Early Impressions

First off, we had no idea how green the South is. It's spring, and everything seems to be a bright green. All the trees are budding, flowers of white, pink and purple lined the trail, and poison oak was EVERYWHERE! There are mini forests of sassafras, which look like 6 to 9 inch all green umbrellas. Dead leaves from autumns past littered the forest floors with browns, oranges and reds.

Crawling among the leaves were centipedes of colors we didn't know insects could be; typical blacks, browns and whites, as well as bright orange, neon pink, and creamy yellow. We thought the rains were coming on at one point, but we weren't getting wet, so we took a closer look at the leaves and noticed tiny grasshoppers jumping among the leaves making a perfect imitation of rain. Little gnats and black flies seemed to find us every time we stopped, which only made us hike further and faster. The trees are filled with all kinds of birds, and the hills echo with the sound of their song. Ravens, crows, hawks, vultures, grouse, barn owls, woodpeckers, wrens, orioles, gnat-catchers, thrushes, the list could go on and on. Waking up to the song of birds makes us want to get hiking!

The rains are making water very plentiful. Water seems to come from everywhere. Crystal clear springs just pour out of the rocks, mini waterfalls flow over deadfall, and seeps drip down mossy rock faces.