Starr Mountain Spring Wildflowers & Waterfalls 2024

 

Looking at the back side of an oconee bell bloom

Starr Mountain  Spring Wildflowers &  Waterfalls 2024

Friday March 8, 2024

Dana & Kenny Koogler

Photos are Here Starr Mountain Pix 

     Last Spring I went down toward Etowah to try to catch some flowers in bloom, but was too late. They were already spent for the year.    I was stuck trying to figure what to do this past weekend.  Kenny suggested we try to head south.   He had an unexpected Friday off so we wanted to take advantage of it.  The next day was forecast to be very rainy and cool.  He had a couple ideas of stuff we could do.  I was good with it so down the road we went.  

        I had a theory that the oconee bells I wanted to see might be in bloom. Despite being in Tennessee they were supposed to have been transplanted from elsewhere many years ago.  I knew from friends photos that the oconee bells were in bloom in South Carolina.   Maybe they'd be in bloom in East Tennessee now as well?  I figured it couldn't hurt to check.     Last year even though I missed the flowers in bloom it provided me with a chance to begin a systematic botanical inventory of Starr Mountain.   It also proved to be a fruitful day in turning up a couple new waterfalls to us!  The scenery was lovely and we enjoyed it so much. 

        I let Kenny sleep in and we got going at a leisurely pace.   He surprised me with one of his plans. He asked me to check on my phone to see if The Farm House Restaurant was open in Etowah?    I looked and they were.  He suggested we go have some lunch before we went hiking.  I was happy with that. I'd heard so much boasting from Jared and his friends about how good this place was.  It is an area destination!  Everyone loves The Farm House for meals.   I did NOT know Kenny Koogler had already been without me.  👀   

Below:  Front porch of Farmhouse 

Below: Welcome flag on the porch.  My kind of place!  Country! 

Above: merchandise at the front counter and cash register in the restaurant 

Below:  More of their decoration up in front of the place. 

Above: You can look straight back in this view to the additional large dining area.  

Above: Cell phone shot of the dining area around us.  

Below: Kenny across from me at our table.  This restaurant is one we first became aware of when our son was at Miracle Lake getting recovered.   Hearing him tell about going there after church with his buddies really blessed me.    It was some of the first healthy, wholesome things he began participating in.  Farmhouse Restaurant will forever have a special place in my heart because of this. 

  Kenny had barbecue with macaroni and cheese and green beans. I had a house salad with a baked potato.  Their sweet tea is silky smooth. Perfection!    We enjoyed it and went on the rest of our adventure with lots of energy.    We were in and out of there in the time it takes to go to McDonald's, but with a wholesome meal that is NOT fast food!   If you haven't tried this place you should!  I almost hate to tell people about it. If I go the next time and find it covered up busy I will feel like I should have kept it secret, but it is far from a secret.   It is well known and loved. 

        We headed to Mecca Pike to begin our adventure.   On our way I did keep watch for wildflowers, but since we covered this ground in early April last year I didn't expect to see much.  We didn't see any wildflowers at all along our route.   The road is rougher than last year and more rutted out.    At least it was not muddy.   The first thing I saw with any color was periwinkle blooming near the site of the former White Cliffs Hotel.    I also learned today that the hotel did not sit where I believed it did. It was opposite of that area.  Down over the mountain side by about 200 feet is the spring where they got their water.       

      I did see a few trout lilies this season.  The ones here are very tiny and seem to have more reddish brown coloration than most others I've seen.  They are the Dimpled Trout lily variety.    

Above: close up view of trout lily

Above: Trailing arbutus was along the roadsides and in the forest.  It was such a pretty pink.   It was one of the few flowers in bloom. 

Below:  The black water of a swamp atop the mountain.   This flat, sandstone mountain is an oddity.  

Above; Beautiful clear stream of water flowing. This creek flows year round.  I've never seen it dry up.

Above: another cluster of trout lily blooms.  They weren't more than a few inches high.

  We kept looking as we went along. Nothing in bloom to speak of, but I did find my oconee bells I'd hoped for.    They were done last year. This year they were just getting started good.   These are globally rare and endemic to a few locations primarily in Western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina. 

The three photos above are oconee bells blooming. (Shortia galacifolia ) They are so delicate and beautiful! 

 

 We proceeded toward the rest of our route. We knew there wouldn't be much blooming besides the few things I'd  hoped to find.   We'd go see some waterfalls on the rest of the journey to fill up the day.

Recent rains have our streams flowing wonderfully!   

Below:  a partial view from the road off of Starr Mountain. It was sunny one moment, gloomy the next.  This pattern was repeated all day. 

Below:  Yellow Creek near a "camp site" that was very trashy. I'm not sure it is actually a legal campsite. 

Below: a layered cascade near the campsite.  It is about 12 feet high.  

Above:  a lovely hole of water and powerful cascade just below the first one.  Yellow Creek was one pretty cascade after another today! 

Above: Upper, upper Yellow Creek Falls.   

Below: a side view of it and the jade green water hole with it. 

Below: Ellis Branch Falls is a roadside beauty.  

I am pretty sure this waterfall is on private property, but there is nothing that says I can view it from the road.   

  

 We eased down toward the Hiwassee River and Reliance.   Kenny initially wanted to stop at Webb's store and get ice cream, but thought better of it.   We motored onward. I checked the areas along the road where I'd seen flowers last Spring. Not much out yet.  I will have to head back down there once things start blooming good if I get the chance.   I did not bother to hit up a lot of areas in the core of Starr Mountain because there was nothing blooming April fifth of last year. I knew full well there wouldn't be anything out this early.

         Below is a video of the various cascades we visited on Starr Mountain today.  

    

Notes to Self for Future Trips

Get video of Hiwassee River and Railroad bridge 

Get photos of the old store building along Mecca Pike

Located White Cliff Hotel site and spring down over the mountain

Take RZR and cross Sheehan Branch to look for additional waterfalls 

Webb's Store for a popsicle and a t shirt

Drive Spring Creek Road to see cascades and wildflowers

Stop by Starr Mountain Outfitters for a Bigfoot shirt

Lowry Falls

Left Prong Falls

Reliance Fly & Tackle

Towee Creek Picnic Area 

Check for T flexipes on the slopes near river

Spring Branch Falls

Water Tank Branch Falls

Stairway to Heaven and Bluffs view