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4/17/2007 - Bird Mtn, Lookout Tower, North Old Mac and Panther Branch trails.
Freezer Burn--Tuesday April 17th. Views during my follow-up hike to evaluate plant damage from our recent four day hard freeze were not encouranging.
However, in spite of the freeze damage, the hiking route I chose for this evaluation was lovely and enjoyable to walk.
Tuesday, 4/17 I hiked an 11 or 12 mile loop in Frozen Head State Park
along the Bird Mtn, Lookout Tower, North Old Mac and Panther Branch trails. This route took
me along a range of elevations topping out on Bird Mtn at just above 3,000' and included at least one trail segment I'd hiked this
month only one day before the hard freeze began. The damage to succulent plants from the freeze was severe.
I've little doubt that we will not see a 2nd bloom from those caught in bud or just before bloom
stage. Some plants may not even recover enough to last thru the year--especially if they have to endure more stress
such as another cold snap or drier-than-normal weather. Plants that looked not-so-bad last week just a few days after
the freeze were definitely looking very sad on the 17th - more than 10 days after the freezing weather ended. I
told my friend Jan that it looked as though someone had gone thru the forest with a sling blade and whacked all of the wildflowers.
About the only early flowering plants that seemed to pull thru the freeze without losing their bloom were the sessile
trilliums (Yellow and Sweet Betsy) and a few phlox at lower elevations. Flowers that weren't in bloom seem to be waiting
longer than normal to put on a bud. Perhaps they will resume a normal bloom cycle in the next several days (e.g. wild
geranium). A few plants were already pushing up new sprouts beside the old frozen stalks (dolls eyes, black cohosh, large-flowered bellwort, mandarin). Some succulents that had already erupted before the
freeze were completely gone (e.g. jack-in-the-pulpit, bishops cap). Only a few dwarf crested iris were blooming and
many of those had curled petals because of freeze damage. Hopefully our May and June flowers will have a normal cycle
but only time will tell.
Let's Hike Bird Mtn!
 About
the trails: I'd never hiked Bird Mtn trail (4.2 miles) in Frozen Head. It wasn't quite as strenuous
as Chimney Tops (also at Frozen Head) which I'd hiked March 31st but it is definitely in the "better eat your Wheaties before
you start" category. I'm glad it was only 37 F at the 8:30 am start of my hike because for the first 90 minutes I did
nothing but climb up one switchback section after another enroute to the peak of the ridgeline. The next 30 minutes was an easier walk but there were still a few steep sections before peaking at Bird Mtn summit.
The trail surface is excellent and the grade is more or less steady and very hikeable. There were no "hands-on-hips-puffing-for-air-while-my-heart-races-to-catch-up"
moments (like there were on Chimney Top trail). I liked it. Views were excellent and the huge rock formations along the ridge were even better than those along Chimney Top (again, I'm talking Frozen Head not the Smokies place with
the same name). Bird Mtn lived up to its name with several species of warblers treating me to views and songs while
they were actively feeding in the tree tops. I was certain of sighting and hearing blue-headed vireo, black and
white warbler and a black-throated green warbler. There were more but I hadn't brought the binoculars and didn't get a good enough view to ID them. My warbler
ID-by-song skills are rusty.
The section of Lookout Tower trail (3 miles) I hiked was very ordinary with the exception
of some fabulous views along both sides. I was treated to the loud mating calls of frogs calling from a few of the several water-filled mudholes in the jeep road that makes up this trail. It is amazing to
me how much noise those little frogs can make. Hairy buttercup were quite common along this route.
Heading back down North Old Mac trail for 1.1 miles I could see the
devastation caused by the hard freeze. I turned onto Panther Branch trail for the final 2 or 3 mile hike to the bottom
and was very pleased to see that the further downslope I went the better the wildflower displays became. Near the bottom
I was seeing more phlox, lousewort, yellow mandarin, foamflower and a few long-spurred violets. Yellow and Sweet Betsy trilliums were just past peak.
Something I'd never photographed before were the seedpods for Dutchman's Breeches.
Panther Branch (2.3 miles) may be the 2nd best trail to hike in Frozen Head if you
are looking for spring wildflowers. It is rather steep so perhaps a good strategy is to hike up some other trail and
then hike DOWN Panther Branch.
The 11 or 12 mile loop took me about 7 hours including 30 minutes for lunch and at least
20 or 30 minutes more for socializing with other hikers met along the trail. Frozen Head continues to impress
me as one of the premire locations in all of the southeastern U.S. for wildflower hikes. Click here to see all photos posted for this hike.
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Frozen Head State Park--4 days & 7 major trails
Journals from 4 days of hiking during the period 3/28 thru 4/17/2007 during which I hiked seven
major trails in Frozen Head State Park. The wildflowers were stunningly beautiful right up until the last hike when
I got an eyeful of the damage caused by the Easter weekend freeze. On these webpages you'll find my mini-journals
for those four different hikes. Scroll down this webpage to locate the link to each of the stories. Links to photos
for each are included in the journals.
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