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July 4, 1983: The first half-mile from the hut this morning climbed along the crest of the ridge forming the western rim of the ravine. This led to an interesting summit called Blackrock. It rose above the wooded ridge crest, a huge, barren mound of gray boulders smeared liberally with streaks of green paint.
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September 8, 1983: After Eisenhower, the trail descended into a col before another stiff climb up Mount Franklin, the first 5000-footer of the day. The sky had cleared very nicely by the time I reached this peak.
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June 13, 1983: Up until three years ago, the Appalachian Trail had turned right and followed the crest of Big Walker for many miles, but barely a trace of the old crestline trail was visible. Today, the AT reaches the top and descends immediately along the opposite slope into the next valley.
Defenders in #Appalachia Against #MountainValleyPipeline Avoided #FelonyCharges
"Initially we were charged with #conspiracy. The real conspiracy is between the #prosecutors and the #judges, between the #cops and the #corporations."
By #AppalachiansAgainstPipelines, #CensoredNews, March 3, 2025
"Last Tuesday, 12 pipeline fighters had court in Giles County for charges resulting from three different actions against the Mountain Valley Pipeline in 2023 and 2024 in and around the #JeffersonNationalForest, including one site where #MVP was drilling through the mountain under the #AppalachianTrail.
"Eleven of the defendants accepted non-cooperating plea deals -- all of them were facing absurd felony charges, including
felony abduction and felony 'unauthorized use of a vehicle.' In the end, they plead to misdemeanor charges and there were NO felony convictions. They were sentenced to community service, probation, and to pay restitution. The court room was PACKED all day long with supporters!"
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/03/defenders-in-appalachia-against.html
#ReaderSupportedNews #LandDefenders #WaterProtectors #MountainProtectors #CriminalizingDissent #SilencingDissent #JeffersonNationalForest #AppalachianTrail #CorporateColonialism #AppalachiansAgainstPipelines #SLAPPs #WaterIsLife #NoPipelines #MountainValleyPipelineLLC #Virginia #WestVirginia #NorthCarolina #ACAB #CorporateGreed #ComplicitGovernment
#MountainValleyPipeline #LandDefenders Appear in Court: Images by Dr. Michelle Cook, #Dine'
via #CensoredNews
GILES COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) - "Around twelve people charged in connection to protests of the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline appeared in court Tuesday.
"Dozens of people from Monroe County, #WestVirginia to Roanoke County packed a Giles County district courtroom in support of their friends and neighbors facing charges related to the $8 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline.
"The charges range from misdemeanors to non-violent felonies, all related to #protestors' efforts to halt #pipeline construction or prevent #drilling."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/02/mountain-valley-pipeline-land-defenders.html
#ReaderSupportedNews #LandDefenders #WaterProtectors #MountainProtectors #CriminalizingDissent #SilencingDissent #JeffersonNationalForest #AppalachianTrail #AppalachiansAgainstPipelines #SLAPPs #WaterIsLife #NoPipelines #MountainValleyPipelineLLC #Virginia #WestVirginia #NorthCarolina #CorporateGreed #ComplicitGovernment
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July 9, 1983: The first seven miles of trail were another game of lost-in-the-woods. When it was over, I sat down to rest for ten minutes on a rock beside the trail. Five minutes after resuming my hike, I passed a park bench in the middle of a clearing surrounded by a pleasant forest grove. I wished this spot had been mentioned in my guidebook.
Statement from Sandra Marra, President & CEO of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy:
“The mass terminations of federal employees within the USDA Forest Service and the National Park Service are deeply concerning and will have devastating impacts to our beloved public lands, including the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. Unprecedented in magnitude, these firings are being carried out without regard to the agencies’ ability to perform their essential duties as required by law to effectively manage our public lands and resources. .....
