Devil's Marbleyard VA...

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Hiked up to Devil's Marbleyard to have a look around for the first time this year. It is a great hike before the trees block your view from the trail. Once you get there you will find an eight acre field of large boulders and no trees or vegetation....

Directions and great write up available at Hiking Upwards...

William H. Howard, Company F, 44th VA. INF, C.S.A.

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Back during the Spring I did a hike up in Shenandoah National Park at Jones Run Falls \ Doyles Falls and came upon a grave marker for a Confederate soldier in the area. I did a original post about this hike and mentioned this marker in the description. Since then a friend who is obviously a fan and student of history has provided this information...

William Howard and Browns Gap. For many years Browns Gap was one of the principal routes for taking farm produce from the Shenandoah Valley to Richmond. Browns Gap and the turnpike were used briefly during the Civil War. On May 2, 1862, at the beginning of his Valley Campaign, Stonewall Jackson marched his entire army through Browns Gap. From June 9 to June 12, after the Battle of Port Republic at the end of the Valley Campaign, Jackson's army camped in and near Browns Gap. On September 25, 1864, General Jubal Early and his army, after their defeat at Winchester, fortified themselves here and fought off Sheridan's attacks for two days while awaiting reinforcements. Today Browns Gap Turnpike is a SNP fire road.

The grave marker along Browns Gap fire road notes William H. Howard, Company F, 44th VA. INF, C.S.A. One of the two Fluvanna infantry companies which enlisted in the spring of 1861, the "Fluvanna Hornets", had formed at Kent's Store on May 20 under Captain Thomas K. Wiesinger.The Fluvanna Hornets would be the name of Company F. Of the 88 men which enlisted in Company F, 28 would die before the war ended.

The roster shows that there were three Howard brothers in company F:

Howard, John T.; Private *

Howard, Napoleon B.;

PrivateHoward, William W.; Private *

*= died during war.

According to the White House of the Confederacy, both William and John both suffered from Typhoid fever in the camp. Typhoid is a bacterial dysentery, Salmonella thyphosa, which from poor sanitary conditions can lead to dehydration and death. It is unclear why William is buried along the Browns Gap fire trail. Records shown that he enlisted June 12, by August he was sick at camp, and died at Camp Allegheny on Oct 1, 1861. Possibly he was being transported home to Fluvanna and was buried along the way. The middle initial “H” is likely an error from poor records, as a sloppy “W” may look like a sloppy “H”. The grave headstone does not have a date, but lists only Company F, 44th Infantry, CSA. His brother John died 1 Aug 1861 at Monterey, but his other brother Napoleon survived and was promoted to Sergeant, only to be later taken as a prisoner of war at Gettysburg.

Plane Wreck on Humpback Mountain... T-28 Trainer...

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Last week, while talking politics with friends & eating shrimp at the local pub, I picked up a copy of the Nelson County Life magazine and read an article about a lost T-28 Trainer on Humpback Mountain. As I read the article I found it interesting where the wreck is located and so close to the Appalachian Trail that I have hiked numerous times in that area.




The article described information researched by Henri Weems of Nellysford where he found that the plane wreck occurred in 1964 during a training flight. It appears it was a training flight with two Marine colonels flying from Andrews Air Force base to Memphis, Tennessee and the T-28 developed engine problems. Both Colonels bailed out when the engine began to fail and lost oil pressure 15 minutes east of their checkpoint in Montebello. Both Colonels survived while the plane crashed on the eastern side of Humpback mountain. The article also described confusion with another plane wreck in the area of Humpback Rocks which I have already done a post here on Rightside at Dobie Mountain Wreck. It turns out that these wreck near Dobie Mountain was also in 1963 but was a civilian Beechcraft Bonanza where the three men aboard perished.


After corresponding with Mr. Weems by email he provided me with a website that provides information on both military and civilian wrecks. http://wreckchasing.com/ This site also provides information on several other plane wrecks along our mountain range and future hikes are already in the planning.

Upon approaching the wrecksite area I came along members of Scout Troop #735 out of Glen Allen Virginia who were hiking the Appalachian Trail. Knowing that I was in the general area and after talking with the Troop leader, it was decided to turn the "Scouts" loose on a search pattern. It took little time for the Scouts to locate the wreckage on the side of the mountain....

Before hiking up to the T-28 site I asked around the county here for information from any of the “Old-timers” at the local 7-Eleven and heard stories of several other wrecks over the years.

T-28 Trainer

Max Range 1,706 km / 1,060 miles

Dimensions: span 12.22 m / 40 ft 1 inlength 10.06 m / 33ft 0 inheight 3.86 m / 12 ft 8 in

Weight: empty 2,914 kg / 6,424 lbmaximum take-off 3,856 kg / 8,500 lb

Powerplant: one 1063-kW (1,425-hp) Wright R-1820-86 Cyclone radial piston engine

Armament: none; the T-28D features provision for up to 544 kg (1,200 Ib) of disposable stores, including Minigun pods, rocket-launcher pods and light bombs, carried on six external hardpoints.

