MLC in the news and wildlife sightings

Roanoke Times did a nice article in this Sunday's edition of the New River Current...
http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/168423
... our recreation staff really shines, I am very proud of their accomplishments this summer.

The past week was a rich one for me from a wild life encounter standpoint. Wednesday evening while returning across the ridge near the end of an out and back mountain bike ride I heard a loud and heavy sound above me - as I looked up I saw a large black bear in a white oak tree sliding down and shredding the bark and small branches as she came down. Only 30' away and in a real hurry, she hit the ground and charged off down over the side of the mountain. Very exciting!

Friday a large rattlesnake was found by my rec staff taking a nap across the width of Indian Trail - I am awaiting pix of this one. First rattler spotted this year that I know of - glad I didn't see it!

Saturday I had some trees to clear on Bald Knob Trail and as I climbed the steep and rugged trail I paused to strap on my kevlar chaps and heard the sounds of a turkey hen somewhere close. I looked up the trail and only 20 yards away I could see through the veiling fog a mother hen and her flock moving through the ferns. I stayed very still and watched them for about fifteen minutes before they eased on out of sight.

This morning we saw twin fawns as they awoke from a nap and spent the rest of the early afternoon watching three humming birds challenge for space at the feeder. Great stuff, I love summer in Virginia.
--dB

Current lake level - UPdate!

As you probably know if you have been keeping up with things here on the mountain, our lake has suffered from the drought experienced in our region over the past few years. Tom McAvoy of the Department of Entomology at Virginia Tech has been keeping track of our lake levels and has just sent us the following update:

Lake is 45' below full:

Date Feet below full pond % Full
10/1/2005 0 100
12/19/2007 -36 69
1/21/2008 -36 69
3/5/2008 -40 66
3/18/2008 -40 66
4/8/2008 -41 65
6/26/2008 -45 62

In other news...

We will be celebrating July 4th with fireworks on Friday night - be sure to come!

--dB

Rowdy Dawg UPdate

Montgomery Parks and Recreation Presents:
WHAT: Brush Mountain Challenge Weekend
WHEN: October 11-12th
Saturday: The Brush Mountain Breakdown by Runabout Sports
Sunday: 20th Anniversary of the Rowdy Dawg by East Coasters Bike Shops

Race both - fastest combined time for two longest courses wins the challenge prize.

WHERE: Pandapas Pond Recreation Area - just west of Blacksburg

Start/Finish @ Broce's Field about 8 miles down Rt. 708 from Rt. 460

Go here for the new 2008 Rowdy Dawg website...

www.montva.com/departments/parks/rowdy.php

Hope to see you there, more details coming soon!

--dB

Dirty Dawg MTB Race Results from Sunday June 15th

Place	Name/Class	Time
XXC	Dirty Dawgs – 28+ miles
1	Caleb Walton	3:01:42
2	Wake Fulp	3:07:04
3	Wade Newell	3:35:57
4	Brent Lester	3:39:45
5	James Pennington	3:57:45
6	Bradley Unagurait	4:05:30
----	-------------------------	---------------
ProEx	Coyotes – 20+ miles
1	Thomas Jenkins	2:03:42
2	Chris Pohowski	2:06:15
3	Scott Paisley	2:25:50
4	John Delong	2:26:35
5	Ashwin Amanna	2:27:15
6	David Tompkins	2:29:27
DNF	Brian Mayer
----	-------------------------	---------------
SportEx	Coyotes – 20+ miles
1	John McKenna	2:23:35
2	Daniel Evans	2:34:00
DNF	Jeff Shapiro
DNF	Chris Bayne
DNF	Alex Kurland
DNS	Bob Wright (arrived to start 53 mins late!)	2:30:00
----	-------------------------	----
SportLite	Yard Dawgs – 15 miles
1	Dan Repella	1:42:56
2	Ignacio Moore (singlespeed)	1:43:54
3	Mark Zhu	1:44:13
4	Mike Roth	1:48:16
5	Michael Kierce	1:52:45
6	Cole Harden	1:53:08
7	Steve Butler	1:53:14
8	Thomas Burke	1:55:15
9	Philip Modena	1:56:13
10	Zack Morrey	1:56:15
11	Jeremy Ferrell	1:59:19
12	Matthew Lester	1:59:51
13	Matt Swenty	2:00:30
14	Chris Betz	2:04:10
15	Dave Szakelyhidi	2:05:40
16	Michael Brady	2:07:28
17	John McDowell	2:09:45
18	Matt Hudson	2:13:10
19	Chuck Rockwell	2:23:39
20	Nathan Sharp	2:23:45
21	Donald Sharp	2:24:35
22	Lance Clark	2:39:14
23	Carl Huber	2:37:45
----	-------------------------	----
SportLite	Yard Dawgs – 15 miles - Women
1	Candi Pennington	2:30:20
2	Esther Howard	2:44:05
----	-------------------------	----
Beginner	Lap Dawgs – 10 miles
1	Dan Pierce	1:11:00
2	Jason Vantine	1:20:53
3	William Bertolini	1:22:54
4	Ian Million	1:23:32
5	Rob Crawford	1:31:20
DNS	David Lehn
----	-------------------------	----
Beginner	Lap Dawgs – 10 miles - Women
1	Karen Stoll	1:24:05
2	Janine Sprouels	1:25:12
3	Carlene Elswick	1:33:50
4	Anna Swenty	1:57:15
----	-------------------------	----

