JACKSON
Richard Balsam, 6410′
(#14/100 of North Carolina highpoints)
Only three other counties’ highpoints surpass Jackson in elevation, but the Blue Ridge Parkway did most of the climbing for us, so this was a relatively easy 1.5-mile hike.
First we enjoyed a picnic lunch and the view.
No need for a compass. This was a very well-signed trail!
The actual highpoint was another 50 feet along the trail–an unassuming outcrop of mossy rock.
And now a brief interruption for two….
<<PLANTS>>
From the National Park Service website: Richard Balsam is named for the red spruce and Fraser fir trees found here, known as the “he-balsam” and “she-balsam” respectively, this area features a forest type that resembles a Canadian wilderness. Since the late 1970s the forest has been affected by the balsam woolly adelgid, an invasive pest that has been killing Fraser fir trees.
I am confused. Why are a spruce and a fir called a “he-balsam” and a “she-balsam”? And who is “Richard”? And what is a “woolly adelgid”???
Then we met a woman who was doing a survey of liverworts. “Cool. Liverworts.” We nod in an understanding way.
Neither of us know what a liverwort is.
But I have now looked it up and have inserted a web photo and link for your botanical edification.
Back to the hike!
We make a speedy return to the car, because it is beginning to RAIN.
That’s when we drove up and got the photo at the beginning of this blogpost–the one showing the highpoint of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It must ALWAYS rain here, because the National Park photo looks just like mine!
Theirs. Mine.
I wonder if they took their photo hanging out the window of the car like I did?
My.Bird.Walks. 