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Beth, Bri, Caitlin, Matt letting the river pull them along.
More pictures will be up soon on my Tumblr, so check there soon for more if you wish.
The Great Smoky Mountains are an extension of the Blue Ridge edging between North Carolina and Tennessee. So named for the perpetual blue haze that surrounds this side ridge of the Appalachia, the Smokies contain the largest area of old-growth forest east of the Mississippi. Though it is the most-visited National Park in the country, I was able to luck out of the crowds by taking advantage of an unusually warm December weekend on my drive in to Charlotte for Christmas.
My first hike on this stop offeres a short, 1,000 ft climb to Alum Cave. The climb starts, as so many do in the Blue Ridge, through groves of rhododendron bushes that are probably stunning in August. A few stream crossings, and then the trail climbs under a giant slab of rock turned over onto the trail, forming a bit of an arch. The next section of the trail is my favorite; short climbs bring me up to heath balds covered in mosses and low-growing laurels. After this is a treacherously slick section of trail where falling water slows down enough to form domes of ice over the rocks and soil. Upon reaching the cave, I see water, collected from the drizzling rain, streaming constantly off the top. Sounds reflecting off the concave surface gave the impression of water running through the solid rock all around.
Alum Cave Trail | Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Hylotelephium maximum (L.) Holub
(Hylotelephium telephium (L.) H. Ohba subsp. maximum (L.) H. Ohba)
(Sedum maximum (L.) Suter)
Crassulaceae
Cultivé au Jardin El Tambo, Pego, Alicante, España