Dan Ingalls Overlook Trail

View from the Dan Ingalls Overlook.

 

The day after my workshop at the Red House had taken place I decided to explore the Dan Ingalls Overlook Trail. A few days earlier I had stopped off at the overlook to take in the amazing view on my way back from Warm Springs, and thought the trail would definitely be worth exploring. It was probably not going to be an easy 1.2 miles to the top, because the first portion looked to be a steep climb uphill.

This tract of land on the highest portion of Warm Springs Mountain was acquired by the Nature Conservancy some 40 years earlier, according to the self-guided tour signage. It had previously been grazed for a long time, with only a few large shade trees growing on it. It was thus surprising to see how quickly the forest and native vegetation had regenerated. 

The signage identified a number of native trees and a few that weren't: American Linden (Tilia americana), striped maple (Acer pennsylvanicum), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), Norway maple (Acer platanoides, a non-native species), Pignut (Carya glabra), red hicory (Cayra ovalis), and bitternut hickory (Carya cordifolia), American hornbeam (Carpinus carolinianus) and hop hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), black cherry (Prunus serotina)--in all a great diversity of species.

Solomon' seal (Polygonatum biflorum)

Once I got past the steep meadow, the trail leveled off into the forest, where I came across several Solomon's seal plants of impressive stature and bloom. Nearby were some early Meadow Rue plants exhibiting flowers of both sexes, again huge in size. I deduce that part of the fertility of the soil here might be due to all those years of being enriched by cow manure.

 

Meadow rue (Thalictrum dioicum) with male flowers

Virginia waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum)

 The Virginia waterleaf had just about finished blooming, but other summer flowers such as spiked lobelias, some heucheras and a native beardtongue I'm guessing is Appalachian beardtongue (Penstemon canescens) appeared by the sides of the trail.

Spiked Lobelia (Lobelia spicata)

Heuchera americana in bud.

Appalachian beardtongue (Penstemon canescens)

 

I kept walking on the path through the forest, grateful for the shade--it was quite warm when I started and had become hotter as the afternoon progressed. Eventually I reached the top loop, a rocky promontory rising above the rest of the terrain. I wish the trail guide had warned about this stretch--it was tricky footing to get around the rocks, and I could have used a climbing pole or two here.

Whorled loosestrife (Lysimachia quadrifolia)

There were huckleberry plants growing among the rocks, and whorled loosestrife was blooming profusely. I found an interesting plant with blueberry-like flowers, which after looking it up I believe is spreading dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium). This plant is more typical of New England and northerly climates; I presume it's one of the remnants of boreal vegetation that migrated south during the last Ice Age and persists in the higher elevations of the Appalachian mountains today.

 

Spreading dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium)

I reached a staircase leading to a raised stone platform that offered another view similar to the one from the roadside overlook, though a bit cut off by the trees. The platform is probably some five hundred feet above the road overlook.

View from the top platform

 

The trail over the rocks reminded me somewhat of the Billy Goat Trail at Great Falls Park in Maryland, but shaded and much more overgrown. Blackberry vines grasped at my clothing, and at one point the displaced vines swung back hard enough for the thorns to scratch me until my entire arm was covered in blood. I managed to find a paper towel to wipe my arm, fearing attracting blood-sucking insects, before going on.

 

Great Spangled Fritillary butterflies.

 

Once I completed the rocky loop backtracking on the trail now downhill, I reached the starting point in much less time than it had taken to get to the top. Back in the grassy meadow I found two lovely Great  Spangled Fritillaries dancing among the flowers, and got a nice shot of them. It was beastly hot, but I drove to Warm Springs, and sweaty as I was, stopped at the art gallery there to see if it was open, which it was. I made my purchase and drove back to the Red House, getting there just in time--a severe storm broke as I went into the house.

The wind and thunder were ferocious and the rain came down in buckets (neighboring Highland County recorded a rate of two inches per hour). The power went out a few minutes into the storm, and the outage lasted about three hours. I ate a cold dinner by candlelight that evening, since I couldn't reheat my leftovers, and put a pan in the kitchen to catch the drips from the roof.

On Reddish Knob

Looking towards West Virginia from Reddish Knob.

 

Last Sunday I joined the Virginia Native Plant Society (VNPS) group on an excursion to Reddish Knob, VA. This is a part of Virginia that I'd never seen before and at 4,101 ft. one of the highest elevation points in the state; the flora in this area and the views promised to be outstanding. 

 

The view south, Shenandoah Mountain.

 

The day was cloudy and cool, and the moment I got on I-81 it started to rain lightly. I had my three-season jacket with me but had opted to leave my rain jacket at home, in order to lighten my backpack--I hoped I wouldn't regret my decision later on. Thankfully the rain stopped by the time I reached the exit at Harrisonburg.

