Ogle's Meadow

Once the site of a tourist hotel, this natural mountaintop bald is reached from Murchison. When you get to the top of the paved road on the way to Barnardsville, to the left is a seven mile single-track trail that goes to the Blue Ridge Parkway and to the right is the steep dirt road that goes to the meadow. As kids we picnicked here among the rhododendron, and today there are a few very nice houses with fabulous views of the Blue Ridge mountains. At the end of the road, where there is an incredible view of the whole Black Mountain range (Celo on the far left and Mt. Mitchel on the far right), lives Dan Wilson, great grandson of Big Tom Wilson, who led Elijah Mitchel to the top of the highest mountain east of the Rockies. Mr. Wilson is very friendly and has lots of stories to tell. Here are a couple of pictures taken from the meadow earlier this week.