TIME TO MAKE THE DONUTS
Back in March, Peter posted
a message on the club site looking for participants for a guided Nature
Conservancy hike of Bluff Mountain, in Ashe County. Bluff is part of the Amphibolite Mountain Group, a range of peaks
stretching from Grandfather Mountain northeast to the Virginia line. It features outstanding views, numerous
ecosystems, and dozens of rare or endangered plant species. I had always wanted to visit Bluff, and
access is only allowed with a Nature Conservancy guide. When I saw Peter’s message, I immediately
signed up.
Unfortunately, I came down
with the flu the day before the hike.
Bluff Mountain is an easy hike, but I was barely able to walk around the
house. I had to cancel. I still wanted to visit the mountain though,
and that desire only grew, after hearing from some friends about how great the
hike had been.
Joel had participated on
that first hike, and immediately began planning a return. We decided to go at the beginning of June,
to catch the pink ladyslipper orchids at the peak of their bloom. Over the next couple of months, we began
working to recruit more folks to join us.
The guide charges $100 per group, so Joel and I knew we’d have to find
some other hikers to keep the trip affordable.
At one point, we had 11
people signed up. Then the first
tropical storm of the season reared its ugly head, and the weather forecast
went into the crapper. People began
dropping like flies. Soon, our group
was down to 7. At one point, it looked
like we’d have to cancel. Fortunately,
the rest of our group was far from fair-weather hikers.
The hike wasn’t scheduled
until 2pm on Sunday. So, Joel, Cheryl,
and I decided to do a short hike that morning.
Initially we thought about hiking at the new Elk Knob State Park. The trail there is still under construction
though, so we changed our destination to Mount Jefferson. A road goes almost to the top of Mount
Jefferson, but there is a short trail there (less than 2 miles). Oddly, despite living just down the road in
Boone for four years, I’d never been there.
Sunday morning seemed like the perfect time to correct that oversight.
We reached the end of the
road late Sunday morning amid thick fog, gusty winds, and persistent
drizzle. We didn’t have much trouble
finding a parking space, as there was exactly one other car there. We piled out of Joel’s truck, put on our
rain gear, and hit the trail.
We followed the gated road
up through the picnic area and past the bathrooms. I quickly discovered that there was at least one good reason to
hike there that day, despite the rain.
The rhododendron bloom is early this year, and it seemed as if the
entire mountain had turned pink. We
continued uphill through all those blooms, before reaching a junction with the
Rhododendron Trail. You have to give
the state park credit, they did a good job naming this one.
We hiked the loop, as well
as a short spur trail to the summit.
There is a fire tower at the top, but the bottom section of stairs has
been removed. This wasn’t terribly
disappointing, as there weren’t any views to be seen, anyway. We did note several rock outcrops along the
hike that should provide fine views in better weather. I guess I’ll have to go back up there on a
nicer day.
There was only one other
person on the mountain while we were there.
He was walking laps around the loop trail, in the opposite direction
that we were hiking. I think we passed
him 3 or 4 times before we finished. It
seemed like every time I looked up, there he was! It’s amazing, how one person can make a mountain seem crowded.
We stopped at the picnic
shelter after our hike to have lunch out of the rain. This worked out well, but it was surprisingly chilly there. I quickly began to regret not bringing more
clothes. Ray’s weather had promised
that the rain would end by early afternoon, and I was really hoping he’d be
right.
After a leisurely lunch, we
headed down to the McDonalds in West Jefferson to meet our guide and the rest
of the group. We found Bob, Laura, Ken,
and Toni there. We met the guide, Doug,
settled up, and headed up the mountain.
Once we reached the gated road at the edge of the Nature Conservancy’s
property, we all piled into the back of Doug’s dump truck. This wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it may
have been the most exciting part of the day.
Luckily, the rain had stopped when we left McDonalds, as if on cue.
We reached the trailhead,
which features an outhouse and not much more.
From there, we began the hike, continuing up the dirt road. This is probably the least exciting part of
the hike, but we still had some entertainment.
As we climbed, we spotted several dozen bright orange Newts. Doug explained that the Newts we saw were
adolescents, still in what is called the eft stage.
Eventually the grade eased,
and we found ourselves walking through a hardwood forest with a dense
understory of blooming rhododendron.
The colors here were every bit as impressive as what we’d seen up on
Jefferson. Before long, we heard a
pileated woodpecker nearby. After several
minutes looking for him, I spotted him as he flew away.
