A STROLL THROUGH THE GARDEN
Mid-to-late June brings the
Catawba Rhododendron season. This year
though, the Rhododendrons are blooming early.
I accidentally discovered this on June 3rd, on hikes at Mount
Jefferson and Bluff Mountain in Ashe County.
Those peaks had virtually turned pink from all of the blooms. I knew they wouldn’t last long, so I
planned a hike to the Craggy Gardens area the next weekend. I was thrilled when Jack agreed to join
me. Surprisingly, Jack had never hiked
in the area. Sunday proved to be a fine
day for his first trip there.
We met at the Folk Art
Center on the Parkway. From there, Jack
followed me to Craven Gap, where we left my car. We then endured the tedious drive up to the Craggy Gardens Visitors
Center. Fortunately it was still fairly
early, and traffic didn’t slow to a crawl until we were almost there.
It was surprisingly warm at
the trailhead at 5500’. Fog still hid
the higher peaks, but Craggy Pinnacle looked like it might break out of the
murk at any moment. We were both hoping
the skies would clear, as we were looking forward to a number of fine views
along our route.
The hike began with an easy
walk up to Craggy Gardens proper. We
reached the CCC shelter, and took the side path up through the meadows and
heath balds. We found lots of blooming
Rhododendron there, although the colors were actually a bit past their
peak. Some blooms had come and gone,
but some shrubs were just budding.
We wandered through the
garden taking photos. The highlight of
the area for me was actually a brilliant orange Flame Azalea. Rhododendron, Mountain Laurel, and Flame
Azalea all bloom around the same time.
Rhododendron seems to attract the most attention, but Flame Azalea has
always been my favorite. Luckily for
me, we’d see a lot of them before the hike was over.
We returned to the shelter
and continued on the Mountain-To-Sea Trail towards the Craggy Gardens Picnic
Area. A long descent made us glad we’d
chosen to hike north to south. Even
going that way, the hike was still long enough and challenging enough to give
us a workout.
We crossed the road leading
to the picnic area, and hiked up to a small meadow near the junction with the
Snowball Mountain Trail. It was early,
but this is a pretty spot, and we decided to stop for lunch. We both spent quite a bit of time
photographing the many wildflowers blooming here.
The wildflower show was only
beginning. We’d come for the
Rhododendron, but we found a stunning display of floral diversity. Highlights included Wild Columbine,
Firepink, Sundrops, several varieties of Daisies, Solomon’s Seal, and many more
that we were unable to identify. As we
hiked, we gradually moved away from the Catawba Rhododendron, and into forests
full of Flame Azalea. Later still, we
found dense stands of blooming Mountain Laurel. It’s unusual to find all three blooming in a single dayhike.
One of several climbs
brought us to Lane Pinnacle, where we found several nice views from rock
outcrops. Fortunately, the morning fog
had cleared. It was still a warm, hazy
day, which diminished the views somewhat, but the vistas were still a highlight
of the hike. The best of them offered a
180-degree view, from Craggy Dome down to the town of Swannanoa.
That afternoon, we passed
through the ruins of Rattlesnake Lodge.
The foundations of several buildings remain, and they provided some
interesting historical significance for our hike. Of course, the lodge might still be in operation today, if it’d
had a better name. I can just imagine
the following conversation, a hundred years ago:
Husband: Honey, where do you want to go for vacation
this summer? This Rattlesnake Lodge
sounds interesting.
Wife: Please tell me you’re kidding.
Husband: I’ll book us a room at the Grove Park Inn.
Clearly, Rattlesnake Lodge
needed a better marketing department.
It was late in the afternoon
when we neared, and eventually crossed, Ox Creek Road. We were both hot and tired and ready to head
for home. Unfortunately, this is not
where I’d left my car. I could practically
read Jack’s mind as he questioned that decision. For once, I was glad I hadn’t brought my wife. I wouldn’t have needed to read her mind to
find out what she thought of that.
The last couple of miles
turned out to be quite worthwhile.
While crossing a rocky slope, Jack spotted Yellow Prickly Pear Cactus
blooming below the trail. Where did
that come from? I’ve seen many of them
in the desert southwest, but I couldn’t believe it would grow naturally in the
wet climate of western North Carolina.
When I got home I checked my Field Guide to Eastern Wildflowers, and
discovered that it’s native to the eastern U.S. Apparently, it grows in open sandy or rocky sites. It’s always nice to learn something new on a
hike.
We reached the car at Craven
Gap less than a mile later. From there,
all we had to do was battle traffic to get back up to Craggy Gardens to
retrieve Jack’s vehicle. This was
brutal, but the hike was nice enough that it was probably worth it. Over about 11 miles, I saw a greater variety
of flowers than I’d ever seen on a single hike. I’ll have to remember to do this one again next summer. The only drawback to this hike is the
Parkway itself. The shuttle is a bit
tedious, and some sections of the trail are within earshot of the road. This would make a nice hike in the winter,
when there’s less traffic (but no flowers).
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