Trip Journal:  June 12-15, 2022

The Blue Ridge Parkway is America’s longest linear park travelling 469 miles along the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina.   Overlook scenics, roadside wildflower blooms, and hiking trails abound.  I travel the Blue Ridge Parkway North from Crabtree Falls Campground to Price Lake Campground at the base of Grandfather Mountain where I’ll continue my explorations.

Up well before first light.  It’s checkout day at Crabtree Falls Campground.  That’s a bit later, however.  I leave the tent and shelter up at the campsite and drive south on the Blue Ridge Parkway under darkness.  The sky on the horizon isn’t showing much interest.  However, I’m heading towards Mount Mitchell, the tallest of the tall peaks on the east coast.  Anything’s possible.  If I’ve learned anything in landscape photography, it’s to show up.  No excuses.

The lack of potential is indeed realized; sunrise doesn’t impress.  The skies do, however, begin to liven up relatively quickly thereafter.  A stiff breeze pushes air up and over the mighty Black Mountain Range.  Clouds form and stick to the high peaks.  Driving slowly back to camp, I pull into the “View Mount Mitchell” Overlook (milepost 350) and find the side lighting beautiful.  A skirt of wild raspberry near the road leads into a thicket of flowering Mountain Laurel and tall evergreens.  The Black Mountain Range–and Mount Mitchell–stands tall and imposing in the background, catching the soft sidelight of morning.  I’m compelled to grab the camera.

(Above):  The Black Mountain Range in Western North Carolina as seen from the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Back at camp it’s a quick breakfast of oats and granola before breaking down to hit the road.  A recent rock slide is being addressed with heavy equipment and solid barriers.  The Blue Ridge Parkway necks down to one lane at this location; an automated signal holds traffic.

Near Grandfather Mountain, I pull into an overlook and duck into the forest.  This particular area of the mountains is known for an uncommon wildflower, the Eastern Turkeybeard (Xerophyllum asphodeloides).  I’ve never seen this wildflower growing anywhere else along The Parkway.  It doesn’t take long and I’m on the blooms.  Or, at least the buds!  It’s early in the process and I’m excited to have the chance to photograph these flowers in their infancy.

Winds prevent me from using a tripod.  Instead, I grab my macro and flash unit, planning to freeze the action with artificial light.  Eastern Turkeybeard is a very tall wildflower.  From a bunch of grass-like leaves, the stalk rises five to six feet and waves like a flag in the stiff breeze.  I admit, I went a bit snap happy with these guys!

(Above):  The early budding stage of Eastern Turkeybeard Wildflowers near the Linville Gorge, NC.

(Above left):  Fruiting Orange Mycena mushrooms and flowering Galax, Tanawha Trail, NC.

I check-in at Price Lake Campground and setup my tent and shelter once again.  This process of breaking down and resetting camp is one that will repeat many times.  To be able to carry everything I need in the trunk of my car for weeks–sometimes months–is a form of freedom that’s hard to explain.  I know that dirtbagging is not admirable, but I can certainly understand the simplicity and adventure of a life lived without so much “other.”   I use the mid-day light to complete chores, do some laundry, and cook some grub.

Perhaps my favorite part of staying at Federal Campgrounds along the Blue Ridge Parkway are the associated hiking trails.  Each campground has its own trail system and attractions.  As a photographer, the more I can achieve close to my tent site the less time and resources I must spend traveling while on location.  At Price Lake, the choices are numerous.  A five mile loop trail passing immediately through the campground–Boone Fork Trail (BFT)–is one of the finest trails along the length of the Parkway, in my opinion.

There’s a spot on the backside of the Boone Fork Trail along a tributary creek where a rock overhang shades a beautiful bed of liverwort.  I crouch underneath the cool mass of this giant boulder seeking the perfect patch of liverwort for my macro rig.  Photographing plant life in the Southern Appalachians has become an increasingly important part of my personal practice. After about ten minutes of being still within the space, I begin to notice subtle movement within the liverwort.  Tiny heads poke beady eyes up through the highly textured leaves.  There must be half a dozen salamanders paying attention to me!  With enough time, they become comfortable around me and around my lens.  I manage a few shots.

As I’ve matured behind the lens, I’ve found increasing satisfaction with this sort of “found” photography.  Unplanned, unpredictable, intimate, and personally meaningful.  Found photography–as I’m calling it here–is a more honest representation of my own experience in place. 