Thanks to everyone for coming out and enjoying the beautiful weekend with us! Thanks again to all of our volunteers that made the event run smoothly, all of the families that came out and supported the racers, and our awesome Trek Demo reps Tom and Janine.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Hammer Nutrition that kept away the cramps and the bonk! Chris Betz of East Coasters Bike Shops, Stan and Cindy of Stan's NoTubes, Mike at Hawley, all the gang at Quality Bike Parts, Than at Shimano, and Mountain Lake Hotel for all their help with getting our concessions up and all the other important logistics.

If anyone has pix they'd like to share please send them to me at: BBrown@mountainlakehotel.com

Mark your calenders for Rowdy Dawg on October 12th at Pandapas Pond!

--dB

June Wildlife at Mountain Lake

One of our guests was able to spot this newborn fawn near the hotel on one of our trails last weekend. We are seeing a lot of these fawns in mid-June as they are born. Later in the day the new fawn was spotted again following it's mother in a nearby meadow.
A curious quail responded to a mating call imitated by this same guest - it landed on the deck of their cottage just long enough to capture this shot!

Spring has SPRUNG!

The Flaming Azalea, Pink Rhododendron and all kinds of other wildflowers are popping out this week and the ferns have unfurled along the trails and in the woods. The mountain has come alive with color - bring a camera and come on up!









Thanks to Mallory on our Rec Staff for taking these pix this week.
--dB

Dirty Dawg Cycling Weekend Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 30, 2008

Contact: Ben Brown E-mail: BBrown@MountainLakeHotel.com

(540) 626-7121 x444 www.MtnLakeConservancy.org

The Mountain Lake Conservancy Hosts Dirty Dawg Cycling Weekend June 13 - 15

Pembroke, Va. – The Mountain Lake Conservancy will host the Dirty Dawg Cycling Weekend Friday, June 13 – Sunday, June 15 at Mountain Lake Hotel and The Mountain Lake Conservancy in Pembroke, Va. Mountain Lake Hotel packages for the cycling weekend are available.

Visit www.MtnLakeConservancy.org/special-dirtydawg.html for more information about the weekend and call Mountain Lake Hotel at 800.346.3334 for room packages that will include free race entry, and special late checkout on Sunday.

This is the second year The Mountain Lake Conservancy has hosted the Dirty Dawg Mountain Bike Race. Due to its first year success, The Mountain Lake Conservancy expanded the festivities to include cycling activities for the whole family. The weekend’s schedule is as follows:

Friday, June 13

Dusk Welcome to Mountain Lake Bonfire

Saturday, June 14

10 a.m. East Coasters sponsored Trek Bike Demo

10 a.m. Guided road and mountain bike rides start

4 p.m. Capt’n Insane-O’s Kids Challenge Course

5 p.m. Outdoor gear barter session

7:30 p.m. Conservancy benefit auction

8 p.m. Live music

Dusk Bonfire

Sunday, June 15
2^nd Annual Dirty Dawg Mountain Bike Race
8:30 a.m. Double cross country ‘Late Registration’ ends
8:45 a.m. Double cross country (XXC) race meeting

9:01 a.m. XXC (30 miles) race starts

9:15 a.m. Cross country ‘Late Registration’ ends

9:45 a.m. Cross country racers’ meeting

10 a.m. Cross country races start
3 pm Trek Bike Demo ends

The Dirty Dawg Cycling Weekend is sponsored by East Coasters Bike Shops in Blacksburg and Roanoke, Mountain Lake Hotel, Mountain Lake Conservancy, , Giles County Industrial Development Authority, Trek, Quality Bike Parts, Cane Creek, Shimano, Bob Gear, Hammer Nutrition, Stan’s No Tubes, Salsa Cycles and Hawley USA.

To learn more about the weekend or Mountain Lake Conservancy, contact Mountain Lake Conservancy Director of Recreation Ben Brown at (540) 626-7121 ext. 444 or visit the conservancy’s website at www.MtnLakeConservancy.org.

The Mountain Lake Conservancy’s purpose is to further Mary Moody Northen’s desire to forge bonds between people and nature in Mountain Lake’s unique environment. The conservancy includes 2,600 acres of forest with more than 20 miles of challenging hiking, biking and cross country skiing trails with breathtaking views and awe-inspiring serenity.