Confederate Trenches

This is a short diversion from the trail postings. It is also just a short walk from the trail entrance to the Watauga Section near the 421/BR Parkway bridge. Just beyond our entry point to the east side of the road and around the first curve is a wide grassy area adjacent to the road.

It is a good place to park to walk down to the start of this section of the trail if hiking north to south. Over the edge of the drop off there are a series of Confederate Army trenches.

I have looked for them in the summer when the weeds and growth are high. I thought that we would take a look now that we can see the contours and try to better determine their location. The second low ridge is the down side of the trench. You can barely see the depth in this picture, but they are about 5 feet deep.

In this photo Gary stands so there is some "to human" scale on the upper end.

Here I strike a pose as if holding a long rifle defending my position in the high ground. We spent a good hour or so studying the angles and lay of the four trenches we could get to. From each of the trenches, it is obvious the strategic alignment they held for protecting the ridge and the entrance at the Deep Gap from the Piedmont invasions.

Though this is not part of the trail, it is an interesting sidebar that I hope to explore and learn more about in the future.

A Winter Wind and Wildflower Walkabout

Finally, out and about after 5 days of winter storming

No more staying indoors, keeping the house warming.

Time for me to explore.

Stepping off the parkway and passing through this lumbered pile from last winters ice storm I find the trail from the Furmans Fence to Don Hayes Road.

One nice thing about this heavy deep snow is the piles of trail side debris are hidden beneath inches and inches of snow, masking the bramble of piles and piles of ice storm clearings.

The trail remains a smooth walk, a pleasure to the step.

On the south side of Don Hayes Road is this little creek and bridge.

Good memories of hard work and fun building this bridge with volunteers.

Remember this? click to link

"Running Man on Gum Tree Bark"

....I'm snow blinded, mirages appear, smooth white on white takes it toll and my attention turns to texture against the velvet of snow covering every surface.

"Dragon Landing on Hemlock Bark"

"Snow Dancers on Locust Bark"

"Sargasso Seahorse on Yellow Birch Bark"

I love a switchback, the turn and grace of rounding a curve.

In this forest today even downed trees are beauty,

broken branches a treat,

and then the delight of birch leaves chattering, adding the high note and brush to the sounds of winds rustle

That this leaf could produce sound is but one of the beautiful attributes of the winter birch. Seems today is a day of texture to be found.

Don Hayes Road passes under this small bridge beneath the parkway. It is but a single lane wide and one should be hasty in passing through this burrow.

For there is no room for passing and oh what a sight to see, not just for me, but surely for some family beyond over the ridge waiting for fuel to make it through the weeks ahead.

On the north side of Don Hayes the creek passes beneath this longer bridge we made in 2008. Click link here 

In this little bottom by the creek the rhodies hold more snow that I have ever seen supported on such small branches.

At times they appear to be stuffing from pillows

support mounds of snow

becoming the ultimate snow ball blossom.

I enjoy finding artifacts of seasons past like this dried rhododendron blossom.

Back into the forest along the trail

around a perfect switchback

I encounter the shelf lichen tree

holding snow its shelf for all to see.

even the roots and runners of poison ivy are interesting to me

As I neared the edge of the pasture there was broom straw and queen Anne's lace

a beautiful snowball held in a crown of star jewels.

A spiral of summer fern

a tower takes a turn.

This was my favorite capture, difficult to get, white on white and such as that, this native delphinium blossom holds beauty even in winter.

And this, a Closed Gentian blossom stalk. This wildflower never opens its blossom (hence closed) and here in winter I understand how it spreads.

I tapped and shook it and tiny seeds spilled from the blossom pods. Only in winter will it open on its own.

I love seeing the contrast in evergreens and snow. This hemlock holds its share of the load.

One can only hope that these tiny hemlock seedlings will survive and provide a resistance to the woolly ageldid.

We are losing our hemlocks in this mountain range. These mighty trees stand bare, there is no green on their tops they are dead, drained by the ageldids.

Hopefully, some of the small seedlings will reach this height in 75 years beyond the blight brought on by these non native, imported, unstoppable pests.

The snow is deep, my feet are cold, its time to step out onto the parkway and head back home.

Always walking with my Gators and YakTrax in winter time. The gaters keep the snow out of my boots and the Yak Trax give me traction underfoot.

The wire coils bite into the packed and frozen snow.

It has been desolate and roaring, freezing and refreshing on this winter walk about.

But the parkway is mine, the wind and the snow devine, and I am fully here at this time.

And for all of that, this is the treasure offered to me today.