Homeward Bound

There’s just something about being in a place that you know and a place that knows you.

I recently traveled home to visit family and reunited with a good friend at the local crag. We hopped on a classic that we’ve both been on several times (this might have been my 5th time). We roped up and fired the Nose (5.8) of Looking Glass in two pitches. It took little time, though we moved off route a little bit to catch the top section of Peregrine (5.9). It felt like home— the rough granite texture of The Glass digging into my shoes as we scampered up the route felt comforting and inviting.

I had missed a lot of things about Looking Glass. One of these is the setting: Pisgah National Forest. It’s a vast green wonderland filled with epic mountain biking, many crags and granite domes, and some amazing creeks and rivers. Driving into the forest has you running by The Hub, with the ever-faithful Velvet Cup coffee trailer to fuel your day. On your way in you drive riverside, next to the Davidson, and carry on up the Pisgah Highway.

These things were great, but I noticed that a lot of what I was seeing felt similar to a lot of the things I encountered in Pennsylvania.

The friendly folks simply don’t say y’all. There are coffee shops aplenty near the entrance to the Delaware Water Gap. The flora is only a tiny bit less dense here than in Pisgah. The smells are the same, and the storms come and go just as fast. I’m learning to like it more and more here.

Perhaps soon, I’ll be reminiscing about the times I spent here in PA.

Driving by Betterworld as I nip into Milford to grab a snack. Meandering by the Delaware and waiting for the one-way stoplight near Worthington campground— perhaps in hopes of getting a shadier parking spot to climb Mt. Tammany.

There’s a lot to explore in the Keystone State, and I’m grateful I get to do it.

Michael