Driving on the back roads through the small towns in this area before finding Briery Branch Road, I skirted around at least a dozen horse and buggy carriages--this is the heart of Mennonite country in Virginia--they were probably heading home from Sunday services. 

 

Old sugar maple (Acer saccharum) trunk

 

Our meeting spot at the Hone Quarry picnic area was by a stream in a rich wood, and we did a bit of botanizing here before driving up to Reddish Knob. Under very large sugar maples, beech, birch and hemlock we found spurred violets (Viola rostata), miterwort (Mitella diphylla) and one very dense growth of one-flowered cancer root (Orobanche uniflora).

Spurred violet (Viola rostata)

Miterwort (Mitella diphylla) among ferns

Cluster of one-flowered cancer root flowers (Orobanche uniflora)

As the name of this species implies, there is only one flower per plant, so this cluster represents many plants growing very close together. The only part of this parasitic plant that grows above ground is the flowering stem. The forest floor elsewhere was thick with sweet white violets, Solomon's seal, Geum, sweet Cicely, Hepatica, ferns, bluets, sedums, wild yam and ebony spleenwort.

 

Wild yams (Dioscoria villosa) in rich woods

 

After we had surveyed this area, we set out as a car caravan to drive up the mountain, pulling out by the side of the fairly narrow road to look at the confabulation of flora on the banks. At our first stop a most remarkable display of Lyre-leaved sage in bloom greeted us, growing among bowman's root, whorled loosestrife, yellow-eyed grass, bracken ferns, mountain laurel and enormously tall plantain-leaved pussytoes.

 

Walk leader Sally Anderson ID's plants on the bank.

Lyre-leaved sage (Salvia lyrata) with plantain-leaved pussytoes (Antennaria plantaginifolia)

Bowmans root (Gilleniua trifoliata) with lyre-leaved sage

Whorled loosestrife (Lysimachia quadrifolia)

Eastern yellow-eyed grass (Hypoxis hirsuta)

There wasn't much space for road traffic to pass by us, and as the last car in line, I could see several cars and trucks piling up on our tail, growing impatient with our pace. We finally reached a place where these could pass us so we could continue at our leisurely pace--I couldn't believe how fast the locals barrel around these curves!

At our next few stops we encountered a number of different arrays of flora on the steep road banks as we climbed: tree-sized pinxter azaleas and lovely dogwoods on the down-sloping bank to our left; starry campion, mountain laurel, wood vetch, violets, Carolina pinks, blueberries and iris on the upward slope to our right.

 

Pinxter azalea (Rhododendron periclymenoides)

Bird's foot violet (Viola pedata)

Bank filled with Carolina pinks (Silene carolinana)

Close-up of Carolina pink

Dwarf iris (Iris verna)

 

As we rose, the clouds began to clear, and at times patches of sunlight illuminated the banks. Bird's foot violets, mountain bellwort, blueberries, and deerberries appeared.

 

The higher slopes.

Mountain bellwort (Uvularia puberula)

Blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum)

 

At another curve with wider pull-off we walked around a bit and found blueberries and huckleberries, mountain fetterbush, some gaywings, trillium and quite a number of pink lady slipper orchids. These were much smaller than the ones I've seen in Fort Valley but every bit as lovely.

 

Gaywings (Polygala pauciflora)

Mountain fetterbush (Pieris floribunda)

Pink lady slipper orchids (Cypripedium acaule)

Huckleberries (Gaylusia sp.)

As we ascended, it was as if spring were unwinding backwards--the foliage was just emerging at these heights. We stopped briefly at a bend, the intersection with FR 85, and saw a hillside carpeted with interrupted fern just at the stage when the spore-bearing fronds (sporangia) were maturing. I climbed down the steep bank for a closer look.

 

Hillside with interrupted fern (Osmunda claytoniana)

Interrupted fern with sporangia

Close-up of spore-bearing fronds

 

These curious spore-bearing fronds occur not on the underside or edges of the leaves as in many ferns, but in the middle of the fronds, and fall off after they ripen, thence interrupting the frond. After this last stop, it was time to move toward Reddish Knob--it was almost five o'clock. We drove past a couple of lovely stands of wild lupines without stopping.

The last part of the road leading to the knob was very narrow and steep, and began to reveal the incredible views all around. The small parking area at the top was covered in graffitti--college kids from Harrisonburg like to drive up here to party.

 

VNPS group at Reddish Knob

On the way back down, I had to maneuver to allow another car coming up the narrow road to pass--there was no way for either of us to turn around. Then I stopped to photograph the lupines before heading home.

Sundial lupines (Lupinus perennis)