This makes up the bulk of the scenic “Big Sky” terrain that these highlands are famous for. Narrowing things down even more, a smaller area on the high, open ridges of Stone Mountain, Pine Mountain, Brier Ridge, and Wilburn Ridge that is near or above 5,000 feet is generally referred to as the Crest Zone, and is one of the main attractions to the whole area. It does not include any of the terrain above that elevation on the nearby Iron Mountains, which are also part of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, but have little else in common to my way of thinking. The area that I generally refer to as the “High Country” may be a little different from what is “officially” designated as such, but, in my mind, it is all of the terrain above 4,000’ in elevation on the massif that forms Mount Rogers and Whitetop. Suffice it to say, one blog post is not going to do it justice. All taken together, even though the “High Country” here is certainly not the most dramatic area I have ever been, it is probably more responsible than any other single place for having nourished my love of the mountains, and will always be a special place for me, no matter where I may find myself.
Being close to home and readily accessible doesn’t hurt either. Then there are the “wild” ponies, awesome rhododendron displays in June, acres of blueberries in August, frequent and impressive snowfalls and rime accumulations in Winter. A dense network of trails and abundant, dramatic views are yet another draw for me. I don’t know specifically what part of the Big Sky state they had in mind, but I can say from personal experience that if it was possible to set Wilburn Ridge down in the western foothills of the Wind River Range, near the town of Pinedale in Wyoming, it would blend right in. I wasn’t there, but snow, sleet, and freezing rain all occurred on June 30, 1979! It is another world, quite unlike anywhere else in the state, and I have seen it referred to in print as “a little piece of Montana set on the rooftop of Virginia”, or something along those lines.
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The latter is directly related to the 5,500’ plus elevations here, far higher and cooler than anything else in Virginia, and gives the whole area a distinct climate with wild weather that decidedly subalpine, and much like what one encounters in the mountains of the Northeast, often cold, windy, and concealed in the clouds. The windswept open grassy balds, huge rock outcrops, and stands of dark and damp boreal forest are incredibly scenic. It was one of the first really awesome places I went when I first started hiking, which helped get me hooked. That is really saying a lot! There are many reasons for that, but for the most part I can narrow it down to a few key things. Though it is incredibly difficult to pick one place over all others, this is quite possibly my favorite area in all of the Southern Appalachians. Since starting this blog, it was only a matter of time until I had a chance to get back up into the Mount Rogers High Country.
On the other hand, the hot weather of Summer makes this entry even more timely, because it is a place to escape the worst of the heat. I’ve got a sizeable backlog of hikes to catch up on, but at least the heat and rain have sapped my motivation lately and caused the list to stall, rather than keep growing. Wow, I can’t believe how far behind I’ve allowed myself to get on this blog.
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