Photo of the Day March 19

Yesterday, I spent my St. Patrick's Day with a great group of journalists. In an effort to get to know our staff better, Ryan and I planned a trip to go hiking. However, there was some confusion, as there always is when one goes on a road trip. First, we were supposed to be hiking in Sylva, Cullowhee's sister city, which would have been a quick, easy drive. Then, Stuart found out that the Annual Black Rock Race was happening the exact day we wanted to hike!! So we picked an amazing trail off the Blue Ridge Parkway that would pass two waterfalls and some amazing scenery!
Unfortunately, road trips are never that simple. The Blue Ridge Parkway's online resource of hiking trail distances and locations is poor and quite frankly unacceptable. Our selected trail was at milepost 418.8. We unknowingly got on the Parkway at 444... with only a quarter of tank of gas!! After much confusion, we pulled over at the first hiking trail we saw - this one!! And it turned out to be a short but very fun hike!!! Next time, I promise we'll work up a sweat!

Ryan, myself, and some awesome staff members

Photo of the Day March 9

Don't. Tick. Them. OFF!!

Out of the Wild

Stuart and I have obsession with survival shows. Out of the Wild: The Alaska Experiment and Out of the Wild: Venezuela are my favorites, and we both love Man, Woman, Wild. I'm no "doomsday prepper," but I believe that everyone should know how to at least fend for themselves in the event that they lose their way while hiking, crash their canoe and hear banjos, or end up in Oz. But seriously, knowing how to survive in various situations never hurt anyone. In fact, if some people took survival skill training, they'd finally acquire some common sense. 
I hope to never have to practice the skills I have acquired through osmosis by watching television or listening to Stuart go on and on, but IF I DID... here's who I want to be stranded with and why (in no particular order):

Stuart - my boyfriend: This is The Most Obvious Choice besides like Cody Lundin or Mykel Hawke. He knows his stuff, and if I had him at my side, I wouldn't be afraid of anything. He could shoot us dinner, make a fire in five different ways, and build a shelter that could bear the weight of a teenage boy. He has a strong work ethic and a git-r-done attitude. With his knowledge and attitude, we'd be saved in less than a week.

Kate - my sister: Kate's got optimism like I've never seen. She's family-oriented and loyal... and crazy fierce! Thanks to her regular gym work-outs and cheer practice, she's got the endurance and muscle to pull her own weight in camp. Don't let her pink hair ribbons and perky attitude fool you... underneath she's a mother bear protecting her cubs! LOOK OUT!

Cameron - friend: Cameron was one of the boys back when we were still "a group." He's got mad camping skills, and he provides a moral booster. I don't know about trekking through the wilderness with a guitar, but if anyone's going to do it, it'd be Cameron. Not only can he play some tunes around the campfire, he's got one of the best senses of humor. He can get me cracking up hysterically to no end. Also, Cameron's got fantastic animal knowledge and I bet some tracking skills. Definitely a keeper!

Daniel - friend: Daniel's the guy that came along for the heck of it and you keep him around because he's good company. Daniel's been my bestie for over two years now, and he's the one who would say, "Lex, get the hell over yourself! Stop crying and get some firewood!" He's the strength I need to make it out of the woods. Daniel will also be the one butting heads with Stuart and giving the other side of opinions on how things should be done, but at the same time, he's a good team player.

Pawpaw - grandfather on my mother's side: Stuart can back me up on this claim... if you'd ever met Pawpaw, you'd want him on your team. He's nearing 70 years old, and he just went out and got his concealed carry permit. He was packing at my mother's wedding - a camera on one side of his jacket and a gun on the other!!! He's cool, collected, and he also has ridiculous amounts of knowledge about nearly everything! He grew up in coal mining mountains and has spent the vast majority of his life outdoors. If we lose Stuart to poisonous berries, I'm counting on my grandfather!

