Panthertown Panoramas

I was supposed to go hiking with Andy Kunkle and Jack Thyen today. However, because of the side effects of the tetanus shot I received from a dog bite I got on the job I was just too sick to do that. I'm not even sure I could have made the drive, let alone hike in Linville Gorge.

It's been so long since I've been on a long, epic day hike that I'm beginning to forget what that's like. The constant battles with poor health are really getting to me. In memory of one of my favorite multi-day backpacks, I here post some photos from a trip into the Panthertown Valley here in North Carolina. This was in the days before it became totally surrounded by development and still had a kind of wilderness aspect about it. Sadly, that's no longer the case.

Click to embiggen each of these stitched panoramas for a good look at the innards of Panthertown Valley.

When I went into Panthertown Valley for this three-day backpack, a hurricane had just dropped untold amounts of water on the NC mountains. Thus, Panthertown Valley had been closed by the Forest Service. Signs were up denying entrance into the protected forest. However, I had stopped at the ranger station on the way up, and the ranger there told me that the ban had been lifted and that I could proceed. But if the signs were still up, and if you hadn't visited the ranger station you would have to conclude that the ban was still in effect. Thus, I had the valley and peaks all to myself for three days. I found true solitude in there, and encountered not one other human at all. This is rare in Panthertown, as it's a very popular hiking and backpacking destination.

This is where I camped for the duration. I didn't use the old A-frame shelter here, but set up my tent nearby instead. Every night I was there, a pack of coyotes would come down to the edge of the campsite and sing for precisely 30 minutes. From 7:30 pm until 8:00 pm. If you haven't heard a pack of coyotes sing, you're missing a great experience. It's nothing like the howl of a wolf, and the only way I could describe it would be as a dozen or so out-of-sync ambulance sirens going off. Each night I hung my food bag from a tall pine tree so that I wouldn't have to worry about coyotes, skunks, mice, and bears.

Panthertown Valley is a rare U-shaped, high elevation valley. The valley itself averages over 3,000 feet and the highest peaks surrounding it anywhere from 4,000 to 4,800 feet. Many of the peaks are classic plutons and there is a huge amount of exposed rock and cliff faces in Panthertown. Many rock climbers venture here to test their skills on the vertical faces of granite.

Views like this one are to be found on the heights throughout the valley.


On the day I took this panorama, my hiking goal was the large, dome-shaped mountain behind me (on the left side of the photo). I got to the mountain's slopes, but the trail vanished in the brush and I encountered rattlesnakes there and turned back. So I never did reach the very summit of Cold Mountain. (No, this is not the Cold Mountain made famous by the novel of that name. Here in the South, many mountains share the same name.)

I did so much off-trail bushwhacking that I've forgotten exactly where I was when I made some of these panoramas.

This is Granny Burrel Falls (behind me). I achieved this panorama by setting the camera on a solid tripod and taking about ten shots which were pieced together showing the falls, the main part of the creek, the bend in the creek, and the pool at the base of the slope and the stream beyond.

Maddening Comic Books

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'll be taking a short break from collecting comics to concentrate on my writing. I've found that the hobby has been getting in the way just a bit with my fiction work. This particular book will be the last back issue that I'll purchase until probably some time in November when I should be done with a couple of writing projects.

I do like to purchase a Golden Age comic book now and again. They're sometimes far too expensive for me to afford, so I buy them rarely, and only when I can get them at a bargain price. Years ago I had an impressive collection of early issues of MAD, the comic book precursor for what we now know as MAD MAGAZINE. The first 23 issues of the book were in comic format. It was part of the EC Comics stable, and by far the most popular and profitable book that William Gaines published. In fact, when Gaines was basically run out of the comic book business by the right wing insanity infecting the USA during the 1950s, he chose to circumvent the destructive Comics Code Authority by turning Mad into a magazine, thus exempting it from that restrictive body. He experimented briefly with the magazine format for a couple of other genres, but it was MAD that continued to sell in huge numbers and make him, eventually, the highest paid independent publisher in the country. In his way, he had the last laugh on his enemies in comics and in government, if by revenge one defines it as achieving the good life in spite of your enemies' best efforts.

