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Summer Hiking & Travel Adventures: Shenandoah National Park, British Columbia, Mount Rainier, & Mexico City (Ep 90, Pt 5) · Virginia Outdoor Adventures: Hiking, Camping, Kayaking, Local Travel and more!

• 0:00
  From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia is a mecca for outdoor travel and adventure. Virginia Outdoor Adventures podcast is your local guide for hiking, camping, kayaking, travel, and so much more. Get the information and the inspiration to plan your own adventure right here in Virginia, I'm your host Jessica Bowser. What do you get when you pack a season with mountain hikes, national park trails, sunset paddles, waterfall rappelling, and a little international travel? A pretty epic summer. In this episode, we're going on a North American extravaganza from the snow-capped Rockies of British Columbia to the trails around Mount Rainier and into the mountains surrounding Mexico City. Back in Virginia, there are sunset paddles in regional and state parks, a road trip to a national wildlife refuge, conquering the Cascades of White Oak Canyon, a weekend escape in Shenandoah National Park, and a sneak peek visit to the first Virginia's Adventure Towns episode of the new season, but this isn't just a recap of places I visited. Along the way, I'll share the trails, parks, paddling spots, wildlife destinations, and practical details that can help you turn some of these ideas into adventures of your own. So, if you're looking for inspiration for your next trip or just want to discover somewhere new?
• 1:21
  There's a lot to cover. This is part five of a multi-part episode. The last leg of our World Cup tour was Mexico City.
• 1:31
  I have never been to Mexico before, so I don't know what took me so long because I fell hard for Mexico City. I just loved the place. This was absolutely my favorite part of the entire World Cup tour. We flew direct from DC into Mexico City. was super easy getting in.
• 1:53
  They have now installed those passport readers, where you just lay your passport down on a scanner. It scans it, and then the doors open, and you walk through, so there's no lines, there's no answering questions, there's none of that. You get in really easily, pick up your luggage, and then get into a cab and go. We stayed in the city center, just a couple of blocks from the main square. It very much reminded me, sort of, of New York. It just is a very, very big city with a lot of people. We wanted to do some sightseeing on the first day, and the first thing on our agenda was the historic city center. But when we got there, we discovered that they had transformed it into the fan fest or a giant game watch for the city. So you had to go through security just to get into it, but once you were through security, it was amazing on the inside. It was the best fan fest I have ever seen. It just embodied Mexico City with the architecture and the people and the food. And oh my God, the food! I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It is a vegetarian's fantasy with all of the fresh produce and the fruits and the street corn and everything. Oh my gosh, it was amazing. They had transformed the city center into the fan fest, so there were bright colored flags everywhere, and there were pinatas and there were sculptures like traditional sculptures, and of course they had events going on and everything. Everybody was having a good time. Unlike the other cities that we had gone to, where we were meeting people from all over the world who had come for games, this seemed to be primarily locals. We really didn't run into too many other people who weren't from Mexico.
• 3:36
  Everybody was there to watch the games on the big screen and just experience the excitement and the energy and the atmosphere that was going on. Later that night, we were having dinner.
• 3:46
  There is a rooftop bar above a hotel that is right on the square, and I think one of my husband's coworkers had told us about this. So we were having dinner up there while one of the games was going on, and I can't remember who was playing, but we had the absolute best seats.
• 4:00
  Plus, from where we were, we could look down at the 1000s of people who were packed into the square watching this game, and it was so amazing to watch it from that perspective.
• 4:12
  So, watching it from afar and and seeing a crowd of that size erupt when their team scored, it was awesome. And also while eating traditional Mexican food, so I enjoyed every bit of it.
• 4:26
  The city is really beautiful.
• 4:26
  The people were super friendly.
• 4:29
  We did a couple of touristy things while we were in the area, which is not typically what I like to do. But my husband was all into it. First, we went to the famous ancient pyramids, which are near Mexico City, Tea Tiwacon. I hope I am pronouncing that correctly. That contains the temples of the sun and the moon, and was one of the most powerful cultural centers in Mesoamerica. It is a huge tourist attraction. We got on one of those touristy busses that takes you out there and back, and our guide is who took us over. Inside the temple, glad that we did it that way because I think it would have taken much longer for us to have found our own way out there on public transportation, and also we would not have had a guide. I don't think maybe there's a way to arrange one, but this was very easy because all we had to do was book one tour, and everything was done for us.
• 5:17
  There is one pyramid that you are allowed to climb up the steps going up are super steep.
• 5:24
  I was really surprised how many people were going up on all fours or getting part way up and not really knowing how to get the rest of the way up or how to get down. There are no handrails. It was interesting to see how many people were struggling to do that. I got to the top, and from up there, you have really amazing views. If you are able, I would say this is something that you should do because climbing to the top of the temple is sort of the quintessential thing to do at the pyramids, and you don't get a better view than that anywhere else. I will say that if you do have any mobility issues, the tour does not warn you that you're going to be doing a lot of walking and you're going to be going up and down a lot of steep stone ancient stairs. I was really surprised that there was no mention of that anywhere in the description. So if you've got somebody with you who has some issues, be aware of that.
• 6:15
  We also attended an authentic lucha libre event. Lucha Libre is Mexico's professional wrestling, which you probably know because they're known for their colorful masks and their dramatic theatrical displays.
