These stones have worn away for ages on top of Shortoff. Incidentally,
there’s a nice little perpendicular drop at this point of several hundred
feet.
Shortoff №.
mountain, and will repay the climber
with some magnificent scenery.
The name, "Shortoff,” is perfectly
descriptive because here the long
ridge which parallels the east side of
Linvillc (Jorge ends abruptly in a
sheer precipice which, at the highest
point, must be several hundred feet in
height. A stone dropped from the top
requires eleven seconds to reach the
bottom; some of you mathematical
sharks can figure out the exact dis¬
tance from that.
Shortoff is easy to reach by auto¬
mobile, by way of either Morganton or
Marion. If you’re going by Morgan¬
ton. leave town on state highway No.
181. Just after crossing the Catawba,
which isn’t far beyond the edge of
town, take the dirt road to the left,
which is marked "Temporary 126.
Lake James, 0.” The “Quaker Mead¬
ows” historical marker is located at
this same intersection. Follow this
road for about thirteen miles; there's
nothing remarkable about it, unless it
be a couple of signs, “Swans l’ond
Dairy” and “Lord’s Acre Farm.”
From Marion, if you go that way,
take D. S. 64-70 cast toward Morgan¬
ton. Leave it at Bridgewater, and fol¬
low the dirt road around the I.inville
arm of Lake James until you reach
state highway No. 126, where you turn
left. Three or four miles beyond the
intersection at White’s Store, where
the two routes join, you’ll find a nar¬
row dirt road to the right, marked
"Wolf Pit Road. Shortoff Mountain,
2/.."
Take it, and drive to the end.
Although it’s narrow, it’s not partic¬
ularly steep, nor is it very crooked. It
can’t possibly get muddy, either, due
to a heavy coating of gravel. It is
said that the name, “Wolf Pit,” is de¬
rived from the fact that at one time
wolves were trapped here in pits. This
story may bo true; to me it has a
slightly apocryphal ring.
Л
Mile Walk
It is in Burke County anti, like
a good many other places in the
western part of the state, is little
known to the average tourist.
By EDGAR ABERAETHY
THERE are at least two moun¬
tains of this name in North Caro¬
lina; there’s a Shortoff in Macon
County, near Highlands, and one in
Burke County, not far from Lake
James. And there may l»e a few more
scattered about, for the early settlers
didn't show much originality when it
came to naming geographical features,
such as mountains and creeks.
This is about the Burke County
mountain. As mountains go. it’s a
midget ; our state boast* of many
peaks which rise to twice its modest
3.127-foot elevation. For all that, it’s
an interesting and impressive old
Be that as it may, the road will get
you to the foot of the mountain, where
you must park your car, and proceed
on foot. 1 believe there are a couple of
paths, both unmarked, but you can't
go wrong if you take the one which
leads upward. So far, you haven’t
seen a thing worth noting, and you
won’t sec much on the way up, but
don’t let that discourage you: you’ll
see plenty when you reach the top.
It's only a mile, and not so terribly
sleep, so the climb won’t take long.
There’s a fork in the trail about
half-way up. The path to the left
takes you to the edge of the cliffs,
which is where you’re headed. I can’t
say where the other one lends. There
is said to be a small pond, known lo-