When I was a dealer in old comics, I owned quite literally every single issue of the MAD comic book, including the iconic Mad #1. But currently this is the only issue of the original book that I have in my collection.

The tragedy of MAD is that it was created by Harvey Kurtzman. To my way of thinking, Kurtzman was perhaps the most talented comics artist ever to put pen to paper. He was the very rarest of talents in the world of comics, and I've struggled for years to note anyone who was his better. I've yet to find that artist.

MAD arose out of a pay dispute with Gaines. Kurtzman apparently chafed at the fact that his colleague at EC, Al Feldstein, made more than he did. When he voiced this to Gaines, his employer told him that if Kurtzman could produce a good humor comic then he'd raise Kurtzman's pay to match Feldstein's. (At the time, Feldstein was editing the horror and science-fiction titles while Kurtzman ran the war and adventure books.)

Well, then, that was a project for which Harvey Kurtzman was uniquely placed to create. Thus, MAD came into being. Packed with dangerous humor, the comic was an instant success. It sang. The comic hit at just the right time and impressed just the right audience to ensure that its sales were off the charts and its influence would be felt for decades. It was, from the beginning, a child of Harvey Kurtzman who did the heavy work for each of the comic's early issues.

From the very beginning, MAD was not only a success, but also cutting edge culture. It insinuated itself into the undercurrents of society that would soon make themselves felt in the looming counterculture that was about to raise its head in America.

And, of course, MAD eventually led to yet another in a very sad line of thefts of intellectual property. When Kurtzman demanded a 51% controlling interest in the comic, Gaines of course refused. And Kurtzman either left or was forced out, with the last remaining title of the once formidable EC Comics company being handed off from Kurtzman to Feldstein, the man whose salary had initially instigated the creation and production of the publication.

Kurtzman went on to attempt to duplicate the success of MAD with a number of other, similar concoction. But as so many have sadly learned, lightning generally strikes but once. In what had to be a truly painful turn of events, the comic genius who had created the happy monster of MAD MAGAZINE found himself, hat in hand, at the editorial door of his own creation, selling work to that publication as a freelancer in the twilight of his creative years.

This is the kind of classic parody that later got Kurtzman and Gaines into so much trouble. I mean, who would screw around with the Disney corporation? Why, a canny Jewish humorist named Harvey Kurtzman, that's who! And of course this one didn't get them into nearly as much trouble as "Starchie", the Kurtzman/Elder parody of Archie that apparently sent Archie's publisher, John L. Goldwater, into a frenzy that apparently began a warfare against EC.

Heading North?

Well, we're leaning toward West Virginia for our vacation. Carole, too, wants to revisit the area around Helvetia. There are some spots we didn't get a chance to see, and I want to hike some trails I missed the last time.

The talus field at the summit of Spruce Knob, the highest point in West Virginia.

Posted here is the last place we tent-camped before we bought our Casita travel trailer and the place that is, in fact, the reason we bought the trailer. This was our campsite at Standing Indian Campground, part of the Nantahala National Forest. Located not far from Murphy, NC, the area is home to one of the densest black bear populations in the country. There are a LOT of black bears living there. Unfortunately, some of them are habituated to humans and their food. Although we were careful about storing food in the back of our truck, a very large black bear still invaded our site and proceeded to tear through anything that even looked as if it might contain food. It was a harrowing experience, especially since the bear ended up being rather aggressive and returned after I initially chased it off. After that, we had to climb into the cab of our truck after which--by gunning the engine--I succeeded in chasing it off. The next day, the resident ranger told me that the bear had terrorized the campground from one end to the other during the night, stealing food and destroying camping equipment. So we weren't alone.

The last campsite we used our tent setup. The bear raided us that night, knocking everything from the table and ripping open all of the containers.
At any rate, a few weeks later we purchased our beloved Casita travel trailer. Carole misses tent camping, but I don't. I still sleep in my one-man tent when I go backpacking, but I far more prefer camping in our secure hard-sided Casita than in a flimsy tent. It's not only more secure, it's also drier and more comfortable.