• 6:29
  It's very much like professional wrestling here in the states, but it's very cultural in Mexico. So we went on this tour that my husband booked. I thought he was kidding when he told me we were doing this, or at the very least, I thought this was going to be some sort of performance just for tourists. It was not. It was very authentic, and so there are these two women who lead the tours, and it starts out with authentic Mexican taco dinner at a very local joint that pretty much only locals go to our small group. Might have been the only tourists that I saw in the whole place. It was sort of like a large cafeteria where there were different vendors all in one building, and we were seated in front of one of the vendors who was serving us whatever kind of taco you could possibly want with whatever kind of Mexican beer you could possibly want. So the food was amazing, and then from there we walked through a public square and over to the actual arena, one of the original arenas where Lucha Libre has been going on for generations, and we learned all about the history of Lucha Libre, and we were taught how to act during an event, which is basically however you want. It's one of the types of events where you can be yourself, and that means you can yell all kinds of crazy things, and you can be really crass, and nobody judges, and nobody looks at you funny, and people get really really into it. We got our own masks to wear and we were seated on the bottom floor right outside the ring.
• 8:10
  So the actual wrestling ring was probably your standard size, but it was in the center of a circular arena that was really high. It was like four floors, I think, and it was just circular the whole way up. Because we were on the ground level next to the ring, the wrestlers were flying out of the ring and landing like right next to us. I kid you not. And of course, they're in like these elaborate costumes, and all of them are masked, and they're flying out of the ring and landing right in front of my feet. What the heck is going on here? Like, no children are allowed to sit that close to the ring because of the possibility of one of the wrestlers landing on them. Oh my gosh, it was so wild. I I would never have thought that I would be into something like that, and it was just fun to watch everybody around me get so into it. And of course, it's all it's all make believe. It's all fake, just like it is here in the states. But to watch everybody get so carried away in the moment, cheering for their favorite wrestler, it was a lot of fun. I know it's super touristy and it sounds very cheesy, but it is authentic. And I thought it was going to be a tourist trap, and it was not. It was the real deal. Like it was all locals who were there on a Saturday night who had bought tickets to see this wrestling match, multiple wrestling matches. I think there were three or four of them. Started with the women and then the men-it's just so wild. I'm really glad we did it. It's something you don't get to experience anywhere else. If you're looking for the perfect Virginia mountain getaway, I've got a recommendation for you.
• 9:56
  Just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Iris Inn and Cabins. And nearby Afton Mountain Vineyards make an incredible base camp for outdoor adventure. The two properties are only about nine miles apart and surrounded by some of Virginia's best public lands and hiking trails. You can spend the day exploring iconic destinations like Shenandoah National Park, Humpback Rocks, or the waterfalls at Crabtree Falls. Then return to relax in the mountains. If hiking is the reason for your trip, be sure to ask about the Iris Inn's Trail Hikers Package. Whether you choose a cozy room or one of their private cabins tucked into the forest, you'll have a peaceful place to recharge after a day on the trail. The cabins offer a quiet mountain retreat where you can slow down, soak in the scenery, and enjoy the fresh Blue Ridge air. When it's time to unwind, head over to Afton Mountain Vineyards. Their estate-grown wines reflect the character of Virginia's Blue Ridge, and the tasting room offers sweeping vineyard and mountain views that make it easy to linger over a glass. It's the perfect way to celebrate a day spent outside. Another reason I love supporting these businesses is that both the Iris Inn and Afton Mountain Vineyards are proud Virginia Green Travel partners, helping protect the beautiful landscapes that make this region so special. So if you're planning your next hiking adventure, make a weekend of it.
• 11:19
  Stay at the Iris Inn. Enjoy an afternoon at Afton Mountain Vineyards and discover why the Blue Ridge is one of Virginia's most unforgettable outdoor destinations. Start planning your getaway now by clicking on Iris Inn and Cabins and Afton Mountain Vineyards in your show notes. Then, of course, there was the game, the game Mexico versus England in Mexico City.
• 11:44
  We got there, not kidding you, five hours early because my husband was concerned about traffic and getting through security, and also there were thunderstorms in the forecast.
• 11:56
  We got there so early that we literally had nothing to do for five hours while we waited, but that was better than getting stuck in the lightning storm and the torrential downpour that happened. It flooded the whole inside of the stadium. We were really relieved to discover that our seats were underneath the roof. But I had said to my husband, "If there is a leak anywhere over these 87,000 seats, it's going to be over my seat, and I kid you not, wouldn't you know, there was a leak over my seat.
• 12:30
  We got up there, and everybody else's seat was dry except for mine. So I had to wear a poncho the entire game, and water dripped onto my head the entire game. This stadium is known as the Cathedral of Football for its size and how eruptive the whole place can become during intense moments, and because there have been many really exciting World Cup moments over the years. So, but it is an old stadium, and you have to do quite a bit of climbing to get up to your seats. These steps are extremely steep. I would actually consider them a little bit dangerous, even for somebody like me who's pretty able-bodied. And then when you're walking down the rows, there is no room to actually step if there is somebody seated next to you. So if you're going to go get some food or use the restroom or something. You are getting passed from one person to the other. Like everybody grabs onto you and moves you across them so that you don't fall. Because there's no place to put your feet down. There's no barrier between your row and the row in front of you. So if you misstep, you will fall onto the people who are sitting in front of you. That was an interesting situation that we had to navigate through. Plus, Mexico City is at a high elevation, so you're going up these really steep steps to these really high levels in the stadium, and it's hard to breathe. The air is thin. It was it was a difficult situation. I felt like I needed to train just to be prepared to get in and out of that stadium. Oh, and then the game was delayed. I can't tell you how many how long we waited. It felt like we were waiting forever for this game to start. But when it finally did start, man, it was insane. I have a video of the first goal that Mexico scored, and you just see cups flying everywhere, and the whole place was bouncing. I was standing on a seam, which is probably why the roof was leaking over my head. There was probably a seam above me and below me that basically stitched these two parts of the stadium together, and so both sides were moving. I had like my foot on one one section of my other foot on the other, and everything was just rocking underneath me. And so I'm trying to hold the camera still as I take a video of the crowd going insane, and all you see is everything bouncing up and down. It was wild. People were high fiving and hugging, and just. Going crazy, unfortunately. Well, fortunately, depending on who you're rooting for, England won that game. But I was really hoping it was going to be Mexico. I became such a big fan of Mexico in such a short amount of time. My husband and I were both dressed in Mexican gear-hats and jerseys and shirts and everything-and waving flags and rooting for Mexico, and so it was a little disappointing the way it ended because I was really hoping to go out and experience Mexico City after such a huge win, and I was like,"Well, there goes that. But actually, that's not at all what happened. It was like everybody out in the streets hadn't gotten the memo that their team lost.
