I'm thinking of spenting a few days in the Asheville area early next week (July 17-18) on my way through for some other business. I figure I'll explore the BRP for wildflowers but I don't really know where to start. Any suggestions? Also, any sunrise/sunset locations recommended in the area would also be appreciated.
You're coming to a great area!! (I guess I'm partial.) I like the Cowee Mountains overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway for sunset (don't remember what mile marker it is, but it's south of Asheville on the Parkway). Not sure what flowers are blooming right now. Some others may know...hope you have a good trip!
Posted by Steve Hamley on July 10, 2006 at 9:41 AM
In addition to Cowee Mountain overlook (about a half mile north of the Richland Mountain overlook, highest point on the Parkway), Waterrock Knob is good for both if you don't mind the Parkway itself in sunrise shots.
A short steep hike to the top of Tenant Mountain at the Black Balsam area (spur road at Graveyard Fields) is also a good sunrise location.
North of Asheville, Craggy Gardens for sunsets, take a compass to find the right locations. The sun will be setting about 10-15 degrees north of west about now.
Beacon Heights overlook near Grandfather Mountain may also be a good sunrise location if the sun isn't too far north.
For wildflowers, the best advice is drive and look. You may find rosebay (white) rhodies along the Big East Fork trail below Shining Rock Wilderness - a mostly flat river walk. Let me know if you want to go there and I'll e-mail or post the directions to the trailhead.
Alice, thanks for the tip about the Cowee Mountain overlook... I'll be sure to check it out.
Steve, thanks for all the insights. I travel through the area quite often and check these boards prior to each trip. I always enjoy your reports. I'm very interested in directions to the Big East Fork trail. Please e-mail or post directions.
Good luck, Mike. Steve and Alice gave you some excellent advice. Post some images when you return!
Posted by Steve Hamley on July 11, 2006 at 9:29 AM
Mike,
Take 276 down the mountain from the Parkway or up the mountain from Waynesville. About 8 miles from the Parkway you'll see the Big East Fork parking area prominently marked, with parking on both sides of the road. The Big East Fork of the Pigeon River crosses just "uphill" from this parking area. There's a small parking area on the upper side of the stream, which is really where you want to be if there's room, but it doesn't make much difference.
The confusing thing is that the trail(s) out of the main Big East Fork parking area are not the Big East Fork trail. One is a fisherman's and swimming hole trail that follows the river and eventually dead ends after a few hundred yards, and the other is a trail that follows Shining Creek up to the Shining Rocks, or splits and climbs a ridge to end up on the crest a few miles away.
The Big East Fork Trail is prominently marked by a "billboard" you'll never notice from the road, but the trailhead is the one on the upper side of the river. So if you parked in the Big East Fork parking lot, cross the river on the bridge and look for the trailhead on the upper side of the river on the right, at the very small parking area.
This trail follows the river and is mostly flat except for a couple of detours around ravines where it climbs the ridge for a couple tenths of a mile. There are fisherman's trails here that are numerous and as prominent as the main trail, so if you think you might not be on the main trail, you probably aren't. Just backtrack a few yards and take the other "branch".
The trail will eventually cross the river and climb Grassy Ridge to Flower Gap, but you probably won't go that far, and the climb's a booger. There may be a trail or manway up to Yellowstone Prong and/or Graveyard Fields, but I've never gone that way.
As promised, here are some images from my day and a half around Asheville. I drove down from Indy on Monday and stopped at Max Patch for sunset. I found some nice compositions but the wind didn't cooperate. I did make a decent pano of the sunset and mountains in the distance.
On Tuesday morning i woke early and hiked up to Tennant Mountain for sunrise. It was pitch black out and I almost tripped over a few campers from a youth group sleeping along the trail. Scared the heck out of me (and them too I'm sure).
Here's an image from the top of Tennant Mountain. And, yes that's what it really looked like. There was this thick layer of haze that delayed the sunrise by several minutes.
Following sunrise I followed Steve's advice and drove around on the parkway looking for wildflowers. I found one section that proved rewarding with the image above.
On Tuesday afternoon I decided to return to Max Patch and hope for no wind. This proved to be a good decision as the wind was minimal and, despite cloudless skies all day, one cloud showed up just in time. The image above is looking east from the top of Max Patch.
I then returned to a composition I found the night before that didn't work due to wind. I doubt this is a native flower but it was growing right up top on Max Patch.
Thanks to all for the input above. My only regret is I couldn't stay longer. I plan to return again and explore the Big East Fork Trail and the Cowee overlook..