The day I brought the Casita home from Georgia. Since then, we've used it on most of our vacations. (The old Nissan Frontier--it was a really good truck.)

King's Pinnacle View

Kings Pinnacle inside Crowders Mountain State Park is the closest mountain to my house. I go there as a retreat of last resort when I can't run off to the real high country farther west. The park is one of North Carolina's largest state parks, and the highest point on the mountain was outside the borders of the park for many years. Finally, though, the state worked a deal with the family who owned a vast tract of land that included the long ridge that runs from Crowders Mountain all the way to the South Carolina border. Rangers in the park have told me for years that there is a trail planned to lead from the top of Crowders Mountain all the way to Kings Mountain State Park in South Carolina. But I've never heard that the trail has been completed or officially dedicated.

Click to embiggen.

The mountain is a classic monadnock. Composed of quartzite capstone, it has resisted erosion while the soil around it has been carried off to the Piedmont and coast farther east. Sadly, you can't really enjoy anything like a wilderness experience in the park due to the fact that there is so much development around it. You can pretty much always hear motor vehicles roaring along on I-85 to the west. And you can see all sorts of construction from the summit ridges. But, as I said, it'll do if you're desperate to just be in the forest and to take a walk up a steep slope to an impressive overlook.

And, of course, every time I go to the rocky viewing site near the very top of the mountain, I always take the time to make a goofy photograph that I stitch together to scare my friends and family.

Three of me! Yow!

Vacation Debate

I'm lobbying for West Virginia. Carole wants to try out the mountains of north Georgia. Since I lived in the mountains of north Georgia and cut my teeth hiking there as a teenager, I'd rather go back to West Virginia. Specifically, to a part of the state where we haven't been since 2004.


To bolster my argument, here are some photos I took on that specific trip. I took these with my first digital camera which remains one of the best cameras I've ever had. It eventually went on the fritz, but while it lasted it was a great machine, even though it was only 4 megapixels. I still admire the photos I took with it. Like almost all of my digital cameras, it was a Canon.


On that trip we targeted a place called Holly River State Park. In those days we were still tent camping since we hadn't yet been raided by that huge black bear when we camped at Standing Indian Campground near Murphy NC. That's the experience that convinced us to go with a hard-sided trailer and forgo the tent camping when in state parks and National Forest campgrounds where there are likely to be lots of bears habituated to humans and their food.


Among the things that I recall about this early June 2004 trip was that it rained incessantly and intensely, and that the scenery was gorgeous. The waterfalls were especially pretty because of the overcast skies and the extremely heavy water flow in the creeks. Since it has been so long since we've been, I would really like to go back there.


This spot is called Mill Creek Falls. Every state in the south has at least fifty Mill Creeks and probably that many Mill Creek Falls. This particular one is in a state forest in West Virginia. The pool below the falls is begging for swimmers. I would have used it for a swimming hole on that trip but even though it was June, the weather was unseasonably cold and the temperatures never broke 70 the whole time we were there. This day it was around 65 or so--much too cool for a swim. If you look, you can see a cabin through the trees. You can rent it--and the three others nearby. You can't beat that place for atmosphere.

This place is called "The Hutte". It's a German restaurant in a German-centric village of Helvetia there in West Virginia. This was a great place to pause and spend a few hours. There are several maple syrup farms in the vicinity, also. Keep in mind that while West Virginia is technically part of the South, it's far enough north, and the mountains high enough, so that sugar maples thrive there. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in the town.

One of the dining rooms in The Hutte where we had our most excellent lunch.

This is the actual public library of Helvetia, West Virginia. A great place to take photos, but it was closed the day we were there.

The Falls of the North Branch of the Holly River. This waterfall was exceptionally beautiful, and flowing like nobody's business the day I took this photo.

Just down from the falls above is this one. Called Shupe's Chute, the entire river is funneled through this tiny crevice in the rock. The noise that day was deafening. At the base of the chute is an absolutely spectacular swimming hole. Once again, it was far too cold to try out on that June day in 2004.

