Pilot Knob

           The pinnacle the two were climbing this hot August day was known locally as Pilot Knob. It was famous in the region, although no one knew for sure how the place got its name. Pilot Knob was the last great peak on the western edge of the Cumberland Plateau, which covered the eastern third of Kentucky, and the grand geologic feature marked the end of the rugged terrain of Eastern Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia. Here the mountains abruptly ended and gave way very noticeably to the much more level bluegrass region of Kentucky. The view from Pilot Knob was spectacular and it had been said that pioneer and explorer Daniel Boone first saw the beautiful rolling hills of Kentucky from this lofty view.

            The smells of the deep, rich woodlands had now given way to the fresh scent of the many small Virginia pines that grow in abundance on the cliff tops. Will had learned many of the indigenous tree species and easily identified them along the way. He always enjoyed trying to name them during his many trips into the woods. This trail was well defined and obviously used by the many hikers who made their way each year to the top of the famous knob. Will, although a little winded himself, was still fit enough to make such climbs and quite often would go on weekend explorations around the region. When he was a boy, Will loved to hunt for Indian relics and pretend he had found the most priceless of treasures.  As he got older he continued his hunting forays, minus the imagined treasure, and one of his greatest pastimes was to walk freshly plowed fields each spring searching for arrowheads. He used to find mostly broken arrowheads, pottery shards and on the lucky occasion, bone tools. Nowadays, the laws had changed to protect artifacts from being removed from their original environment and Will abided by those laws. 

-Excerpt from "Swift."