Photo of the Week # 6

On the Edge

December, 2005

McAfee's Knob in Roanoke, VA... most photographed spot on the A.T.



Rich Wills livin' close to the edge...



Photo by Zachary Burton

From Three Ridges to Spy Rock: A Backpacking Tale

Part I

March, 2007

After nearly driving off an icy bridge, passing an odoriferous skunk, and a mountain lion, we arrive at Reeds Gap off the Blue Ridge Parkway in Nelson County, Virginia. It is nearly 10 pm and "mountain dark"...which, for those who don't know, means "eerie dark." And, as if we haven't been through enough just in getting here, the howling wind is numbingly cold. We - being Tim Bob, Robbie, Brett, and myself - are the only souls out here. We have come all the way from Newport News to venture along the Appalachian Trail, to test our skills and resolve, to see if we have what it takes to last on the trail for a few days, 3 and a quarter, to be exact. Tonight we have a short hike, headed south bound through the Three Ridges Wilderness. Our goal, simply put, is to hike until we find a suitable campsite. The real journey will not begin till day break.

But we are in for a surprise as we heft our packs and switch on our headlights. The trail is covered with ice! "Are we really doing this?" Robbie says minutes later, as we enter the wilderness, leaving our cars and Reeds Gap behind. We have little choice. In mere moments, the setting changes. It becomes colder, darker, quieter... We are very alone in the woods in the middle of the night, and we have little to guide us but the beams of our headlights. But it is enough. One foot forward at a time, we climb the rocky trail. Leading the way, I watch my footing. At times, I must ram my feet through the ice to get a firm hold. White flakes spray; feet slip. We groan in frustration, yet laugh in disbelief.

It is funny to think how quickly our situation has changed. One minute we are sitting in a warm car, listening to the radio. The next, we're lumbering up an icy trail with stitches in our sides and watching our breath waft into the darkness like vapor. I dig in with my one trekking pole, using its sturdy hold to propel me up the trail. After some slips and falls, we reach flat ground and have an easier time maneuvering over the slick ice. And a mile into hiking, we make camp in a clearing off the AT. By the time we settle down in our warm sleeping bags, it is 11:30. Exhausted, we close our eyes and rest in preparation for tomorrow...

Photo of the Week # 5

August, 2008

Doughton Park (off the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina)

A secluded spot along Basin Creek, where I hear there is great trout fishing...


Photo by Sir Evan on a day hike with his friend and partner in crime, Dan Stevens

Sir Evan's Weekly Movie Recommendation

Blood Diamond (***) 2006

Rated R (intense war violence)

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio & Djimon Hounsou
Written by Charles Leavitt
Directed by Edward Zwick

Nominated for five Academy Awards, Blood Diamond, showcases outstanding performances from DiCaprio, as a diamond smuggler in war-torn Sierra Leone, and Hounsou, as an African fisherman and dedicated father. In the film, Solomon Vandy (Hounsou) is ripped from his family and put to work in the RUF diamond fields while his son is taken by the fiendish rebels for indoctrination into their ranks. There seems little hope for Solomon and his family until he discovers a rare, pink diamond, which captures the attention of Danny Archer (DiCaprio), a self-seeking diamond trader and disillusioned soul. The diamond represents freedom to both men - to Solomon in the form of his family's freedom... to Archer, freedom in the form of a plane ticket... out of Africa.

In this whirlwind of a film, helmed by veteran director, Edward Zwick (Glory, The Last Samurai, Defiance), viewers witness the chaos and destruction of the civil war that overcame Sierra Leone in the late 90's. Amidst the struggle, Archer and Solomon, joined by American journalist, Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly), must band together to rescue Solomon's son and keep the valuable "blood diamond" out of the wrong hands. But with Archer's motives unclear, the "wrong hands" may be relative...

Blood Diamond is a riveting film about two unlikely allies thrust together against the backdrop of a national conflict. Powerful and moving, it is a motion picture of epic proportions, if not from its massive scale, then from its characters' personal struggles.