[at-l] What Has Hiking Given You?

[Msthiker@aol.com (Msthiker@aol.com)]

Went for a hike in Doughton Park yesterday in Allegheny Co. NC up near 
Wilkesboro. Did the Grassy Gap Trail a mile and a half to pay our respects to 
Alice Caudill. Alice lies in a small, but apparently cared for grave. We then 
headed up the Basin Cove Trail close to 3.5mi to see the Caudill cabin that 
still stands up near Bobcat Ridge.  It is the only cabin still standing.

Today marks the 85th anniversary of a flood here in Western NC that was the 
result of 2 former hurricanes, one that made landfall at the Gulf, the other 
at the Atlantic and they met up over the NC Mountains and delivered 6 days of 
torrential rainfall. The ensuing floods killed many. So many that the death 
of one young girl in a hollow in the mountains probably was not of particular 
note. 

We did this hike the first time in 1996 and that was when we found a small 
grave with a small, very weather-worn, soapstone headstone. There is a small 
foot marker, and the grave is outlined in small rocks. On the headstone, near 
the top, is carved a dove in flight with an olive branch. The inscription 
reads, Alice Caudill, Wife Of Famon
Born May 18, 1901   Died July 15, 1916.  I was intrigued. Alice was a little 
thing judging by the outline of the grave. Only 15 years old, married, and 
deceased. To the left, and behind her grave, at the foot of the mountain, are 
the scattered remains of an old rock fireplace and chimney, and the rock 
piers on which the cabin was constructed. In the dark, fern filled, humid 
still of the cove, the scene is haunting.

That is what led me into finding out all that I could about the people that 
lived in this cove and how they existed and how they died. And I guess that 
is what compelled me to do this particular hike yesterday. 

It also made me think how my reasons for hiking have changed over the years 
and what I am looking to take with me from my hike. When I was younger, I 
used to go for distance, and occasionally distance and time. At some point, I 
developed an interest in the wildflowers, in their identification, then 
seeking out the rarer ones, and then finally cultivating them.  Finding 
Alices grave sparked an interest in the relics and the "ghosts" of the past. 
Largely forgotten people, that inhabited the coves and hollows and somehow 
eked out enough from the rocky, steep, slopes to survive. The toughness and 
ingenuity it took amazes me.  Hiking has taken me many places that I 
otherwise would never have gone, and been much poorer for not having done so. 

I have found out what happened to Alice and the circumstances. She married 
Famon Caudill when she was 14, on January 16, 1916. Famon built the cabin, 
the remains of which I described. Quickly, Alice Adams, now Alice Caudill 
became pregnant. Times were changing, even in the deeply hidden coves of 
North Carolina and Famon took a job with the railroad laying track in 
Virginia to support his new family. That is where he was when the 6 days of 
heavy rain caused the mud slide to take the cabin, and with it Alice, their 
unborn child, Alices mother, and Cornelius (Famons brother). Mrs. Adams and 
Cornelius were staying with Alice until Famon returned. This occurred 85 
years ago today, July 15, 1916.

The point of this? None. I usually lurk and will go back to doing so. I 
thought this might spark a discussion as to what others derive from their 
hiking experiences and that would be much more interesting than the WF topic 
that most are growing Weary of...pun intended. I also wanted others to know 
about Alice so she might live on a bit longer.

Happy Trails
msthiker
Bob Schley 


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