Here’s How Hurricane Helene Whacked the Shoe Box Canyon
The rains came. And came. And came. And then the wind started. And then the power went out and the creek rose. Hurricane Helene had arrived. The first video is how Hurricane Helene turned the shoulder-width brook behind our cabin into a muddy river.
The brook behind our house. It’s narrow enough that I can step across it – except today.
We ended up getting six inches of rain here in western North Carolina, outside of Lenoir. That’s a lot less than other nearby cities, like Boone and Asheville, which suffered catastrophic flooding. Some communities not far from us got almost 24 inches of rain. Others, like Chimney Rock, were washed off the map.
Thanks to everyone who’s checked in to see if my wife Julia, the ponies, mules and border collies Diggity and Lucky are okay. We’re fine. Yes, we had lots of flooding (see videos and pics), but mostly, we lost lots of trees. Lots and lots of beautiful, old growth timber. But then again, we live in the middle of an ocean of timber, so what can we expect?
Here are a few pics of how lucky we are.
Julia and I took a walk through our forest and saw where numerous micro-bursts touched down. These blasts created one to two-acre holes full of downed trees. It’s too bad because these are old hardwoods, many of them over a hundred years old. Then again, we live in the forest and this is part of the natural cycle. All this blow-down will provide habitat for beetles, woodpeckers, snakes and lizards. Plus, the openings in the forest will let young trees thrive, which is the way of the forest.
Julia and I discovered one minor structural incident on our walk. An oak tree fell and smashed the railing of the beloved deck our wall tent lives on. No biggie. Nothing that a few 2 x 6 planks can’t fix.
Julia’s and my heart and wishes go out to everyone who didn’t get off as luckily. We have friends in western North Carolina that were seriously affected and wish them well on getting back on their feet. Julia is making calls to see if anyone needs a generator. Our power was finally restored so we don’t need it.
The roads around us are covered in downed trees, but crews are opening them up.
I have started clearing the trees that fell across our forest roads. I’m guessing three to four days work with a chainsaw and tractor should clear things up.
We got lucky and we’re grateful.
