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Leonard Adkins
Mountain Laurel
Mountain laurel bursts forth into bloom in late spring and early summer.
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Leonard Adkins
Craggy Pinnacle
This view from Craggy Pinnacle looks down onto the North Fork Reservoir.
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Leonard Adkins
Mountain Laurel
Mountain laurel bursts forth into bloom in late spring and early summer.
I will always urge you to take a hike along one of the Blue Ridge Parkway’s trails, but it is with a certain sense of urgency that I now encourage you to visit the Craggy Gardens area north of Asheville, N.C. as soon as possible.
Several months ago, the National Park Service released the final draft of the Blue Ridge Parkway General Management Plan that has a recommendation to close the Craggy Pinnacle Trail because of damage to the fragile environment due to off-trail wanderings of unthinking (or uncaring) visitors. Although no decision has been reached and it may be years before any on-ground action is taken, just the possibility that you may lose the opportunity to hike through this southern bald should be enough to motivate you to go. Early summer is also the time of year to walk the trail so that you can appreciate the full splendor of the Craggy Gardens’ heath blossoms.
Starting from the Craggy Dome Overlook, the trail gradually ascends into a true heath bald, with mountain laurel, rhododendron, blueberry and mountain cranberry – all members of the heath family – lining the trail. High winds and an elevation of more than a mile above sea level often combine to make extraordinary conditions here. The valleys and lower ridgelines may be bathed in warm temperatures and sunshine at the same time the rhododendron and mountain laurel on the pinnacle are covered in rime ice. The twisted trunks and gnarled branches of the sweet birch and mountain ash trees attest to the harsh environment the vegetation must withstand. (The fact that the trees are here is another reason why you should visit sometime soon. They are encroaching on, and displacing, the heaths, and will eventually change the character of the mountain.)
There’s an intersection just beyond a view to the west at .3 mile into the hike that provides a hint of better vistas to come, while the open area at the end of the side trail overlooks the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center and Craggy Flats.
Less than a half-mile later, via the main trail, is the summit and one of the best 360-degree views along the entire parkway. To the south are the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center, Craggy Flats (with a trailside shelter perched, and clearly visible, on the ridgeline), and the Blue Ridge Parkway winding below the higher elevations. If it is a clear day, you should be able to make out the expanse of the Asheville Mall and its surrounding concrete parking lot. Beyond the city are the Pisgah Mountains; if you look just a bit to the west – and if it is an extremely clear day and you have good eyesight – you might be able to distinguish the outline of the Great Smoky Mountains.
Turning in a counter-clockwise direction to take in more of the view, your gaze will fall upon Asheville’s North Fork Reservoir, Graybeard Mountain, Craggy Dome, Ogle Meadow, and the Black Mountains, with Mount Mitchell (the highest mountain east of the Mississippi) being the most prominent of the distant peaks. On a clear day you may even be able to see the mountains of Tennessee to the northeast. To the west is I-26 climbing out of a valley onto State Line Ridge.
Although they may look inviting, please do not travel onto any of the renegade trails that emanate from the summit. Remember, such unauthorized wanderings are what is doing damage to the environment and are what have prompted the possible closure of the Craggy Pinnacle Trail.
Staying on the main trail, take your time on the way back down to the parking area and learn a bit more about the plants you are walking by.
Appearing in June and July, the mountain cranberry’s flowers develop from the previous year’s buds and can grow in groups of up to 15 on terminal racemes. The flowers, in turn, develop into rich, dark red berries in late summer that add a touch of color to the mountain slopes on which they grow. The newly formed fruits can be quite bitter, but those that have stayed on the plant over the winter can be a sweet, tasty treat for hikers in early spring. However, please don’t gather more than a small handful, as humans are not the only ones to enjoy the berries. Grouse and black bears browse on the fruit, while foxes and voles consume mass quantities. In addition, many migrating birds obtain sustenance from the berries as they head northward in the spring.
The blueberries that appear in mid- to late summer are also a nice trailside delicacy. Many people use the names blueberry and huckleberry interchangeably, but they are two distinct plants. The branches of blueberries always have small warts and each berry will have more than 100 seeds. A huckleberry contains fewer than a dozen seeds and its twigs are wart-free.
If you are hiking in the fall, stop to examine the small capsules on the mountain laurel; these were once the plant’s flowers in June and July. Break one open and you will discover what looks to be a brown powder. Each speck of dust is actually a seed of the mountain laurel and is so small that it would take thousands of them just to fill a tiny thimble.