Oak Leaf Lichen
Our hike was going to be another Great Balsam adventure but the weather just did not cooperate. As we traveled along the Blue Ridge Parkway, the fog shrouded everything. The overlooks were pure white, as was the road ahead. Finally, at the junction with Rt 276, we headed off to find something else to do. The Pink Beds Trail was just a short ways down the ridge. We pulled in, saw a kiosk with a map and started hiking. We kept looking for and wondering what "pink beds" were.
The 5 mile loop trail employed boardwalks to get through some of the wetlands.
The largest Joe Pye Weed I have ever seen
Hurricane Fred downed a bunch of rain on this area and you could see where it had flooded in many spots. Some of the wooden bridges had been dislodged, displaced or swept away.
As we walked here, we kept seeing very large White Pine trees. There were also a number of large Hemlocks. Later in the day, we learned that this area had been settled with a number of small farms. Beginning about 1985, George Vanderbilt began purchasing these properties as part of his massive estate. He had hired Gifford Pinchot and later Cark Schenk to manage the forest. Schenk ran a forestry school in the vicinity and planted a number White Pines as part of the reforestation program.
Oh, and we also learned "The Pink Beds" were so named for the number of Fire Pink wildflowers here.
Hurricane Fred damage
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