Hey y’all, these two hikes in North Carolina and Tennessee national forests increased our orchid count in a year that has already surpassed expectations for orchid sightings. Over a two-week period with rain and extreme heat, we accumulated fewer miles, but there was always something unexpected on the trail. Our Read more…
To celebrate a steamy Independence Day, we went high in elevation to hike in the Roan Highlands. Our starting point was Hughes Gap, where the Appalachian Trail winds upwards through spruce-fir forest and crosses over Roan Mountain. Our total mileage was 10.2 miles. Our hike began in beauty, with Turk’s Read more…
Just before the last week of June, we squeezed in 11.7 miles in three separate hikes. My goal was to find more native orchids and wildflowers before leaving for the Pacific Northwest to visit our daughter. The Round-Leaf Orchid (Platanthera orbiculata) is one of my favorites, and a tricky one Read more…
A few weeks ago, we re-visited Mt. Mitchell to enjoy the long-range views and show our out-of-town friends the highest peaks in the Eastern US. Upon arrival, it was in the high 40s and windy, but abundant sunshine and hiking would generate some heat. Our goal was to find more Read more…
This spring has handed us plenty of weather extremes over the past few weeks. Bernie and I left the house early on a Sunday morning, hoping to log a few miles and dodge the rain. We headed for a favorite trail, with a steady uphill climb that passes through a Read more…
Big Ivy trails are worth revisiting to capture the full spectrum of wildflowers blooming between early and late spring. Every section of this trail in the Appalachian Ranger District showcases wildflowers that are either winding down and setting seed, or beginning their transformation to full bloom. Finding native orchids is Read more…
Despite unseasonably warm temperatures for camping and hiking, we departed on Friday afternoon for the Appalachian Trail near Damascus, VA, close to the border of TN and NC. We camped off a gravel road intersecting the trail, built a fire to ward off the insects and settled in for the Read more…
Over the past few weeks, hiking has taken a back seat to self-care and healing. Our weather has also been pretty fickle during this time, with delightful sunny, blue skies during the week, and rain arriving just in time for the weekend. But last weekend, I was anxious to hike Read more…
Cold Mountain is one of the 6,000 foot peaks in the Great Balsams of North Carolina, and a challenging trail with spectacular wildflowers. Our trek began on the Art Loeb trailhead leading up from the Boy Scout camp. This is a shorter route, but steeper climb than coming from the Read more…
The blooms in the Big Ivy area have SPRUNG! We took a short 4 mile hike after work to check out this ever-evolving wildflower haven. The bright blue skies and warm temperatures over the past few days mean that the forest understory is greening up with spring ephemerals. Some wildflowers Read more…