Rain Man (and Woman)

Posted on July 30, 2020 by roadsendnaturalist

A rainy day is a perfect time for a walk in the woods.

~Rachel Carson

I am finally getting around to posting about our trip to one of our favorite backpacking spots, Mount Rogers, VA. My backpacking and camping queen (you know who I am talking about) has been chomping at the bit to get out on the trail since the pandemic has caused us to hole up at home. So, after spending a few days helping my mom in her home in southwest VA, we planned to do an overnight to the nearby high country of Mt. Rogers. Since it was a weekday (and there was a less than ideal forecast), we were able to secure a spot in the overnight backpackers lot at Grayson Highlands State Park without having made online advance reservations (definitely required for weekend trips). We hit the trail after lunch and planned to do a short 2.7 mile hike to an area just off the Appalachian Trail on Forest Service lands. The cool temperatures made for a pleasant hike, and the overcast skies enriched the colors of the woodland details. As is usually the case on our backpacking trips, I did not carry my camera gear, so all accompanying images were taken with an iPhone.

Frequent rains make for a lush forest floor in the highlands (click photos to enlarge)

Rosebay Rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum)

A huge mushroom with a world of invertebrates in its gills

The highlands are home to numerous fruit-producing trees and shrubs like blueberries, blackberries, hawthorn, and mountain ash

It started raining about halfway on our journey, lightly at first, but then hard enough that we sought shelter under a spruce tree for a few minutes before marching on. Fortunately, we arrived at our campsite during a lull in the precipitation, so we were able to get the tent set up without much problem. But, as we started to put up the all-important tarp, the skies opened and our spirits dampened (along with everything we owned).

That look you get when you have been waiting to backpack for sooooo long, and it rains on your parade

The tarp is a life-saver on this kind of trip (once you manage to get it set up)

We finally got the tarp up and ate dinner, but dove into the tent as the torrential downpour began. It rained most of the night and continued past first light the next morning. It eventually eased up enough to encourage us out of our still dry tent and into the wet world. With the normally expansive vistas shrouded in low clouds, it encouraged us to focus more on the small beauties along the way. All in all, not a bad way to spend a rainy couple of days.

A Maple Looper, Parallelia bistriaris

The wild ponies help keep the meadows open

The highlands are home to amazing textures and colors of lichens…

…you just need to pause and look closely

The green colors of ferns, mosses, and lichens were richly saturated in the gray skies

Patterns and textures everywhere

The upright fertile shoots of the Fan Clubmoss contain the spores. In prehistoric times, some clubmosses reached the height of trees and often dominated the landscape.

We spotted a single Turk’s Cap Lily ((Lillium superbum) on our hike

Heal-all (Prunella vulgaris), as the name implies, has been used to treat a variety of ailments in the past

St. John’s Wort (Hypericum sp.) were found scattered across the high balds

A view as the cloud bank started to lift (barely)

We lifted a few rocks in a tiny rivulet along the trail and found three salamanders

The highlands are home to an incredible variety of fungi. I believe this is a Pigskin Earthball, Scleroderma citrinum

This beauty was growing on a fallen log…probably the Upright Coral Fungus, Ramaria stricta

I love the names of this one – Eyelash Cup (Scutellinia scutellata) – also called the Molly Eye-winker, the Scarlet Elf Cap, and the Scarlet Pixie Cup. Look closely and you can see the fine fringe of filaments resembling eyelashes along the edge of each cup.

As we left the park, the weekend crowds were starting to arrive, the clouds were lifting, and the ponies were doing what they do, adding a touch of glamour to the most beautiful mountains in Virginia

Hiking the High Country

Posted on October 19, 2018 by roadsendnaturalist

Live your life each day as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance toward the summit keeps the goal in mind, but many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vantage point.

~Harold B Melchart

Seems like just a little over a week ago that I was struggling to climb a mountain with a heavy load on my back…wait, it was just a little over a week ago! And this past weekend, we did it again. This time, in one of our favorite areas, the Mt. Rogers-Grayson Highlands region of southwest Virginia. My back was a bit sore from chainsawing fallen trees after the remnants of Hurricane Michael passed through, but we had planned this trip for some time. Melissa’s sister and boyfriend were going to meet us at Grayson Highlands State Park for a two-night adventure in the high country of Virginia. The weather forecast was a bit iffy, but off we went, ever hoping for the best. Our first day was a short one and after a hike of only a couple of miles, we found a great campsite along a beautiful mountain stream (Wilson Creek, I believe).

