Monday, April 25, 2016

DAY TWO IN THE SMOKIES

FIRST HIKE  of  WILDFLOWER PILGRIMAGE

Today’s wildflower hike is described like this:  “A 6-mile moderate hike passing through many wildflower displays and old-growth forests from Cosby Picnic Area past the 90 foot Hen Wallow Falls and beyond.  Elevation change:  1,000 foot ascent.”  This trail is part of 800 miles of maintained hiking trails in the Smokies.

I should be able to do this, having walked up to six miles before but my right knee sometimes complains after five miles.  When we gather at the picnic area, a woman with a knee brace says, “Time to take Vitamin I,” as she roots through her pack.

“What is Vitamin I?” I ask Kathy.  “Ibuprofen,” she says.

Our two knowledgeable leaders set off. 
 
The female leader is a botanist who has a copy of a book called “Wildflowers of the Smokes.”  All 30 of us start off together.




 After a quarter mile, I find myself in Larry’s group.  Larry and his son just published a book about hiking all over the Cumberland Plateau.  He is a consultant about rare plants to various Tennessee agencies.  I am a gullible person but Larry might be serious when he says: “Because of my occupation I cannot tell you when there is a rare plant on our hike.”  The reason this might be true is that poachers steal rare and very special wildflowers. 

Early on we see shining club moss (which is either a fern or a fern-ally depending upon which expert tells you).  It is common in hemlock woods.  Hemlocks are dying, unfortunately.
Many tree species are in big trouble because of imported insects or fungi.  Efforts are being made through some sort of botanical DNA manipulation to create a resistant American chestnut because it is mostly gone.  As are ash trees. 

Here, we see the actual aphid-like horror called the hemlock wooly adelgid.  DNA study of the Eastern adelgids show they came from southern Japan where they are kept in check by natural enemies and possible tree resistance.  Our trees die within a couple of years of being infested.  Some of the hemlocks we see on the trail have a circle of paint at their base, indicating they have been treated with an expensive something-or-other which has to be reapplied between 5-10 years (depending on who tells you).

I am happy to see many violets of various kinds, the first being the halberd-leaved yellow violet.  I even see three different ones growing near each other.  Why are violets my favorite flower this year?  Because they are easy to find and colorful.


I wish I knew more about lichens because there are many of them and they are so attractive, especially when they create a landscape of their own.
One of my fellow pilgrims spots a pink lady’s slipper.  All of us photographers take turns kneeling at her feet. These orchids are very difficult to transplant (and propagate) so DO NOT BUY THEM.  They were stolen or poached from the woods.  Enjoy them enthusiastically when you are lucky enough to see them in the wild.








 Remember the parasitic, leaf-less, non-chlorophyll plant I saw with the two Debbies a couple of weeks ago?  We see it here as well, but it has a better name in the Smokies.  Bear corn is not insulting (like squaw corn) and not unhappy (like cancer root) and is actually descriptive.  Necropsies on the black bears have shown it is their very most popular food in the Spring.
This trail is not an easy one to walk because of the many rocks and tree roots.  To cross streams we are Olympians specializing in the balance beam.  A gorgeous large quartz rock is at one stream crossing.





We see just a few of the delicate mountain bellwort.  “Wort” is ye olde English word for “plant.” 


Larry tells us he and some others consider rhododendron in the Smokies, at least, as a native invasive.  It can take over and create such thickets that the sun cannot get under them.  Plus their roots exude some sort of chemical to restrict the growth of other plant species.
Folks making these decorative rock piles are unknowingly destroying habitats of salamanders and other creatures who live under rocks.  Unfortunately it is a fad.  Naturalists are trying to educate people.  Bark can be removed by bears for various bear purposes they haven’t shared with me.
We see sweet shrub here and there at the edge of the trail on the ravine side.  Larry asks us to smell the flowers without falling over the edge.  Since my smeller is not very good anyway I pass. 
Larry points out a stick which he warns us to touch with care.  It is called devil’s walking stick because of the big thorns.  Although only an understory tree, it will eventually have huge leaves on its top.  In fact, it has the largest leaves of any native tree in the continental United States. A single leaf may be as much as three feet long and two feet wide.

This is some sort of shrub with beautiful flowers which apparently have a pleasant smell.  I do not remember the name.  [I asked my Nature Ramble expert, Hugh Nourse, whether he might know.  He does not recognize it from these two pictures.]

Then I spot a gorgeous flower and shout out, “Painted trillium!”  I first saw this gorgeous flower last year on a Spring Wildflower Field Course taught by Linda Chafin.  This wonderful course was an elective course in the Native Plant Certificate program at UGA’s State Botanical Garden of Georgia. I am thrilled to see this beauty and doubly thrilled that I remember its name. 

