“There is a big blue sky waiting behind the clouds.“
April 19, 2021
Hike from the Tye River suspension bridge to Reid’s Gap
Ascent: 3646’ up
Descent: 1952’ down
Weather: seriously foggy
Sightings: lots of wildflowers
High points: getting to the top of The Three Ridges
The Three Ridges is known as one of the more difficult climbs in Virginia. From the Tye river the trail goes up unrelentingly for miles, and since the trail is occasionally very rocky there is a fair amount of fancy footwork involved at points.
It was actually kind of a creepy day to be on the trail. The fog was dense enough that you could only see 100 feet or so in front of you, so the feeling of isolation was very real. However, with the lack of shadows, it was a great day to photograph wildflowers!
From Virginia Rt 56 the AT crosses the Tye River via a suspension bridge that swayed rather unnervingly when I crossed it. From there the trail went up and up.
I walked past the lovely waterfall at Harper’s Creek.
As I got higher the sun began playing peek-a-boo, and I managed to catch a cloudy view.
The wildflowers were amazing. Interestingly they were much bigger than the wildflowers I had been seeing in Tennessee. I am guessing that the difference in size is because I was at a much lower altitude today, an altitude of 3000 feet rather than 5000 feet, and that the flowers prefer the lower elevation. Many of the wildflowers were ones that I saw last week in Tennessee, but I did see some new ones.
This lovely drooping yellow flower is bellwort.
This showstopper is showy orchid, a kind of orchid.
And this beautiful red flower, fire pink, really stood out in the fog.
This pink wild geranium is fairly common but really beautiful.
And lastly is this beautiful wild pink.
Today is a great day for a walk in the woods!
It’s so inspiring to read your blog and see these marvelous pix, Gwen. You’re a great writer — and observer— of nature. Trek on!!!🙂