Campsite for our first night along a rushing stream (click photos to enlarge)

The overcast skies soon turned to rain after dark, but we were comfortable under a stretched tarp and the fire continued until a break in the rain let us get into our tents.

Sunrise in the high country

The next morning dawned clear and cool, with a mist drifting through the trees. It finally felt a little like Fall.

Early morning mist in the boggy meadow near camp

Invertebrate designs – a dewy spider web

I love early mornings – the quiet, the morning coffee, the first stirrings of the wildlife around you, and the softness of the light that gently touches everything, especially if there has been condensation overnight. I spotted a couple of shimmering orb weaver spider webs at the edge of the trees and we walked over. One was a particularly odd design. At first, we thought the spider was still busy weaving, but a closer look showed it was sitting in the center and the interior spirals of silk were there, just not glistening with dew like the rest of the web.

A scene near camp in the early morning light

The greens of mosses, club mosses, lichens, and ferns added a rich backdrop to every scene

I suppose backpacking on wet, rocky trails does have one advantage – I tend to not look around too much in order to keep my feet under me and the rest of me upright. Though I may miss some beautiful scenery or treetop wildlife, I do see a lot of interesting things on the ground. The lushness of moss hummocks and beds of club mosses were particularly noticeable on this trip. And there are still caterpillars out there to be found!

Hickory tussock moth larva

A Fall webworm (I think) covered in dew

Our day 2 hike was about 7 miles, with a steady climb through the forest to the more open high country for which this region is so well known. In addition to the expansive mountain views, the other major tourist attraction in this area are the herds of wild ponies. I saw an article stating this region is “the only place on the Appalachian Trail where you can see wild ponies”. Depending on which reference you use, the ponies are believed to have been introduced in the early 1940’s by locals wanting to keep the area open, or by the Forest Service decades later for the same land management purpose. There are believed to be about 100 ponies spread out over thousands of acres of high grassy balds and forests. They live up here year-round, but are watched over and rounded up once a year by the Wilburn Ridge Pony Association. The Fall round-up serves to check the health of the herd and to auction off some of the ponies (mostly males) to keep the population under control. Park rules ask visitors to observe the ponies from a distance and to not feed them. We had to step aside a couple of times as ponies walked by on the trail.

A foal nursing along the trail

Grazing of cattle in the highlands has long been a part of the local way of life, and in 2012, the Forest Service allowed herds of longhorn cattle to graze alongside the wild ponies during the growing season. The cattle are removed every winter, but the ponies stay through the bitter cold months.

This grass patch isn’t big enough for the two of us

As we approached the rocky outcrops of Wilburn Ridge, the strong winds caused us to rethink our plans for camping on the crest. So, we searched for something a little more protected in the open landscape. We ended up picking a spot of the leeward side of the ridge, partially protected by a large rock outcrop and a small grove of trees.

Our home for the night – not a bad view

There were a couple of campfire rings and a few relatively flat spots without too much pony poo, so we were able to set up camp, gather firewood, and relax and enjoy the spectacular views.

Sitting by our protected campfire looking out toward our tents

Shortly after dark, it started to rain, so we had an early end to the evening, climbing into our tents and hoping the gusty winds would subside before a tent wall collapsed under the strain. At one point during the night, I woke up to a sky full of stars. But by sunrise (well, when it got light anyway), it was a different story.

Inside a cloud on Wilburn Ridge

We were socked in and the view was a bit different from the sunset the night before. The wind was gently blowing as the clouds blew around us. A couple of ponies were barely visible100 feet away, and there was an eerie silence, save for the whap, whap, whap of a tent flap. It was only a couple of miles to the cars, so we grabbed a quick breakfast, packed up our wet gear, and headed out.

Below the clouds on our way out

The trail down the ridge is rocky but we were soon below the cloud deck and could see rolling ridges of highlands stretching to the gray horizon. Though the skies had been leaden for much of the trip, we appreciated the solitude and serenity of our time in the high country and are looking forward to a return trip. In case you go, our hike took us from the Overnight Backpackers Parking Area near Massie Gap (you must register and pay at the entrance station to Grayson Highlands State Park), up the AT to the Scales Trail, then to the Pine Mountain Trail, and finally rejoining the AT back to the parking area.

The Highlands of Virginia

Posted on October 30, 2016 by roadsendnaturalist

Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity.

~John Muir

I think thousands of people must have read this quote last Sunday and headed to my favorite Virginia state park, Grayson Highlands.

Our campsite at Grayson Highlands State Park (click photos to enlarge)

The parking lots were all packed on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, so we just set up camp and hiked out the short trail to Big and Little Pinnacles, hoping the crowds would die down for our longer hike on Monday.

