Because I like to spend as much time as possible outdoors, and as often as I can in very wild places, some of my friends and acquaintances think I take chances or visit dangerous spots. This is not so. In fact, because I do spend much of my time wandering around on foot or in a kayak--or often just chilling out at the campsite, I tend to be far safer than those who find their pleasures inside the cities and towns where they live. People will see a photo of me standing on a mountaintop and think I could fall off. Most of the time such photos seem risky when in fact they are not, at all. I know people who climb cliff faces while hanging by their fingertips above sheer drops of over a thousand feet. Now, that is taking risks. I don't do such stuff. Or I will show someone a photo of a bear I encountered while hiking and they will ask me why I take such chances or be horrified that I don't carry a gun with me when in the deep forest. And my answer to them is that the chance of being injured by a wild animal is far less than being struck by lightning (I do take shelter when I encounter thunderstorms). Far more likely is the risk of being injured in your auto or shot by stray gunfire in town. If I hike in grizzly bear territory I will carry pepper spray. No grizzly bear has ever been within 300 meters of me and even those run the other way. What I do when I can--those camping trips, those hikes, those kayak journeys on rivers...those are all very safe endeavors. Is there any risk at all? Sure. There is risk in pretty much everything one does. But I never feel unsafe when I'm in the forests and on the rivers unless a thunderstorm seems imminent. Cliffs? Wild animals? Just practice common sense and everything is cool.
Not dangerous, at all. Like walking on a sidewalk.
Alligator Rocks, North Carolina.
McAfee Knob, Virginia.
Lindy Point, West Virginia. Yeah, the temptation to scale that tower was there, but I didn't go for it.
The bear and I startled one another. He ran away. Douthat State Park, Virginia.
Talus field, Sherando Lake Recreation Area, Virginia.
Cliffs of Hawksbill Mountain, North Carolina.
"Preach it, brother Bob!"
Carefully hiking the Highline Trail in Glacier National Park.
Back in early December of 2006, we drove up to the Allegheny County to nab our Christmas tree as we try to do every year. On that occasion, we took a side trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Doughton Park where I looked at the rocky cliffs of Bluff Mountain plunging down to the valley far below.
Picnic under a lone pine at the top of Bluff Mountain.
These aren't the kinds of cliffs where you can fall quickly to a painful death. Instead, they're more like vast rocky ribs that hug the steep slopes of the mountain. Then, that cool December day, I promised myself to visit that spot again and go scrambling around on those tough ridges.
View of the Blue Ridge Parkway from the cliffs.
This weekend, I kept that promise to myself. After taking a look at Carole's land on Peach Bottom Mountain, we drove over to Bluff Mountain where Andy and I hiked to the top of the cliffs. While Andy waited for me, I downclimbed where I took a lot of photos and a video.
Big Daddy scrambles down the cliffs.
After enjoying the views and gawking at the amazing Fall colors, which were at their peak, I climbed back up to the top of the cliffs where Andy was waiting.It was fun. Not at all dangerous. What they call Class III scrambling. I got a scrape on my knee, and a small cut on my left arm, and an eye full of fantastic scenery.
