Shavers Fork of the Cheat River is the highest river in the eastern United States. For most of its nearly ninety-mile length, it meanders gently through a trough formed by the Cheat and Shavers Mountains, bordered by the most extensive red spruce forest remaining in the Central Appalachians. The river is revered by trout fisherman and naturalists alike; two-thirds of the land through which it flows is publicly-owned and readily accessible by well-maintained national forest roads. During the Civil War, the mountains here played a pivotal role in controlling access to Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike and ultimately to the Shenandoah Valley to the east. The earthworks of the Cheat Summit Fort are still visible on a bluff overlooking the river. In summer and fall, the Cheat Mountain Salamander, an excursion train named for an endemic, endangered amphibian, runs along the river into the remote heart of this beautiful, wild country. More selfishly, the banks of this river collect a treasure trove of wildflowers, including the gorgeous tassel rue (Trautvetteria caroliniensis), or Carolina bugbane, which was in bloom this past weekend.
