The Great Guide

By Linda Tancs

To the Saura Indians, North Carolina’s Pilot Mountain was known as Jomeokee, the “Great Guide” or “Pilot.” It guided both Native Americans and early European hunters along a north-south path through the area. A quartzite monadnock, this rugged mountain rock has survived for millions of years while the elements have eroded surrounding peaks to a rolling plain. Comprising two pinnacles, Big Pinnacle is the iconic knob of bare rock topped with vegetation. It’s connected to Little Pinnacle, easily accessed by visitors for views of hundreds of square miles of the Piedmont and the nearby mountains of North Carolina and Virginia. Pilot Mountain State Park is located in Surry and Yadkin counties, 16 miles north of Winston-Salem.