286 THE CAROLINA MOUNTAINS 
berries grow up here in the greatest profusion, your 
new friend of the Little East Fork informing you 
that she would not mind climbing up to Shining 
Rock and picking and bringing home half a bushel 
of huckleberries any day. 
Shining Rock is named from the remarkable mass 
of white quartz, more than an eighth of a mile long 
and from thirty to sixty feet thick, that lies along 
the crest of the mountain and which is a conspicu- 
ous landmark for miles around. From Shining Rock 
one looks across to the Richland Balsam, Licks tone 
Bald, and a dozen other high bald mountains, while 
on the opposite side rise the summits of Pisgah 
Ridge. Indeed, the short Cold Mountain Ridge 
stands separated by deep valleys from a circle of 
high mountains that completely surround it. Its 
southernmost and highest point, Sam Knob, almost 
separated from the main ridge and rising without 
spurs in wild precipices to an altitude of over six 
thousand feet, is such a labyrinth of cliffs, gorges, 
and impenetrable laurel and rhododendron thickets 
that the mountain cannot be approached from any 
side. It is considered inaccessible even by the hardy 
mountaineer, so that when a hunted bear reaches 
Sam Knob he is not pursued. The hunters consider 
him at home. There are not many bears left in the 
mountains, though each year records a number of 
captures in different parts of the wilderness. That 
Bruin was once common, however, is shown by the 
frequency with which his name occurs in the Bear 
Wallows, Bear Creeks, Bear Pens, and Bear Ridges 
