July 12 Talk Set To Focus On Whitetop

It’s a mountain of mystery, legend and wonder.
And it’s been visited by some fairly famous folks – including Thomas Jefferson’s father, Peter, who surveyed the southern border of Virginia in the mid-1700s.
For nearly 60 years, too, Doug Ogle has been going to Virginia’s Whitetop Mountain.
As a 5-year-old kid from Hillsville, Va., Ogle joined his family on picnics in the mountain’s field of white grass.
Later, Ogle took his biology students from Virginia Highlands Community College in Abingdon to the mountain to study its soil.
Whitetop is not only a mountain shared by the boundaries of three counties – Smyth, Grayson and Washington. It’s also a spot that overlooks the meeting place of three states – Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Elevation: 5,520 feet.
You can hike across the mountain on the Appalachian Trail.
You can also drive to the top of this peak – one of the highest points in Virginia – on a gravel road in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.
On July 12 at 2 p.m., you, too, can hear more about Whitetop Mountain when Ogle, now a retired associate professor of biology, speaks on “The Human and Natural History of Whitetop Mountain” at the Museum of the Middle Appalachians, 123 Palmer Ave., in Saltville, Va.
On Whitetop, you can find rare plants.
“And any time you find unusual plants,” Ogle said, “you have unusual animals.”
One is the northern flying squirrel – a creature that actually glides up to 100 feet.
“They’re cute, cuddly things,” Ogle said. “They’re a poster child for endangered species – with big eyes and they’re fuzzy.”
Still, what really makes Whitetop unique is its mysterious meadow.
Various legends explain the origin of this bald.
Yet, what seems most plausible to Ogle, 62, is a geologist’s theory, explaining that the field is likely a remnant of the glacial action that occurred during the last Ice Age.
Once, this mountain was slated to be a state park.
Along the way came the “Whitetop Wonderland Area” – a proposal to build an airport, lake and ski slope on this peak, Ogle said.
Whitetop has since become part of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. And it’s a landmark that can be seen for miles.
From Washington County, along the banks of the South Fork of the Holston River, the mountain rises about 4,000 feet, Ogle said, and gives you the illusion of a Denver-style Rocky Mountains backdrop.
Ogle loves to visit Whitetop Mountain in the fall.
“You see the marsh hawk sail right over you about 10 feet off the ground in the fall,” he said. “It’s just a great place to munch on a little cheese and lay back and just watch the birds go by.”
Want more info on the talk? Call the museum at (276) 496-3633 or visit http://www.museum-mid-app.org.