Cold Mountain, a location made famous by the Charles Frazier book Cold Mountain,is one of western North Carolina’s best kept secrets tucked away and protected by the sheer vastness of the Shining Rock Wilderness area. This rare gem is often viewed from the Blue Ridge Parkway (Milepost 411.9), but seldom experienced firsthand. The 10- or 20-mile round-trip hike, depending on where you choose to begin, can be overwhelming for most. This is undoubtedly an experience where the reward matches or exceeds the effort and energy exerted. Time seems to evaporate like the dew on the many wildflowers that blanket the floor of this elusive mountain. Worries and fears are eliminated and replaced by a more primitive state of mind. As you look into the expanse laid before you by nature, you are left with a true understanding of how minuscule and petty human thought really is in comparison. This can only be compared to the birth of a child, death of a loved one, or maybe your first broken heart.

Thirty minutes pass and the sky darkens, the temperature drops, and the quiet hum of the countless insects is replaced by the distant rumble of a summer afternoon thunderstorm. This is the earth’s answer to imbalances, an effort to reach immediate equilibrium. Sweat is replaced by chills supplied by the cold air dumped from the sky. The t-shirt is substituted with a fleece even though it is mid-June in the southern Appalachians, and it works diligently to warm the body. Blown by the storm-driven winds, trees and plants bend to their near-fullest extent then recover to their previous positions. For that moment in time you are vulnerable to the will of a higher power. There is an overwhelming sense of calm that is derived from that type of exposure. Willingly or not, you have given everything to the power of nature – a complete release of responsibility. Some people spend years and countless dollars searching for this type of release, but the answers are here in the moment.

The return hike provides the necessary time for the transition back into reality. Yes, there are bosses to impress, bills to be paid, children to be nurtured and spouses to be loved. But in the back of your mind there will always be a simpler life high atop Cold Mountain.