...... it was there right in front of my eyes plainer than day . (and yes , it was too a Golden , lol)
I couldn't believe what I was seeing either and went paddling across to have a closer look ... then that bell went into death mode about half way across , as I paddled back across I looked up and there was that lady clanging her heart out ... I looked back at the rooster tails and WW and they were looking even bigger than I said ... it took me a few seconds to get the picture , but I did and scampered back away ... those roosters were 100 feet long , 6'-7' high conservatively and seemed to be within a hundred foot of shore (RIVER LEFT) .
I'm tellin ya ... they were there , and probably would have ate me up if it wasn't for that bell lady , because I was even younger and dumber then ... than I am now .
and no , I've yet to be abducted by Aliens ... everything else impossible seems to happen to me so I'm just waitin for it dag-gon-it ... I can see the headlines now , he got blowed away by a secret Govt. hydro discharge (identity, details, location with-held) .
now I’m intrigued with the story and wonder what other local knowledge we could dig up regarding the mystery rapid and bell-ringing lady.
Mt. Weather is within 4 miles of the river, on the ridge directly east of where I camped, but far upstream of Avon Bend. The streams coming down from there are small, and I doubt there is any significant discharge of secret Government waters.
However, studying the topo maps of the Avon Bend area one is struck by how many springs are marked. Shannondale was once a resort visited by presidents and Washington/Baltimore elite for the mineral springs there. On the west side of the river, I counted close to 20 springs feeding the two runs immediately upstream of Avon Bend. There is also an intermittent stream shown exactly where the mystery rapid is. So I wonder if there are local surges of groundwater in this area that aren’t evident on the USGS gauges which are on the distant ends of this stretch. If the springs are geothermally heated then that could explain the warm river temperatures too.
sapien , I think you are just the man … to solve the mystery of the bell lady and the rooster tails !!
Your suggestions make sense to me , sounds possible enough for something geothermal to get all heated up and come pushing out … add to that Tamia’s lay of the land scenario , my eyeballs , and Chip’s top drawer stuff , and who knows , maybe the mystery roosters will show up again ??
I know Mt.Storm … feeds the Randolf Jennings … keeps on going past my mountain-2800’ elev. (east side) into Cumberland … wa la - the Potomac .
Corrected my Mt. name Stormy weather, it all runs together.
And Dan, I don’t doubt you saw what you saw. I’ve paddled through Avon Bend and it was all very peaceful, which makes your story all the more remarkable.
The 'Doah was manipulated by the Colonials so they could navigate 60 - 90 foot boats, called Gundalows, down to Harpers Ferry. There are slots in every ledge on that river, blasted there by the Colonials, and there were also river structures designed to concentrate water to provide floatation for the heavily laden gundalows. So, I guess it is possible that the wave train resulted from water funnelling through one of these structures, but does not seem such flows would have the random occurrence you describe. I thought about natural sources such as springs and underwater rivers, but does not seem like the flow would be strong enough to jet water into the air. Even the huge springs of the Ozarks don’t do that.
There are entire rivers that disappear into the ground out that way (the Lost disappears and reemerges as the Cacapon), so a natural source is possible.
I will see if I can find Louis Mattacia’s number and call him about this. He used to run a livery out there and wrote an out-of-print guidebook on the Doah. Maybe he could shed some light.
Better yet would be word from the Bell Lady. She must know.
Mostly I wanted to go back there and get in the water as I used too , but haven't since . I've started going back to the area in general (Harpers , to Millville to the small Park/launch mentioned) and just doing memory visit the last few years , but only from shoreline .
I can remember hiking up from that Park/launch (opposite side of bell/roosters) , in the direction towards the Avon Bend many moon ago . Last year when we stopped by that Park in early March I noticed that there was an improved path along the shoreline there now . I don't know how far upriver it goes (as far as Avon bend ??) but thought I may go back and see if I could get far enough up river to see the cliff/bluff and bell again ... I still might just try that .
Many a time I've looked at the Google ariel photos to see if I could find those roosters , rock cliff , house and bell ... I see some houses up there , might see the correct rock bluff , but can't tell for sure . Tamia was pretty certain she could see a rock cliff/bluff with a house right where she thought it possible the roosters could have been .
Over the past few years I've also wondered if I could acually locate the lady/house associated with that bell up on the cliff that day . Those houses have to have an address and maybe with an address a phone number .
I can see 3 or 4 possible houses up there on Google . One looks to be right on a cliff edge (maybe even a concrete type deck/platform) at the very end of Mt.Hammond La. (maybe that's just a building associated with the house next to it that sits back aways in the main clearing .
Then going up river on that side the next possible is a group of buildings/house that is well back from the river in large clearing , but from those buildings a road looks to continue right to the river (high cliff edge ??) again where there looks to be another house/building on a similar high cliff/bluff .
