The view is worth it, but how long can you look at it?

Getting there is more of the fun...once you reach the summit, how long can you just look at thousands of mountains in the distance? They are fortunately labeled well now on photographic dioramas facing each direction.

 Looking down at the road we came up...

 Our 2 Barbaras selfie from the top of Mt. Mitchell.

 On Thursday there wasn't a big crowd, and each person took turns taking photos...everyone was very polite about that.

We were glad we'd brought our sandwiches, guacamole and chips, and ate in a picnic shelter. But none of the water fountains were available to fill our water jugs. (They did sell water at the concession, I wonder if that had anything to do with the fountains being turned off.)

On top of old (Mt Mitchell)

Once again I huffed and puffed my way to the top of this summit. It's a long drive (well, a bit more than an hour) from Black Mountain...go along the Blue Ridge Parkway then up 2 miles of steep incline in the State Park.  But the last 100 yards you walk up a very steep incline. Fortunately there are rest benches about every 50 feet.

 My friend has had one knee replaced, and is scheduled for the other one this next week!

 Looking up from about the halfway point, where there's a 180 degree turn.

 There are many dead spruce and fir trees on Mt. Mitchell.

 Being able to see the summit helps when puffing up that last incline.

 Catching one's breath at 6684 feet, where the air is a bit thinner than Black Mountain (2400 or so).

My friend came from Tampa FL, so she's used to about 20 feet above sea level!

The flora on Mt. Mitchell

We had noticed white flowers that we couldn't recognize while driving up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Mt. Mitchell.  When we saw several of them on the walk up to the top, we took their photos, and then asked a Park Ranger what they were.  Yay, he knew!

 Snakeroot has no real petals to speak of.

 Little white blobs in a cluster with fernlike leaves is Yarrow.

 Clusters of blobs on reddish stems are Hairy Angelica

 Another trail that comes off the one going to the top of the mountain, Balsam Nature Trail, goes down through the woods.

I have taken this trail several years ago, but we elected to skip it this trip.  Another side trail along it goes to Balsam Spring, which is probably completely covered with vegetation this time of year.

It does say in one sentence that the twisted dead trunks of Frasier Fir have fallen prey to an aphid infestation. I think they sure are downplaying the infestation which is killing so many trees.

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid

White woolly egg masses
Photo: Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station,
Bugwood.org

HWA adults at the base of needles
Photo: Mark Whitmore, Cornell University

"Native to Asia, the hemlock woolly adelgid, or HWA, is an invasive, aphid-like insect that attacks North American hemlocks. HWA are very small (1.5 mm) and often hard to see, but they can be easily identified by the white woolly masses they form on the underside of branches at the base of the needles.

How HWA Damage Hemlock Trees

Juvenile HWA, known as crawlers, search for suitable sites on the host tree, usually at the base of the needles. They insert their long mouthparts and begin feeding on the tree's stored starches. HWA remain in the same spot for the rest of their lives, continually feeding and developing into adults. Their feeding severely damages the canopy of the host tree by disrupting the flow of nutrients to its twigs and needles. Tree health declines, and mortality usually occurs within 4 to 10 years.

Close-up view of HWA ovisacs and a juvenile HWA
on a hemlock branch
Photo: Pennsylvania Dept. of Conservation
and Natural Resources - Forestry, Bugwood.org

All species of hemlock are vulnerable to attack, but severe damage and death typically occurs in eastern (Tsuga canadensis) and Carolina (Tsuga caroliniana) hemlocks only..." within 4-10 years of infestation. Source: .dec.ny.gov/animals

Crossing the Mountains to Sea Trail

This is about as close as I'll get to this thousand mile trail.

 Apparently it comes up Mount Pisgah!

Looking north (other direction along the Blue Ridge Parkway) as we left Mount Pisgah.

Cathy used to go on this trail where it crosses the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville.  I couldn't stop and take a photo there, it's near the US-74 exit though.

And I have also seen it on Mt. Mitchell ( tallest mountain east of the Mississippi) as I climbed the path up to the top viewing platform.  Here's my photo that I took of it, many months ago!

OK I "duck duck go'd" it, the Mountains to Sea trail is 1140 miles from end to end.  Here's their site.

Coming down the mountain

A fond last look across the mountains to forever...

 The concession stand was closed, and the little museum, and the gift shop.  But fortunately for many of us, the rest rooms were open.  Amazing to flush something on the slopes of this mountain! I wondered if they use a septic tank, but at least there was running water.  Many of us walking down this hill were very glad to get to the bottom.

 Motorcycles, vans and cars from all over.

I'm parked next to a FL tag, then a TN one, and the white Ford in the foreground belongs to the NC State Parks.

The buildings to the left are office and maintenance buildings for the Mt. Mitchell State Park.  The 6 mile roadway winds down from the parking lot and picnic grounds at the peak, as well as that ramp up to the lookout.  We were admonished to go 25 miles per hour on that section...and it did take quite a while getting to the top.  I passed right by the restaurant and then the office going down...and was back on the parkway going north this time.

On the lookout platform at Mt. Mitchell

 On a clear day (which we had) you can see for miles.

 Those are the feldspar mines in Spruce Pine, NC., the strip mining that shows this far away. (Above and below)

Lest we bemoan the mines as environmentally toxic, remember that we support their very being, because the silicon that comes from them is the finest for use in technological devices like phones and computers...which I'm using right now.

 The last 100 feet (I guess) up the ramp to the lookout platform.

 When 20 or so people are milling around, taking turns taking photos at various parts, it's a fluid experience.

The hardest climb

 Mitchell didn't prove it himself, but his argument with another professor as to which was the highest peak, was finally determined that this was higher than Mount Craig (nearby.)  Mt. Mitchell is 6684 feet above mean sea level.

 Dense evergreens are on the steep sides of the peak, with minimal undergrowth.  But because of pollution and disease, many deadfalls lie on the ground, making it treacherous to try to walk through the woods.

 Where a bit of water has flowed down the hill, it remained as ice in the shade.  There were also ice cycles nearby. (See former post Here)

 It was a beautiful day, and there were a lot of people (from all over the US) hiking up the wide paved path to the lookout tower.

 I had thought I might be one of the slower people climbing the top switchback slope.  But many others were also elders and as out of shape as I was.  Also the air was a bit thin for those who live in lower elevations.

 I love hearing various runners talk about various kinds of races, including some that come up here from Black Mountain, which is about 10 miles due south...and not visible due to other mountains.

The Mountain to the Sea hiking trail also passes along the slope of the mountain.

I slowly climbed to the top, stopping frequently to catch my breath, and taking smaller and smaller steps.  I basically had the hardest workout I'd had in months...but what a sense of accomplishment for this grandmother to reach the top finally!

And if my various readers would like some advice from a 76 year old woman who just got her heart rate up for the 30 minutes it took me to climb that ramp...

Please VOTE.  If there's anything you find distasteful about the current political climate, a vote to change things is the first step a citizen should take, before complaining or anything else. VOTE.