Gaps, Hollers, and the Occasional Notch

When I was growing up and reading some of the popular tales like The Legend of Sleepy Hollow that scared the pants off me with the Headless Horseman, I was always curious about what the heck a hollow was. Being from California, I was blissfully unaware that things like Hollows, Gaps, or the occasional Notch even existed. Now as I travel through the East and South, I find that they are everywhere! To me they look surprisingly like Canyons and Passes, but apparently there are subtle differences perhaps not visible to the untrained eye. But the real difference is the magical images the words invoke. I mean just imagine if Ichabod Crane had been pursued by the Headless Horseman through Sleepy Canyon. It just doesn’t have the same ring to it, and the story would have flopped.

When I was a kid, my Dad used to take us on long hikes,and when we got tired he always reassured us that we were almost there by saying “it’s right through that notch”, so I sometimes cringe when I hear that word. But now as we head into the fourth month of our journey I keep thinking to myself “it’s right through that notch”. Thanks Dad.