Laurel Run as seen from Goshen Pass.
On Saturday I attended the memorial service for one of our church's WWII veterans who had just passed away. He was a man with an amazing life. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps as a very young man and had to eat "a lot of bananas" to meet the weight requirement of 120 pounds! He served as a navigator in the Pacific and his scrapbook was full of pictures of places like Iwo Jima. He couldn't pull out the book without emotion. It was a priviledge when he shared these memories.
In the great war he saw a lot of suffering and devastation. He came home from the war with a renewed faith in G-d and a compassion for others that kept him volunteering at the local food bank well into his eighties!
A sharp color guard from Ft. Lee presented his lovely wife with the flag and we headed to a nice luncheon reception for friends and family.
"So, I'll bet you haven't done much hiking lately" said a friend of mine, a wildlife biologist with Game and Inland Fisheries, as we assembled for lunch. I filled him in on my last hike and assured him I was still getting out some, even with the big snows.
Sunday dawned one of those beautiful days that beckons you to come enjoy the splendor of woods. With the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Drive still snowbound I was itching for an after church adventure but wanted to avoid the crowds at places like Rockfish Gap. I headed to the Southern end of Little North Mountain, looking for my hike.
The Wildlife Management Area is a good bet but many of my favorite pulloffs were not plowed out so I found myself in Goshen Pass, staring at the nicely flowing Maury River at an overlook when a man walked up carrying a Kayak paddle. He introduced himself as "Flip" and asked me if I'd ever been up Laurel Run? No, I hadn't, and his advice led me into one of the most beautiful places I'd ever seen.
It looked like a trout stream out of a magazine. A beautiful little run flowing over rocky terrain through rhododendron awaited me. I wandered up the road beside the stream and soaked it in. A little waterfall tucked in the rhododendron splashed merrily.
The green rhododendron made a wonderful contrast to the white snow. On the way out I met Flip who said "this place is beautiful in the Springtime too." I intend to bring my wife back to see the flowers.
Laurel Run.
Rhododendron.
A young hemlock contrasts the Winter trees.
Rocks along the trail.
Rhododendron.
Wow! It's so beautiful. I just love Goshen pass. I remember that being one of the highlights of our first trip up here. Can Greg and I come with you when you go on the hike in the Spring?
ReplyDeleteWe'd love to have you come with us. We could bring a picnic and make an afternoon of it.
ReplyDeleteThat would be wonderful!
ReplyDelete