Big Ivy/Coleman Boundary: 4/6/19

Live in accordance with the nature of things. In dwelling, be close to the land. In meditation, go deep in the heart. In dealing with others, be gentle and kind.

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

We often string together different trails in the Big Ivy/Coleman Boundary area for a longer, more strenuous hike. This hike was 9.1 miles beginning at Walker Creek and doing a loop through Big Ivy. Today was the opening day of trout season, so we saw numerous vehicles and fishermen in waders as we drove to Big Ivy/Coleman Boundary.

The Coleman Boundary is in the Pisgah National Forest Appalachian Ranger District. This forest holds many happy memories for me over the past 20 plus years, along with concerns with what the future may bring. While I understand the mission of the US Forest Service and the concept of forest management, multiple-use forest management in the form of logging could negatively impact the plant diversity (and overall diversity) that is such a distinctive feature of the Coleman Boundary.

We were joined by our hiking buddy Joan, and also Gisselle, one of the YMCA warrior workout women. As usual, we were excited by the prospect of wildflowers, and were first greeted by creeping phlox in various shades of pink and purple.

We often find that people build cairns by streams; this is very disruptive to animals, fish, invertebrates and others that dwell in these habitats. You can learn more about the impact of rock cairns here: https://lnt.org/blog/these-impacts-are-stacking

The sheer volume of plant species found here simply boggles the mind; it is such a rich habitat in the many coves that are fed by branches and springs. Immediate finds included early trillium in bloom, along with an abundance of Hepatica and Spring Beauty scattered about the forest floor.

The trail starts out as a rocky incline, with Walker and Staire splitting into two separate trails. Staire continues to the right, alongside Staire Creek, which drops down a boulder lined ravine. As the trail turns away from the creek, there is an overhanging rock that is large enough to accommodate a campsite underneath, with a constructed rock wall on the front. Sometimes there are climbers on this rock. This is where the trail slope increases, with three extremely steep sections gaining nearly 1000 feet in elevation. Fortunately, it is only about 0.8 miles before you reach Forest Service Road 74.

On our way up the trail towards the rock, a group of large-flowered trillium were basking in the sun. Simply beautiful!

We wound up the trail, caught our breath and crossed over to Bear Pen, accompanied by the rushing sounds of the nearby creek as we continued to climb. Bear Pen and the grass forest service road had very few wildflowers; wildflowers in the higher elevations will follow in time. There were some bluets on the spray cliffs, but they were difficult to photograph due to the underbrush at the base of the spray cliff. It was cloudy, breezy and cool on the grass road and we were donning additional clothing.

We soon proceeded down Perkins, which is wet and rocky and requires careful placement of your feet to avoid a face plant. Crossing back over FS Road 74 onto Walker Creek, the ground was covered in Hepatica and Spring Beauty. We saw larkspur nearly in bloom, along with some cut-leaf toothwort. I will be revisiting this trail in the near future, for sure!

It turned out to be a mostly sunny, warm day, with early spring wildflowers providing a perfect backdrop to the beauty of the national forest. We are fortunate to have this amazing area for our use, enjoyment and preservation for the future.

There has been a great deal of advocacy to preserve the habitats and beauty of Big Ivy/Coleman Boundary, including the request to designate this as a wilderness area. You can learn more here:

http://www.friendsofbigivy.org/blog

https://mountaintrue.org/

If you are interested in the US Forest Service Management Plan revision, you can get more information here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/nfsnc/home/?cid=stelprdb5397660

I hope that you will join us on our next journey as the herbaceous plants and shrubs of the Southern Appalachians roll out their full spring splendor!

Big Ivy/Coleman boundary is located at the end of Dillingham Road, which is right turn off of Route 197 in Barnardsville, NC. As you enter the National Forest, turn right at the first road. Park at the end and proceed up Walker Creek trail, bearing right onto the Staire Creek Trail that ends at FS Road 74. From there, pick up the Bear Pen- directly across the road, that ends on the Laurel Gap Trail. Turn left on Laurel Gap, with another left turn to access Perkins trail and once again, cross FS Road 74 to Walker Creek Trail for a loop. https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/nfsnc/recarea/?recid=70825