"Unlike other units of the Park Service, National Scenic and Historic Trails depend on volunteers and NGO partners to steward and maintain the integrity and connectivity of the Trails. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy works shoulder-to-shoulder with the USFS and NPS in the day-to-day operation of the Appalachian Trail and coordinates the on-the-ground efforts of the 30 Trail Clubs and thousands of volunteers. Despite the reliance on volunteers and NGOs, none of our work is possible without our federal partners.
"The 10% reduction of USFS staff and 5% reduction at the NPS will further hinder already understaffed teams and severely delay the agencies’ approval and supervision of critical Trail improvement projects — including treadway and shelter repairs in the areas impacted by Hurricane Helene and, along the entire treadway, bridge replacements, privy upgrades, invasive species removal, and natural resource restoration. In addition, these inefficient and scattershot terminations will negatively impact wildfire and emergency response in an era when wildfires are becoming increasingly larger and more destructive." ~~ 19 February 2025
https://appalachiantrail.org/news/federal-terminations-to-impact-appalachian-trail/
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June 17, 1983: No sooner had I begun the three miles of ridge walking on Pearis Mountain, than the sky, which had been darkening all day, turned truly ominous. Thunder boomed in the distance. I quickly threw my rain cover over my backpack just before the sky opened up and poured down upon me. I have never seen rain like that in my life.
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July 19, 1983: I felt terrific as I followed the Appalachian Trail along streets through the town. Duncannon was a small city with a downtown business district consisting of a few square blocks of mid- to early twentieth-century buildings like the Doyle Hotel quickly giving way to tree-lined residential streets.
Last year I ventured out to the Roans to finally witness the infamous Rhododendron blooms during peak of the season. The photo opportunities were overwhelming to say the least, & I came back with many portfolio worthy intimate images. But there’s definitely something to say about the grand scene as well, so made sure to capture some #panorama. Here’s one from sunrise on a cliff facing into the spine of the Blue Ridge
"𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐋 𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆” Get this New Artwork at https://buff.ly/4hjwTmK
Just in time for Spring! Perfect for home or office!
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July 22, 1983: I hit the trail this morning at 7:00, determined to hike the eighteen miles to Port Clinton in nine hours. You never know at what time the post offices in these small towns will close, but 4:00 seemed reasonably safe. The weather was cooler and drier today, with a welcome breeze and the deepest blue skies I have seen in weeks.
I was reading about those weird autistic people who had too many vaccines and ended up collecting sticks.
Everyone knows that normal people collect stones.
Here's the pile I got on a short segment of the Appalachian Trail. It was a hard walk back.
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May 10, 1983: We had already covered almost ten miles when we stopped for lunch in a clearing at Beech Gap, three miles past the summit.
The next portion of the hike was every bit as scenic as the morning’s had been. It was mostly sidehill trail, well down from the ridge crest.
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July 26, 1983: The next two miles or so of trail was one unbroken rock pile. Using mind control techniques which will be described in my next book, The Principles of Psychotic Backpacking, I convinced myself that Blue Mountain was throwing everything it had into one final vain attempt to destroy me, and just kept plugging away, ignoring the beating my feet were taking.
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September 27, 1983: The Appalachian Trail continued eastward along a humpy and hummocky ridge. It traveled a rugged course with constant sharp ups and downs through high, windswept forests. Masses of slender downed fir limbs and plenty of blown down trees lie among the moss and rocks of the crest.
"𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐋 𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆” New Artwork HERE: https://buff.ly/4hjwTmK
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October 3, 1983: The beginning was remarkably easy. The path was wide, relatively rock-free, and climbed at a very gentle grade. It followed a bank of Katahdin Stream up to the base of a set of cascades, where it crossed over to the other bank. At this point, the trail became a bit steeper. Short side trails brought me to several overlooks of Katahdin Falls.
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October 3, 1983: Except for one incident, which was only bad for a few moments, the climb up Hunt spur was fun.
These were from a fantastic evening of short hikes to a couple of fire towers in #NantahalaNationalForest
I missed the peak colors at the high elevations by about a week, but the vibrant Oranges and Reds, especially in the valleys below, made for some fantastic shots!
Nikon D750
70-200 f/4 VR
