Gobey Wildflower Camping Trip Day 2 Primroy

Yellow lady slipper near the TN/KY line

Gobey Wildflower Camping Trip Day 2 

 Primroy and Holding on for Dear Life

Sunday April 16, 2023

Kenny & Dana Koogler 

Primroy Trip Pix Here

   Sunday morning we woke and had breakfast.  We had decided the night before to go toward Tackett Creek and Primroy.   I knew a yellow lady slipper spot that was in the direction of Primroy. It did not take a long time to reach it.  We figured we could run by there and see if yellow lady slippers were out? Knowing the status would help us plan for the next parts of our day.   We both really wanted to see some different stuff.   I wanted to run by my hybrid trillium patch up in this direction.   We figured we'd get those two items checked off the list and solid up plans from there.   We are developing a pattern of flying by the seat of our pants.   I know.   It is part of having contingencies when the weather is fickle.

       We set off with the best of intentions.  We had us an adventure we sho nuff did!

 We parked at Red's Store. You can park all day for $5 in a safe place.  Worth it for the peace of mind.  From there we headed toward Clairfield and Primroy.    It's worth mentioning here that a parking spot we have used a couple times in the past is now roped off by the property owners on both sides of the road!   They had parked a nasty looking RV there.   No matter. Red's Store is just down the road and is inexpensive and readily available.  You just fill out a slip and put your $5 in the deposit box out front.

  

 * Note to self-- the slopes on the right of Hwy 90 heading to Clairfield are loaded with trilliums and interesting wildflowers.  This would be an excellent place to explore more deeply in the future. 

        We motored on until we came to the spot where I hoped to see yellow lady slippers. Initially I began to believe they were not out.  We found them  though.  They were not out quite as well as the previous year. I was a few days early.  Only three in bloom with another five or six to come.  This mean that up high in the spot I know at Tackett Creek they'd probably be out, but still early and maybe not great.    

Above and below: yellow lady slippers 

Above: Clear Fork .. a beautiful hole of water. 

Above: Golden Club (Orontium aquaticum) in Clear Fork

Above: Looking back upstream on Clear Fork. Clairfield TN

Primroy Trilliums

    The next stop of the day was my hybrid trillium patch at Primroy.   It was in fine form today.  I saw something that alarmed me.   There have been no less than two landslides on this narrow road.  The bank slid off and down over the already narrow road over a steep bluff.    It has been resolved and the road is open, but they did not do much to try to prevent further erosion.   I am thankful to have got to observe this beautiful bunch of trilliums for several years.   If anymore landslides happen it is possible the whole bunch will be gone.    I sure hope not.   There is no shoulder on the road so Kenny drops me off and lets me walk and he goes on.  It is a scary thing to meet someone on this road coming the opposite way.   There are very few spots to pull over to let the other person pass.  A one lane road for sure.   If I ever come up here to do this solo I will park at the base of the hill and walk it.  I'll wear neon orange vest or something eye catching to cut down on the chances of getting hit.  

         I was not disappointed in the trillium patch up here today.  They were out in peak and I saw colors I have NEVER seen before here or elsewhere.    God is a supreme being and artist/Creator.   I am grateful not only these lovelies exist, but he put in me the appreciation for them.  I am grateful to be able to get out and see them. I am also happy to know He put in me a bit of His own creativity. 

What a gift. 

 Above: Red Trillium sulcatum parent

Below: White Trillium sulcatum parent

Below: This is the hybrid offspring of the above pair.  It is about what you might expect ... a lovely blending of a red and white pattern.    White edged in red! 

Above: Sunset Trillium hybrid

Below: Lipstick pink trillium hybrid. These two show the great variation and reset of the Master Switch with the formation of hybrids.  

    

Above: a very large, healthy, typical Trillium sulcatum  with no signs of hybridization 

Above:  a patch of white parents and a side grouping of hybrid offspring. This patch of pink hybrids is large enough and the color pattern stable enough they are probably all offspring of two original pink hybrids.  They have now doubled. 

Above: A very strange patterned Trillium sulcatum hybrid. If you note the sepal shape on the bottom it is curved in a way I've never seen.  Possibly because of hybridization.  

       I spent ample time rooting around in this flower patch, but since this isn't the hybrid trillium write up I am going to move on to other subject matter.  

       Bottle Rock and Beyond

   We rambled on toward Kentucky.  I told Kenny I did not want to fool with seeing the arches in this area. I wanted to see Bottle Rock and move on to something new.   He agreed and I should have known by the gleam in his eyes to prepare myself for what was to come. 