A few minutes later, we
reached my favorite part of the hike.
The trail passed through a small meadow covered in wildflowers. There were several types blooming, but I was
stunned to see Indian Paintbrush everywhere.
We see Paintbrush all the time on our trips out west, but I’d never seen
it in North Carolina. I was seeing a
whole lot of it here. Orange blooms
were everywhere, along with several other kinds of flowers. Doug named them all for us, but I was so
giddy over the Paintbrush, I don’t remember the others! I attempted some photos, which was
challenging thanks to the combination of low light and gusty wind. Somehow, I managed to get a few good ones.
From there, we climbed to
the ridge, and out to the first of several viewpoints. It had seemed miraculous that the rain had
stopped right before the hike, but now the fog was lifting right before our
eyes. The sky was still a steel gray,
but the ceiling had lifted enough to see all of the surrounding peaks. After a bit of gawking, Doug led us to an
even better overlook. From this cliff,
we had sweeping views west and north.
Just across the valley were The Peak and Three Top. We had hiked both of those mountains before,
but I’m eager to get back to Three Top.
We have unfinished business there, as our previous hike had only gotten
us to the first of the three summits.
This was a great spot, but
the wind was so powerful, Doug was afraid one of us might blow away. We headed back down into the relative calm
of the forest. A few minutes later, we
reached a final overlook, called the Lookin’ Off Place. The view here is more to the east. It isn’t as spectacular as the previous
overlook, but it’s still nice. From the
cliff, it’s possible to crawl to the edge to view a waterfall cascading down
into the valley below. I did this, and
it made me wonder – how many things have I missed in the past, because I didn’t
crawl out to the edge?
From there, we hiked back
down through the woods. At one point,
Doug pointed out a Gray’s Lilly that will be blooming soon. Gray’s Lilly’s are a threatened species, and
I’d only seen them once before, up on Roan Mountain.
A few minutes later, we
reached the fen. A fen is similar to a
bog, but it is spring-fed. In the
southern Appalachians, they are quite rare.
As you might guess, they harbor numerous rare and endangered plant
species. On our visit, we saw several
pink ladyslipper orchids, as well as the carnivorous sundew.
Just before we arrived, Doug
warned us that the fen had recently been vandalized. Earlier that week, someone on an ATV had ridden up the mountain
and through the fen. Extensive damage
was done. Fortunately, the authorities
think they know who is responsible, and the Nature Conservancy is planning on
pressing charges.
This depressing news was
mitigated by some comedy. While Doug
was explaining what had happened, he mentioned that the ATV rider had done
donuts in the fen. When he finished, Toni
said, “I know the fen is ecologically sensitive, but how much damage could he
really have done eating some donuts there?”
Before the hike ended, Doug
mentioned a number of exciting land-conservation initiatives underway in Ashe
County. Apparently, the Conservancy is
attempting to purchase the Long Hope Creek Valley and Old Field, which are
adjacent to Bluff Mountain. This would
compliment other protected lands in the area, including Three Top Mountain, The
Peak, Elk Knob, and Mount Jefferson.
Unfortunately, he also passed on some bad news. Pond Mountain, which is in the farthest
northwest corner of North Carolina, was converted from a natural grassy bald to
a Christmas Tree farm some years ago.
Now, the mountain is in the hands of a developer. If you’ve traveled to Ashe County recently,
you know how much development pressure there is there. Any land that is going to be preserved there
will have to be preserved soon.
If you’re interested in
visiting Bluff Mountain, contact the guide, Doug Munroe, at (336) 385-6507
weekdays from 7am - 6 pm. Doug did a
great job leading the hike, and provided extensive information about the flora,
the mountain, and the surrounding area.
Our group peppered him with a nearly endless barrage of questions, but
he never tried to rush us off the mountain.
Clearly, his interest goes far beyond making a hundred bucks on a Sunday
afternoon. The hike is an easy 2 or 3
miles. If you’re interested in helping
with conservation initiatives in Ashe County (or elsewhere), check out the
Nature Conservancy website at http://www.nature.org. The conservancy is always looking for
volunteers. In fact, a workday on Bluff
Mountain is planned for the afternoon of June 30th. They can use all the help they can get!
Back to North Carolina's High Country
Back to North Carolina
Back to Hiking and Backpacking Trip Reports
Please remember to Leave No Trace!