You don’t know the lay of the land but the carriage carries you away from the Manor House toward Flat Top Tower.

You pass several of the [outlying] Manor buildings  The servants quarters [current, not the original location] and gardens:

and the Carriage Barn:

Today you’ll head under the Parkway Road but in 1900 there was no Parkway so image this trail without the motor road.  You’re heading uphill and suddenly to your left is a magnificent scene – Grandfather, Sugar [minus the Citadel], Beech:

That grabs your drowsy attention but a moment later it’s gone and you’re in woods, a forest of tall trees and rhodos.  As the trail turns right, then left, then right again, you’re drifting mentally away. After all, it’s woods; something you already know.  Then bright daylight and open fields, pleasant and edged with forest.  A view off to your right – distant, distant, layers of mountains, what the pioneers repeatedly referred to as ‘oceans of mountains.’  Meaning, it reminded them of ocean waves.  Mr. Cone might interrupt your thoughts, pointing out that he’s chosen his gravesite to the left.  It’s a serene spot looking out to the endless east, the perpetual sunrise over mountain ridges.

 You’re looking ahead to the lovely but somewhat unremarkable pasture to your left and right:

Perhaps your attention is riveted on mountain ridges straight ahead  when the horses slow to maneuver one of those twists, one of Mr. Cone’s switchbacks.  When the horses pull around the curve, there it is again – Grandfather, Sugar, Beech, glorious high mountain ridges.

Back in forest, the carriage takes you on gentle curves to the left, the right, and then the slowing down.  And again you encounter Grandfather/Sugar/Beech [now obscured by rhodos and trees].  A moment later, the eastern vista – the twist in the road already described – meets your eyes.

A few curves later, and it’s Grandtather/Sugar/Beech.  A moment later and it’s the eastern vista.  First one, then the other, then the first, on and on.

Mr. Cone laid out this trail to assail your spirit with repeated encounters alternating between the glorious uplifted Grandfather high ridges and the distant layering of eastern mountain ridges.  See how this works out via the trail map:

If Mr. Cone took you out early enough, the Grandfather ridges are dark initially, lightening, and changing color with each appearance.  With the eastern vistas, each encounter lightens with sunrise.

Perhaps he’s timed the outing for the most magnificent sunrise of all.  You climb the courses of steps up the Fire Tower:

At the highest point Mr. Cone has arranged for you to watch the sun climb above the eastern ridges, throwing low long shadows on Grandfather/Beech/Sugar.  The view from the Fire Tower is exquisitely dramatic.  It also gives the lay of the land – from Deep Gap through Blowing Rock, the Grandfather window, Sugar, Beech, Seven Devils, Castle Rock, Howard’s Knob and Snake Mountain.  The whole shebang.

[I have a marveous panorama of this view but haven't figured out how to load a virtual tour to a blog.  Any help would be MOST welcome!!  It's too wide to show anything in this space.]

When you walk the trail today, you’ll need to envision many of these vistas in your imagination. Many are obscured today by rhodos and other vegetation. 

A different vista, picture taken during the winter, in which you can see past the vegetation to know what lies beyond:

Remember, walking is slow compared to fast-trotting horses, so also imagine how different it would be to experience the alternating vistas if they came at you quickly. 

September, 2008

Adapted from LR, an unpublished manuscript by Helen Phillips copyright 2008