On a drive on a lonely gravel mountain road, we stumbled upon this wonderfully creepy abandoned farmhouse. If you embiggen the photo and look, you will see an equally creepy denizen sitting on the peak of the roof on the far right. (And is that an ephemeral spirit standing in the doorway??!!)

A cropped enlargement of the host of the haunted house.

Yep. I'd really like to go back to this part of West Virginia. Let the debate begin...

TUROK back issues!

I've got a couple of writing projects coming up that will require a lot of attention, so I'm going to have to lay off the comic collecting for a while. I really have enjoyed collecting comics, so I want to keep it up. But the last few purchases I've made will probably be the only ones for the next month or so while I buckle down and pay exclusive attention to my writing.

I'd never thought much about it, but even a hobby as simple as collecting comics requires a certain amount of specific attention to detail. I just don't have the time to devote to it for the next few weeks.

So, the last few old comics I've purchased are some very early issues of TUROK, SON OF STONE, the very cool comic book originated by Dell Comics. I've covered the title before, so if you're curious, just look up those installments of the blog. I also landed a Golden Age book that I'll cover in a couple of days. I'll leave that one for later.

These two issues of TUROK were good ones for me. Adding them to the collection give me the first six issues of the title, which is a bit of a landmark and good place for me to pause for a bit. So, here they are:

TUROK #3. This is the first issue that the book was numbered on its own. The first two Turok books were tryouts in Dell's FOUR COLOR title.

The back cover. Sometimes with Dell comic books, the story would actually continue onto the back cover. Or they'd save it for a feature of some type. This back cover also shows the Dell "Pledge to Parents" that they set up so that they wouldn't have to be a part of the Comics Code Authority.


TUROK #6 had a story featuring a giant Kong-like gorilla. As DC Comics editors Mort Weissinger and Julius Schwartz had learned, if you put a gorilla on the cover, sales would be good. This issue shows up often at comic conventions, which leads me to believe that it sold relatively well.

Vacation Time Again...

We're planning our October vacation. Carole wants to take the Casita somewhere here in the South. But we're also considering a vacation farther afield. We'll see...

Hanging Rock, North Carolina.

Mount LeConte, Tennessee.

McAfee Knob, Virginia.

Cathedral State Park, West Virginia.

Stone Mountain Hike (Part IV)

I have never been to Stone Mountain State Park without stopping to see Widow Creek Falls. that's because it's such an easy waterfall to view. All you have to do is drive down the main park road, leave your vehicle at the parking lot or along the road, and walk a few steps through the woods to this very pretty waterfall.


As waterfalls go, it's not the tallest, and it doesn't have the highest water volume. However, it's a respectable falls and is very pleasing to watch. I've rarely been there when there weren't at least five or six other humans looking at it, but sometimes you get lucky and have it all to yourself. Especially if you go in winter.

The pool at the bottom of the falls is a popular hangout for families with children. The water there is deep enough for kids to splash around in without having to worry much about them drowning. I've been in the water right at the very base of the falls and the water there has carved out a very deep and classic kettle. The depth of the pothole is about seven or eight feet in high water and it forms a circle roughly six feet across. It's a nice spot to take a dip in on a hot day, and of interest if you're into geology and the effects of water on granite.

There were several families with lots of kids (whom you can hear).

It was hard for me to get a photo of the falls without people in it. When I got there, about twenty humans were in and around the creek. Lots of little kids having fun splashing in the water. Carole and I took Andy there when he was little.

This little cascade is just above the top of the falls.

Another little falls in the creek above the main falls.

By the time I got down from the top, the crowds had pretty much left and I was able to take this shot from the opposite side of the waterfall.

Most of the people had fled by the time I walked back down.

