#17: Linville Gorge

There's a mountain back there somewhere.... 

The day dawned cloudy and cool, with a mist that made an annoying pattern on the windshield of my car.  But there had been no notification that the work had been cancelled, so I dutifully cruised up to the local Kmart to meet the other folks.

After about 45 minutes, I found myself standing with 20 other people (4 of whom worked with the forest service) at the trailhead, clippers in hand.

The low fog persisted, and so the usual view was obscured. So I had to content myself with photos of the trees looming in the mist, and the usual assortment of plants and things closer to the ground, that show in September. I would cut a few things, and then find something else to take a photo of.

It seemed like the Sourwoods were turning red a bit early. I wondered if perhaps this meant fall was on its way, or that it was coming early. It can't come too soon, in my opinion.

I found these fellows growing up a tree. I think of these things as fairy ladders, when they're growing upwards. If the tree is lying on the ground, I think of them as staircases. Why the whimsy and what the difference is, I could only guess at. I'll let you folks figure that one out.

As usual, there are a few dead trees here and there. This one decided to stick right out. It had a ghostly, skeleton-like look to it, almost like a bony wing pointing at the sky.

We got a bit damp working in the woods today, although most of the water came dripping off the trees from all the rain yesterday, rather than any actual bad weather. It was kind of nice to cool off once in a while.

This is known as "Indian Pipe" It's kind of like a fungus in that it doesn't need sunlight to grow, but takes its nutrients from the roots of the plants that grow around it. It starts out white and then turns black as it ages. It's a bit weird looking.

And of course, the usual assortment of creepy crawlies.  This one wasn't happy to be disturbed, but that is what you get when you build your web across a pathway...... your web gets moved.

The fog left pretty droplets on the webbing, which was pretty cool. It also helped it show up better on camera.







All in all, a pretty good trip. Maybe next time the weather will cooperate for us, and show up that which was hidden this time round. Stay tuned!

Aye,
Kraneia