Today's PHOC hike is led by Dave Lowe. It is a key swap hike with a total of 23 hikers. Some heading south on the AT from US 19 to Carver's Gap, on Roan Mountain. The others will travel with me in the opposite direction. Temperatures were mild and the ski was mostly clear. We had very favorable hiking conditions. About half this hike is open bald and considered by some as the most scenic hike on the AT.
We see some late summer wildflowers. Some Bee balm, my favorite and many sunflowers. We spotted a pea which I could not identify. There was Rattlesnake plantain blooming as well.
Above is the lunch spot we normally meet at. There was open seating today and plenty of room. For us, northbounders, we had Big Hump to climb straightaway after lunch. Once that has been tackled, it was downhill the rest of the way. Once off the bald and back in the forest, there is a couple mile stretch of rocky trail to traverse. The rockiness continued on and off for the remainder of the hike.
This guy is part of the Baatany Project to restore Grassy Bald and Alder Bald using goats. The 22 goats are now in their 7th season of this experiment. The goats will be herded off the mountain in mid September. Many southern balds are growing back now that grazing has been discontinued. The Great Smoky Mountain National Park had 22 miles of continuous balds at one time but only 2 are being actively restored (using powered mowers). Grayson Highlands has ponies grazing to keep the vegetation down. Blackberry is the most prolific invasive on Roan. Guess what the goats love to eat.
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