A short tale about last weekend’s adventure. We went up on Thursday to ride the Potomac Eagle Train out of Petersburg on Friday.
From the Internet, we picked out a B&B located at the top of the mountain in Rough Run. It is called the Wildernest Inn. The lodge has 6 rooms that are all wonderful.
The owners are from Zimbabwe, Kathy and Stewart Hornby; they emigrated ~15 years ago and have had the inn for 7. They provide fantastic food with breakfast included and dinner available [after you get back up the mountain at the end of the day, you don't want to go back down in search of dinner somewhere].
Driving up the mountain we saw signs everywhere declaring the property an animal sanctuary and forbidding trespassing or hunting.
When we pulled into the lodge, there was a small herd of deer feeding under the oak trees.
As the owner welcomed us, he started talking about the bears, telling us that we had be sure every piece of food was out of the car and the car was locked. "I assure you, my bears know how to open car doors."
After he took us up to our room, he asked to come down later and sign the release form. He gave us very firm instruction not to leave the decks after 6 in the evening. At this point we had no idea what we had gotten into; I wondered if we had encountered the Jurassic Park of Grant County.
It turns out that the property is a sanctuary for deer and black bears. The owners, especially Kathy the wife, are experts on black bears and have 23 bears that are named and they roam the property at will. They are fanatical protectors of West Virginia black bears, and we heard all kinds of stories about bear hunting in the area. It was all new to me because I think my uncles and cousins primary did deer hunting.
Every evening at 5, Stewart goes out and scatters feed for the deer, not enough to be their only food supply, but enough to keep them returning to the property and presumably sanctuary.
Not long after that the bears start coming in--mostly as a check in, I guess. To let Stewart and Kathy know they are still safe. It is bow bear season right now, and a very dangerous time for the bears.
Throughout the evening, various bears come to check in and to check things out.
Several of the bears are like pets to Stewart and Kathy, who make it very clear that they are still wild animals and the guests are not interact with them.
The Hornbys do not feed the bears; they love them and care about them, but the bears do what bears always do: They hibernate in the winter; they mate and produce cubs; and they do roam the West Virginia mountains.
One bear, Bruno, in particular is a pet when he is with them, but he is a creature of the mountains. Kathy reported that when he returned after mating season this year it was apparent he had not had an easy summer.
It was the most amazing, somewhat eerie, experience to be in this mountaintop paradise with bears wandering casually across the deck and yard. But it is also Wild, Wonderful West Virginia at its best.
Wildernest Inn is a fabulous place [www.wildernestinn.com] and we give it a ten in our book.
