ULAH — The only people in this Randolph County hamlet either live here or are lost.
On Sunday, we were lost. Navigating by compass, we guessed our way backed to civilization, unable to get a GPS signal in the Uwharrie Mountains. Eventually we stumbled northward until we found Asheboro.
Coming back from a weekend trip to the beach, we were lured off U.S. 220 by a marker, “Historic Covered Bridge.” The countryside was beautiful, and we were determined to ferret out yet another covered bridge since finding one in Virginia last month. Twisting and turning from one road to the next, I began to wonder if we’d ever find the bridge … or our way home.
Randolph County has a peculiar way of naming some of its tiny communities: Whynot, Erect, Farmer, Level Cross and Sophia.
The little Pisgah Covered Bridge over the West Fork of the Little River is delightful.
Built in 1911, the bridge has survived vandals and floods to remain as one of only two historic covered bridges left in North Carolina. The other is in Catawba County. Pisgah Bridge was rehabilitated in 1998 following a flood. Visitors can walk over the wooden span. A short nature trail and picnic tables beside the stream were a nice touch.
Mountain laurel were blooming and boys were throwing rocks in the …