It Is Day Flower Blog From The Clouds On The Roans

Well, it is that time of the year for the blooming of the Catawba Rhododendron which means my now annual pilgrimage to the Roan Highlands.

For those who don't know the Highlands of the Roan have the most spectacular display of naturally grow Catawba Rhododendrons anywhere. Those who know of this are most familiar with the Roan Rhododendron Gardens near the site of the old Cloudland Hotel on Roan Mountain. However, there are plenty of rhododendrons on the trail from Carvers Gap to Grassy Ridge Bald. As I have noted before, this hike primarily uses the Appalachian Trail (AT) and goes over Round Bald, down into Engine Gap then up Jane Bald down unnamed gap then side trail up Grassy Ridge Bald.

Monday, from Carvers Gap to Grassy Ridge there were plenty of blooming Catawba Rhododendron plus some nice Flame Azaleas. But the real show is once one gets to Grassy Ridge Bald and head past the summit toward Roan High Ridge. This is arguably as spectacular as the Roan Rhododendron Gardens and while not as good as last year it was still way worth the trip.

It seemed a lot of others knew this as there was plenty of people there when I arrived at 9 am but cars were parked past the North Carolina sign when I got back to Carvers Gap. Another thing, I was hiking in the clouds for part of the day, especially the first half. The forecast for cloudy skies was on the mark. When I got back, to Carvers Gap, I decided to go up to the Roan Rhododendron Gardens since the flowers were near peak, I went the mile up the road to the Cloudland Parking Lot.

However, when I got there the Rhododendrons were not close to peak they had to be over a week away. But I did tour the Gardens, went to the overlook I like and walked around the old Cloudland Hotel site. Right as I got to the car it started to rain (it had been looking like it might for at least and hour), so I got done just in time. As I have said before any day on the Roans is better than most anywhere else!