Tanner - Stuart's best friend and former roommate: It's not a wilderness trip without Tanner, according to Stuart. With Tanner's weaponry knowledge and Stuart's gun, we most certainly won't die because we were attacked by crazy mountain men or black bears! Also, I would definitely make Tanner entertain me with Sweeney Todd reenactments! Oh yes, Tanner, it's happening, sir!!   

Sparta - the cat: Fresh mice and small rodents, and plus it's Sparta! What more needs to be said? Daniel, you CANNOT eat him!! I don't care if we're starving!

To those of you not mentioned, don't feel bad!! Be glad you didn't sign up on the worst vacation ever!!! Please send help!!!

Let me Ask you Something: Protection Against Nature

Today would have been an amazing finish to a great weekend. Unfortunately, I got slapped upside the face with my depression and didn't enjoy the day as I should have. So when Kayla asked me if I wanted to see Cullowhee Falls with her and her friends, I immediately agreed, eager to get out of the apartment and do something energy-draining. And it would have been an amazing hike and afternoon, except for...
 In my home, I was raised to respect, love, and never physically harm another living creature whether it be a human, a dog, a gerbil, a fish, or a snake. It didn't matter if the creature was dangerous or not. We respected nature, let it go its own way. Now, I've never been in a life or death situation with something like a bear or a mountain lion. Obviously, I am going to defend myself in the best way I can, but I'm going to try my best get away with both me and the animal unscathed. I have come in contact with a couple of copperheads, as they are popular around my house in Charlotte, and I've never hurt one of them. I step around them and go on my way. To me, that's how it's supposed to be.

 So when I saw a guy separated from his group swinging a big stick up and down in sharp motions at something on the ground, I began to head over that way praying he wasn't doing what I thought he was doing.

Oh, he was doing exactly what I thought he was doing!

He was swinging that big ole stick up and down on the limp body of a medium-sized snake.

"Oh yeah, there are snakes over here!" he called out to me taking my white face of horror as a fear of snakes not that I was trying not to scream for him to stop the beating that had already done its job. "Yeah, there's another one under that rock. I stabbed it but it got away."

Let me get this straight: I'm going to take a wild stab that this snake, still unidentifiable, probably did not attack you. In fact, I'd go so far to say that it probably startled one of the girls and you thought you'd do the world a service and beat the poor thing into a bloody heap. And then, oh then, you decided to stab its mate so that it can either bleed to death or die slowly of starvation because its stab wound hurts to much to go out and hunt rodents. Thank you, sir, for your bravado of beating to death an animal that would have never attacked if you hadn't picked up the big stick. Thank you even more to your fellow friend who after the snake was well beyond dead decided to be a MAN and threw rocks at it! Even better... he missed! (The snake got his revenge, by the way! We later passed these same people sitting on the road beside their car drinking beer and waiting on a buddy because they were locked out of their vehicles! Does the genius gene run in the family, sirs?)

I just want to say I have never seen such heartlessness in my entire life. That snake and his mate were probably just perched on a warm rock sunning themselves before slithering off to capture some disease-carrying mice, and oh dear, you stepped over them. It's called sharing nature and respecting it because guess who was there FIRST?
Obviously, I have a very strong opinion on this matter not agreed with by others. My friends... yeah, they laughed at me, rolling their eyes because I'm too emotional. Kayla, well she was polite, but she was kind of thrilled the snake was dead because she's deathly afraid of them. So what's your opinion?

Say it wasn't a snake. Maybe a skink Or a porcupine. What if the boy had beaten to death a porcupine? Dangerous, but it's not going to attack you unless provoked. Ok, and I understand if the snake came out and attacked them. I understand if he was backed into a corner. But seriously... he had time to pick up a stick and then beat up the thing after stabbing the other one! That makes me assume the two were trying to escape. And even if they were going after the students, dude I'm banking if you can beat to death a snake, you can outrun one, too! But running away from a snake probably won't impress that girl with the double D's in your psychology class, right?
So in my opinion, I don't believe either snake deserved what fate served up in the form of a stupid boy and his dumb friends. But leave a comment and tell me: would you beat up an animal because it scared you? What rules do you abide by when it comes to Mother Nature?