No sooner do we pass the gorgeous trillium, then someone spots a Jack-in-the-pulpit.  I love these guys too.

Then someone spots a moth or butterfly on a tree.  Where?  Where is it?  I don’t see it!  Finally Larry walks me to the tree and points.  There it is!  [It's a moth called, we think, Tulip-tree Beauty on p 257 of Kaufman's Field Guide.]
I take a picture of something, not knowing what it is.  But it is looks like it will be Something.  [When I review my photographs after I get home I am suspicious that it is a developing yellow lady's slipper.  Don Hunter, a Nature Ramble expert, also thinks it might be a yellow lady's slipper.  He has not seen one yet in the wild but hopes to.] 
I already forget what Larry calls this yellow plant.  Oh dear.  Is it the dreaded parsnip?  Again?
Fortunately the next “new” flower is a blood root with its distinctive leaf.  Since it is the earliest wildflower to bloom, it already has a seed capsule.  The root is orange-red, prompting Cherokee to use it as a dye for basket, clothing, and body paint.
We see only one morel but it is so beautiful!  I take a photo of some sort of trillium whose flower is bashfully youthful.



Early meadow rue is wind-pollinated so they look like they have hula skirts on.  These are the showy male flowers which is appropriate because I learned in Hawaii that the first hula dancers were men.  It takes the slightest breeze to move  these guys so a fully focused photo is not in the cards today.
We see some white flowers in the trees.  They are not flat like dogwood flowers.  We’re thinking they must be silver bells and are happy to find a tree closer to the trail to confirm that.


I see a lovely big millipede.  Thanks to Nature Ramble expert, Dale Hoyt, I now know the difference between a centipede and millipede.  A flat-backed millipede is bashful and hides in the dirt.  Kathy finds an “empty” millipede on the trail; someone sucked out its insides.


The rock formations here are very dramatic.  Kathy rests for a moment while chatting with fellow pilgrims.
The roots we walk on have interesting circles on some of them.  This one looks like a mossy leprechaun bed.
Star chickweed or giant chickweed flowers are so pretty.  While it looks like there are 10 petals, there are really five which are deeply cut. 
Having climbed and climbed, we are finally at the trail going directly to the falls.  The falls trail is only .1 mile but it goes steeply down.  I am not panting but I am tired.   Walking on and around those stones and roots while climbing up is tough!  At least for me.  As I now climb down, all I can think about is how difficult it will be climbing back up.  Saving grace:  we will eat lunch at the waterfall.  Revival is possible.

Sitting at the base of the waterfall, eating a sandwich, is so very refreshing in many ways. We contemplate on the meaning of the name of the falls:  Henwallow.




Could that be some late-blooming sharp-leaved hepatica across the stream?  The leaves certainly are. 

When we head up, I have enough energy to vote for going a little further before turning back.  The view out shows the light yellow-green of trees as they welcome Spring.  After about 20 minutes, though, another woman and I opt for sitting on a log, having a really nice conversation until the rest return.  “They better not have seen something truly exceptional!” 

This blue-gray lichen (?), fallen off a tree, is a delicate sculpture on a bed of brown Fall leaves. 
On the trail, I witness a tree seeming to deny the law of physics.  How is it getting the strength to remain standing?  Sometimes a courageous spirit can defy gravity.
Slightly hidden off the trail, two of us spot something unusual.  We climb up a bit to check it out.  It appears to be some sort of memorial with plastic flowers.  Could someone perhaps have buried a loved one’s ashes there? 
We see a few odd-looking natural things.  The lumpy things coming out from the tree will develop into hard shelf-bracket fungi.  The blue-green pieces of wood have fox-fire fungi on them; they are supposed to be bioluminescent.

On the way back, there are newly dug trenches cutting across the trail diagonally.  I immediately think of Don Hunter (a Nature Rambler) and Walt Cook, who have spent Tuesdays digging trenches like that at the UGA Botanical Garden.

Toward the end of our walk we see something I think is daisy fleabane but maybe it is Robin’s plantain because the petals are different.  [Please let me know about any mistakes in the Comments section below or by email.]

I find some Advil and take it with my remaining water.  My feet and legs hurt as do my shoulders.  Kathy kindly shows me how to arrange the straps of my backpack so there is less pressure on my shoulders.   I thought being in the mountains would be much cooler but, with my Viking genes, I have gotten quite warm hiking.  My tee-shirt is completely wet where it touches my backpack.  I need to get one of those new-fangled packs that has a special screened fabric touching your back with air between it and the bulky, heavy part.  I saved money by buying a children’s school backpack at Target but I will need to spend more money for my next one.