Oct 18 Hammonasset Beach

 

The rugged shoreline here is part of the massive moraine left by the last glaciation. The small rocks here are of many different types, different ages and from so many different places. 

Hammonasset has a sizeable wetland which has some forest on the edges. This is a popular birding location. We saw quite a few birders and groups enjoying a Saturday morning. 

Common glasswort grows in the salt marshes here. Pannes are depressions in the salt marsh which hold a little salt water between tides. This gives the mud a high salinity, inhospitable to most plants except glassworts. This is the fall "red" stage of the plant. It gives the salt marsh a red tint as you look out over it. 

Between the salt marsh

More glasswort

Another salt loving plant, Triangle orache. Check out those leaves. 

Slipper snail shells

Although, Hammonasset has a beautiful sandy beach that seemingly never ends, this beach is composed not of sand, just slipper snail shells. If you dig down in them, some of the shells have broken down but it is still almost 100% slipper snail shells. There is some worry about this. The slipper snail population is soaring. Some folks think the overharvesting of oysters has left a void the snails are filling. 

Hints of red from the glasswort

Oct 16 Pinchot Sycamore

 

Gifford Pinchot, the first head of the National Forest Service, was born in Simsbury CT. He was one of the first forest conservationists around the beginning of the 20th century. He founded the Yale University School of Forestry. He briefly worked with George Vanderbilt and Carl Schenk on the Vanderbilt property which later became the Pisgah National Forest. On a obscure personal footnote, Pinchot was a member of the 1888 national champion football team at Yale. Not only did they go undefeated, they outscored their opponents 694 to 0. 

This American Sycamore on the banks of the Farmington River, a short distance from downtown Simsbury was named in honor of Gifford Pinchot. It is claimed to be the largest tree in New England. I looked it up: Circumference 28 feet  -  height 100 feet and canopy spread 121 feet. 

How many trees can you name that have honoree names like the General Sherman Tree? 

We stayed in the 1820 Simsbury House in downtown Simsbury. It is the birthplace of Pinchot. 

Oct 13 Boar on Rhododendron Creek

 

This hike took a twist. After an early start at the bottom of Rhododendron Creek, I had easily crossed the creek and passed the first two waterfalls when I saw a couple black things scurry up a hill. Very quickly, I realized they were not bears but boars. Having only had two previous encounters with boars, I wasn't certain of the protocol. Since they had moved up and away, I proceeded cautiously. This was a very narrow and steep gorge I was in. Within a minute, I spotted two more boar. Both were in the trail beside a creek. 

In the photo you can see the boar in the trail bordered by a steep hill and the creek. These guys did not scamper off like the first two, so I turned back. 

Later in the day, I was attending a CPR and first aid course nearby with some local volunteer hike leaders. Among them was a local fellow with years of service in bear rescue and rehabilitation. His take is that the boar usually move away as bears would. He also mentioned that boar encounters are rare. 

My first encounter was about a dozen years ago outside Cataloochie. There were over 20 up on a hillside. Adults were staring at me which smaller ones were rooting around. It was spooky and I hope I don't encounter that number again. 

Oct 12 Ramsey Cascade Old Growth Forest

 

The parking area was almost full when I pulled up. I did see quite a few people on the trail but probably not enough to account for all the vehicles. This is the first time I have hiked the newly rehabbed version of this trail. My recollection of this trail was relentlessly uphill and very rocky and rooty. The Trails Forever crew, funded by the Friends of the Smokies, worked for 3 (covid) years to improve the trail from a sustainability view. During that period, the crew worked on the trail weekdays and the trail remained open on weekends. It has been open 24/7 since the work completion Nov of 2024. 

Right at the parking area, the first crossing. This long pedestrian bridge was built at the site of an older bridge. Rock support structures can still be seen on either side of the creek. My guess is that this was a road and not a railroad. The park map of old growth forest, shows this area as being old growth. The road and trail run contiguous for a mile and a half at which point it ends in a loop. There is also a rougher side road which makes its way up Greenbrier Pinnacle to where there was a firetower and cabin.  

At the point where the trail and old road loop, there is a trail sign indicating 2.5 miles to the waterfall. The trail goes from two track to single track and begins a bit steeper climb. 

Wood asters livened up the trailside with their late blooming flowers.

It's jack-o-lantern season again.

The delicate moss is so happy, it's dancing. 

These look like little yellow fairy cups.

I think this bridge replaced another well before the Trails Forever redo. If you can see the middle support, the bridge actually turns at an angle there.

One of those big old growth Tuliptrees that is dwarfing my hiking stick.

These photos of a curved staircase built by the Trails Forever crew, really showcases the craftmanship these guys and gals have. 

This was a completely satisfying hike. The Trails Forever crew did a great job leveling out rocky areas and building staircases in steep spots. There are many fewer roots and rocks but it is still relentlessly uphill. I recall one spot where you climb down a few feet to cross a creek. Otherwise, I think this trail on its way to the waterfall, has less downhill as a percentage than any other trail I've been on. 

I hiked the uphill portion in just under 2 hours. That allowed me to linger at the top and slowly meander on the return hike. 

Sep 26 Stony Mountain

 

Stony Mountain in Stanley County has a ridgetop full of large boulders. This is private property but through an agreement between the Carolina Climbers Coalition and Stony Mountain Winery, this area is opened to limited public access. The Carolina Climbers Coalition has built a couple trails here to access the boulders. They ask that you register with them to access the trails. A QR code allows you to register on site.

I hiked the Peppermint Loop which is a little less than a mile. It is overgrown in spots so watch for the trail markers. I was able to follow the trail most of the time but did get off it in a few spots.

A second trail, accesses another area on the opposite side of the winery.

Though not as large as Ridges Mountain boulders, these do remind of Ridges. Like Ridges, the CCC does bouldering at both locations. 

The bouldering trails visit all the big rocks right up to their property line. The rocks continue but access does not.

Visiting when the leaves have fallen, might open some views of Lake Tillery below. I recall the winery and event center had some vineyards on the hillside which opened a nice view of the lake. 

Sep 19 Glensheen Fireplaces

 

Glensheen is the home built 1905-08 by Chester and Clara Congdon of Duluth MN. Chester had amassed  a fortune in the mining business. He built this estate which has an "institutional" look in my opinion. It served as the family home for the Congdons until daughter Elizabeth's death in 1977. Tour guides are not permitted to talk of the circumstances of her death. She was murdered along with her nurse by her adopted daughter and husband who stood to gain financially from Elizabeth's death. 

Although, in 1908, you didn't need fireplaces for warming in a house like this, they were mostly for show. Each fireplace is unique and made from different material and styles. Each one had a story of where the tiles or stone came from. The andirons were quite unique as well. 

Vaseline or Uranium glass was a popular oddity of the 1930s. Glass covered with uranium glows green in UV light. The fad ran out of steam in the early 1940s when the government confiscated all uranium for the Manhattan Project.