PILOT MOUNTAIN

She-who-must-be-obeyed and I took another trip south recently. We spent the night in a small but very nice campground called Greystone Campground in Pinnacle, North Carolina. It came with a chat with a very nice campground manager and this view. Literally. I took this from the picnic table next to the camper.

Oh, I needed to go up there. So, the next morning, up we went. My days of slogging up and down big mountains are probably behind me, somewhere back there with my knees. But the state park had a convenient road that went most of the way there. Nice views.

We hiked all the way around that nubble on top. The trail was fine. You could do it in flip flops. Not that anyone wants to see my toes. Lots of gorgeous southern forest and cliffs. Plus, I got this pic with a beautiful blond kind enough to keep me company.

The rocks behind us are sedimentary with some igneous rock in narrow veins. You knew this was going to turn nerdy, didn't you? The entire area had been washed with water. Here's a pic that shows it in a way a camera could catch.

Sorry for the legs. They didn't blind you, did they? Anyway, this was at the cliffs at that nubble on top of Pilot Mountain, some 2,000 feet above the surrounding terrain. And it was clearly eroded by water. For us Mainers, this is also beyond the extents of the glaciers, so this is not glacial rivers. Besides, again, it's at the top of a mountain.

Here's what I think happened. The layers were deposited during the flood of Noah's day, leaving them still soft. Volcanic activity pushed the whole area up above the waters, filling fissures with magma, which hardened in place. The flood waters eroded the mountain and surrounding area, leaving the nubble. The volcanic forces finally stopped, and the mountain stayed where it sits today.

But that's just my opinion. I'm a civil engineer, not a geologist, so take it for what it's worth.