A bit of a strange one today. Folks that are regulars to this page know that we spend a lot of time in the woods and mountains, and that has been true for me going back to my childhood. Sometimes, we see or experience things we can’t totally explain.
As a kid, I remember being out sleigh riding by myself down into the woods, and felt sure I was seeing something moving parallel to me in the woods as I hiked out - trying to move quickly, but not too quickly back to the house. I had a scary day hiking the Scenic Highway with my friend John, and hearing what sounded like a party, or a group of voices far off into the woods while we sat, exhausted, on a guardrail in the middle of the night after a horrendous weather day hiking. I’ve felt unexplained dread in my tent in the middle of the night, clutching my hatchet to my chest and trying to will my hearing a little further into the dark.
Lately, it’s been lights. Strange lights, green lights, in places with no roads or houses. Lights that don’t look like campfires or headlamps, but have a hue to them that is so compelling that I’ve felt compelled to try to walk to them, through the dark even though it makes no sense.
I usually write these posts a few days in advance, and today’s is no exception. This image from a recent trip that took us along that old-old Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike, and past a long-forgotten Civil War Battlefield on our way to camp.
These lights were not as bright to the naked eye, but a long exposure in the dark revealed this. I’m hoping to get back up there this week and maybe get a little closer.
Hope folks have a great week,
The Green Light - West Virginia