    We got to Bottle Rock easily enough.   It is a cool little eroded, rounded rock in the middle of nowhere. It sits by a small stream in a remote area.   It has some carvings into it and some graffiti of course.     It is a pretty spot. I had only been here once before.   I thought I knew the area, but I was wrong.   

Below is a video of the Bottle Rock and the area.  Kenny is talking to me in the background. I wish I had been paying attention.  He was trying to warn me about what was next.  😂

    

 

      

Above: Bottle Rock 

Above:  a slope of ferns and trilliums

Below:  The pretty stream that flows by Bottle Rock

Below: Small waterfall on Primroy Road  Not much flow today

Below: a photo that shows the relation of Bottle Rock to the stream and other large boulder better.

  Once we checked out Bottle Rock we proceeded past it. If you look closely at the last photo in this series above you can see the trail fords the creek and keeps going.  It is so pretty back there.  It goes along for awhile and then makes a left. It fords the stream again.   It goes past Great Wall of China type stone structures covered in leisegang formations and moss.   Rhododendron shrubs and trees grow atop them.   It then turns steep.  The machine climbed almost straight up the side of the mountain.   Once up top we turned right (north) and got on the spine of a five mile long ridge.   It was narrow and about to get narrower.  It had rocks on it in places making it seem like trying to drive along the back of a stegosaurus.   So you can see easily from one side to the other. Knife edge thin in most places with a precipitous drop off to either side.  Add to that having to negotiate across massive boulders sticking up in the middle of this.   It was a white knuckle trip for me the entire time.   Kenny had done this before, but never alone.   He'd always had Jody or Buck along.   So now I am atop something like Waldens Ridge which I never wanted to do.   It was not quite that bad, but a close second.     I did not shoot a single photo or video because I was so petrified.    

   It was beautiful and exciting, but in kind of a bad way.   We saw a mountain hare and lots of birds up here.  The trees were beautiful. Saw some flame azaleas.    Mostly I just wanted this part to be over with.     I wanted DOWN off the ridge.   I wanted safety.  Kenny used the winch a lot on parts I knew were dangerous,  but it was mostly just for my reassurance.   I appreciated that. I was praying the whole time.  I prayed for God to let Buck whisper in my ear the way to run this ridge.   It must have worked because eventually I calmed down some.  It worked because on some of the hairy parts when Kenny was struggling to recall how they had pulled off a given move... I had knowledge of it that I should not have had.   I told him a couple times.. one in particular..  Do This!  Keep the tires up on the shoulder to the far right.. it is a drop off, but it will land okay.  He did it and it went great.  It began to rain on us to make matters worse.  It started off as a light drizzle.  It intensified to harder rain. We donned our rain gear.    We kept going and I watched the track on Lifetime maps.  I was relieved to see we were drawing near the end.  We finally dropped off that ridge trail onto a country road in Kentucky.  Somewhere.  I don't know exactly where.  I was thrilled to be safely off that thing.   It was now pouring rain and it was horizontal.  Even with a roof and windshield we were getting drowned.  I can survive a thorough drenching. What I cannot survive is falling off a mountain.  

     We went the shortest, most direct route back south into Tennessee.  We came out in the community of Eagan eventually.   In between the two points we passed some of the worst looking, trashiest homes I've ever run across. Hands down worst.    People just do not care. 

     We got back to Tackett Creek and rode out it  a short distance. I finally just said. "I'm done and I want to go back to the camper".  I was cold and wet and dirty.   

      Sorry for no videos or photos.  It was thrilling for sure.  I am including here a video of Waldens Ridge that will illustrate a bit of how narrow it was.   I won't bother saying I'll never do it again, because I know better.  I'll end up there again or in a similar situation.  But maybe next go round I won't be so scared.  That was a first for me.  

    

Gobey Wildflower Camping Trip Day 1

 

Above:  a hybrid trillium sulcatum 

 Gobey Wildflower Camping Trip

Kenny & Dana Koogler 

Gabe and Mia Koogler made cameo appearances 

April 15 through 22, 2023

Gobey Wildflower Pix 

Gobey Mountain Getaway

   I have established a tradition of going on an annual Spring wildflower camping trip.  It is a getaway for me to enjoy some solitude and immerse myself in my interests.  There is a saying "Man makes plans and God laughs."  I believe it to be true.   I had plans, but they weren't lining up.  I had to settle for modified plans.  Part of the problem this year stemmed from The Little Winters of East Tennessee.  Wildly vacillating temperatures messed with bloom times. Based on my Starr Mountain trip, and what I was seeing from friends reports I was concerned.   I did not want to spend hundreds of dollars and a boring week in Morgan County if the bloom time was passed.

