.com
Blogger of Old Rag Patrols by RSL Very interesting weekly updates by Bob Look, who patrols for SNP, PATC, and Old Rag Mountain Stewards
PATC (Potomac Appalachian Trail Club) trail maintenance and volunteer info Next time you see a work crew out on the trails, tell them "Thanks!".
Official site for the PATC (Potomac Appalachian Trail Club) trail maintenance and volunteer info PATC.net
(www.odatc.net) Old Dominion Appalachian Trail Club The Old Dominion Appalachian Trail Club (ODATC) is a trail maintenance club and a member of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC). They maintain the A.T. Between Reed's Gap and Rockfish Gap, 19 miles.
Appalachian Trail Conservancy
Natural Bridge Appalachian Trail Club (www.nbatc.org)Maintaining 90 miles in Va. of the A.T. in Bedford, Nelson, Botetourt, Rockbridge, and Amherst Counties (Tye River to Black Horse Gap)
The Tidewater ATC, based in Norfolk, Va, maintains many sections off the Blue Ridge Parkway and A.T., include St. Mary's Wilderness Area www.tidewaterATC.com
Piedmont Appalachian Trail Club - PATH. www.path-at.org Piedmont Appalachian Trail Hikers, Inc. PATH, now has responsibility for 70 miles of the storied AT. PATH's maintenance starts from Va. St. Rt. 670 at the South Fork of the Holston River north to U.S. 52 near Bland.
Mt. Rogers Appalachian Trail Club Their responsibility includes 56 miles of the A.T. which includes the Friendliest Town on the A.T.-Damasacus, VA 56 miles of the APPALACHIAN TRAIL in the Jefferson National Forest, Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, Grayson Highlands State Park and additional trails in the area.
The Trail Place www.trailplace.com
Gorp.com
Backpacker.com the backpacker magazine
www.peaktopeak.net
Old Rag Mountain Stewards Blog
WhiteBlaze.net a site for Appalachian Trail enthusiasts
www.AppalachianPages.com Books that'l get you started for the AT thru hike.
www.Earl Shaffer.com The first to thru-hike the AT (1948) ,the first to thru-hike in both directions (1965), the oldest to thru-hike the AT (1998) at 80 yrs old.
www.ATmuseum.org AT Museum
Journals of those currently hiking the trail Trail Journals
www.TrailHeadFinder.com
This Youtube video is hilarious. These guys know how to have fun camping.
