I want to share this trip. It repeats an earlier trip four years as I began hanging. One of the notable elements of this first trip was repeated in this trip. One of the two mountains in this Nature Conservancy site is Little House Mountain. We hiked the length of the mountain top in a forest of mountain azaleas and rhododendron. The rhododendron was in full bloom four years ago and again this year. I've never seen flowers as beautiful as these spread across as much of the landscape. Picture below shows on view of the rhododendron walk. It felt like walking in a tunnel of blooms.
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This is a Nature Conservancy site about 3 miles west of Lexington. House Mountain's proximity to civilization makes it an attractive day hike destination. Surprisingly we were the first group to camp this year. There is a saddle between Little House and Big House mountains that can accommodate groups up to 25 people. Our group included four hangers this year which was pretty cool. One ridge hammock and three gathered end hammocks.
House Mtn overview.bmp
Despite its proximity to Lexington, there is wildlife about. Black bear was seen twice during the weekend and our hanging sites were visited by deer during the night. The 2nd night one deer approached within 20 feet of my hammock and was pretty curious. Even after I spoke to the deer, it remained nearby and actually walked a step closer to my hammock after I got out to investigate. It has probably been given food. Was a beautiful animal.
If you go, you can hike to either mountain or both. We favored Big House mountain for the evenings since its high point looks to the west into West Virginia. Sunsets are beautiful. You will see one in the video below. Little House is better as a day hike since its destination overlooks the Shenandoah Valley. You will see Little House in the video. We stayed there over an hour just watching.
Here is my trip report.
https://youtu.be/u_M3BDBtGHM
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