Collins Chew reporting
We had a day of glorious wildflowers on the Porters Creek Trail in the Smokies. Jerry Jones did great in recommending it. The weatherman blew it again as we had only a sprinkling of rain at the Kingsport meeting place and none in the Smokies. It was sunny in the afternoon. We had almost continuous wildflowers of many varieties almost all the way, including the showiest orchids I have ever seen. There were a great number of other hikers enjoying the flowers as well. I hope to make a list of flowers for those who were there and any others who request it. Hikers were: Olin Babb, first timer Wilford Corbin, Bob Harvey, Jerry Jones, Jerry Sluder, Deb and Eric Vrshansky, and Collins Chew.
Ah, a spring walk on a warm Sunday afternoon! With area temperatures reaching 87˚F, the shaded Doe River Gorge offered a comfortable hike while viewing and photographing the early wildflowers (wild ginger, yellow and wake robin trilliums, longspur, bleeding hearts, fire pink, and more). The three cars for the eight folks from TEHCC converged from different directions at the camp around 1:45. A surprise was when more cars with another 21 people pulled up at that same time. During the hike, we figured out that two hiking clubs had arrived coincidently for the same hike. Thus the trip was enjoyed with the “Little Lost Hikers” from Linville, NC (including some Boy Scouts from two troops). A real benefit was their wildflower expert who helped with identification. (FYI, looks like more flowers would be in bloom in early to mid-May.) The 5-mile hike was completed in roughly three hours. From TEHCC were Troy Greenwald, his daughter Ella, and mother Joan Amato, Sharon Burnette, Solange Adams, Serita Blankenbecler, and Cinda Foglesong.