The land that was to become Greenbrier State Forest was purchased in 1938. The Civilian Conservation Corp set up a camp and began work clearing diseased parts of the forest and harvesting older trees.
The forest is bisected by Kate’s Mountain, a high ridge that runs north-south. Here’s how the West Virginia Forestry Service describes who the mountain was named for:
This 5,133 acre forest is bisected by Kate’s Mountain, named for Kate Carpenter who survived an Indian raid by hiding with her infant in a hollow log.
I hiked a couple of trails in the last few days. The trails are well marked and maintained but are invariably very steep and rugged.
This tree was near the beginning of a trail. It had uprooted and fallen, probably in the last few years. By my count it was 113 years old when it fell, but that is a low estimate. Tree rings are hard to count once the tree has been laying due to oxidation and dirt accumulation. If I needed an exact count it would be necessary to cut the tree to get a look at fresh, clean rings.
There was only one place from the top of Kate’s Mountain to get a good view of the surrounding area. I really liked this vista. Mostly forested land, but as you look closer a number of houses and small towns come into view.
Most tadpoles don’t become a frog. Most die young as a result of predation and lack of food. These tadpoles were in a puddle on the road. The puddle had shrunk with the dry weather until they were crowded in an area only a few feet across. If it doesn’t rain soon they won’t last much longer. Edit: It did rain the night after I took this picture so they got a new lease on life.
I wasn’t able to determine where the name Dame’s Rocket came from. Probably originated in Europe since the plant is an invasive species native to the continent. But that has to be one of the coolest names for a flower ever.
As I was walking away from the Dame’s Rocket I noticed a smaller plant beside the Dame’s Rocket with a flower that was approximately the same color as the Dame’s Rocket. My first guess was it was just an immature Dame’s Rocket. But then I started counting petals. The Dame’s Rocket has 4 petals but the smaller ones have 5. After a few minutes on my phone I was able to determine the smaller plant was a Hairy Phlox, another plant deserving of the flowering plant Hall-of-Fame.
I don’t know the relationship between the plants. I read that Dame’s Rockcet was pushing phlox species out of environments and maybe that was happening. But the smaller Hairy Phlox needs shade to survive and seemed content to grow in the shade of the Dame’s Rocket1.
There were lots of flame azaleas along the trail. I was surprised at the range of colors. Some were yellow, some orange and some in between. Just a lot more variation than I had seen before.
Not a great picture of the male Bob White Quail. I took this with my phone. It enlarged reasonably well, but the rocks in the road started getting a pixilated look. I remember as a kid how loud the are when taking off. It’s always startling when suddenly the fly from nearby.
I see Eastern Towhees frequently in Florida in wintertime. This may be the first I’ve seen in the north in summertime. I couldn’t get a good picture of him but it was enough for identification.
I’ll almost always snap pictures of swallowtail butterflies. Always my favorite butterfly. Such a varied group, most with really flashy colors. This is the Tiger Swallowtail.
Overall I really enjoyed hiking in the Greenbrier State Forest. Lots of steep inclines that are very different from Florida. Wildlife that I didn’t get a picture of included a deer, an eagle and a barred owl. Very nice hiking if you don’t mind the steep inclines.
I’m going for the Guinness Book of World Records for the number of times Dame’s Rocket is used in a Substack article. Think I made it?