Both of these houses/buildings look to be pretty much directly over two different series of ledges/rock formations in the river that may be associated with the roosters I saw .
Next up from the last mentioned is another house that sits back aways also . It's in a clearing that looks to go almost to the water , but I think that one is on lower ground just before the terrain rises some ??
How would one go about getting the phone #'s of those places ?? ... I'm dumb enough to give them a call and ask , even if they think I'm nuts for doing it .
Yeah Chip , I realized that there was some confussion ... Mt.Storm , Mt. Weather and all that . I just wanted to say I know about Mt.Storm ... also my Mom used to tell me a story about a waterfall up in there someplace that she swore flowed backwards (as in up hill) , yeah right Mom bless her soul . Regardless she would not relent on the matter because she saw it with her own eyes when she was younger .
Just curious , do ya think it's possible my mystery roosters are a genetic thing , lol ??
That would be great if this Mr. Louis could have some thoughts on these mystery roosters .
What I can tell you is that I personally would be very afraid to go hanging around on that side of the river near Avon Bend , roosters visible or not , because of what I saw that day . Maybe it's safe over there usually , maybe not ...
using Bing maps and zooming in as far as possible, I think the house with the warning bell matching the description in your/Tamia’s story is evident. it is the only house near the river’s edge with an exposed rock cliff – perched right above the first ledge below the flatwater section after rounding Avon Bend. Based on this view I think the blue marker on the old aerial photo in Tamia’s article is slightly off. Note that in the zoomed-in Bing map aerial view the water is high and the ledges are less evident, but if you zoom out a notch they are there.
This house is down a long driveway at approx. the 800 or 900 block of Mount Hammond Lane. If you really want to track the resident down and perhaps solve the mystery, I found some contact info for a couple folks that live on that street…
from the aerials on Mapquest. can you verify which house you think the bell warning was at? if you can, I can probably figure out the address & owner from county tax records.
the house at center-right sits on a high bluff, 75-100 ft higher than the house to the left of it, judging by the topo. at the center of the photo, you can make out the "intermittent stream", emerging just above the little island.
I have this photo at a much bigger size but you can look up the aerial view on MapQuest yourself and see what you think.
...... the MapQuest ariel view is compared to Google and Bing .
Those are the same houses I described prior and my best belief would be the one you are speaking of . It could only be that one or the one a little farther down closer to the Park .
The reason I am thinking it must be the one you are speaking of , are a few things . That one shows what must be exposed rock , the house is close enough to the edge that it could be seen from the river (but so is the other downstream) , and best of all ... I keep seeming to remember a tucked in area on the opposite shore where the roosters were . That could easily be the way that little island and point come together there . The rooster rapids would show from shore to the little island but beginning just about at the ledge . Also the the water is flat and calm right up to the ledge , then goes into what can be like a rock garden effect with some bouncy water (just as I remember it) ... I was thinking maybe a little farther down after the curve part of the Bend ... but it's been awhile and everything looks just right there at the first ledge round the Bend ...
That could be a stream outlet as you say , I can kind of see it too . I wonder if that stream flowing out under a heavy flow could make enough water to cause the roosters to form along that side ??
If you can get the phone # of that house and the other ... I will call them and ask . The one that has the bell ( guess it's still there ?? ) would be a winner !!
Still impressed with MapQuest's ariel clarity . You can see a few cars at the Park/launch . Also it looks as though the whole of Avon Bend has a path dirt road now ... that has to be the path I saw going away from the Park last year ... I "know" I can walk up to the Bend point now with out getting hasled by anyone ... I don't see a house one on the whole Avon Bend ... must be part of the Park now ??
Just a side note ... if you were to continue going up Mission Rd. past the entrance to the Park ... you would come to the "only" store convience store around in that area . It is pretty much just a little diagonal away from the most southern finger of the Lake . Semi long building right on Mission Rd. w/parking lot . That use to be owned by a neat old couple a folks but now is run by some young foriegners . The interior is all different now (kinda junky rehab) , it use to look like a neat old country store .
When I first walked in there many moons ago , I turned around and got a big surprise . Right over my head staring down at me was a Buffalo ... well just it's head mounted on the wall ... it was in the perfect surprise area . Years ago Buffalo used to roam all through that area according to the store keeper . I think he was talking of his father or grandfather's time .
I ask the new foriengners what happened to it ... they told me it was taken out after the old couple moved on , but they knew of it .
Ya know , I think it's like 3 times I acuallay canoed that Avon Bend coming downsream , many more times getting near it (but not up as far) wading upstream ... and only saw those roosters that one time ... they were as I said prior and could eat you alive with no problem , but I did not realize at the time , even getting a little closer to them was so dangerous until the bell lady went off .
I think I can come up with a few names and numbers of people who live in that immediate area on Mt. Hammond Rd. turns out that rocky outcrop higher than the surrounding farmland is called Lovers' Leap, although there is more than one spot on the river that goes by that name.
any recollection of what year that was? know anyone else who has seen it firsthand?
