Blue Ridge Mountains

 

Returning to the Blue Ridge Mountains

It took me almost forty years to return to the Blue Ridge Mountains that had captured my heart as an eleven-year-old girl at Skyland Camp.

In 1989, Daddy built a cabin 5,000 feet high in Wolf Laurel, a 5,000-acre mountain community with the highest golf course east of the Mississippi, an 80-acre ski slope, and miles of breathtaking mountain scenery.

Located about thirty minutes north of Asheville and surrounded by the Pisgah National Forest, Wolf Laurel became our family's mountain home.

Three entrances to the Appalachian Trail are located within the community, the most memorable being the trail leading to Big Bald.

Big Bald 

Big Bald is one of my favorite places in the world.

Rising 5,516 feet, it straddles the North Carolina–Tennessee border. Unlike most mountain peaks, its summit is a vast, grassy bald without trees, revealing spectacular 360-degree views of the Blue Ridge Mountains in every direction.

Every time we visited Daddy's cabin, a trip to Big Bald was part of the tradition.

And every visit ended with another family photograph on its magnificent summit.

Returning

The first time I returned to these mountains as an adult, I was overwhelmed by the same deep silence, serenity, and beauty that had enchanted me as a child. Some places never lose their magic.

Over the years, I returned again and again.

I visited Daddy, brought Rich and our children, spent wonderful times with my dear friend Melissa, and later shared these mountains with Josh and his family, Sarah and Flounder.

Memories 

Each visit added another layer of memories.

There was always something to do.

We wandered through Asheville, enjoyed the Belle Chere street festival, explored old mica and garnet mines, hiked mountain trails, chased waterfalls, discovered little country cafés, went whitewater rafting, rode horses, and in recent years even went zip-lining.

Hiking Big Bald

Some of my favorite memories happened on the trails.

When Melissa and I were younger, Daddy would drop us off along a quiet country road where the Appalachian Trail crossed. We would hike the three-and-a-half miles to Big Bald, then call Daddy from the side trail when we reached the summit so he could come pick us up.

One unforgettable hike was spent almost entirely in pouring rain. Instead of spoiling the day, it became one of our favorite adventures.

Laurel River Trail

Another treasured memory is hiking the Laurel River Trail with Melissa and Sarah.

The trail followed a sparkling mountain creek that eventually emptied into the French Broad River. Along the way were countless little waterfalls, swimming holes, and quiet places to stop and enjoy the beauty around us.

It was there that I picked and tasted wild raspberries growing beside the trail for the very first time. I also remember Sarah, leading the way, almost stepping on a small rattlesnake.

The mountains always reminded us that we were visitors in nature's home.

50 Years of Marriage

Our most recent mountain memory may be my favorite of all.

Rich and I brought our entire family—our children, their spouses, and our grandsons—to Wolf Laurel for a week to celebrate fifty years of marriage.

Looking around at everyone we loved gathered together in a place that had meant so much to me for decades, I realized how blessed we were.

Blue Ridge Mountains

The Blue Ridge Mountains had witnessed many chapters of my life.

As a little girl, they awakened my sense of wonder.

As a young woman, they became a place of adventure.

As a wife and mother, they became a place of family.

And now, as a grandmother, they have become a place where generations come together.

Some places become part of who we are.

For me, these mountains always will.

Poem

The mountains waited.

Patiently,

quietly,

through forty passing years.

They welcomed me back

as though I had never left.

The same winds,

the same silence,

the same endless blue ridges

rolling toward forever.

Only I had changed.

I returned

not as the little girl

who first fell in love with them,

but as a daughter,

a wife,

a mother,

a grandmother.

The mountains remained timeless.

And somehow,

they gathered every season of my life

into one breathtaking view.