View from Big Pinnacle

View from Little Pinnacle

The trail to the Twin Pinnacles is a short 1.6 mile loop that starts behind the Visitor Center at the end of the park road. On the way out to the pinnacles, you walk though a forest with scattered spruce, rhododendron, and abundant yellow birch…

including one of my all-time favorite trees – a birch that embraces a boulder just down the trail off the Little Pinnacle.

Though known for its expansive views, the park also offers beauty when viewed up close

After a blustery night in the campground, we headed up to a now almost deserted parking lot at Massie Gap on Monday morning. I have been going up to this area for as long as I can remember, visiting my grandparents and my Aunt Ruth every summer when I was a kid. I fondly remember climbing over the boulders and picking (and eating) the sweet huckleberries that are so abundant in late summer. I have been back many times since, but usually for short visits or just a night of camping. Melissa and her sister backpacked the area two weeks ago and proclaimed it the best hiking in the region (the area was named one of the top ten hiking areas in America in a Backpacker Magazine article in 2011), so we decided to go back and take in some of the many miles of trails that crisscross this mountain paradise. Our route would take us roughly along the trails that Melissa had walked two weeks ago, but, since we were doing it in a single day instead of two, we took a few shortcuts, making our total hike about 10 miles.

Our 10-mile day hike

Our route took us from Massie Gap (just off bottom center of map) up to the Appalachian Trail (AT, purple line). We hiked northeast to the Wise shelter; then took the Scales Trail (dark red dashed line) to Scales; the Crest Trail northwest to its juncture with the Pine Mountain Trail (black dashed line); Pine Mountain Trail southwest to Rhododendron Gap; then the Wilburn Ridge Trail south and back to Massie Gap.

The first ridge above Massie Gap offers spectacular views

The weather was perfect as we started our hike up from the popular starting point at Massie Gap, although the wind was pretty strong, with gusts approaching 20+mph on occasion. The views in this area are spectacular and the terrain reminds me of being out West, with big Montana-like skies, and a mix of conifers, open meadows and huge rock outcrops.

Witch hazel flower and open seed capsule

Witch hazel blooms stand out against a blue sky

All along the lower pars of the trail, we saw the odd-looking late blooms of witch hazel, Hamamelis virginiana. The flowers are much more noticeable on trees that already had lost their leaves. This widespread shrub/small tree blooms later than almost all other plants in the region and, surprisingly, relies on whatever insects may still be active for pollination. The genus name, Hamamelis, means “together with fruit”, since this year’s flowers occur simultaneously with the ripening fruit from last year. Fruit capsule splits explosively with an audible pop, ejecting the seeds up to several feet.

Down off the ridges, the forest is beautiful

We appreciated the times the trail traversed through the trees, sharing the beauty of the forest, and giving us a break from the winds.

Wise shelter on the AT

I was impressed by the Wise shelter on the AT – a nice structure in a beautiful setting next to a creek.

Seed heads of cotton grass indicate a boggy habitat

Near the Wise shelter and all along the Scales Trail, we saw seed heads of cotton grass, Eriophorum virginicum. This is one of several species found in the scattered mountain bogs in the area. I definitely want to come back in the spring and see what interesting wildflowers may occur in them.

Virgin’s bower seed heads

From a distance, the seed puffs of virgin’s bower, Clematis virginiana, look a little like the round seed heads of cotton grass. But, close-up, they are a light, feathery head of white “hairs” that occur in groupings along a twisting vine. This is a native Clematis with male and female flowers on separate plants.

Sunny days make for interesting shadows and highlights along the trail

The combination of wind and sun made for an interesting hike in terms of temperatures – cold in the wind, warm when protected from it. We saw several species of butterflies out and about including buckeyes, commas, and American coppers. Bird life included crows, ravens, a red-tailed hawk, and lots of robins and juncos. We hiked a few miles with only distant glimpses of probably the most famous inhabitants of these mountains, the wild ponies, but that would soon change.

We encountered our first ponies along the Crest Trail

Various online sources state the ponies were released into these highlands by the U.S. Forest Service around 1975. The purpose was to control the growth of shrubs in the balds of the high country. The balds formed in the late 1800’s after extensive logging and fires. Cattle grazing kept the areas open until the creation of the park in the mid-1960’s. The pony herd has grown to over a hundred animals and is now maintained by periodic round-ups and auctions of excess colts.

