I have always had a fondness for fire. I like the smell, sight, sound, and warmth of a good fire in the fireplace or outside, sitting around a campfire. As the days turn darker and colder, there is a primeval drive in me to gather firewood and make fire. I was thinking of these things as I hiked on one of the trails at the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship, near Harpers Ferry in Hillsboro, Va.
The Blue Ridge Center includes 900 acres of forests of different ages, fields, wetlands and remnants of homesteads and a long farming history. The Center’s land is owned by the Robert and Dee Leggett Foundation and was created, in part, to show the connections between people and the natural world. The Center fosters this ideal through a working farm, many educational programs, outreach, and preservation and conservation efforts. Nine miles of hiking and equestrian trails are open to the public.
The landscape there includes multiple habitats that sustain a variety of animal and plant species. The different forests include white and red oaks and hickory species, tulip poplars, redbud, and beech trees. It is possible to see a wide range of tree types in a 60-minute walk through the woods. Sweet Run and Piney Run flow through the property and provide a rich habitat for aquatic life as well as for birds and plants.
The trails are open to the public from dawn to dusk. There is a large trail map in the kiosk at the small parking area near a historic log cabin undergoing restoration for use as a visitor center. Also at the kiosk are maps and brochures describing the history of the Center and its landscape. I recommend getting a trail map before you start your hike. On my recent visit to the Center, I took the Farmstead Loop, which also includes 12 interpretive signs that together make up the Birds of the Blue Ridge self-guiding walk.
The Farmstead Loop follows an old farm road past Wortman Pond, a small pond with a blind for viewing the wetland wildlife. I stopped and watched a turtle basking in the sun on a log that rose from the dark water. The trail leaves the pond and meanders past a field that plays host to youth groups that periodically camp here. After leaving the field, the Farmstead Loop follows Piney Run and passes several old log cabins, long abandoned.
I tried to imagine what kind of life the people who occupied these cabins must have had. The attraction to this beautiful hillside area is apparent, but making a life here without the modern comforts most people now enjoy would have been tough. The amount of work and hardship that the first occupants had to endure just to make a dwelling using all local material must have been enormous. The energy needed to grow or gather or hunt all the family’s food, to maintain and heat their shelters and to survive on this mountainside, would be daunting.
I surprised many deer and gray squirrels during my hour-long hike. There were also chipmunks, blue jays, wrens, and a warbler whose song I couldn’t identify. I stopped at all the signs along the trail, which provide some details on what wildlife you might expect to see and give lessons on the area’s different habitats. After following Piney Run, passing by the old homesteads, and climbing into the dry woods, the loop returns to where it began, at Wortman Pond.
On this visit at the Blue Ridge Center, I caught the faint smell from a distant fire. As the smoke entered my lungs, I began to assess my own woodpile and calculate whether I was prepared for the cold days of winter. I usually begin my woodpile in the spring and set it to dry over the hot summer days, but I often come up short, so in autumn there is more wood to cut. It’s a task that is more ritual than necessity—unlike for former denizens of what is now the Blue Ridge Center. For me it’s a ritual that helps keep me connected to the land. A hike of the Farmstead Loop has a similar effect.
Check out www.blueridgecenter.org for more information. The website includes excellent information on the land’s history, geology, biology, and archaeology. The website provides lists of plants, birds, insects, and other animal life often found at the Blue Ridge Center. A calendar of events includes information on various bird walks and other educational programs. There is information on the community supported agriculture (CSA) program at the farm. In season, eggs and produce are available for purchase at the trailhead kiosk.
Directions: The Blue Ridge Center is about two miles from the Potomac River on Route 671. It is about a 10-minute drive from Charles Town and a 20-minute drive from Shepherdstown. From Halltown on Route 340, go north toward Harpers Ferry. Pass over the Shenandoah River, then turn right onto Route 671 at the traffic light by the gas station. The entrance to the Blue Ridge Center is on the right, 2 miles up the road.