• 15:40
  They were out there celebrating and dancing and partying and spraying something that looked like shaving cream, but I was told by a local is not actually shaving cream. I don't know what it is, but the streets, the sidewalks, the people were all covered in white foamy something. It was everywhere. It was absolutely everywhere. It was a bit of a debacle getting back to our hotel because the public transportation that we were told we should take we couldn't find, and then we couldn't find a cab, and it was just oh my gosh, we practically walked all the way back. It took us like five tries to get an Uber, and then both of our phone batteries were almost dead from trying to get an Uber that we were waiting for that kept canceling on us because they couldn't get to us. It was crazy, but the experience was magical-like nothing I've ever seen before in my life.
• 16:31
  The absolute highlight of the entire trip, and it has made me a fan. I am definitely a fan of Mexico, and I cannot wait to go back, but soccer aside, I cannot wait to get back to Mexico to experience the outdoors. On this particular trip, I was trying to
• 16:49
  figure out: Am I going to hike?
• 16:49
  figure out: Am I going to bird? And then, how am I going to do that? How am I going to get myself physically out of the city and to these places? And how will I find them? And is it safe?
• 16:58
  figure out: There's a lot of information out there about the city and the surrounding area not being safe, and to be concerned about crime and cartel and other other concerns. But I was trying to figure out, like, okay, how do I manage this? You know, I couldn't quite figure out what to do, and I did some research, and I finally decided that the best thing to do was to hire a guide who was local that I could trust, and let that person figure out how to get me around.
• 17:26
  figure out: So that's what I did. I searched online for some birding guides.
• 17:30
  figure out: I found two bird guides who were super reputable and really excellent and knowledgeable. I was scheduled to go out with one, and then she got sick, so I ended up going out with the other one, but while I was out with him, I found out that the two of them were dating, and I didn't know that. So they kind of semi-work together and support each other's businesses.
• 17:51
  figure out: Both of these guys were really excellent. One of them goes by Birding is Punk, and the other one is Bird Nomad. And when I looked at their eBird profiles.
• 17:59
  figure out: I was just blown away at how many countries they have been to, how many species they have seen. It's mind-boggling. So I knew right away that these two were going to be fabulous. So I will drop a link to both of these guides in the notes. Bird Nomad, in addition to doing private birding, he also does monarch tours. So I think I need to come back for a monarch tour, which I think is in the fall.
• 18:28
  figure out: But he said that fall and winter are the two most popular times for birders. That's when he's the busiest. I guess when I was there was not peak birding time, but you know what? You couldn't you could have fooled me because I got 50 new species in half a day of birding with him, and we went to different locations. He specializes in targeting high elevation and restricted range species. We went to a couple of different sites, and in between, we stopped at an authentic Mexican restaurant in a village and had some of the very best food I've ever had in my life, including an oyster mushroom soup that I have to figure out how to replicate because I have so many oyster mushrooms that I have dried in my dehydrator in my kitchen that I don't know what to do with half the time.
• 19:13
  figure out: And if I can figure out how to make this amazing mushroom soup, it will be ideal. Oh my God, it was so good! And even in the summer, it didn't matter because we were in this high elevation.
• 19:24
  figure out: It was chilly. We were wearing long pants and layered up. It hit the spot. It was absolutely perfect. He took me out to quite a few different places. The first place we went to was a refuge that a friend of his worked at. It was locked, but he had a key to the gate. I don't think it's really open to the public. I think just you know people who work there and people who know how to get in, and so we're driving through this little village, and I had asked him in advance about the safety, and I and when I got the response, I was kind of embarrassed that I had even asked at all because I almost felt like almost like I heard somebody's feeling. Or I, you know, unknowingly insulted somebody because they were like,"Well, there are parts of this state that can be dangerous, but we're not going to take you to those places. We're going to take you to places that are safe.
• 20:12
  figure out: We went through this little village, and then we pulled up to this locked gate, and he jumps out and he goes to unlock the gate, and I'm kind of like,"Oh my gosh, where are we? Where is this guy taking me? But it was perfect because there was nobody there, and we saw so many species so quickly. There are so many hummingbirds in Mexico. It was like one species of hummingbird after another after another, and obviously things that you don't see here in the states. And then from the the nature preserve or wildlife refuge, whatever it was, I'm not entirely sure. Then we went up to a higher elevation area, and then yet again after lunch we went to another high elevation area that had an old train track that had been converted into a bike trail. So it was a really nice rail to trail. Saw a couple of bikers go by. Beautiful gardens, community gardens up there, and so many hummingbirds.
