Ch.16
Up Up and Away
Ann, Lee and
myself were all loaded into the V.W.van , as it putted its way across the West
Virginia panhandle and started to climb the
foot hills up to Elkins . At times you would be running through the valleys
between the mountains. At other times you would be climbing a steep hill to
ride the ridges where valleys would end. The sides of the mountains rose
steeper and the emerald green of early spring when all things are growing once
again new, was replacing the grey and black bleakness of stick forests , and
the bare leaf laden forest floor revealing the tenacity of some plants to cling
to anything. As leafless vines clung to rocks with their webby grip , parts of their plant was left hanging
motionless in the air. The evergreen of
the mountain laurel was making itself more present as we again climbed higher
into the mountains.
After looking
at the ruggedness of the terrain one could easily see why it would tough to
make a living up in these mountains. Outside of coal, little was to be found as
far as farming and raising a family off this land. You and everyone else had to
live off the land that yielded little more than rugged breathtaking beauty.
There was still a diversity of wildlife but the animals had very little to
sustain themselves on and were usually shot to make room for them, a place at
the supper table. Sometimes the wild game is all they had to eat and with your
neighbor hunting also ,the animals shot were thin and weakly but that is all
they had.
Little farms
mainly on valleys or dotting the hilltops were all along our route as we went
deeper into the heart of West Virginia. Old antique cars some forced to still
run on their rusted out carcasses, could be seen lurking out from lean-to sheds
attached to old barns , ready but not waiting or wanting to make that trip down
that hillside for food or supplies. Still even other shacks lacked any electric
wires revealing the remoteness of their locations but still wisps of smoke
could be seen rising from the chimneys. We were headed for Dolly Sods , a
remote bald knob and not the highest peak but still a formidable hike even in
the early spring. It was over 3 miles to the summit on which an old fire and
logging road had been built . At times the grade grew steep and the views
commanding as we neared our destination.
A pristine rock
lined stream at the base of the mountain pointed the road to a more vertical
climb as again the old V.W. van was put
to the test and started to climb requiring lee to hunt for gears rarely
used. The laurel was becoming thicker
and trees sparser as rock overhangs and vertical cliffs dared plants to grow .
Our destination
was an old fire tower once used by the forestry department to control wildfires
that would rage up the side of these mountains. Long since abandoned except
maybe for experimental work, it had stood at the top of the mountain as a sentinel
of times past when technology wasn't as it is now. Now rarely during the day could, one not hear
the buzzing of a small light plane overhead and wonder about its intentions. Also now the government has taken to using
drones to monitor forest fires or so they say, as drones replace humans in our
skies. The government in contradiction to critics saying it is big brother
watching you, say in their defense that the drones play a vital role in detecting
and preventing forest fires early , and at no loss of human life. The pimply
faced soldier playing with the joysticks on one of these actually sits in a
hangar sometimes hundreds of miles away from their search area and just monitors
a camera located on the drone feeding him information. As a pilot to one of
these drones it is kind of hard to fall off your chair and hurt yourself flying
one of these. Still critics are having a field day saying it is a breach of
right to privacy on domestic land. The courts are still feeling their way
through with this issue as more and more drones are being shot at by citizens
who have had enough.
Anyhow all this
has led to the lack of need for fire towers. As a result, fire towers and their
personnel were replaced. The process of the government searching for pot
growers and pot plantations that now adorns the mountains of West Virginia, can
be compared to their earlier efforts at combating, the earlier illegal
business of moon-shining. Forest fires are detected earlier as we search our
skies looking for an underground business that prides itself for going up in
smoke.
At times, as we
bounce up this washboard road the old V.W. van creaks as metal ,way to old and
brittle for this type of trek even when new , is again put to the test. But as
we near the summit and the land flattens into a wide parking lot at the fire
tower, I finally climb out of the van at the fire tower and it is as I remember it years ago. Wind
streaked and ravaged trees adorn a rugged landscape. Looking around one could
easily see the wind direction at the top of that summit as each limb on each
plant had the same amazing bend facing the same direction. Laurels look like
they were waving or pointing in one direction. Low growing plants seem to be
the only surviving species allowed up here. Yet now as when I visited it
earlier in my life it was amazingly calm. The wind was blowing but not nearly
as bad as it had once been as evidenced by the trees.
When I had visited
this place earlier with my female friend of mine in my younger college years it
was while we were standing in this exact spot we began noticing certain strange behaviors
of this place as we had planned on spending the evening in a tent at the top of
this knob . It wasn't till about 1 in he morning that we began to hear a howl
and it increased in intensity till the sides of the tent were flapping
fiercely. Not knowing what was going on I proceeded to open the tent flap and
just about launched myself and my girlfriend off the top of this mountain s the
wind rushed and inflated the inside of the tent, snapping the tent poles like
nothing. The air stung hard on my cheeks as bits of rock and wood chips
bombarded me and her. I told her screw this and told her to head for the car.
She grabbed what she could and hauled off towards the car bent against the wind leaving me dealing with
this tent I no longer had. But instead a sail, as if I was the boat. I finally
managed to wad this whole thing up into a ball and shoved it under some rocks,
leaving it for later worry as I scurried for the safety of the car. Inside the
car the wind howled but we finally slept again as the wind quit almost as quick
as it started. I had told Lee and Ann of this story and we have returned to see
if it in fact it is something that happens all the time.
“Wow what a ride,
glad to be here . The old V.W. did well as it managed to haul our sad asses all
the way up here.” I said as I looked around noticing the changes .Along the
fringes of the mountaintop one could see the mountain laurel beginning to bloom
and indeed with the warm sun shining overhead it was beautiful up here for now.
“Wow is this
gorgeous and what do they call this ?” asked Ann.
“ Dolly Sods it is a name applied to this high plateau area of the Allegheny mountains .
“ I said as I recalled my Wikipedia refresher course on this area. “ Sods being
a meadow and an area where pioneers burned trees to allow animals to graze the
high meadows . Dolly is a name derived from dahl who owned and ranched these
lands. It is also the scene of one of the most horrific environmental atrocities
committed by man on this planet and will take thousands of years to rectify if
ever. Over foresting and destruction of natural bog lands and fire led to a
destruction of the flora and fauna of this area of wilderness. Also high winds
and ferocious weather is said to occur here frequently as it is the front-line of several converging
weather areas. Also it is known for receiving over 120 inches of snow fall a
year. It was no wonder I had such a night years ago. No Wikipedia , no internet
, just me and this girl who apparently had little idea of what we were up
against. Definitely want to be out of here by night fall . we do have
reservations in Davis don’t we? “
“Yes guy
don’t worry,” said Ann I took care of that.
“ I felt my ears pop a couple of times
when we made that last climb with the van . Definitely wouldn't be doing this
in the winter. Could you imagine coming
down out of here with snow on the ground. You saw the warning signs that they
didn't plow this in the winter. Heck you could be trapped up there all winter, if
the snow was that bad. “
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