Dolly Sods
Today we ventured out to Dolly Sods. We had done a fair amount of driving on Tuesday, so we wanted to stay relatively close to home. Dolly Sods is only about 1 1/2 hours away from the cabin, so that fit the bill. However, what we failed to realize was it was 1 1/2 hours away from the edge of the large Dolly Sods Wilderness Area. It took a lot more time over gravel roads to reach some of the hiking trails we had in mind. But the extra time was rewarded with beautiful views, once again. I've shared some of our photos from the day below.
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| The Dolly Sods Wilderness Area encompasses several different kinds of topography and plants brought about by a combination of nature, over-logging, and fires. |
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Some of it is a bog and has plants that are found usually much further north.
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Freezing and thawing during glacial times created large "rivers" of rock.
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Dolly Sods was used for mortar and artillery training during World War II. It was supposed to prepare the soldiers for fighting in Northern Italy. There were several warnings posted to be on the lookout for shells that might still be around and possibly live.
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The Sods, or open mountain meadow, is the highest plateau east of the Mississippi at 4000+ feet.
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As we saw at Spruce Knob, the prevailing west wind here is causing flagging of the trees. You can also see the numerous weathered Pottsville Sandstone boulders.
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We could see at least six ridges in the distance.
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| This area forms part of the eastern continental divide. Rivers west of here flow into the Mississippi and rivers east of here flow into the Chesapeake Bay. |
