Nooks and crannies

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Sam Stearns cited snakes as the reason for not exploring the moist crevices of War Bluff Saturday.

War Bluff is a mighty chunk of sandstone that pokes up out of a sizeable hill between Eddyville and Golconda. Reaching the bluff is something of a feat on a 90-some-degree day in August.

The 1/3-mile climb had me gasping for air and my clothing drenched in sweat.

Stearns told our crew - Byron Howard, Jim Russell and myself - he recalled one of the crevices in the rock wound its way to the bluff's top. The day was a scorcher and the crevices were cool, making for much more comfortable hiking and much more likelihood snakes would be inside.

Graffiti invited me into one of the crannies where the temperature dropped immediately. The crack continued around a bend, but the prediction of snakes kept me from venturing farther.

Etched into the sandstone was a message touting the virtues of a Ford truck.

So we followed the trail way around and up and then I saw the remnants of the ancient stone wall from which, I assume, the bluff derives its name.

The stone wall is much like others in the area at Rim Rock, near Stonefort and Giant City. An anthropologist told me the leading theory is these walls were used to separate space with the space behind the wall possibly considered as sacred. That is not as compelling a function as a fortification or livestock corral, two popular theories.

My idea about them is even less interesting. I think the Indians built them for the same reason people build white picket fences. They like the look of walls, something deep in the subconscience I do not understand.

Maybe the walls kept the Indian babies from crawling off the edges of bluffs.

I believe the person who first came up with the name War Bluff likely envisioned Indians crouching behind their fort of stone as thrown spears of enemies clattered on the front of it. War Bluff is a much more dramatic name than Baby Crib Bluff.

There is not that much to see on top of War Bluff. The trees obscure most of the views, though there are a few breaks offering glimpses of the green hills, hollows and, from what I've been told, the Ohio River. There was a haze of humidity thinning the colors.

Snakes or no snakes, the lure of the crevices was strong and soon we were creeping our way down in shadow through cracks barely large enough to accommodate our bodies.

There was an orange spotted salamander on one wall, shining on the wet stone. When that passage dead ended we tried the next. A giant millipede clung to the stone there, just below my hand. When the ground dropped away and the walls further narrowed we turned back.

So we returned the way we came and went back to eat dinner at Insect Awareness and Appreciation Day.

The tub of iced lemonade hit the spot. It was a bad day to be out hiking without water.

But if I was going to be out in the swelter, I was sure glad I was at War Bluff and not up in Springfield to see Barack Obama announce Joe Biden as his vice-presidential choice. There were 150 people being treated up there for heat illness at the same time we were hiking in Pope County. A crowd of a whopping 35,000 filled the Old Capitol Plaza, all to get a glimpse of history. Nobody died, so the historic moment must be all the more memorable for the sight of people dropping in heat swoons.

The U.S. Forest Service seems to be having as much trouble keeping forest visitors supplied with water as the Barack Obama campaign. The announcement popped up Tuesday on the Shawnee National Forest web site, "The water pump at the Garden of the Gods Campground is broke. Water will not be available in that area until repairs are completed. Water is available at the observation trail area."

The water hydrant at Johnson Creek also is broken and awaiting repairs. Water pumps at the Pine Ridge Campground at Pounds Hollow have been removed because of contamination.

The Tower Rock Campground is reopened since the flooding of the spring, but there is no water and camping will be free. The Camp Cadiz pump has been repaired and is gushing with refreshing water, the Forest Service has announced.

Speaking of free, I can't complain too much about the various water pump breakdowns because the Forest Service has abandoned its proposal to charge fees at Garden of the Gods, Bell Smith Springs, Pounds Hollow and other recreation areas.

Forest Supervisor Allen Nicholas has pledged the forest workers will continue to do the work they can within their provided funding, just the same way I operate my property. My cabin desperately needs a new roof, but I can't get one until I can afford it so it will have to wait as recreation improvements and maintenance will have to wait.

Because of Nicholas' announcement the accusation often heard the agency pays no attention to public comment is proven false. The people spoke overwhelmingly against the proposal and the Forest Service listened. For that I owe Nicholas a big thank you.

-- DeNeal is a staff writer for The Daily Register in Harrisburg and The Daily Journal in Eldorado. He may be contacted at 253-7146 ext. 230 or by e-mail at bdeneal@yourclearwave.com.