As you look north from the Sauratown Mountains or many other regional locales in which you see the southern profile of Buffalo Mountain, it resembles a buffalo (or bison). It is the most recognizable mountain feature in the area, from the south.
As a Virginia Natural Area Preserve, it has significance for its occurrences of rare plants and animals. The magnesium rich soil is an anomaly in the area. Some of the naturally occurring plants are more prevalent in the midwest and not see elsewhere in Virginia. The trailhead kiosk tantalizes us with its claim to fame as the only known occurrence of Puto kosztarabi in the world. A mealybug. I didn't spend much time looking for one but I did want to see a wildflower, Grass of Parnassus. Didn't see one of those either. We did see a couple Peregrine Falcons soaring above. Twice I saw one initiate a dive but both times, broke it off after a very short distance.
At 3971 feet, we were well above the local landscape. As you can see, there is significant forest with some pasture land but no towns or communities in the area. The drive to the trailhead is a single lane rutted dirt road. The parking lot looks like it get some visitation but I would hate to meet a vehicle on that one lane road. We could see that some cars had parked about a mile away and walked in as it was a rough and steep road. The trail to the top is just a mile but uphill all the way.
In addition to its natural history, there were some famous landowners of the property. It was part of a land grant given to General Harry Lighthorse Lee for his service during the Revolutionary War. Upon his death, it was passed on to his sons Charles Carter Lee and Robert E Lee. Charles lived on the property and his log cabin law office still stands on adjacent property.
Hard to miss this Chicken of the Woods right next to the trail.
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