The way the Appalachians rumple their way across West Virginia makes it seem like somebody picked up the state, crumpled it like a piece of paper and put it back in place. None of the mountains are super tall, but the valleys often seem extra deep, even haunting. Writer and native son Breece Pancake called these hollows “ancient” and said they grow “deep-rooted” in one’s soul. And driving through them, I can feel it.
West Virginia is not a state you can know just by driving through it, though—you’ve got to get out, put your feet on the ground and feel the pulse of these ancient mountains beat up through your soles. Get up on the balds, down in the hollows, and dip your toes in a clear mountain stream. That’s just what I invite you to do on this road trip through Almost Heaven, West Virginia.
