{"id":4287,"date":"2010-07-03T12:59:49","date_gmt":"2010-07-03T16:59:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tommangan.net\/twoheeldrive\/?p=4287"},"modified":"2010-07-03T12:59:49","modified_gmt":"2010-07-03T16:59:49","slug":"craggy-gardens-minus-the-rhododendrons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tommangan.net\/twoheeldrive\/index.php\/2010\/07\/03\/craggy-gardens-minus-the-rhododendrons\/","title":{"rendered":"Craggy Gardens minus the rhododendrons"},"content":{"rendered":"

Craggy Gardens, about 20 miles north of Asheville on the Blue Ridge Parkway, is a must visit in mid-June, when the peak bloom of the Catawba rhododendron lights up vast swaths of the Blue Ridge Mountains. <\/p>\n

\"Visitors<\/a><\/div>\n

As you’ve no doubt noticed I’m writing three weeks later — I took my Fourth of July day off on Friday and headed down I-40 to the Craggies, where I was hoping a day of abundant sunshine and jagged stone would yield a harvest of photo ops. I left mostly disappointed: no blue sky, not many crags, and the annoying realization that it’s not called “Craggy Gardens” because of the crags, but because the rhodo bloom creates a high-country flower garden.<\/p>\n

I went to bed last night convinced there’s no earthly reason to hike here outside the bloom season. This morning I trudged to the computer with the idea of throwing something on the blog to get it out of the way and get back to enjoying my three-day weekend. <\/p>\n

Then I looked at my pictures again. Turns out there’s a lot going on in the Craggies that you’ll never notice while the Big Bloom is hogging the spotlight. And the bonus: no swarms of rhodo gawkers (presumably the area gets pretty crowded on peak-season weekends, since it’s so close to Asheville).<\/p>\n

Just so I’m not overselling it: the hikes with the best scenery are pretty short; not flat enough to be called “easy” but not challenging by any stretch. I added two miles on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail to notch a five-miler. <\/p>\n

Note you could get in an intriguing strenuous hike from the Craggy Gardens Visitors Center: Just pick up the MST at the south end of the parking lot and head down to the Douglas Falls Trail. This is an eight-mile out-and-back on a very rugged backcountry trail — the page for this hike at LocalHikes.com <\/a> includes bear sightings three weeks ago and last summer (a much easier route to the falls is posted at North Carolina Waterfalls<\/a>.) <\/p>\n

The Craggies have three areas: Craggy Pinnacle. the Visitors Center on the Parkway, and Craggy Gardens. I started at Craggy Pinnacle, stopped by the VC, and finished at Craggy Gardens. Let’s see some pictures:<\/p>\n

\"Craggy<\/a><\/p>\n

Craggy Pinnacle is a parking area just north of the Craggy Pinnacle Tunnel on the Parkway. The hike starts out in a rhodo tunnel that must be quite impressive during the bloom.<\/p>\n

\"Craggy<\/a><\/p>\n

The trail is pretty rocky but not super steep. <\/p>\n

\"Wildflower\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Can anybody ID this wildflower? <\/p>\n

\"Mountain<\/a><\/p>\n

Mountain Laurel, as we all know. <\/p>\n

\"View<\/a><\/p>\n

The trail to the overlook at Craggy Pinnacle splits in two parts, with spectacular views at both ends on clear days. I had to make do with overcast. <\/p>\n

\"Another<\/a><\/p>\n

SmokyScout<\/a> has been helping me identify the mountain flora. This is a morning glory.<\/p>\n

\"Blue<\/a><\/p>\n

Looking south over the Parkway and the Visitors Center.<\/p>\n

\"St.<\/a><\/p>\n

Another St. John’s Wort sighting (last seen at Grandfather Mountain last week<\/a>). <\/p>\n

\"Gnarly<\/a><\/p>\n

Another excellent feature of the Craggies: Trees bent in very strange configurations. <\/p>\n

OK, on to Craggy Gardens and the (you guessed it) Craggy Gardens Trail, which climbs rather steeply for .8 mile to a hiker shelter and a “bald” — a large treeless summit. More on the bald is coming up. Craggy Gardens Trail, which is a segment of the MST, starts at the north end of the picnic area. There’s a split in the trail after a very short walk; I went right, which seemed to be the right way. <\/p>\n

\"Fading<\/a><\/p>\n

A few white rhododendrons remain. <\/p>\n

\"Another<\/a><\/p>\n

See, even more wacky trees. <\/p>\n

\"Vivid<\/a>‘<\/p>\n

SmokyScout suspects this is a morning glory. Do I hear a second? <\/p>\n

\"Craggy<\/a><\/p>\n

Another scene from the Craggy Gardens Trail. <\/p>\n

\"Shelter\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This is the shelter — a spur trail explores the nearby “heath bald,” which from the air must look like somebody came through with a lawnmower with the adjustment set too low. <\/p>\n

\"Heath<\/a><\/p>\n

View from the bald. Not bad even on a cloudy day.<\/p>\n

After wandering around the bald, I hiked the rest of the Craggy Gardens Trail, which ends at an intersection with the Douglas Falls Trail; I hiked about a mile of it one-way, then returned. This section of trail is underwhelming — all tree tunnel, few cool rock formations, lots of dicey footwork, and you can hear people and their Hogs at the visitors center for the first half-mile (every year I become 1.6% less patient with people who thunder through spectacular settings on Harleys; heard ’em at Yosemite, hear ’em along the Parkway. When are they going to grow up and install mufflers?). <\/p>\n

So that’s a first look at the Craggies — not bad for arriving at the fourth-best time (1: peak bloom; 2: fall colors; 3: any<\/em> sunny day). Craggies links: <\/p>\n