It is a foggy morning ob the AT. Today's hike is a 9.5 mile stretch of Appalachian Trail south of Roan Mt. Specifically, we are hiking from Beauty Spot to Iron Mountain Gap. Beauty Spot, is an open meadow. It is difficult to see how it became known as Beauty Spot. I felt it was a rather nondescript open area. Views were limited and tall vegetation closed in the periphery.
Nevertheless, this is where we started hiking. The trail roughly paralleled a dirt road which we kept seeing on our left. There was a pretty stout pull uphill early in the hike and then things leveled. We had a few other climbs but the worst of the uphill was over early.
Dodder Vine begins the slow process of killing vegetation. Russ refers to it as the broken weed whacker cord.
There is still some Milkweed for the butterflies.
I loved this walk through Spruce. It was like walking on plush carpet. Also, it is quite conducive for constructing campsites.
This brilliant orange fungus, sometimes mistaken for Chanterelles, is a not so edible Jack O' Lantern. I have known of its bioluminescent properties for some time but have never experienced it. Someday, I will see some Jacks which are located in a spot which can be visited at night to see the light blue-green glow from the gills.
A truly utilitarian shelter at Cherry Gap. Before ending our hike, we encountered a Mom and her two young sons planning to stay here. Just before reaching our vehicle, we see a maze of old timber roads and one dirt road.
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