Update   Unfortunately this site has been PICKED over by people who have taken instead of preserved the site. I hiked it a few weeks ago and sad how some people have taken items and left graffiti in their place.... Almost sorry I posted this.....

Do we really need concealed weapons in State Parks?... YES!!!

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The Department of the Interior has opened a 60 day comment period for people to comment on allowing persons with valid Concealed Weapons Permits to carry concealed weapons within National Parks and wildlife refuges... The vast majority of the Appalachian Trail in Virginia runs through National Forest areas and some areas designated as Wilderness....

Interior Department Opens Public Comment Period on Proposed Park and Refuge Firearm Regulations

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today announced the beginning of a 60-day public comment period on updates to regulations regarding the carrying of firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges. The proposed update to existing regulations would allow an individual to carry a concealed weapon in national parks and wildlife refuges if, and only if, the individual is permitted to carry a concealed weapon and is authorized to do so on similar state lands in the state in which the national park or refuge is located. The proposed update is available in the Federal Register and on http://www.doi.gov/

I have almost completed the entire Virginia section of the Appalachian Trail and have met many different people along the trail and in shelters. The vast majority have been day hikers and thru-hikers and interested in enjoying the natural resources provided and protected by the Department of the Interior. I have also assisted on mountain rescue\first aid assists on the trail and have had the opportunity to talk with several Rangers and National Forest personnel. While the majority of incidents discussed were of positive nature, they have been reports of unfortunate incidents along the trail as well. Following is a report of a incident that just took place this past weekend.

Randall Lee Smith, who pleaded guilty to the 1981 murders of two hikers on the Appalachian Trail, is in custody after a double shooting Tuesday night just a few miles from the site of the previous crime.

The shooting occurred between Giles and Bland counties around the Dismal Creek area, authorities said.Virginia State Police apprehended Randall Lee Smith after he crashed a black 2000 Ford Ranger pickup truck that matched the description of one possibly involved in the shooting, said Virginia State Police spokesman Sgt. Michael Conroy.
Sheila and Melissa Miller, sisters who helped the injured fishermen call 911, identified the victims as Sean Farmer of Tazewell, who was shot in the chest and face, and Scott Johnston of Bluefield, Va., who was shot three times in the neck. Johnston is in serious but stable condition, said Carilion hospital spokesman Eric Earnhart.

Some people have commented against allowing persons with valid Concealed Weapons Permits to carry concealed firearms within the parks. They feel this will contribute to incidents and the parks are not an appropriate place for guns to be carried. The fact is that by allowing valid CWP holders to carry "Concealed" weapons they will not be seen by the general public and will also put that doubt in the mind of the shooter described above. The simple fact of allowing Concealed weapons within the parks will deter criminals like the above from taking action without knowing who else in the crowd might be armed. Imagine if valid concealed weapon permit holders were allowed to carry at Virginia Tech last year before that incident happened? The fact is that criminals DO NOT obey gun laws and the private citizen, with a valid concealed weapons permit should be allowed to protect himself, his family, and other innocent bystanders in public...

As of yet security precautions as shown in the above photo is not needed...

St. Mary's Wilderness Trail & Falls ~Fire Damage~

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Hiked out to the St. Mary's Falls by way of the St. Mary's River Trail and found that there is no visible damage to this area from the fire last week. I did find fire damage to the area East and North of the St. Mary's river and the river did provide a barrier to the fires advance in several areas.

Visible damage to the moutain peaks of Little Spy Mountain, Big Spy Mountain, and the western side of Long Drive Mountain can be seen from the trail but photos from a distance shows little. Fire damage near the river is mostly burnt leaves, dead wood, and brush. It appears that the fire was more intense as you go up the mountain and I did not enter this area yet for it is still closed and would be better seen by way of trails from the top via the Blue Ridge Parkway...

The St. Mary's River is running strong from all of the recent rains we have had and the Falls looks great and very clean. As you proceed up the river from the parking area fire damage is visible on the Eastern side of the river up to the junction where the Sugar Tree Branch stream enters and deposits into the river. From this point up to the Falls there is no visible fire damage and hope to hike up the Sugar Tree branch soon to look at the damage in that area.

Had to cross over the river twice during the hike and found the water temp to be 41f degrees with few easy crossings along the hike. Passed two hiker\campers during the hike as well as a fly-fisherman already entering the area.

It will be interesting to watch this area and monitor the recovery of the environment damaged by the fire...

Dobie Mountain ~Plane Wreckage~

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Took a quick hike yesterday up near Humpback Rocks, at milemarker #5 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and did the Albright Loop Trail to get away from the crowd going up to the "Rocks".

The trail has been there for sometime but only recently marked and advertised with well positioned signs. On the Northside of Dobie Mountain is some plane wreckage that is visible from the trail if looking back uphill from the trail. I found this wreckage the first time while hiking out with a Park Ranger after assisting with a mountain rescue where a hiker was disabled and had to be carried out to the Humpback parking area. After working with the Ranger afterwards it was determined that this wreck was from around the 1980's and is in an area that is now getting increased hiking traffic...

Pretty much just two sections of wreckage that has been picked over and remaining sections not worth pulling out for salvage...