• 21:05
  figure out: If you love hummingbirds, like this is absolutely the place to be. And then we drove back and we talked about how many owl species he's seen, and you know, has he been to the states, and what has he seen there, and how many other countries he's been to, and it was just so fun comparing notes and hearing where he's been and what he's done. But he was excellent. He had so much knowledge. Birding by ear was not a problem for him. I actually a couple of times was having a hard time keeping up with him because he was just he would hear something and not necessarily see it, and just call out the species name, and then he would call out another bird and another bird, and I'm like looking to try to figure out where he's seeing these things and get my bins on them so that I could see them too. But they're just birds; they're birds everywhere. I've never seen so many birds before in one place, and all of the species were new to me. I wish I would have spent some time studying what I would have seen.
• 22:02
  figure out: That's usually what I do when I go to a new place. I just spend some time trying to familiarize myself with the common species, so that when I run into them, I know what I'm looking at. But I didn't do that this time around, and I really should have because he was calling out names. You know, between his accent and me not knowing what the heck I was looking at. I didn't know what he was saying, so it took a while for me to catch up with what he was doing. But he was so good. I would recommend him and the birding is punk as well. His partner to any to anybody who's going to Mexico City and is looking for a guide. The other nice thing about having a guide is we were driving on the highway, so we were in his personal vehicle. And when you pull off the highway, a lot of times there are tolls. When you come up to a toll gate, it's not automated. You actually hand your money to a person, and then that person gets out of the toll booth and physically pushes down on one end of the gate to raise it up so that you can drive through. Holds it up while you drive through, and then puts it back down after you're done driving through. And if I would have pulled over and tried to talk to somebody, I I would have been completely lost. I don't speak a lick of Spanish, which is so embarrassing. I need to I need to work on that. But having a local who knew where he was going and could talk to other locals was key. Known as the Grand Canyon of the South, Breaks Park is a hiking destination in the heart of Appalachia. You'll find trails for every skill level, featuring geologic wonders, canyon overlooks, stream crossings, and abundant wildlife. Stay close to the adventure with lodges, cabins, and campgrounds inside the park. Beyond the breaks, the heart of Appalachia invites you to hike and bike through breathtaking mountain landscapes, paddle hidden hollows, reel in trout from crystal clear streams, or hop on an ATV to conquer the rugged spearhead trails.
• 23:57
  figure out: Take a scenic drive, embark on an elk tour, and explore Virginia's treasured Southwest, where you'll also find vibrant local dining, shopping, and celebrations. Your next outdoor adventure starts in the heart of Appalachia. Tap the links for Breaks Park and Heart of Appalachia in your show notes.
• 24:19
  figure out: When I got back to the states, I was determined to make the most of the rest of summer. I went on several paddling adventures. So I live up here in Northern Virginia, and the closest access to me is Pohick Bay Regional Park and also Masonex State Park. And at Pohick Bay, my friend Matt Felperin, the Nova Parks roving naturalists hosts guided sunset paddles, and he invited me on one. I love joining Matt's sunset paddles because he is very good at describing what you're seeing and what you're hearing when you're out on the water, especially when it comes to the wildlife and at nights. All the birds are coming in to roost.
• 25:00
  figure out: There is an egret rookery out there, and an exceptional amount of purple martins. I've never seen so many purple martins in one place before. And of course, there are eagles and osprey and lots of other things to see. And the sunset is so pretty out on the bay. So we had a very small group and enjoyed a very lovely, lovely sunset. I will drop a link in the show notes to Matt's programs. He does them at more than just Pohick because he is the Nova Parks roving naturalist. So he does programs at all of the Nova Parks. The sunset paddles at Pohick are just extraordinary. I know he does them in other places as well, he also does all kinds of other naturalist guided programs. And then at Mason Neck, I've done a couple as well. If you are doing Wandering Waters Paddle Quest, you know that Virginia State Parks has a new newish program where they're encouraging people to paddle at all the state parks across Virginia where paddling is available, and Masonac is one of my favorite. The sunsets on Belmont Bay is epic, and they have sunset paddles, they have twilight paddles, they have moonrise paddles, and morning paddles. I tend not to do the morning paddles. I'm not a morning person, and I don't like being out there in the in the sun at night. I feel like it's a little bit better as long as you're wearing long sleeves and long pants, so that the bugs don't eat you alive. I did two very lovely twilight paddles, I think they were, and just recently I did a moonrise paddle. So they take you out into the bay. It's usually about an hour and a half or so. It's not terribly long. It's not a very long paddle, but it's just enough to get back into the into Canes Creek, where you see osprey and eagles, lots of great blue herons, belted kingfishers, just a really relaxing and peaceful way to enjoy the bay and also Canes Creek, and our guides were really good about talking about the different types of wildlife and vegetation, like wild rice. Did you know that there's wild rice growing in Northern Virginia, and all kinds of other things? I also did a field trip to Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, which is in Delaware. This was a field trip with the Northern Virginia Bird Club. I've done several field trips with them in the past, and they are always very well organized, and I enjoy them. Bombay Hook is some place that I've been wanting to go for years, but just haven't managed to get there yet. It is epic when it comes to winter waterfowl. There are images of people riding their bike across the boardwalk with the entire sky behind them just covered in snow geese, like not an inch of sky can be seen, and that's kind of what it felt like this time.
• 27:49
  figure out: But with the Avisets, there were just so many of them, and they took off at one point. It sounded like a helicopter lifting off and heading out into the distance, but we had a very lovely time. It's not winter, so we didn't get to see the same amount of birds or the same species of birds, but still very well worth it, and also fun to hang out with a bunch of like-minded bird nerds.
