Lee Falls, more wildflower photos

A few more photos from the Lee Falls hike.

Pictured:

Relict Trillium (burgundy blooms)

Yellow Fairybells/ Yellow mandarin (bell shaped pale yellow blooms)

Trillium (burgundy bloom)/ Liverleaf hepatica (white bloom)

Fern, (please let me know if you can identify this fern)

Lousewort/Wood betony (pink tinted blooms, frilly leaves)

May-apple, (not in bloom)

Round-leaf yellow violet

Liverleaf Hepatica (pink tinted)

Giant Chickweed (white blooms)

Common Foamflower (multiple small blooms)

Virginia Hawkins Falls...again 04/12/09

I appologize for not updating the blog last night, but we certainly made the most of a beautiful Easter Day. We took another trek to Virginia Hawkins Falls. With all the recent rain, there was a lot of water, making the falls even more spectacular. It also made the trail a bit slippery in some places! Spring flowers are budding out everywhere, with a few in full bloom, but there are many more to come. I have listed the names of the plants pictured at the end of the blog. I think everyone on the hike would agree words and pictures can't express the beauty of this forest. This waterfall is along the Foothills Trail. If you haven't read about the trail, it is worth checking into. The Foothills Trail is an 80-mile foot trail running along the Blue Ridge Escarpment from Oconee State Park north of Walhalla, SC to Table Rock State Park north of Pickens, SC. A spur trail continues to Caesars Head and Jones Gap State Parks north of Greenville, SC. Everyone on the hike expressed interest in one day hiking the entire trail, at least in sections. One resource I read noted the trail contains so many waterfalls it should have been named the "Waterfall Trail".

Future Hikes: We don't have any hikes planned for the rest of the month, however, April 26th might be a possibility, if anyone is interested. We will certainly plan more Saturday hikes for next month. As always, if there is somewhere you would like to go, let me know, and we will plan a trip!

See you in the woods~

Pictured in this blog:

Vasey's Trillum

Sweet white violet

Appalachian Bluet

Dwarf Iris

Bloodroot

Robin's-plantain (fleabane)

Indian cucumber root

Earthstar mushroom

*I try to research each plant pictured for accuracy, if I am not sure of the correct name. If I have labled something incorrectly, please let me know.

Lee Falls, Oconee County SC

What a beautiful day! Once again, an unplanned trip turned into a fabulous hiking opportunity. Lee Falls on the Tamassee Creek in Oconee County makes a dramatic 75 ft. drop over a granite cliff, and continues cascading down several more tiers of rock and through huge moss covered bolders. Once voted Oconee County's most scenic waterfall, there is not an official trail to the waterfall. However, we found the "unofficial" trail fairly easy to follow. The trail involved several crossings of Tamassee Creek and the last .2 miles is very rocky, steep and challenging. There were so many unusual and rare wildflowers along the way, it will take me days to edit the pictures. I will add them to the blog as I edit them. Anyone is welcome to accompany us on the "unplanned Sunday trips". We often don't know where we're going until the morning of, and often don't know what type of conditions we will find when we get there...but I will be glad to give you a call, if you're up for a spur of the moment trip.

"Upstate VA Hikers" car stickers are also here, $2 each; anyone wanting one, let me know.

See you in the woods~

Devil's Fork State Park

A rare Treasure~
An unplanned outing Sunday, March 29 resulted in a beautiful afternoon, filled with interesting and rare sights and photo opportunities at Devil's Fork State Park. While parking, we spotted a woodpecker on a nearby tree. I later realized this was a Yellow-bellied sapsucker, my first sighting of this bird.

The Oconee Bell (Shortia galacifolia), a beautiful rare wildflower is found in only certain locations in South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina. About 60% of the natural habitat of the Oconee Bell was destroyed when Lakes Keowee and Jocassee were constructed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Amazingly, approximately 95% of world’s population of the Oconee Bell is found within the borders of Devils Fork State Park. The Oconee Bell Trail is a lovely 1 mile loop trail with beautiful scenery along the entire way, with blooming Oconee Bells in late March and early April. I have also listed the other wild flowers we encountered. One of the most interesting is the French broad heartleaf, often referred to as wild ginger. The heart shaped leaves of this plant are easily spotted popping up through the dead leaves on the forest floor, but the blooms of this plant are often overlooked because they are at the base of the plant and are hidden under the dead leaves. The wildflowers are really beginning to bloom throughout the forest, so join us for the next outing!

See you in the woods~

Pictured in this blog:

Yellow-bellied sapsucker
Oconee Bells
French broad heartleaf or wild ginger
Downy Yellow Violet or spearleaf violet
Waterfalls along the trail

Carter and Holmes Orchids

Following our Saturday trip to the Congaree National Park, we took a side adventure to visit Carter and Holmes Orchids in Newberry SC. Carter & Holmes has 18 greenhouses, (that is over 10,000 sq. feet of greenhouses), and have been in the orchid business for over 64 years. The sell orchids locally and ship through out the United States and in many counties around the world. This is a fascinating place to visit...and buy!