Stone Mountain Hike (Part III)

After I spent a long and relaxing time on the summit area of Stone Mountain I headed off toward Stone Mountain Falls which is on the far side of the mountain's ridge line. Strolling along I was impressed once again with the changes in the trail since I last hiked here. It occurred to me that all of this work must have been accomplished with at least some aid from vehicles--at least pickup trucks. So the wider trails obviously serve as roadbeds for trucks from time to time. Fortunately, I've never encountered park vehicles on these trails, and I hope I never do.

Because my legs are still so weak from my weeks of inactivity due to the surgery, the hike to the falls seemed much longer than it did. My memories of the hike kept telling me that I should be at the falls when in fact I still had a fair distance to travel. When I finally did arrive at the top of Stone Mountain Falls, I found the biggest crowds of the day. Which is appropriate, since the falls are easy to access via a picnic area trailhead.

If you've never been, Stone Mountain Falls are a neat sight. It's not so much a waterfall as an enormous sliding cascade. Still, it's a dangerous place and more than a few idiots have died here mucking about on the slick surface of the falls. There is no shortage of stupid people, so I'm sure there will be more such stories in the years to come.

After I looked at the falls and took a few photos I headed on down. I dislike crowds, especially when I'm on a hike. This is my time (supposedly) for solitude, so the sounds of screeching people gets on my nerves pretty quickly. So in short order I was ready to complete the loop, pausing along the way to take photographs of whatever piqued my interest.

One more great photo of the soaring Turkey vultures.


The top of the Falls.

Here was Stone Mountain Falls--a stitched panorama.


The Falls from the bottom, with many humans.

This cool little shelf is about 1/4 mile from the base of the falls.

The well maintained trail leading toward the homestead display.

I like this little scene in the streambed.

Reminders of the power of Mr. Gravity and Frau Wasser.

Where I always have to stop to create a panorama of the face of Stone Mountain.

This is called "The Great Arch" and is one of the more popular rock climbing routes on the cliff face. If I ever learn to rock climb, this is where I'll go to take lessons.

The cliff face of Stone Mountain, North Carolina.

Stone Mountain Hike (Part II)

After I got to the summit and took some photos, I picked out a nice shady spot under some pines and sat down to eat some lunch and relax. By then it was about one in the afternoon. The weather was pleasant and there was a nice breeze blowing across the mountaintop. The sky was bright blue and scoured with huge clouds. There were no bugs, and only some ravens and a huge flock of Turkey buzzards were plying the thermals.

I've been on a vegetarian diet now for most of the past month. So I got out my lunch of almonds, Indian flatbread, and fresh water. As I sat and enjoyed my meal I scanned the top of the peak and picked out some good places to take photographs and decided whether I'd continue on the entire loop or turn around and backtrack to my truck. My plan had been to turn back if my knee acted up, but except from some soreness it was doing okay. So I decided that after I took some photos I would head on over the mountain to Stone Mountain Falls and do the entire loop hike.

One thing that I was aware of was that the weeks of recuperation have left my leg muscles in a sad state. For the first time in memory my legs felt weak. It has been many, many years since my thighs and calves didn't feel up to the task of taking me over a trail, up and down the mountainsides. Hopefully I can start hiking again and get my muscles back into shape.

This was my view from my lunch spot.

A self portrait standing in one of the erosion gullies that head down toward the event horizon of the cliff face.

The view looking back up the peak from a shallow gully.

Some of these temporary pools were full of tiny critters. Not sure what they were, but they didn't seem to be insect larvae. Perhaps one of those types of brine shrimp that come and go with the water?

Water in its task of wearing the mountain down and sending it off toward the sea.

I love the patterns water makes on the granite.

An old husk of a tree.

Another panorama from farther down the mountain.

I took this self-portrait to illustrate the steepness of the mountaintop.

Rambling around on the exposed rock. A great way to spend the day!

The classic view of Stone Mountain from one of the sub-peaks.

These grass and scrub oak forests grow on the very, very thin soil along the ridge of Stone Mountain.

I encounter old chimneys all through the park. I wonder how many homesteads were on the lands that make up Stone Mountain State Park. So far, I've found about a half dozen of these on and off trail. I'm sure there are more that I haven't seen yet.

(Later, Part III of the hike....)