• 28:17
  figure out: Another highlight of the summer was cascading in White Oak Canyon. I have had so many people ask me for the guide's name for this trip because it's amazing. So Andy Nichols is the official guide for Shenandoah National Park. He does hiking, he does rock climbing, he does rappelling, and then he does this very very unique activity.
• 28:37
  figure out: He has named it cascading, and he calls it cascading because it's sort of like canyoneering, except that you're navigating the cascades of White O Canyon.
• 28:49
  figure out: So you start at the parking lot where he will meet you and bring you all of the equipment that you need, which includes a harness and a helmet. He carries all the ropes. You need to be dressed to get wet, but you also need to make sure you have really good footwear. So you hike up the trail just like everybody else does. But when you get to a certain point, then you leave the trail and you go into the water at the base of a waterfall, and you start navigating your way back down towards the trailhead in the water. And so that means that you're going to come across several large waterfalls that you have to rappel down. So Andy gets you hooked up on the ropes and connects you via your harness, and then he belays you down the waterfall, and it is wonderful. It's magical. I mean, there's no other way to experience the park like that. I went with my friend Tracy. We have done this with him before.
• 29:46
  figure out: We also have gone rock climbing with him before. Andy's one of my favorite people. He has got to be one of the most knowledgeable guides about the area, and he doesn't just know the trails and the activities, but he is learning the plant life. And the wildlife, and the ecology, and the geology-he is just a wealth of knowledge. So, anytime you go out with Andy, you are going to learn something. And also, he's really funny, so you're going to have a good time too. We did a shorter trip than what we had done the first time when we were with a small group. This time, it was just the three of us, and that gave us the opportunity to rappel down the waterfalls more than once, and the water is cold. So even though he has trips coming up all the way through October, I think it's best to go in the summer. But in the fall, I believe he provides wetsuits, so you can still do this as the seasons change. So I will drop a link in the show notes to his website, and you can sign up. He's got lots of opportunities to go out, or if you're interested in any other activities with him-rock climbing, rappelling, hiking-he is the only guide who is permitted to do these activities in Shenandoah. I also just got back from Harrisonburg, where I was visiting with one of my podcast guests because Harrisonburg is going to be the next episode in the Virginia's Adventure Town series. So I was meeting with Vince, who works for Walkabout. He's going to be my guest, and his partner Kristen joined us for the weekend. And the three of us pretty much hiked and ate our way through the city for two days, we got to explore some new restaurants and some new shops that have opened up in downtown Harrisonburg, and also do some really great hikes. I love the hikes around Harrisonburg. I feel like most of them are hidden gems. Oftentimes, people they realize that Harrisonburg is close proximity to Shenandoah National Park, so they tend to go up there, but they're overlooking hikes that are much closer that are just as beautiful, and those are primarily in the George Washington National Forest. But there are some other hikes around the area too that we're going to talk about in that episode. Also, well in Harrisonburg, I got to pop into Shenandoah Bicycle Company and see my friend Thomas Jenkins, who was a guest in oh goodness I don't know season two maybe or one even I don't know it was a long time ago and we did an episode about mountain biking.
• 32:12
  figure out: He owned Shenandoah Bicycle Company in downtown Harrisonburg.
• 32:15
  figure out: It was the first time I had ever mountain biked and I thought I was going to die, but he's probably one of the best mountain bikers I've ever met, and I found him in the shop with his hands all black, working on somebody's bike. So it was really great to see him. It was also really nice just to do some of the hikes that I have not done in quite some time. One of those hikes was to High Knob Fire Tower, and if you don't know about High Knob Fire Tower, it's an old lookout tower. It is in the George Washington National Forest. You can see West Virginia from up there. The views are spectacular. Vince and I hiked up there together, and we were dodging thunderstorms.
• 32:55
  figure out: But we got up to the top, and we could literally see the storms rolling in towards us, and it was spectacular because the sun was pouring through a hole in the clouds and illuminating the entire valley in front of us.
• 33:06
  figure out: While just next to it, you could see all of this rain pouring down, and then it just moved in over us. So we kind of sheltered inside the fire tower while we waited for it to pass, and then headed back down the mountain, but the views were just amazing.
• 33:21
  figure out: I've never seen anything like it. I had a hard time capturing it because it was so bright, and it was really hard to get pictures of the sun when it's that bright against something really dark like a storm cloud.
• 33:35
  figure out: But I think I got some halfway decent shots, and I can't wait to share those on social media.
• 33:38
  figure out: I also can't wait to share the episode about Harrisonburg. I've been collaborating with Harrisonburg for years, and I just love that area. So I'm there over and over again, and have stayed in little B and B's and in hotels, and I've been enjoying the downtown area and getting to know the owners of small local businesses and restaurants. And it is about time that I finally get to share all of that in a Virginia's Adventure Towns episode. So keep an eye out for that because that's going to be one of the first episodes of the brand new season, which is coming up in September. Well, friends, I think I have finally made it to the end of this multi, multi, multi-part episode, and I think I have saved the best for last.
• 34:20
  figure out: I just have one more story to tell, and that was about my time camping at False Cape State Park while I waited for a sea turtle nest to hatch. Sea turtles have laid multiple nests along the Virginia coastline around Virginia Beach, so that includes False Cape State Park, Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, some of the islands, and the biologists at Back Bay monitor these nests. And there is a volunteer program offered through the Virginia Aquarium where people can get trained to volunteer nest sit. The job of the volunteer nest sitters is to watch the nests at night, record. Lots of data if or when it hatches to make sure that the babies make it to the water. I joined other volunteers to watch a nest that was expected to hatch at Falls Cape, and that meant staying up all night long.