Oops...forgot to include the image for the post above.
Also, any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Three of the images are blended from two exposures. I just started using this technique and I'm not real comfortable with it yet.
Really nice shots and I think that you are doing great with the blended exposures. One thing I keep in mind when using this technique is that the foreground shouldn't be brighter than the background. Sometimes. If it works, do it anyway.
Bob
Posted by Lori Kincaid on July 22, 2006 at 8:38 AM
Hi Mike,
Looks like you had a great trip. I really like the photos and I'm glad to see you made it to Max Patch, one of my favorite places! The flower looks like a blanketflower. Interesting, I've never seen one up there. It's non-native, but then so are a lot of the other 'wildflowers' that we associate with the Southern Appalachians.
I'm partial to the Max Patch images, of course, but I also especially love your bee balm and ferns shot. Nice work!
Discussion
13 repliesThanks,
Mike
A short steep hike to the top of Tenant Mountain at the Black Balsam area (spur road at Graveyard Fields) is also a good sunrise location.
North of Asheville, Craggy Gardens for sunsets, take a compass to find the right locations. The sun will be setting about 10-15 degrees north of west about now.
Beacon Heights overlook near Grandfather Mountain may also be a good sunrise location if the sun isn't too far north.
For wildflowers, the best advice is drive and look. You may find rosebay (white) rhodies along the Big East Fork trail below Shining Rock Wilderness - a mostly flat river walk. Let me know if you want to go there and I'll e-mail or post the directions to the trailhead.
Steve
Steve, thanks for all the insights. I travel through the area quite often and check these boards prior to each trip. I always enjoy your reports. I'm very interested in directions to the Big East Fork trail. Please e-mail or post directions.
Thanks,
Mike
Take 276 down the mountain from the Parkway or up the mountain from Waynesville. About 8 miles from the Parkway you'll see the Big East Fork parking area prominently marked, with parking on both sides of the road. The Big East Fork of the Pigeon River crosses just "uphill" from this parking area. There's a small parking area on the upper side of the stream, which is really where you want to be if there's room, but it doesn't make much difference.
The confusing thing is that the trail(s) out of the main Big East Fork parking area are not the Big East Fork trail. One is a fisherman's and swimming hole trail that follows the river and eventually dead ends after a few hundred yards, and the other is a trail that follows Shining Creek up to the Shining Rocks, or splits and climbs a ridge to end up on the crest a few miles away.
The Big East Fork Trail is prominently marked by a "billboard" you'll never notice from the road, but the trailhead is the one on the upper side of the river. So if you parked in the Big East Fork parking lot, cross the river on the bridge and look for the trailhead on the upper side of the river on the right, at the very small parking area.
This trail follows the river and is mostly flat except for a couple of detours around ravines where it climbs the ridge for a couple tenths of a mile. There are fisherman's trails here that are numerous and as prominent as the main trail, so if you think you might not be on the main trail, you probably aren't. Just backtrack a few yards and take the other "branch".
The trail will eventually cross the river and climb Grassy Ridge to Flower Gap, but you probably won't go that far, and the climb's a booger. There may be a trail or manway up to Yellowstone Prong and/or Graveyard Fields, but I've never gone that way.
This is a nice river walk.
Steve
Regards,
Mike
On Tuesday morning i woke early and hiked up to Tennant Mountain for sunrise. It was pitch black out and I almost tripped over a few campers from a youth group sleeping along the trail. Scared the heck out of me (and them too I'm sure).
Here's an image from the top of Tennant Mountain. And, yes that's what it really looked like. There was this thick layer of haze that delayed the sunrise by several minutes.
Thanks to all for the input above. My only regret is I couldn't stay longer. I plan to return again and explore the Big East Fork Trail and the Cowee overlook..
Best regards,
Mike
Also, any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Three of the images are blended from two exposures. I just started using this technique and I'm not real comfortable with it yet.
Thanks again,
Mike
Really nice shots and I think that you are doing great with the blended exposures. One thing I keep in mind when using this technique is that the foreground shouldn't be brighter than the background. Sometimes. If it works, do it anyway.
Bob
Looks like you had a great trip. I really like the photos and I'm glad to see you made it to Max Patch, one of my favorite places! The flower looks like a blanketflower. Interesting, I've never seen one up there. It's non-native, but then so are a lot of the other 'wildflowers' that we associate with the Southern Appalachians.
I'm partial to the Max Patch images, of course, but I also especially love your bee balm and ferns shot. Nice work!
Lori