The land on that bend is all within the Shannondale WMA, thus the lack of houses or other development west of Mission Rd. You can hike back there from the boat ramp parking and even visit the old sulphur springs site.
sure , I’ll call them … … yes , my son was in the canoe with me that day and 2 nephews were ahead of us , they went straight on instead of stopping above the ledge to have a closer look .
I’m thinking it autum of 95 that time , maybe 97 .
I know the Avon Bend peninsula is suppose to be the location what was called Red Sulpher spring . Nephew and I hiked into the peninsula once quite aways (another time) … it was thick woods then , I remember a Hornets nest and us talking about Buffalo during the hike , (funny thing is , later that same day we found the Buffalo head in the store … we laughed about it thinking what an odd coincidence).
Lover’s Leap huh , There is a Lover’s Leap near Cumberland, MD too … must be quite a number of them . Follow Wills creek north out of Cumberland about 1-1/2 mile (main feeder from north into Potomac at Cumberland - comes in under Rt.68) . This Lover’s Leap is on a s.w. face of Wills Mt. overlookig the creek and the old National Hwy.(Rt.40) . The creek carves right through the mountain (Wills) there creating what is called the Cumberland Narrows . You can actually see it from the Google little man view in terrain mode if you put him on old Rt.40 about center of the creek’s cut (there is a photo add too) .
I asked Louis about the "ringing bell" rapid. He never heard of anything like that and pointed out that with the exception of occasional ledges, the river bottom in that area is flat, so large rooster tails are unlikely. He confesses to not having been on that stretch for 20 years.
I pulled out my copy of "The Shenandoah River" by Matacia and Owen Cecil, 1974. The book describes Rt 7 to Bloomery as deep pools and slow currents, with no warning about occasional ringing bell rapid. Louis once told me he and Owen wrote the book during the years he ran a livery out that way, because people were always asking them for advice on where to go. So, he was renting boats to lots of canoeists and leading lots of trips. Seems like if the ringing bell rapid had existed during those years, he would have heard about it.
Also, pulled down Corbett's "Virginia Whitewater", published in 2000. Corbett and Matacia frequently paddled together and Corbett cites Matacia & Owens, so not sure it is truly an independent source, but Corbett also does not mention the ringing bell rapid. Roger Corbett was my canoeing mentor, and I know he had connections throughout the area's community of canoeists and checked out what he wrote. Had he heard of the ringing bell rapid, I think he would have looked into it. Roger passed five or six years ago, or I'd ask him about it, too.
...... to call the few possibile phone #'s found (sapien's help) and ask about the bell/cliff/roosters . Wouldn't it be something if one of them were the right place , and actually could remember ringing the bell at me and others because of those roosters !!
I could at least thank them ... I suppose someone who got a call from a stranger inquiring could understand even if they had to say sorry wrong number , no cliff-no bell .
I'm working on my nerve now , guess I'd be Ok after someone answers the phone ...
........ a major part of my/our mystery has been discovered . I spoke with Jim and we had a very nice conversation , he was very friendly and receptive to my inquiry , which thankfully made me feel comfortable about intruding on him .
I "may" post a more in depth account of our conversation in the near future . I want to think about some of the things Jim told me awhile , and consider what would be appropriate to mention here , and what would not . I did ask Jim if it was Ok to share some of our conversation with you folks , and he was good with that , both of us agreeing about privacy and so on ...
Tonight I want to catch some shut eye , we are on the river in the morning and want to pull out early .
In short , there is a bell (maybe some of it's history later) ...
This one thing I can share you with tonight is , Jim told me there was a movie made that had Robert Duvall in it , a Civil War movie called "Gods and Generals" (2003) ... aprox. 20 mins. of the movie is set on his family property there , none other than "Lovers Leap" above the Shenandoah right there (I believe Jim told me the rock bluff is 168' up) ... Jim says part of the scenes will show a beautiful view from the rock cliff/bluff ... enjoy , I know I will (we've never seen that movie yet) and it should be readily available .
I was able to extend my long awaited and wished for "THANK YOU" for the person who insistantly rang that bell at us that day , I sincerely feel she averted us from a disaster in the making due my inexperience at the time ... there are a few different family individuals (women) who may have been the bell ringer , we are not certain which at this point . Jim will try to determine and get back with me on that ... from our conversation I have a good guess who would have had the most motovation to warn someone of danger in the river below ... Lord bless her heart .
I'm thrilled that you were able to get in touch with the family... you have my email address, if there's anything you want to pass on that you don't want to post publicly. Or perhaps we can chat sometime. Living in Northern Virginia I love discovering tidbits of local history, I certainly had fun researching this and tracking the right folks down :) There's some interesting stories about Shannondale Springs too across the river, and how that particular "Lovers' Leap" got its name.