Cold Mountain

Rising 6,030 feet above sea level and located at the western edge of the Shining Rock Wilderness, Cold Mountain is the literary landmark of Charles Frazier’s best selling novel published in 1997. Later turned into a film directed by Anthony Minghella, the story was inspired by the life of the author’s great-great-uncle William Pinkney Inman - who also served in the confederate army, deserted his post, and walked hundreds of miles back to his home in western North Carolina.

Given my love of books and writing, hiking the Cold Mountain Trail with my camera was inevitable. Measuring over 10 miles round trip, most guidebooks categorize the out and back hike as both isolated and strenuous. Although the trail is free of technical challenges, I have to say that I agree on both accounts. The 2800 ft. elevation gain made for an arduous 8 hour adventure, and I didn’t see another person on the trail all day.

The photograph above was taken prior to hiking the final ridge to the top, just beyond Deep Gap. Sections of the forest had burned recently, so there was a smokey scent in the air and only a few leaves clung to the trees. At one point, rounding a turn, I startled a lone hawk perched on a charred stump before it vanished into the fog. When I arrived at the peak, the air was cool and the sky obscured. Occasionally through the clouds, I caught a glimpse of a ridge below, but not much else.

Perhaps, like the novel and life itself, the story of my Cold Mountain hike was more about the journey than it was about the ending.