Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 4, 1990 TAG: 9007090272
SECTION: MOUNT ROGERS PAGE: 1-8 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: color photos, by Gene Dalton
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
#1.2 The Mount Rogers area is big-sky country where grasses, sedges and clumps of spruce trees are stirred by the wind, and where fog rolls up out of the valleys.
#1.3 In the winter, snows can be frequent and lingering, encasing the landscape with beauty for hikers like these at Elk Garden Gap.
#2.1 The summit of Mount Rogers, Virginia's highest peak, is so thick with red spruce that the sun is blotted out and it is difficult to see more than a few yards.
#2.2 & #2.3 The sight of a mare and her colt can make the day for many visitors to the area, while grassy areas like this one on Whitetop Mountain provide spots for picnickers to enjoy scenic views.
#3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 The Appalachian Trail Days Celebration at Damascus, called the friendliest town on the trail, is a time when hikers peg their tents on the hostel lawn then join the town's people for a parade, a picnic and a parking lot dance. Fog (left) is a frequent visitor to the sloping shoulders of Mount Rogers where it can appear as if the last glacier is just out of sight.
#4.1 and 4.2 When the fog rolls in, hard luck can make a swift turn toward trouble and a hiker can be thankful for anyone who knows the way out. A couple of trees and a hammock (below) add up to a relaxing day in the Deep Gap area for Becky James of Miami, who heard about Mount Rogers from friends.
#4.3, 4.4 and 4.5 In June, a visitor to Rhododendron Gap can be swallowed up in fields of colorful blossoms. The Mount Rogers area isn't just a refuge for the remnants of plants and animals of another era, but also cultures as evidenced by this aged guitar (left) hanging on a log cabin along U.S. 58. In late summer, blueberries (above) turn from green to pink to purple as they ripen on bushes in the crest zone.
#5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4 Thomas Waters III of Whitetop (above) savors the high country and the fact that he is a blood relative of mountain man Wilburn Waters, whose name is given to Wilburn Ridge, where Waters greets a friendly pony. A herd of about 150 free-ranging ponies helps keep the alpine meadows of the crest zone open, giving the landscape a Western feeling. The annual Mount Rogers pony roundup and auction (below) doesn't get the attention of a similar affair in Assateague-Chincoteague on the Eastern Shore, but participants say Mount Rogers has a better grade of ponies. The roundups have a distinct Western flair, with riders sleeping on bedrolls under the stars. Plump blueberries are plunked from dew-washed bushes and mixed into pancake batter that is browned in iron skillets over a crackling campfire. Doug Cregger (below, left) of Marion enjoys a last cup of coffee before climbing into his saddle for the roundup.
#6.1 Autum adds color to the landscape for passengers on a horse-and-wagon ride near Troutdale.
#6.2, 6.3 and 6.4 Moisture forms in the high country to birth streams, like Big Wilson Creek (top photo), which scampers over rocks as it races for the lowlands. Hunters, like Jim McClure (left) of Chilhowie, bring their own privies to their deer camp at the Scales, and rope them down like circus tents against the heavy winds. Many of the sportsmen (above) who hunt the high country once owned the land and had to give it up to the National Recreation Area, but the land never lost its hold on them. They come to Pine Mountain every season to hunt deer.
#7.1 In the winter, fragile and delicate beauty is spread in every direction when cloud vapors freeze to form a caress of ice.
#7.2 and 7.3 Fraser firs are known as the Cadillac of Christmas trees, and have become an important money crop for the region, rapidly replacing cattle and tobacco. Snow, fog and rime blend (below) to form an endearing backdrop for backpackers and cross- country skiers.
#8.1, 8.1, 8.3 and 8.4
various photos
by CNB