• 35:11
  figure out: They're assigned from 8p.m. to five a.m. and usually the nest sitters stay up all night unless they work something out where they can nap in shifts, so the first night I was out there, nothing happened. So there were four of us, and two people had told me that they were going to stay up all night, and so if I wanted to take a nap, I could, and they would wake me if anything happened. So I had brought some blankets with me and spread them out on the beach. It was a full moon, but around four a.m. or so, the moon dropped behind the sand dunes, and I woke up to a blanket full of stars over my head. It was really magnificent. And then around like 530 or so, I heard one of the volunteers say, "Look at that! And I opened my eyes to see what was going on. And a SpaceX shuttle, which had launched from Florida, I believe, was crossing the sky in front of us.
• 36:13
  figure out: And it was the strangest thing because nobody knew what it was.
• 36:17
  figure out: We just saw something streaking across the sky with these three really broad, long, long jet streams behind it, and we were all like, "What is that? It took until we got back into cell service range for us to Google it and figure out that it was SpaceX. But in the meantime, we were all like, "That looks like some sort of an alien ship. But it was magnificent. Just just streaking across the sky. The second night, I was out there with a different group of volunteers, and again, nothing happened. And the nests are caged, so the biologists place a cage over the nest once they know that it's laid. There are there's another group of volunteers that drive up and down the beach really, really early every morning, looking for tracks in the sand from turtles that had come out of the ocean to lay their nests. That's how they know where the nests are.
• 37:12
  figure out: And then the biologists come in and collect data and do their work. And then they sort of rope off the area to make sure that nobody accidentally tramples over it or drives over it, then the volunteers come in after 60 days and watch the nest to make sure that the babies are protected from predators.
• 37:30
  figure out: Another problem is light pollution. The babies get disoriented if they come up and and they see artificial light and start moving in the wrong direction. Crab holes we found were a problem. So one thing that we were responsible for every night when we would arrive to the nest is taking plywood and laying the boards down to create a runway from the nest towards the ocean, and then we would rake the sand to get rid of any obstacles that might be in their way and fill in any crab holes so that the babies wouldn't fall into the holes, and then there's also a lot of data to collect once the the nest looks like it's going to hatch. So the first sign of a nest hatching is an indentation in the sand over the nest. So that happens because the babies start to come out of the eggs, and then the sand fills into the eggs, and you see like a dip in the surface of the sand over the nest, and it usually takes a little while before they start to poke their heads out.
• 38:31
  figure out: Sometimes an hour or more. Then, when they do all decide to come out, they all come out at once, and that's called a boil. And you just see them coming up out of the sand, and they all start moving in the same direction and mass. It's really cool. Some of the data that gets recorded is when the indentation occurs, and then what time they actually boil out of the nest. How many turtles there are that come out?
• 38:54
  figure out: How long it takes all of them to get into the water? If there are any stragglers, apparently there can be some turtles with deformities, like three flippers. And when I found that out, I said, "If there's a turtle with three flippers, I'm putting it in my pocket and taking it home. Like you all better check my pockets before I leave here. But we did not have any deformities during this one.
• 39:20
  figure out: This nest didn't hatch until the third night, actually the fourth night, because there had also been nest setters out there the night before I arrived. So usually there are nest setters assigned for several nights before the predicted hatch date, and then at least a day or two after, just in case it doesn't hatch on time. So I was out there when it started to hatch and got to witness the miracle of all these adorable babies coming out and and moving their way towards the ocean, and I made some really great friends.
• 39:52
  figure out: The people who were volunteering out there were awesome people.
• 39:55
  figure out: The downside is we all got eaten alive. By mosquitoes, I think the first night. I don't know what more I could have possibly done. I had on lemongrass insect repellent lotion all over my entire body. I had on long pants, long sleeves, a hat with a head net, and bug spray all over me, and incense burning.
• 40:16
  figure out: And it did not matter. I am absolutely covered in bites.
• 40:24
  figure out: I was getting bitten through the chair that I was sitting on, like the canvas camp chair, which means that they were biting me through the chair and through my pants. And I just-I don't even know how they're capable of doing such a thing.
• 40:37
  figure out: But it was horrendous. They were so bad. And when I fell asleep on the beach, I think that my head net probably fell flat against my face because when I woke up in the morning, one whole side of my face was completely covered in bites. I had one huge one, or maybe it was a bunch of little ones in the same place. On the tip of my nose, I looked like Rudolph. I was so embarrassed walking into the visitor center the next day, I was like, "Please, nobody look at me. It was so bad, and I think I counted 32 bites on my face, and then when I got home, I counted another 67 on my body, which is 99 reminders of my time at Falscape. but worth it.
• 41:20
  figure out: Absolutely worth it to get to see those little babies come out of the nest. Also, I camped.
• 41:29
  figure out: Well, I was camping technically, but also sleeping on the beach during the time that I was nesting, and then sleeping during the day to try to catch up too. But I had a campsite at Barber Hill Oceanside, and if you are camping in an Oceanside campground, you also get to camp on the beach too. If you want, I ended up not pitching the second tent that I had with me on the beach because I was basically on the beach all night every night anyway. Your campsite is underneath the live oak trees, which is very very cool, as you probably know. Live oak trees have branches that that twist and extend in every direction because they are shaped by storms and by weather coming off the ocean. So you're sort of under this canopy, this magical canopy that looks like something out of a fairy tale. Beach camping is sort of a whole nother beast. I feel like you need different types of gear and equipment for it. I mean, certainly some of it is the same as other types of camping, but there are a few things you need that are a little bit different, including a cooler that is small and lightweight and compact, but still holds everything because you want something that the animals are not going to get into, but are just so hot out there that you you need to have something. This is primitive camping at False Cape, so not all of the campgrounds have water available. Now Barber Hill does have spigots with potable water, and you need to bring some sort of container to fill so that you can have water at your site, and you have to carry it across sand. I was on site 11, so I was I purposely picked that site so that it could be right across from the water spigot. There is also a rinse station. It looks like an outdoor shower, but I've been told it cannot be called an outdoor shower because it doesn't have a drain and it doesn't have walls, and we need to have other things. But it's basically a shower on a pedestal outside for you to rinse off.
