One of the strongest impressions that I have of the upper drainage of Ramsey Prong is that it is a place of movement, that at times, the earth itself would seem to be moving. Trees falling, water rushing downhill, and entire slopes collapsing into the valley below, and through it all, the spread of green as moss claims the forest floor. Virgin forest is being continuously plowed and turned over in a centuries long process of living wilderness. I've heard politicians shrilly proclaim that unlogged, unmanaged forests are unhealthy, yet I've never seen a place that is more conducive to life itself than the wild virgin forests of the Great Smokies.

Below, Peter pauses mid-bridge on one of the easier stretches of the Ramsey Prong 'trail'.