I have heard about Grandfather Mountain for years. Last year, Sandra tried to sell me on a visit to the mountain by appealing to the Mile High Swinging Bridge. She had crossed that bridge in her youth and found the view exhilarating.
But crossing the bridge at the top of “the most rugged mountain in eastern America” had little appeal for me. First, heights petrify me, so a mile-high bridge offered the appeal of a root canal. Why would I would to stand over a mile-deep chasm? Being suspended a mile in the air only reinforces what paltry personages we are in the vast world of nature.
Add to the mile-high part the “swinging bridge” part of the name, and I could see some yoyo intentionally making the bridge pendulum over that mile-deep chasm as I clung to the bridge and prayed not to fall off.
The reality was nothing like the hellish experience my fears had conjured.
The Mile High Swinging Bridge does not span a crevasse a mile beneath the bridge. The bridge is a “mile high” because its mid-point is suspended 5,280 feet above sea level. The bridge itself spans a canyon only 80 feet below the bridge.
Hugh Morton, owner of Grandfather Mountain, had the bridge between Linville Peak and Second Peak built in 1952. The bridge, suspended between two towers, at first had wooden flooring that provided much more flexibility than the current floor. In 1999, the bridge was redone and used galvanized steel for the flooring.
Still, standing in the middle of the Mile High Swinging Bridge gives a panoramic view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. On exceptionally clear days, the bridge offers a view of the Charlotte skyline — 80 miles away. I stood at the mid-point, snapped a few photos and recalled a story I heard about an earlier visitor to the peak of the mountain.
French naturalist Andre Michaux made an ascent to Grandfather’s summit in 1794. He believed he was at the highest point in America. He was so moved by what his eyes took in, he sang the French national anthem, shouted “Long live the French Republic,” and then shouted “Long live the United States of America.”
As Michaux made his climb, the varieties of plants he had never seen before enthralled him. Although he could not have known, his eyes scanned more species of plants and trees on Grandfather Mountain than exist in all of Europe — from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean Sea.
In fact, Grandfather Mountain offers 16 distinct natural communities of weather, temperature, forest and topography. By the time a visitor reaches the Top Shop that rests between Linville Peak and Second Peak, the temperature is the same as in Newfoundland, Canada.
Grandfather Mountain is the home to 73 endangered species, including the Pink Shell Azalea, native only to northwestern North Carolina. Walking trails crisscross parts of the mountain and offer their own delights. On a hiking trail near the picnic area, a visitor can walk a loop that is four-tenths of a mile long and pass 64 species of plants and flowers and 19 varieties of trees.
The United Nations has designated Grandfather Mountain as an International Biosphere Reserve — the only privately-owned biosphere reserve in the world.
As we passed the Cliffside Picnic Area, once the highest point accessible by car, we entered a series of hairpin turns. Most of us have seen those turns since they are often featured in automobile commercials.
One curve is even named “Forrest Gump Curve.” When I first saw that name, I thought the term meant a visitor would have to be mentally challenged to drive around that curve. Then I learned the curve was featured in the film “Forrest Gump” — at the point when other runners join Forrest … Forrest Gump … on his run across America.
My first visit to Grandfather Mountain will not be my last. I see us becoming old friends.
Mike Parker is a columnist for The Free Press. You can reach him at mparker16@suddenlink.net or in care of this newspaper.