I grew up in a mountain community from
the time I was five years old. The roads are well developed, one or
two lanes along wilderness paths, and a main four-lane highway making
its steady incline around 117 miles of curves and horse-shoe bends.
The best time to drive the mountain highway is during the day in
clear dry conditions. Often rain or snow conditions make traveling
treacherous.
During the colder seasons drivers are
well acquainted with fog on the mountain. With peaks reaching upwards
of 8,000 ft elevation, clouds hang like a wool blanket about the
rocky fringes of the slopes and settle into valleys. I have memories
of some unsettling car rides up the winding cliff-side route in poor
weather conditions.
In the fog, drivers depend on a few
things to guide them safely to their destination: head lights, tail
lights, painted lines, and a guard rail. At times the fog is so
dense, even during the day a driver can get lost in the heavy mist.
Clouds envelop the vehicle so that the view out the front window is
nothing but white. The only thing giving the driver any sense of
direction is one dashed white line separating you from an on coming
vehicle. And on the cliff-side, a feeble guard rail promises to
prevent your car from plunging down the side of the mountain.