(Above):  A salamander hangs out on a lush bed of lungwort, Boone Fork Trail, NC.

When I find something neat in the forest behind the lens I get a feeling that there must be infinite possibilities all around me.  I expand.  I pay more attention.  Riding the creative high from spending time with the salamanders/newts, I motor south on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Boone Fork Creek Overlook.  Hooking onto the Tanawha Trail, a thirteen-mile trail from Price Lake up to Beacon Heights, I quickly find myself dropping to my knees to marvel at a mass of mushrooms.

Orange mycena I believe is the name.  They are decomposer fungi found on fallen trees.  The patch I’ve found is very thick and abundant.  It’s absolutely amazing the colors and textures.  I turn the magnification of my lens up to two or three times life size.  I know depth at this magnification will likely outpace my aperture.  So be it!  I’m snaphappy once again!  These types of discoveries–the salamanders on liverwort earlier in the afternoon and these Orange Mycena mushrooms now–are what do it for me.  There’s a richness in the Southern Appalachians that’s shared only with those who are humble and curious enough to give of their energy and attention.  I’m trying to be worthy of these discoveries.

(Above):  Orange Mycena mushrooms, Tanawha Trail, NC.  Prints on Fine Art America.

Back at camp, I take a leisurely stroll around Price Lake before getting cleaned up for bed.  Sitting on a rock at lake’s edge, the setting sun reflects warm colored clouds into the still waters.  It’s a beautiful evening.  I’m adjusting to the patterns and timing of nature; its getting easier to fall into the daily routine of photography and camp life along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

(Above):  Sunset skies reflect off of the calm waters at Price Lake, Blue Ridge Parkway, NC.

Price Lake Campground is a lower elevation than Crabtree Falls Campground.  It’s warm overnight.  Noticeably.  Sounds of frogs, somewhere over by the lake’s edge, provided last night’s soundtrack.  Deep, guttural sounds that reminded me of an angry goose’s honk!  I’m up before first light and heading south on the Parkway, gaining elevation, getting higher and closer to the peak of Grandfather Mountain. As I drive across the Linn Cove Viaduct I have an unobstructed view of sky and valley.  There are no clouds on this morning.

I continue south to Flat Rock Overlook (mp 308).  While this is a popular sunset destination, I often visit in search of plants.  High elevation open rock habitat is always rich with opportunity.  As I reach the top, the winds are steady and strong over the open views of Linville Valley and Grandfather Mountain.  I duck into the forest away from the views and find what I’m looking for:  Rock Harlequin, or Corydalis sempervirens. I didn’t actually expect to be successful in the search for this wildflower.  I’ve typically found it at this location in May.  I’m delighted by the opportunity.

(Above):  Flowering Yellow Jewelweed and Galax, Blue Ridge Parkway, NC.

(Above):  Flowering Rock Harlequin (Corydalis semervirens), Blue Ridge Parkway, NC.

With the weather conditions clear and windy, I head back to camp.  A shower followed by some generous overeating and lots of time in a book sound like my plan for today.  In short, recovery.

Outdoor photography can be physical at times.  However, it’s primarily mental.  Traditional landscape photography can be a bit fomulaic, in my opinion.  Find a well-known destination/subject, arrive early, post the tripod on the shot, and wait.  The mental part is the wait.  Returning again and again until you get it right, whatever that means.  Composition is usually somewhat limited at these locations.  Type A personalities gravitate here I think: set goals, make plans, put checkmarks inside boxes, get shit done.  This approach is receptive to a workmanlike attitude.

A different type of landscape photography, what I’ll call found photography, on the other hand, is the result of moving through a landscape without expectation or plan or structure.  It’s less about checking the box and more about figuring out what boxes are even available to put on the list in the first place.  I find found photography to be less structured, more flowing, and increasingly personal.  There are fewer boundaries and more room to experiment and be creative.  Composition is built from scratch.  On the other hand, with found photography the chance of coming up empty is always possible.  There’s risk in this approach.  It’s the tougher of two paths.

Each type of shot is important to my portfolio, I think.  They work hand in hand.  There are always certain frames within a place that are more important than others, at least with viewers:  places/subjects that are recognizable, iconic, well-visited etc.  These frames bring viewers into my work.  On the other hand, found photography allows me to expand my curiosity and knowledge of place, and to in turn, share that expansion with others.  I find myself gravitating towards found photography more and more of late.  Wandering the landscape without plan or expectation has freed me up to create a much more diverse collection of frames.

