Landmarks: the root at the summit

Self-tutoring about local geography: the tutor mentions a subtle landmark.

Walking home, I climb a hill for about 10 minutes. It dominates its area.

The road that climbs that hill levels out before the pedestrian path; the latter continues to rise until a tree root crosses it in a little pocket of woods. It’s a quaint spot, appointed with a dogwood tree. The woods are open so that you can see through them.

I wonder how many of my fellow pedestrians notice, as they cross that root, that they are crossing the summit of that hill.