My friend Fred and I hiked the Springer Mountain approach trail to the Appalachian Trail this last weekend… what a beautiful place.
We camped one night on top of the mountain, then hiked down again via a different route. Along the way I was impressed by how different the plants were from those in Florida. There were very few I could nail down definitively. Some were familiar, like oaks, hickories and poison ivy… but others were foreign to me.
Those look like violets, but the leaves are very tough and glossy. Maybe it’s a variety I haven’t encountered before. I also hadn’t seen ferns like these:
I don’t think I’ll ever hike the entire trail, but this was a great trip. If you ever get a chance to go do the Springer Mountain approach trail, especially with a knowledgeable hiker like my friend Fred… take it. You gotta get out of the garden every once in a while.
7 responses to “Pictures from the Springer Mountain Approach Trail”
The Appalachian Trail is amazing, Amicalola falls state park is beautiful. I've hiked the first 40 miles or so after the approach trail and it is covered in interesting flora and fauna.
Hope you had time to check out burt's pumpkin farm, Mercier's apple orchard and the Dahlonega gold mines!
No… I missed a lot of the local stuff. Just a two day hike and a one-day camping trip. There are nothing like orchard apples in fall, though.
The Appalachian Trail is amazing, Amicalola falls state park is beautiful. I've hiked the first 40 miles or so after the approach trail and it is covered in interesting flora and fauna.
Hope you had time to check out burt's pumpkin farm, Mercier's apple orchard and the Dahlonega gold mines!
Your 'ferns' are running cedar (Lycopodium digitatum), and your ginseng is Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum).
I'm drawing a blank on your 'violets' right now… but your trilateral symmetry looks like Indian cucumber root (Medeola virginiana).
Looks like you had a nice walk… Did you get any camping done?
Hey… good plant ID there. Thank you. We got one night's camping in. It was great.
The trilateral symmetry looks to me like trillium. I used to hike the Appalachian Trail up near New Jersey as a kid, and we would pick wintergreen leaves and nibble on them.
I looked up trillium but couldn't make a positive match. It looks close, though.