• 43:31
  figure out: Insect repellent is an absolute must. You will not survive without it. Be prepared for absolutely everything to be covered in sand. I think it took me a whole day to pack for this trip, and I think it took me four or five to unpack because of all of the laundry and the washing and everything I needed to do to get the sand out of everything. I mean, it was in my trail runners, it was in the cooler, it was just-it's in my tent, like everything, covered in sand. You need sand stakes, so that's something that I learned the hard way many years ago. Is that the tent stakes that come with your tent don't stick in sand; they just sort of you know pop right back out. So you need to buy special stakes just for that. And the stakes that you want can be used either in snow or sand. They're much larger. They're wider.
• 44:25
  figure out: They usually have holes in them, or you can buy what looks like a screw, like a corkscrew, that usually works too. Those are a little more lightweight, not quite as sturdy. Definitely, you want sand stakes and not the stakes that came with your tent.
• 44:39
  figure out: False cape is pretty isolated.
• 44:39
  figure out: The only way into the park is for visitors. Anyway, is to hike or ride your bike in through Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, or you can paddle in.
• 44:52
  figure out: Those are really the only options. Just because Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge does not allow vehicles, and so. Only you know certain people with permits, like the staff, can drive through. But otherwise, regular visitors cannot. There are tram tours, so if you want to come into the park and hiking or riding your bike or kayaking is not the way you want to go, then you can get a tram tour.
• 45:16
  figure out: But if you're going to camp, you have to find your own way into the park, and you have to be able to bring everything with you, either on a bike or on your back or in a kayak, or you can do what I did and find yourself a friend who has a boat. So, I had reached out to my friend who lives in Virginia Beach just to ask him if he had a wagon. So I had purchased a wagon that you attached to your bike, and I could not find one locally in stores, and so I had to order one. And I was concerned it wasn't going to get here in time, so I I texted him and I told him the situation and asked if he had something I could borrow, and he said, "How about we just boat in? So that's what we did, and thank goodness for my friend Mike. I don't know how I would have done this without him. But my wagon did show up in time, and also he had a wagon that he rigged to the back of his bike. So between the two of us, we were able to bring two wagons of things in. And it's funny because I didn't think I had that much stuff, but some things just take up a lot of space, like the cooler. I don't know what I would have what I would have done without the cooler. I wouldn't have been able to carry that in any other way. It was really helpful to have a friend who was also on a bike with a wagon bring all those things in for me, and then also he picked me up on the last day to take me out. But I would prefer to have a bike whenever I'm in Falls Cape. It is a pretty big state park. Sure, you can hike, but I think if you want to really see the whole park and go to all of the overlooks, of which there are many, and travel all of the trails, I think the best way to do it is by bike. You can just get around much faster and easier when you're on your bike.
• 47:01
  figure out: Personally, I like to go to the visitor center every morning and charge my phone. I bought one of those solar charger power banks.
• 47:07
  figure out: It didn't work, so that was really disappointing. I had to make the trek to the visitor center every morning to charge my phone, but it was nice to be in the air conditioning and get some ice cream in the visitor center. I also helped restock the ice cream while I was there, and the Gatorade because I was sitting around waiting for my phone to charge. So I just started stocking shelves. I got a free Gatorade for it too. You want to be prepared with power banks that work. Otherwise, you can charge your phone at the visitor center if you're willing to make that trek to the visitor center, which is not too bad-at least not from where I was at Barber Hill. It took maybe five minutes for me to ride my bike from the campsite to the visitor center, but other campsites are a little bit farther away.
• 47:52
  figure out: After the nest finally hatched, I decided instead of going home to spend one more day where I could be rested and actually enjoy the park instead of sleeping because I had been up all night, and it just so happened that there was a moonlit kayak tour, a ranger-led moonlit kayak tour that night.
• 48:09
  figure out: So I signed up for that. The rangers picked everybody up outside the park except for me.
• 48:13
  figure out: I waited on the front steps of the visitor center alone in the dark, listening to the eastern screech owls call back and forth to each other. I could have sat there all night and listened to that, but the tram pulled up and I hopped on, and it took us over to the area where the boat docks are and the kayak launch, and all of us got into the water.
• 48:36
  figure out: This was the same night as the lunar eclipse, so we were kind of all hoping to see the eclipse from the water, but it didn't start till I think 1030 or closer to 11, and we that was kind of late. We needed to be off the water by then. They had to take the people back to where they came from. There was an island that we paddled around.
• 48:54
  figure out: It was a beginner friendly kayak program, but beginner friendly in the tidal areas is very different than beginner friendly inland. So even the rangers were explaining to me the wind has to be 10 miles per hour or less to be considered beginner, but some of the inland parks it's less than that. It was a little more challenging, and I'm an experienced paddler, and I felt like it was challenging. You're dealing with the tide, you're dealing with stronger waves, you're dealing with stronger wind, and of course it's dark.
• 49:31
  figure out: But we all had lights on, and we all stuck together as a group.