Wild ponies on Pine Mountain Trail

We came across more of the herd grazing in a meadow along the Pine Mountain Trail. Park regulations prohibit feeding or petting of the ponies, but don’t mention what to do when they start following you, as a couple of them did to us as we passed along the trail.

Sometimes the ponies can be very curious

They seem friendly enough (although park signs warn that they may to bite and kick) and certainly are beautiful, but I have read a few accounts online about some being pests at backpacker campsites. But these just seemed curious about us (probably hoping for a handout) and we soon left them to their grazing.

The aptly named Rhododendron Gap

Several trails converge at Rhododendron Gap, a saddle in the mountain ridge that is covered in its namesake flowering shrub. Looks like a place we certainly want to visit in June when the display is at its peak.

Wilburn Ridge

The trail up Wilburn Ridge is a bit of a rocky scramble, but the views are amazing once you break out into the open. The ridge is named for Wilburn Waters, a famous hunter and trapper that called these highlands home in the mid-1800’s. Rumors have it some relatives said my Dad, in his youth, was like Wilburn, for his tendency to be out roaming these mountains in pursuit of fish and game. Who knows, maybe that’s one more reason I find these rocky balds so appealing. The highest peak in Virginia, Mount Rogers, rises nearby and, on a clear day, you can see far into North Carolina with views of iconic peaks like Roan Mountain and Grandfather Mountain on the horizon.

The amazing campsite Melissa had on her last trip

After climbing off the highest rock outcrop (where the wind was blowing a steady 15+ mph), Melissa took me to the campsite she and her sister shard on their recent backpacking trip. What a view it must be of both sunrise and sunset, with rolling ridges of blue as far as the eye can see. We will be back on another trip I am sure, most likely backpacking next time, and, hopefully, when the winds are not as gusty.

A lone snag stands guard on Wilburn Ridge

The elevation on Wilburn Ridge is somewhere around 5500 feet, but the rock outcrops and balds make it seem much higher.

Iconic fall scene in the highlands – mountain ash berries and boulders

Mountain ash berries offer a splash of color all over these balds

The fall colors were past peak on our hike, but the palette was still beautiful with shades of brown, the grays of boulders, the dark greens of spruce and fir, and the bright red berries of mountain ash against a brilliant blue sky. American mountain ash, Sorbus americana, is not related to ash trees, but is a member of the rose family, containing trees such as apples and cherries. The berry-like pomes can remain on the trees much of the winter and are a favorite food of birds such as robins and cedar waxwings.

Cluster of American mountain ash fruit on moss

Whether lying along the trail or swaying in the winds at the tips of branches, the bright red-orange fruit of the mountain ash are emblematic of the high country and brisk mountain air this time of year.

Muir was right…the mountains are calling…

We wrapped up our hike about 6 pm and headed back to our campsite. The wind was starting to die down a little, the temperatures were dropping, and our bodies felt that good sort of tiredness that comes from spending a day hiking these hills. It was a great reminder that you don’t have to travel to the far corners of the globe to experience natural wonders and fantastic vistas. They can be found in the memories of childhood not far from home.

Elk Garden

Posted on May 13, 2013 by roadsendnaturalist

View toward Mt. Rogers from Elk Garden parking lot

My Dad’s birthday and Mother’s Day are both the second week of May so I try to get home each May for a visit. As it turns out, it is also the prime time for a visit to one of my favorite areas in Virginia – the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. Covering over 200,000 acres in southwest Virginia, the Mt. Rogers NRA contains four wilderness areas, mountain balds, high elevation spruce-fir forests, 500 miles of hiking trails (including a portion of the Appalachian Trail), beautiful mountain streams, wild ponies, and is adjacent to my favorite Virginia State Park, Grayson Highlands. But in early May, the place to be is Elk Garden. Easily accessible via Rt. 600, Elk Garden lies between the two tallest peaks in Virginia – Whitetop Mountain to the west and Mount Rogers to the east.

