Loser and Cluck Journals, Volume VIII

“This was a abbreviated vacation for Loser (Geobeet) due to the annual spring personnel crisis at work.

Loser reported to Camp Seneca Shadows, run by affable Dean and Peggy Lufkin again this year. After signing in, renewing acquaintances with Dean and Peg, and getting back the lucky silver dollar he had left in the shower on the last trip, Loser set up camp, had dinner, and awaited the late arrival of Cluck (Creek Dancer), who drove out after work on Thursday.

When Cluck arrived, the Corps began a series of toasts: King George III, King Louis the Whatever, President Thomas Jefferson, Sack-a-weeds-yeah, the Mighty Missouri, the powerful Columbian, the North Fork, the Rocks, Dean and Peggy, TTers everywhere, themselves, the gods of grapes and scotch, the bugs flying around the lanterns, the bugs not flying around the lanterns, the bugs hiding in the shadows, and things forgotten after toasting so many things.

On Friday, the Corps of Dishevelment drove over North Fork Mountain and into Smoke Hole, where they found the road up to the top of North Fork Mountain. The drove up, intending to walk about a mile and three quarters to some cliffs overlooking North Fork Valley. About halfway there, they scrambled up to a set of rocks, hoping to get a view of the valley below, and the back of Seneca Rocks. But trees obscured that view.

To the south, the cliffs loomed invitingly, but the explorers also noticed that thunderheads were moving in, and felt the ridge was no place to be. So they walked back to the Geomobile and drove back down the mountain.

Along the way they found a campsite apparently left by savages that inhabit the land. The campfire ring was filled with old coals and oyster shells. Nearby the savages had left behind an obvious religious object, a series of triangular rocks arrayed from largest on the left to smallest on the right (or the other way around, if viewed from the other side). The rocks looked like the largest set of shark's teeth in the universe. Cluck thought the site eerie, as though somebody had left it there to scare her, alone in all the world. If so, the ploy worked!

In the small settlement of Smoke Hole, the Corps discovered a new architectural wonder - trabins.

Travins appear indigenous to just this one spot on the face of the Earth, and do not seem to exist elsewhere, even in West Virginia.

Trabins are camping trailers parked under car ports, with some having extra rooms built onto the trailer, hence the name, trabins.

The Corps stopped at St. George Church in Smoke Hole, a small Episcopal chapel built of logs. It is a quaint and pretty litte church.

Then the crew took in the view of Eagle Rocks, a large vertical formation jutting into the South Branch of the Potomac.

On the way back to camp, the Corps stopped for sodas and some fresh produce in Franklin, then headed up North Fork Mountain for the third time that day. Near the top, the brake warning light came on, and indeed, the brakes on the Geomobile were very soft. Loser drove down the mountain in second gear, with just enough brakes to slow down on curves.

Back in North Fork Valley, Cluck asked Loser what he was going to do with the Geomobile. "Take it to Doug Butcher's," he replied.

Doug Butcher was the mechanic who had repaired Loser's radiator after a groundhog chewed a hole in it some ten years ago. Doug and his mechanic, Nippy, got the Geomobile fixed and back on the road in an hour and 20 minutes, replacing two brake lines, adjusting the rear brakes, and refilling the brake fluid, all for the low, low price of $85.

The next day, the Corps of Dishevelment drove to Blackwater Falls State Park, and headed for Lindy Point, which overlooks the Blackwater Canyon with a very spectacular view. They took in Blackwater Falls and Elakalla Falls, ate a picnic lunch, and repaired to the Blackwater Brewing Co. in Davis for exquisite brews.

The owner's wife began a conversation, and it turned out had lived in the same town as Loser (Laurel, Md.), and that her husband worked for the same government agency as Loser.

Then the Corps stopped at a beaver pond in Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

On both days, the corps discovered a host of wildflowers, including some they could not identify. What they recognized included wild geranium, violets, bluets, pink ladies slippers, and jack in the pulpit.

On Saturday night, the Corps dined on pizza in the upstairs restaurant over Harpers Store in Seneca Rocks, taking in the view of the rocks from the balcony dining room.

That night a fierce thunderstorm blew through camp, getting under part of the Tarp Mahal and thoroughly soaking gear. Loser was happy he had gotten his lucky dollar back, because otherwise the corps would have been washed away, not to mention what might have happened when the brakes went out on the Geomobile.

Next day it was time to bid farewell and head back to civilization. Loser stopped at Wally World in Keyser to buy another package of Gunoe's sausage to take home with him. There he found a car with a bumper sticker reading, "Honk Your Bobo!" That certainly was a strange turn of events.

It was a nice weekend. It was good for the corps to be together again, but it was too short. Even a rainy day in West Virginia is better than a sunny day at work!”

“Glad you and CD had a good time. Lookng forward to seeing you both again at Ithaca. Good thing you didn't get stuck for worse than 85 bucks for the Geomobile.

Honk your Bobo? Where was the capn this weeekend???”

“Where's Bobo? Out honking, no doubt!”

“Sounds great Geobeet. You're right about West Virginia. Thanks.”

“The hike along the ridge of North Fork Mountain was an interesting, yet unusual place. The cult campsite with the “alter” and other weird artifacts gave me the heebie jeebies. Just the thought of the place gives me the goose bumps. In fact, one of the savages probably messed with the Geomobile’s brakes in retaliation for treading on their sacred ground. Finding out we had break problems when we were on top of North Fork Mountain and headed for a 9% grade down the road, was rather unnerving. What the savages did not know was that we had Geo’s lucky dollar. Geo put the car into low gear, never broke a sweat, and got us to the mechanic without any problem. Phew!

The trip to Blackwater Falls State Park was fun. The view from Lindy Point over Blackwater Canyon was breathtaking. The Pink Lady Slippers along the trail were a special treat. On the way back to Seneca Rocks, Geo surprised me with a visit to a wildlife preserve situated at the end of long boardwalk that leads out into the middle of a meadow. With no animals visible at the time, it took me a few minutes to figure out what the heck I was looking at. There were little footprints along the neatly built retaining wall of mud and sticks and a large mound of sticks and mud in the middle of the pond. It was a beaver preserve! Some day I would like to return at dusk and watch the little critters at work.

On the way home, I stopped to visit the breastworks at Fort Johnson, a Civil War site situated at the top of Shenandoah Mountain. The visit was very interesting and well worth the time. As I drove past Ramsey’s Draft Wilderness, the thought occurred to me that Geo and I should plan a trip to the area this summer.”