Craggy Gardens, A Stop Along the Blue Ridge Parkway

Craggy Dome, Copyright KBuffaloe

A popular stop along the Blue Ridge Parkway is Craggy Gardens, which, according to my parkway guide, is named for rock outcroppings on nearby summits. The Visitors Center is located at mile 364.5, and there, you can enjoy a bathroom break and breathtaking views that includes Craggy Dome.

But our goal for this trip was the picnic area, located at mile 367.6, and the Craggy Gardens Trail.

The Craggy Garden picnic area is a spacious lot dotted with picnic tables comfortably shaded beneath a canopy of trees. Several trails can be accessed from this area, including Mountains-to-the-Sea and Douglas Falls.

The Craggy Gardens Trail is Hike 18 in Kevin Adam’s North Carolina’s Best Wildflower Hikes. As we learned during our hike, and as Adam’s mentioned in his book, a heath bald is located near the summit. Websters defines heath as a tract of wasteland, an extensive area of open uncultivated land usually with poor coarse soil and inferior drainage. According to the Guide to the Natural Communities of North Carolina, Fourth Approximation (March 2012, Page 11) Heath balds are "areas dominated by dense shrubs, with natural absence or near absence of tree cover, in topographically exposed, high elevations."

It sounds desolate, but as we discovered, the area is actually lush. The dominant shrub is Catawba Rhododendron, and rhodos line the trail to the pinnacle and at one point, form a tunnel.

Rhodo Tunnel, Craggy Gardens, Copyright 2014

The view inside is enchanting (and far more spacious). From photos I’ve seen, Craggy Gardens is breathtaking during the peak bloom season, but the hike and the bald offer a serene beauty even after the Catawba blooms fade. The forest floor is covered with ferns and other vegetation, and since it is a heath bald, blueberries, mountain laurel, and flowers mentioned in Adam’s book can also be found in their season. Near the bald is a shelter built by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) in the 1930s, constructed with American Chestnut, a massive tree that once could be called the king of the forest, but is now nearly extinct. The shelter provides a nice respite along the short trail, and is handy during an unexpected rain.

Craggy Gardens is a refreshing stop along the Parkway, and now that I'm familiar with it, it's likely we'll return again and again.

Pearson Falls: Updated over the Years

Years ago, I wrote about Pearson Falls after the first of many visits: Pearson Falls, Saluda NC

Nearly seven years after leaving the Upstate, we returned to Pearson Falls. Much is the same--the short trail is still serene; wildflowers still grow along the lush path; the falls are still gorgeous--but the Tryon Garden Club has made a few changes. The nominal entry fee has risen a few dollars, funds which keep the falls open to the public and which are used for improvements. Upon our arrival, we spotted a small cafe (closed this early in the season) and newly-constructed restrooms.

As always, we enjoyed our time at this North Carolina treasure. For more information, go to http://pearsonsfalls.org/

Morrow Mountain State Park

Like Landsford Canal State Park in SC and the NC Zoo, Morrow Mountain is one of those "far" places we put off visiting until we could spend the night in the area. But last week, I was craving a mountain hike, so we packed up and took a long drive.

Morrow Mountain is nestled in a curve along the western edge of the Uhwarrie Forest, separated from the forest by the Yadkin/Pee Dee Rivers. It's in the Piedmont where mountains shouldn't exist. But North Carolina has several "little mountains" as the host of Exploring North Carolina called them. Mountains outside of the mountain range. This is due to the fact that NC is made up of strips of land called terranes. In short, the foothills of the Blue Ridge was once the original edge of North America, but additional land masses collided into that edge, forming the Old North State, as seen here in this USGS image:

http://tapestry.usgs.gov/states/northcarolina.html

When things collide, one or both sides buckle, creating folds. Water eroded much of the land in these folds, but erosion-resistant rock remained in some places, leaving behind peaks such as Pilot, Medoc, and Morrow Mountain. Consequently, elevated views exist in the Piedmont.

That erosion-resistant rock is the second reason Morrow Mountain is special. It has (rather, it is) an abundance of rock, including ryolite, rock with grains so small, they're undetectable to the eye.

Natives such as the Pee Dee tribe hauled the resilient rock down the mountain to other locations where they converted the stone into arrowheads or tools. Evidence of that activity still exist throughout the park. In addition to the presence of an ancient quarry, chips and shards litter the mountain side, including the Mountain Loop Trail near a summit that offers a breathtaking view of Lake Tillery.

Morrow Mountain has fourteen trails, three of which are bridle, though hiking is permitted on each at the time of this writing. The trails range from .6 to 9 miles, and from easy to strenuous. A boat ramp is available for those who would like to boat along the Yadkin. Rowboats and canoes are available for rental, as are cabins. Check the park's website for fees and availability.

As we quickly learned, Morrow Mountain is worth the drive. For more information, go to www.ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/momo/main.php

A Few From the Parkway

I traveled to the South Carolina Upstate today for reasons I'll soon announce, and I took advantage of the trip to check out one of our favorite spots--the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Originally, I'd hoped to visit Mt Mitchell to see the newly constructed observation tower. As it turns out, today was the official opening for the long awaited structure. But members of my hiking group informed me a section of the Parkway south of Mt Mitchell to just north of Asheville is closed. Sure, I could have followed detour directions posted on the NPS's Parkway page, but with the longer trip and thunderboomers in the immediate forecast, I decided to wait until my husband and I could travel together--in clear weather.

But I did take America's Favorite Drive from Asheville to the Cold Mountain Overlook, where I cut down Hwy 276. After the rain, the air is clear and fresh, and wispy clouds flit through the mountain peaks. I took a few photos. Unfortunately, I neglected to reset the white balance after a wedding last week, so they're a bit overexposed. But you'll get the picture.


Wispy clouds hover over peaks shortly after a rain:

Rhododendrons frame Looking Glass Rock:

Close up of Looking Glass Rock

It's spring, and the Parkway is waking from its winter slumber. Be still my Carolina heart.