Lush herbaceous layer in the forest at Elk Garden (click to enlarge)

Each May I always enjoy traveling back in time to early spring (relative to the Piedmont of NC) as we climb the winding road to an elevation of about 4400 ft. Climbing the trail from the parking lot toward Whitetop, the trees are just starting to leaf out and various neotropical migrant songbirds can be seen flitting through the branches. But the show is down below, in the rich herbaceous ground cover lying between the boulders and bordering the numerous small streams cascading down the mountain. This is one of the richest wildflower displays I know and I always love to spend some time with my camera capturing their beauty. This year, the cool weather delayed some of the flowers so the balance of blossoms was slightly different than past seasons. Here are some of my favorites seen a few days ago:

Wake Robin (click to enlarge)

Everyone seems to love trilliums. They tend to be big and often showy with bright colors. The name trillium refers to the “threeness” of these plants – three leaves, three petals, three sepals, and fruit with three ridges. The name, Wake Robin, refers to the blooming time of this plant (and other species of trillium) which often coincides with the return of robins in early spring. This particular species also goes by several other, less flattering names, including Stinking Willie and Stinking Benjamin, both of which refer to the unpleasant aroma of the blossom (go ahead, get down and stick your nose up to it the next time you find one). Lacking nectar, these flowers rely on deception to bring in pollinators which are primarily flies and beetles that are typically attracted to dead animals.

Wake Robin, red form

Wake Robin, yellow form

This species is primarily a red-flowered one, which, when combined with the foul odor, mimics decaying flesh which attracts the pollinators. Less commonly they have white flowers, and even rarer still, are yellow-flowered plants. The petals on all varieties tend to turn pinkish with age. The flowers of this species nod toward the ground making them somewhat less noticeable, although the distinctive leaves quickly draw your attention.

Trout Lilies (click to enlarge)

The bright yellow Trout Lilies cannot be overlooked – they stand out against the surrounding greenery for your attention as you hike. Only a small percentage of the plants usually flower in any season (some references say less than 5% typically). Flowering plants have two leaves whereas the vast majority in a population have only a single leaf. The upside down flowers close every night and the petals and sepals re-curve upward again every morning during their short blooming period.

Fringed Phacelia (click to enlarge)

High on my list of favorites is the Fringed Phacelia, a low-growing annual that can blanket the forest floor with a carpet of white that resembles a late-season dusting of snow. The delicate fringed petals reward any hiker that kneels for a closer look. Some species of Phacelia in the western U.S. apparently contain compounds that can itch and sting causing a skin rash similar to poison ivy and giving the plant the unkind name of Scorpionweed.

Spring Beauty (click to enlarge)

Spring Beauties appear to pop up from almost every available space in the ground cover at Elk Garden. They can be quite variable in the amount of color in the striped petals (this specimen was noticeably brighter than most).

Spring Beauty Bee with loaded pollen baskets (click to enlarge)

They have a tasty edible corm and are the primary source of nectar and pollen for the aptly-named Spring Beauty Bee. This foraging bee looked like it was wearing pinkish chaps due to its full pollen baskets (Spring Beauty pollen is pink).

Wood Anemone (click to enlarge)

Like most of the spring ephemerals (those woodland wildflowers that bloom before the trees leaf out reducing the amount of light that reaches the forest floor), Wood Anemone has a short growing season of only a couple of months. Plants spend most of the year dormant as an underground rhizome. Studies have shown that these and many other spring ephemerals are now blooming earlier than they did just decades ago due to warming temperatures associated with climate change. One study of Wood Anemone showed they bloom an average of 15 days earlier now than they did in the early 1970’s.

Violet

Violets are scattered all along the Elk Garden trail. In addition to the well known purple-blue colored species, there are white and yellow violet species in this rich cove forest. Violets have two types of flowers – open and closed. The closed flowers (called cleistogamous) are often partially hidden under the leaves and are self-pollinating, ensuring at least some seed production even in years of poor pollinator success.

Squirrel Corn (click to enlarge)

The plant that gives me the greatest delight when I find one along the trail is undoubtedly Squirrel Corn. The delicate, blueish-green foliage and unusual blossoms of this plant often occur in dense patches and immediately catch your eye.

Squirrel Corn (click to enlarge)

The flowers are somewhat heart-shaped with the upper lobes being more rounded than in the plant’s close relative, Dutchman’s Breeches. Squirrel Corn gets its name from its underground food storage structures, which look like corn kernels.

Blue Cohosh (click to enlarge)

A variety of other species carpet the ground throughout early spring along this section of trail including Blue Cohosh, Yellow Mandarin, False Hellebore, Jewelweed, Umbrella Leaf, Solomon and False Solomon’s Seal, Twisted Stalk, and many others. The region is so rich in wildflowers, birds, and other natural wonders that the local community center hosts an annual Mount Rogers Naturalist Rally each May with speakers, hikes and other programs. While this area is beautiful any time of year, spring in these mountains is truly spectacular.

Roads End Naturalist

Educating myself and others about the natural world as I wander and ponder at road's end.

Tag Archives: mount rogers

Rain Man (and Woman)

Hiking the High Country

The Highlands of Virginia

Elk Garden

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