(Above):  Flowering Partridgeberry, Price Lake, Blue Ridge Parkway, NC.

(Above):  Sunset at Price Lake, Blue Ridge Parkway, NC.

I’m awake at 2:30am prepping to make the drive over to Roan Mountain.  I have history with Roan.  Before Covid swept away travel norms, I put in over a decade of consecutive visits to the annual Catawba Rhododendron bloom in June.  It wasn’t a question:  when the flowers were blooming, I was in a tent somewhere on Grassy Ridge with camera in hand.

Leaving camp at 3:00am, I arrive at Carver’s Gap about an hour later around 4:00am. The skies still hold the heavy darkness of night.  Active storms overnight are seemingly moving away: the sky above is littered with stars but the western horizon still flashes with not so distant lightning.  I swing my pack and click on my headlamp as I cross the highway and step onto the Appalachian Trail.  My pace is slow and deliberate.  I hope to make predawn/sunrise on Grassy Ridge about three miles away.

The air is so thick with humidity and moisture this morning that I can see my breath in the beam of the headlamp as I climb Jane Bald.  I’ve made this hike hundreds of times before.  This combination of warmth, calm, and moisture at this early hour is unique for me.  What does it mean?  More often than not, mornings at six thousand feet in the Southern Appalachians are chilly and breezy.

I relish the hike.  This is adventure, for me.  Everyone should experience the sensory magic of hiking alone in the darkness atop an open grassy bald at elevation.  I’m alive.  I make Grassy Ridge before the first light of dawn and head for a large boulder above a squat canopy of Catawba Rhododendron.  The nearly impenetrable maze of Rhododendron claws at me and my pack.  In the quiet of morning the racket I’m making must sound ridiculous, like a black bear coming in hot on some tasty berries!

That’s when I hear it.  The unmistakable sound of someone rolling over on an inflatable sleeping pad.  Shit!  Someone’s camping under the Rhodo canopy near the rock I’m climbing up to and I must’ve woken them up.  I make it up and feel thorougly awkward sitting in the darkness quietly awaiting sunrise.  I hear the couple beneath me chatting and packing up their tent.  I think I know them!

I never make it to sunrise.  As I sit on the rock awaiting first light the flashes to the west begin to move undeniably closer.  The storms of last night are circling back towards Roan.  I’m forced to make a decision:  look for shelter or head back to the car.  I make the wrong decision.  I jump down from the rock and begin retracing the three miles back to Carver’s Gap.  I never even pulled the camera out of the bag.

Before I reach the split where the Appalachian Trail hooks onto the Grassy Ridge Spur, the skies absolutely fall out.  Intense thunder and wind precipate the rain.  The three together create pure chaos in a landscape with no cover.  I’m walking across naked grassy balds in the heat of a lightning event well before seven am.  The rain is blowing sideways; the noise of the storm is all encompassing.  Is that hail?  My Gore-Tex boots are full of water; my wool socks sloshing.  I’m completely in the shit.  Nowhere to go.  One foot in front of the other.

By the time I make it back to the car, the storm is moving off the balds.  I strip down to my drawers (it’s still early and the parking lot is basically empty).  I make it back to camp at Price Lake before 8:30am.  Six miles of hiking and several hours of driving and I’ve got nothing to show for it.  I hang my wet clothes and set out my wet boots.  Despite using a rain cover, I lay out my camera bag and cameras to receive whatever sunlight I can find.

These are the experiences that layer my life as an Outdoor Photographer.

(Above):  White Marked Tussock Moth, Price Lake, NC.

(Above):  Eastern Turkeybeard Wildflowers, Blue Ridge Parkway, NC.

After yesterday’s misadventure at Roan Mountain, I stay close to camp.  It’s a lazy wakeup.  I shuffle around the lake and observe the full moon reflecting into the calm waters.  The morning is not colorful.  However, the gray tones and subdued colors are quite beautiful.

(Above):  Sunrise dynamics at Price Lake, Blue Ridge Parkway, NC.

It’s move out day again for me.  As the humidity and heat once again begins to build, I strip down my camp.  My folks are travelling from Virginia to Blowing Rock for a short vacation.  I plan to meet them in town this afternoon when they arrive.