I had the good fortune one late winter afternoon to have the opportunity to do some exploring along the eastern front of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. These mountains are also known as the Shenandoah and there is an incredible road that runs from Front Royal along the top of the mountains for miles and miles offering stunning views of the Virginia countryside and breathtaking colors as the deciduous trees leaves turn in the fall. When I visited the area I headed west along US HWY 33 to Swift Run Gap which is a pass in the Blue Ridge Mountains at an elevation of 2,400 feet. The highway wound its way up to the gap and by the time I reached the summit, There was snow frocking the trees and covering the highway. Fog and clouds socked in the mountains and forest and then suddenly broke up allowing for a view for a distance and then closing up again just as suddenly. It was here at Swift Run Gap that I learned about the
"Knights of the Golden Horseshoe" Expedition led by Royal Governor Alexander Spotswood in 1716. The goal of the expedition was to explore real estate far to the west of Colonial Williamsburg and determine suitability for settlement. The expedition consisted of 50 men and 74 horses and according to markers in the Gap, they crossed over the Blue Ridge and discovered the valley of the Shenandoah. After the completion of this expedition, Spotswood gave each member a pin made of gold in the shape of a horseshoe with Latin words inscribed on it that said "
Thus it is pleasant to cross the Mountains". There is a pyramid shaped monument in the gap that has the following tale of this event inscribed upon it. It was written by Gertrude Claytor in 1934 for the Virginia State Commission on Conservation and Development and I like the language so much that I thought I would post it all here:
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| Creek along the lower White Oak Falls Trail - Virginia. |
ALEXANDER SPOTSWOOD DISCOVERS THE VALLEY OF THE SHENANDOAH
Twelve men I chose to see the waiting land - Where the rivers are jeweled in sunlight
And the hills are a deep blue ocean - with living spars of pine to catch the clouds and spread white sail. My band "Knights of the Golden Horseshoe" I led upon a phantom trail - Where torrents blocked the way - A cloud of dew came by night - The sun was fire by day. We followed writhing paths where fountains broke through stone - We drank the crystal courage of the hills - And bowed to thank the hand of might - That blended brawn and wonder, and hid his handicraft behind a silver veil that welded earth and sky. Only the savage knew the unmarked trail - his ear had caught the music underground - made audible in water. His eye had found the shadow print of moss against a tree. We stumbled on up scarp and jagged boulder and down the wet ravines - and up again we fought - until one dawn we stood upon a titan shoulder, and saw beyond the blue unchallenged hills - that bore no trace of sorrow or of wars - the SHENANDOAH............Daughter of the Stars.......Gertrude Claytor
After reading this monument with snow blowing in my face, I tried to access the skyline drive but much to my chagrin, the gate was locked due to dangerous conditions. I adjusted my plan and drove back down US HWY 33 and made my way over to the lower trailhead to White Oak Falls near the town of Syria. I crossed a small creek in my vehicle to get to the trailhead and had the place completely to myself. Darkness was approaching and it was cold, damp and threatening rain. I didn't care though because my philosophy is you only live once and that you have to get out onto the land, in the mountains, hills and between the forest trees to experience it, rain or shine so I grabbed my backpack and camera and headed up the trail. As I walked along through the damp forest I noticed piles of brown leaves matted all over the trail, logs and boulders. Many of the logs had different kinds of interesting and intricate shelf fungus on them. There were all kinds of different lichens and mosses of various shades of green, texture and consistency. As the trail passed through the leafless forest I looked deep into the trees and had the sensation that something just out of view was watching me. It was not a good feeling but I continued on with thoughts of the Blair Witch project, Sasquatch and other nonsense in my mind.
I also thought about how Confederate General Stonewall Jackson out manuvered his Union counterparts in the valley of the Shenandoah and then showed up unexpectedly on the battlefields of Fredericksburg etc. by transiting these difficult, mountainous areas at break neck speed. So much history out here in the trees. I was following the "Blue" trail marked by blue paint rectangle blaises on the trees and rocks. The trail headed west and followed a swift running creek up the draw. There were numerous waterfalls, large boulders and black vines climbing up the trees. Deep clear pools formed at the bottom of the small waterfalls and the boulders were covered and splotched with moss and lichens. Hollowed logs here and there provided perfect cover for varmints and in many places there were large logs that had fallen across the creek. It was cold and damp and getting dark so I turned back before I reached the famed falls that are usually accessed from the trailheads along the skyline drive. As I descended the trail through the damp forest I thought about Spotswood's expedition and how difficult and exciting it must have been to cross the rugged and beautiful Blue Ridge for the first time. Alone out there in the woods it seems like you can hear the echoes of history and feel the presence of the Indians who once called these forests home.
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