Lost River 2021


Sunday August 22. Drove to my old friend John's place in Lost River WV. We've been friends since 1989 and have traveled, hiked, and gone caving together. We hadn't seen each other in several years due to distance. I was going to be in Cumberland MD for a few days, which put me closer to his place than my place is, so this would be a good opportunity to visit. When I got there I met his partner Rick and their dog Roxy, then took a much-needed nap, as I had just come from a 3-day bender called MASHOUT where I didn't sleep very much. John and Rick eat very healthfully, as I do most of the time, so we had a healthful dinner, which was most welcome because the food at MASHOUT consisted mainly of pork and grease.

Monday August 23. Rick had to work, so John and I went to nearby Rockcliff Lake, which is a very pretty man-made lake. We hiked around it but the only photos I took are of a luna moth caterpillar and what appeared to be an eastern red-spotted newt. You can see a photo of Rockcliff Lake here.

We came back for lunch and did a brief hike at nearby North Mountain to see this overlook.


Tuesday August 24. We drove to Seneca Rocks, which has a steep one-mile trail to this overlook.

Here are John and me, and a toad we encountered on the trail.

Then we went to Blackwater Falls State Park. These two photos show the falls from the same far-away lookout point, and the video below it was taken from that same spot.

The following three vertical pairs of photos/videos were taken from the other side of the falls at progressively closer spots.

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Wednesday August 25. We drove to Big Schloss and hiked up 2 miles for some great scenery.