Saturday, June 9, 2012

June 10, 2012 Great Smoky Mountains

It was a rainy misty day. We hiked the Andrews Bald trail. A bald is a peak where the top does not have trees- but thick bushes.  Most people hike here because the views are fantastic, but not on a foggy day. I had heard the flowers were beautiful up there and we had seen the view the day before. The mist was really cool anyway.

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Misty mountains, the trail had just been renovated by the friends of the Smokies, a group funded by private donations. It was really easy to walk, and even had rhododendrons.

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Misty green trail, and John and Sue!! It was cold and rainy, so we had on long underwear, fleece and our packs on under our rain coats. John said his pockets were full of important survival gear.

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Flame azaleas and Rhododendrons on the bald

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More of the same

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More flames in the mist- basically the view, since you could not see a thing very far in front of you.  John is in the very distance of this trail shot.

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more trail. Sue and John at the same view point we had taken photos from the night before.  No view today.

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The road was lined with buttercups, the view on the road

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holey tree roots, moss, berry flowers, snail, flame azalea bud, fiddlehead, new spruce needles, flowers

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I saw these red flowers on the bald, they look like sweet williams to me. Azaleas, pink flower, under the leaves, frazier fir buds-this is the only place they grow south of Canada. Unique environment here, lichen, Rhododendrons, lichen on a tree truck, birch bark.

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Wet spider web, yellow flowers, water droplets on grass, thyme leafed bluets, more water on grass, more bluets, purple flower, wet grass seed head

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grass seed head, round concretion in the rock from softer rock wearing away first, water droplets.  I was getting into the wet foliage.

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