David A. Windham thumbnail

Cold Mountain

We took a small trip up into the hills last weekend. An old friend had lined up a rental cabin up on Lake Logan North Carolina for the Cold Mountain Music Festival1.  He was pretty stoked to gather a couple friends for the event because The Mother Hips2 rarely play the east coast and he had spent some time with them out west. I just wanted to jot down a couple of notes on why I enjoyed it to share.   

It’s a three hour drive on the back roads across the rolling Piedmont following the Saluda River3 watershed to Sunset up through the Jocasee Gorges4 across the eastern continental divide5 near Sassafras mountain6 and back down into Rosman following the headwaters of the French Broad River7. For whatever reason, possibly because it was late in the afternoon and had rained earlier, we had the twisty backroads almost entirely to ourselves.  Right as it passes over the some of the highest elevations of the Blue Ridge Parkway8 at 6000ft near Devil’s Courthouse9 you drive back down along the the headwaters of the West Fork of the Pigeon River10.  Lake Logan is fed by the river running through the Middle Prong Wilderness11 and sits in the valley of the Shining Rock Wilderness12 area of the Pisgah National Forest13.  With highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s, the weather is spot on for this time of year. It’s an area that I’ve been through hundreds of times over the last thirty years but it never seems to fail at renewing my sense of wonder. 

Lake Logan14 was original used for logging because it’s sitting in the middle of one of the largest old-growth forests east of the Mississippi. Kudos to the Episcopal diocese for the usage and preservation. A reverend from the church spoke about how the church doesn’t judge folks based on their beliefs and that the festival is used as a fundraiser for and an inclusive summer camp program.  The volunteers running the beer/wine stands were so kind to everyone.  I grew up in an Episcopal church and attended other summer camps up that way.  My wife and I jokingly said to one of the staff that we needed summer jobs with lodging and she invited us to apply. On the way home we conceded that we might just make it a reality. 

I almost feel bad writing about or talking up the event because it’s still relatively small given the quality. It could have been the two year hiatus. It had just enough vendors and people to make it comfy without the crowd.  I Draw Slow15 came in from Ireland with some fairly hip folk music. Catham Rabbits16 are a husband wife folk duo out of NC who have their own PBS series. Futurebirds17 are from Athens, GA and they knocked out a lovely rendition of Bertha.

His Golden Messenger18 was the headliner and I’ve been following along for the last ten years. Their tone was about perfect for sunset. It’s nice getting up close and personal without the crowds.  About halfway through the afternoon, they decided to have an impromptu dog show before the closing act with each dog owner parading them across the stage.  One of the three best of show awards went to this really old dog. It was stellar. 

Although I could go on a great length about the venue and event… that’s not really what makes it so potent to me.  The overwhelming feeling I get being amongst a group of people who are happy…. that’s the real key. Kids running around everywhere having fun. People of all walks of life and ages just laid back on a grassy field enjoying a mountain meadow. On several occasions as I stood there taking it all in, all I could feel was lucky.  Perhaps it was just the feeling of normalcy from the last couple of years.  Instead of being buried in the day to day of folks running around trying to make it, it is just so nice to remind yourself what life can really be about when you can take a break to breathe it all in.  

His Golden Messenger – Sanctuary
  1. Cold Mountain Music Festival – https://www.coldmountainmusic.org
  2. The Mother Hips – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mother_Hips
  3. Saluda River – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saluda_River 
  4. Jocasee Gorges – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorges_State_Park 
  5. Eastern Continental Divide – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Continental_Divide 
  6. Sassafras Mountain – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sassafras_Mountain 
  7. French Broad River – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Broad_River 
  8. Blue Ridge Parkway – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ridge_Parkway 
  9. Devil’s Courthouse – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_Courthouse 
  10. Pigeon River – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigeon_River_(Tennessee–North_Carolina) 
  11. Middle Prong Wilderness – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Prong_Wilderness 
  12. Shining Rock Wilderness – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shining_Rock_Wilderness 
  13. Pisgah National Forest – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisgah_National_Forest 
  14. Lake Logan History – https://www.lakelogan.org/about/history/ 
  15. I Draw Slow – https://www.facebook.com/idrawslow 
  16. Catham Rabbits – https://www.chathamrabbits.com 
  17. Futurebirds – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futurebirds 
  18. His Golden Messenger – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiss_Golden_Messenger