The Nature Conservancy’s Bear Rocks Preserve is remote, rugged, high-elevation West Virginia mountain land with an often-severe and quick-changing boreal climate. It’s atop the Allegheny Front, the predominant ridge of the Appalachians and the “eastern” continental divide. This ridge has a rim of sandstone cliffs and giant rock outcropping with a 2,000- to 3,000-foot drop below to hills and valleys. To the east, there are breathtaking 30-mile views where seven mountain ridges are visible on a clear day. Along the rim are stunted red spruce trees with flag-formed limbs pointing to the east as a result of the almost-constant and often high-velocity winds. Large, striking and uniquely shaped white sandstone and quartz rocks are found throughout the Bear Rocks Preserve area....