April 16: Wildflowers and Garbage Hike in the Linville Gorge
Come see the wilderness as it ought to be, Saturday April 16 at 9:30a ~ 4:00p at Daffodil Flats. No daffodils this year, but an explosion of wildflowers. Such a rich cove with so much native variety that I don’t know why people focus so much on the non-native daffodils.
Once we’re sufficiently inspired by the spring beauty, we’ll get busy working on what ought NOT to be in the gorge: decades of trash littered across the flood plain. There’s hope that we’ll actually get most of this picked up soon, but we need to push during the next few weeks before spring growth makes it hard to get around.
Another reason this hike will be interesting is that we’ll have keys to the gate at Wolf Pit West (FS 117), a pleasant and grass-covered road that gives direct access to Leadmine Trail. Leadmine is NOT pleasant, but it’s better than Pinch-In and much better than Unnamed.So this walk in the park won’t be a walk in the park, but if you’re up for a half-mile slog to get to the easy stroll around the old Dellinger homestead, please RSVP so we can be sure to wait for you at the gate!
RSVP directly to Kevin Massey, Linville Gorge Stewardship Coordinator, at kevin@wildsouth.org
GATE PROTOCOL – We’re gonna be miles beyond a locked gate, so some semblance of order needs to be maintained. Please let me know if you’re coming. Please don’t be late to the gate because the group will need to move on shortly after 9:30a. We’ll also need to head out together in the afternoon.
SAFETY – This is a deep wilderness locale with associated perils. Remoteness, limited cell phone coverage (we have radios for emergencies), slips/trips/falls, wasps, poison ivy, briars, snakes.
BYO – Forecast for a warm, sunny day. Bring plenty of water and food. Definitely bring work gloves, long pants, boots.
CANCELLATION – Will announce Friday pm if cancelled due to weather.
(Photos: Nick Massey’s pics from last Saturday)