54: Image of the Ideal

Eidolon Preserve, Great Cacapon, West Virginia


G.  C A C A P O N,  W V

I stop at the intersection of Cacapon and Detour roads to take a screenshot of the driving directions.  I’m losing service quickly the further I travel from Berkeley Springs.  Several more miles of thinning mountain road lie between this intersection and the trailhead I’m aiming for on a barren mountaintop in Morgan County, West Virginia at a place called Eidolon.

In Greek, Eidolon translates to image of the ideal.  Perhaps the prior owners – Louis and Marguerite Zapoleon – had me in mind when they donated this property in 1971 to The Nature Conservancy.  Their ideal was that such a beautiful property should be shared; left intact as a natural asset for future generations.  And today, I’m that future generation. 

I like that the parking lot is nothing more than space for one.  And the kiosk lies hidden a few hundred yards uptrail.  If you blink it’s easy to miss Eidolon.

Mid-winter following a damaging ice storm finds the imagery of Eidolon at its most vulnerable.  The lack of undergrowth keeps in plain sight all the debris this forest generates.  An abundance of dull-colored decaying leaves and fallen limbs lies naked and exposed. In spring, bright green undergrowth will rise up and hide this debris.  Until then, milky gray skies on this Monday morning only flatten the winter colors even more.   But ‘tis the season.  This is what I signed up for.  Not all visits come on bright chirpy days.  Attuned to the requisite of all seasons, forestry at any time of year brings images of the ideal. 

At lower elevations, remnants of snow only dot the forest, but by the time I reach the higher-elevated stone house, it’s pervasive… and ice-crusted, making a quiet walk impossible.  No sneaking up on wildlife today.  Long ago, I bought a can of mink oil at my father’s suggesting.  Its waterproofing quality, which I liberally applied to my boots before setting out, will come in handy as the temperatures rise above freezing later this morning.

From the stone house, the Spring Trail connects to the Zapoleon Loop which dips down into a beautiful ravine.  It’s an undulating roller-coaster through the forest past several springs and ephemeral streams.  A slab of level granite offtrail beside a spring beckons; I veer and sit for a rest.  Winter allows easy access to this spot which is surrounded by a tangle of dormant thorns.  Come spring, this tangle will rebirth into stout moat of much sharper spikes keeping wanders like me further back. 

The sound therapy found here off grid is wonderful.  The spring’s trickle oozing from the mountainside amid plinking drips of melting snow and soft breezes through the trees create a well-blended symphony of peacefulness; hard to replicate elsewhere. Prime ruminative conditions.  

The inaction of rumination though brings a chill – hands and ears are calling for cover.  But I stop myself.  Winter is supposed to be cold.  Let it linger.  Embracing the chill brings inoculation.  A hardening.  A purity.  Ungloved and uncovered, the stinging extremities begin to feel virtuous. 

The loop ends back at the stone house.  From here, I follow a trail to the highest spot on this property.  A defiant jumble of rocks demarks the apex.  I scramble atop, again fighting through dormant thorns, and briefly become King of Eidolon.  Looking out over this property, as far as the eye can see in all directions, preserved for generations to come, truly is a wonderful image of the ideal.


LEARN MORE ABOUT TNC’S WORK AT EIDOLON HERE.

Location: Eidolon Nature Preserve, Great Cacapon, WV

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