PITCHER PICTURES

A couple of weeks ago Brenda posted a trip report on Carolina Adventures following her hike with Darrin in South Carolina’s Mountain Bridge Wilderness. The highlight of their hike had been a visit to a rare mountain cascade bog that harbors a number of unusual plants. The flora there includes insectivorous plants like Sundew and Pitcher Plants. Those are extremely rare in the mountains, and I was fascinated. Unfortunately I’d missed their hike due to a prior commitment.

Jack and I decided to do a hike the following weekend. We considered a number of options, but ultimately decided to visit the Pitcher Plants in the Mountain Bridge Wilderness. We weren’t sure if they’d still be blooming, but figured it was worth checking out regardless.

I met Jack in Spartanburg on Saturday morning. The dogs and I rode with him from there. We arrived at the Jones Gap State Park entrance shortly after their 9am opening time. We paid our $2 / person parking fee and filled out the permit for our hike before hitting the trail under overcast skies. The weather forecast had called for a partly cloudy day, and they were half right. It ended up being cloudy all day, which was good for wildflower photography but less appealing for long range vistas. The sun did finally make an appearance late that afternoon, when we were on our way back to Spartanburg.

We followed the river briefly before picking up the Pinnacle Pass Trail. We followed it steeply uphill to a junction with the Rim of the Gap Trail. We planned to return on the Rim of the Gap Trail, so we forked left to continue up Pinnacle Pass.

The first couple of miles of the Pinnacle Pass Trail are quite strenuous, with lots of steep ups and downs and a rocky trail with awkward footing. It’s an interesting trail though, as it passes below a number of impressive rock faces. It also features a couple of nice views. The first is from a cliff part of the way up, with vistas of the valley below. The second is another cliff just below the summit of Little Pinnacle Mountain. That particular vista is probably the best in the Mountain Bridge Wilderness, as it encompasses most of the park and the mountains to the northeast.

Between the two viewpoints we followed a narrow ridge through tunnels of blooming Mountain Laurel. The floral display was outrageous, and its beauty took our minds off the difficulty of the climb. Later, after a break at the second view point, we enjoyed more Mountain Laurel and an easier trail. Beyond Little Pinnacle Mountain the trail follows old forest roads. That part of the hike offers a pleasant break from the grueling ascent out of the valley.

A little while after passing the junction with the John Sloan Trail we left the roadbed to descend on a footpath. A few minutes later we crossed a stream and wandered out onto an expansive rock face. We were treated to another nice view from here to the south. At this point we dropped our packs and began to explore.

Jack headed upstream while I wandered down. The creek flows down the rock face, which is steep but not steep enough to be considered a waterfall. There are numerous potholes and crevices along its course, and many of them had plants growing in them. I found the first Pitcher Plants in one of those areas. I was delighted to see that they were still in bloom. There were Sundew there as well, along with several varieties of wildflowers I’d never seen before. Some of them looked like orchids, and we later identified them as Calopogon orchids. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about Calopogon Orchids:

“Calopogon, like many other orchids, is an indicator species for good remnant hydrology. This means that their presence is an indication of high-quality ground and surface water. Most species of calopogon frequent wet, sunny swales, bogs, and the edges of marshy areas, and associates with ferns, sedges, grasses and forbs”.

I took quite a few photos, though only one patch of plants was easily accessible. Reaching the others would’ve required crossing a steep, slippery stretch of wet rock. It was just treacherous enough to discourage me from attempting that.

Jack didn’t have as much luck upstream, though he did stumble upon a small waterfall. Later, after lunch, we explored upstream and found more Pitcher Plants. We spent a good bit of time photographing the Pitcher Plants and other flowers in both areas before packing up for the return hike.

Just before leaving I suggested exploring downstream along the creek one more time, but on the other, wooded, side. I don’t know why I suggested this – for some reason I felt like we were missing something. Jack was game – after all, one of our hikes isn’t complete without some bushwhacking. We descended through the woods until we reached the obligatory briar patch. At that point we worked our way back over to the creek at the edge of the rock face.

The first thing I saw was a neon orange flower. The color was so brilliant it was truly indescribable. My first thought was that it was a variety of Indian Paintbrush. Initially I dismissed that idea. I’ve seen lots of Indian Paintbrush in the Rockies and the Cascades, but I’ve only seen it once in the southeast. That was in a bog high on Bluff Mountain, in Ashe County, North Carolina. Later, after looking at my photos, I realized that it really was Indian Paintbrush. This bunch of flowers was growing in an area similar to the fen on Bluff Mountain, surrounded by dense vegetation but benefiting from constant moisture.

The hike back was less eventful. We took the Pinnacle Pass Trail to the Jerry Sloan Trail, which we followed to the Rim of the Gap Trail. We then hiked the steep and rather uninteresting eastern portion of the Rim of the Gap Trail back down to Jones Gap. The western portion of the Rim of the Gap Trail is a thrilling hike, but this stretch is merely a fast, convenient way to return to the valley. Along the way we did pass the upper end of the now-closed Ishi Trail. There isn’t much sign of this trail now, as nature has already begun to reclaim it.

The Pitcher Plants, Orchids, and Paintbrush were all spectacular. Combined with the abundant Mountain Laurel and impressive views, this was a hike to remember – and to repeat next spring. All thanks to Darrin and Brenda for sharing their info on this amazing place.

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