'Famous' As Old Snag

The roots of a very large, very old, gnarled tree almost in the AT (see trail directly left) and it is one of my favorite senior citizen trees.

 

I was looking at SNP's Facebook page and saw where a couple of photos had been added to the Thorofare Mountain Overlook (milepost 40.5) album. They were beautiful photos so I took a look at the album and saw many more gorgeous photos and a story that really resonated with me as a Section Maintainer.  All of the pictures in that album include the remains of one tree, a gnarly piece of dead wood that sticks up in the foreground of the photos. The contrast of the beautiful backgrounds .... sunrises and sunsets, fall colors, fog, or unusual light with that gnarly tree "makes" the photos and indeed, 'Old Snag' as one person called it, attains a beauty all its own.  Old Snag has been a part of many a picture for years ..... and sometime this past December, it fell. Some comments on Facebook might be a little surprising as they are almost eulogies about Old Snag and how much it will be missed and what an integral part of Thorofare Mountain Overlook that dead tree had become - folks, used to seeing Old Snag, became very attached. To see the pictures/comments, go to Rockfish to Reeds Facebook Page and look for the link to the story and album pictures.

For two additional spectacular sunrise views of Old Snag, visit these links:

Old Friends

Weathered, Shenandoah National Park, VA

The Old Snag story and the attention it's getting brought to mind one of my favorite poems:   "Famous" by Naomi Shabib Nye  (due to copyright, you will have to go to the link).  In this poem, she talks about things commonplace, that in and of themselves may not be 'famous', but they are definitely 'famous' to certain other relevant things, and to whom and how she personally wants to be 'famous'. It's a clever and beautiful poem, full of truths that we don't often think about.  How does the poem 'Famous' and Old Snag connect to Rockfish to Reeds and section maintaining?  Very easily. When you 'section maintain' (see 'Glossary Tab' if you need a brief explanation of this term), you spend more time on 'your' section than you do on any other piece of trail. You are there during all seasons and you are moving slowly because you are doing your maintaining work, not breezing by in hiking stride on your way to some other destination. In a slower, less distracted mode, you truly "see" things as you make your way along, doing your trail work ..... such as interesting individual rocks and rock formations, wildflowers, and the trees, especially ones that are unusual for some reason.  Perhaps there is a tree, like Old Snag, that has been damaged or killed and has taken on prominence in the overall landscape, or even better, perhaps there is a living tree that you notice and pay particular attention to every time you maintain.

I have become especially fond of a couple of trees with great character, generally because of size, age and/or appearance, on sections where I am/have been a Section Maintainer. 'Fond' would be the appropriate word, too. Seeing those old trees again and again and watching them in the elements and the changes that happen is an ongoing story of existence and survival that has caught me up in its twists and turns. When I go on a section after a storm, it is always a relief to see those particular senior citizen giants have weathered yet another challenge and are still standing. It is a sad, sad day when you realize that one is not doing well which signals the 'beginning of the end', or that some giant has lost a significant limb(s), maybe the trunk split and lost a lot of mass, or the entire tree has come crashing down. These certain trees have become 'friends' on the trail and when I pass them by, I find that it is part of my particular maintaining experience to give them a pat on the bark and say "glad to see you again, old friend".  In short, they have become "famous" to me.

The Old Snag was in a prominent, accessible place by being at an overlook along the Skyline Drive where it was easily noticed and photographed many times and it became famous in a very public way to those photographers and visitors alike as a feature of those pictures and the overlook itself.  There are many other wonderful trees along the AT that become just as "famous" to the individual Section Maintainers, as Old Snag is to the SNP photographers and visitors. Unlike Old Snag, you don't hear about these "famous" trees unless you are out with a Section Maintainer who shows them to you, or perhaps you catch a Section Maintainer in a reflective, talkative mood ...... like today, in this post.  I am glad to be able to share the story of my wonderful "famous" trees, along with that of Old Snag.  ~ Merlot

Another view of the wonderful old senior citizen tree that is "famous" to me.

 

 

 

(All Photos: Merlot)

 

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