• 49:35
  figure out: And the rangers were very good about making sure that everybody was doing just fine, and so we had a very lovely paddle, and then I got dropped back off at the visitor center like 11 o'clock at night all by myself, and then I had to bike from the visitor center in the dark to my campsite, and when I got back, I got into my tent, I pulled the rainfly off, and just lay there and watched the lunar eclipse from my. Tent. I was surprised that I was able to even have the rainfly off the tent because the humidity there, when it settles at night, soaks everything. Like absolutely everything is wet. So another piece of gear that I would recommend having is a tarp to put over your picnic table.
• 50:18
  figure out: You know, a tarp is something that I sometimes bring with me camping just for extra shade and to keep the junk from the trees falling onto the picnic table.
• 50:25
  figure out: But in this case, you also needed to keep everything dry.
• 50:29
  figure out: Same with the rainfly on your tent; you really can't leave the rainfly off your tent without everything inside getting wet.
• 50:37
  figure out: But that particular night, it must not have been as humid because I pulled it halfway back, like just just enough so that I could see the moon and got to watch the lunar eclipse from my tent. The next morning, my friend Mike picked me up in his boat and brought me back to the mainland. I now have this wagon, this bike wagon that is a new piece of gear for me. I really like it because it has hard sides to it, and then it has a cloth cover that is waterproof, so it doubled as extra storage for me. So I didn't have to take everything out of the wagon and stuff it into my tent or on the picnic table. I could just leave it where it was and keep it covered, and that was good enough. So I really liked it.
• 51:19
  figure out: The only thing I did not like about a wagon, if you're shopping for something like this, it did not have a kickstand.
• 51:26
  figure out: And I noticed that other wagons that I looked at online did have a kickstand, and I didn't realize how important that was until I removed the wagon from my bike, and then one end of it was just laying in the sand, and then you go to take things out or put things back in, and they just sort of slide out. So that was the one downside. But now they've got this wagon. I'm like, ooh, what else can I do with this thing? I kind of feel like maybe bike packing in my future. I have been wanting to go bike packing for a long time, but I just have never done it.
• 51:55
  figure out: And now that I have this wagon, I kind of feel like maybe that's something I should do. I know some folks who have bike packed the CNO Canal towpath up here in like DC, Georgetown, Maryland, but close enough to Northern Virginia. If there are any other good bike packing trails, I know New River Trail State Park has got a couple campgrounds along the way, but like, where else does the Creeper Trail have? I'm not even really sure. I mean, I've ridden the Creeper Trail, but I never really looked out for campsites. So, if anybody has any ideas of some really good beginner-friendly bike packing trails in Virginia, let me know because now I'm super excited to to try out something new, and I think this is what I think this is going to be. It I think it's going to be bike packing. If you have made it this far, thank you so much for tuning in and listening. This is by far the longest episode that I have ever recorded in the history of this podcast. I do hope that you have found some information and some inspiration to help you plan your own adventures. I look forward to seeing you in season seven, which will launch this fall.
• 53:09
  figure out: I've got lots of great content that I'm working on right now, places that I'm visiting all across Virginia and beyond. Next week, I will be speaking at Radford University on a panel at the Outdoor Economy Summit. From there, I get to go to Appalachia to do a feature on Russell County. I cannot wait because I love Appalachia. And then from there, I will be jetting off to Washington State to Spokane.
• 53:35
  figure out: There's a conference I'm attending. I hope to have some really great outdoor adventures there, although I'm not really sure what's possible. I heard that the wildfire damage is pretty extensive, so I guess I'll find out when I get there.
• 53:49
  figure out: But aside from those trips, I am-I have plenty of other things coming up too. I'll be back out to LA to Channel Islands National Park, where I will finally get to do some sea cave kayaking next month. I'll be in Hot Springs for the Birding Festival of the South, so I will be exploring Hot Springs National Park. I'm planning a trip to Jackson Hole, although that's not in the next few months. That's a little bit farther in the future, but that is coming up as well. Pelican Island is a place that I've been invited to that I have not yet gone out to. I'm hoping that's going to happen really soon. I'm going back to Texas for the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival.
• 54:31
  figure out: It is the largest and oldest birding festival in America, I believe. I hope I have that right. And then also I'm going out to Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania during migration, hopefully to see some golden eagles flying overhead and lots of other raptors as they fly by during their migration routes.
• 54:49
  figure out: So there is a lot coming up.
• 54:49
  figure out: There is a lot going on, and then of course plenty of new content right here in Virginia.
• 54:58
  figure out: I would share some of it. I have to finalize a lot of it first, so I will let you know as it comes. And I am looking forward to seeing all of you in season seven. Thank you so much for listening through season six. I appreciate every single one of you. I appreciate your support.
• 55:15
  figure out: I appreciate you sharing this podcast with your family and friends, and for all of the other ways that you have supported me over the years, by signing up for the email newsletter, by contributing on Buy Me a Coffee, by buying merch in the merch store, and the countless other ways, you all have been fantastic, and this has been quite a ride. And I can't believe we're coasting into season seven. So I will see you in the new season. Virginia Outdoor Adventures is inspired by and supported by listeners like you, which is why your messages and feedback mean so much to me. You can text me directly by clicking on Send Jessica a text message in your show notes. I answer questions, respond to comments, and share your feedback on the show. Never miss a new episode. Sign up for my email newsletter and receive my listener resource guide with the top podcast episodes, a Virginia Outdoor bucket list, and exclusive brand discounts for my listeners. Click on newsletter sign up in your show notes, or visit VirginiaOutdoorAdventures.com.
• 56:22
  figure out: Thanks for listening. Until next time, adventure on.