     I decided to make a test run to see  my hybrid trillium spot as a day trip. I knew from that I'd be able to assess and finalize plans. The first foray was a great success so I stood pat.

      We loaded up Saturday April fifteenth and drove out to Gobey Mountain Getaway.  It was the nearest RV camping situation for my needs.  I figured from there we could go four wheeling and explore the western side of Gobey.  We could hit Primroy and on up into  Kentucky. We could ride Tackett Creek. I could hike Frozen Head and the Obed area.  I had a positive feeling about this choice. 

    We set up camp, but while Kenny was backing the camper in and doing the stuff I could not help with I explored the slope across from the campground. I found more pretty and interesting wildflowers there. Next we ate a quick lunch and set off.   We went down the road first to my hybrid trillium patch for a second check of what was blooming.  More hybrids had opened up.  We also pulled over at a spot near Anderson Road where I found trilliums that were special.  There is a form of trillium with petals more like a cultivated rose. It is from New York state and called Snow Bunting.  I had seen it before, but I found two of them today.   I also saw one aged to pink for the first time ever.  

   

Above: Snow Bunting Trillium

Below: Snow Bunting aged to pink. 

  

    Below: A view of the Emory River on my day trip out to Gobey

Below:  Redbuds and dogwood blooms with fresh new green leaves

        

     

       Above:  A hybrid form of Sweet Betsy trillium. It is a cross between two sessile varieties. The most obvious guess at parents would be the typical maroon form and the green form.

Below:  hybrid trillium with an uneven color pattern.  

Below:  Several Trilliums in a cream form.  

Below:  Check out the maroon anthers on this one.  If you view it zoomed in it is cream with green striping through the petals. 

Below: Gate #1 Sang Branch. 

Below: a hybrid trillium .. between Trillium sulcatum red and white forms. 

Above: Dwarf Larkspur was in bloom on visit #1 

Above: The slope with the hybrids has many patches like this. This cluster was all the typical red form of Trillium sulcatum.  

Below:  A trout lily raises its little head.   One of the nicest things about visiting a little earlier in the season was I found the slopes covered in hundreds of trout lilies! 

Above and below:  I was out there quite awhile prowling round. I ran upon a skull. Flipping it over revealed it to be a wild boar skull.  At first I thought maybe a deer.  Deer don't have tusks!  

Below: Pale lavender phlox divaricata 

Below: A sunny yellow Trillium

Below:  I found this weird plant that nobody seems to be able to identify.  I cannot tell if it is some unusual specimen or if it is a typical variety of native plant that has been damaged by frost or chemicals?   

  

    Below: Here is a photo of our campsite at Gobey Mountain Getaway.  We had two other campers.  One on either side of us.   

Below: The four seater RZR. I think the owners of the campground live in this little house? 

Below:  The skies were so pretty. Opening up and clearing from the previous rains.  

Below:  Maroon form of Trillium cuneatum.  

Below:  I found some golden seal growing. This was a first time find of this for me in Morgan County.

Below:  One of the prettiest, most unique specimens I found on this trip. I am calling it Gobey Gold. It is a golden trillium cuneatum probably a hybrid.  Especially if you closely observe the edges of the petals.   It is gorgeous. I saw it in multiple locations this trip! 

   Next we went toward Atlas Falls.  We were both eager to check out the western side of Gobey. All the waterfalls we saw today were running real well.   I had a strong vibe we were in for a good surprise in an abundance of flowers. 

Above: Atlas Falls running real good today. 

Below: a profile view of Atlas Falls

Below: Dwarf Crested Iris near Atlas Falls

Below: Pink lady slipper was another type flower in the vicinity of Atlas Falls

Below is a video of the lovely Atlas Falls 

 

 Westside Gobey 

   We had visited the western side of Gobey riding it through to Brimstone back in the early Fall.

I am no expert, but my observation of the type forests and streams made me think this area was going to be very interesting to check out in Spring from a botanical standpoint.   It was a great decision.   I've seldom had such fun.   I will not forget this day or this trip for that matter.  

I cannot tell you exactly what track we took, but we went to the end of Macedonia Road and turned left going up over Norman Pond Knob.   We zigzagged back and forth until we reached the higher elevations.   Views began to open up before us.   The mountains looked beautiful today.

We saw lots of variety of flowers and large quantities of them.   The trip itself riding in the RZR was amazing.  Imagine being on a ride at Disney World where instead of characters to see along the way you see waterfalls cascading out of the hills and hollers. You see tailing ponds full of clear blue water.   You take a rollercoaster ride through high banks of tilled earth from old mining operations and see wildflowers growing and covering every surface!  

         It was exciting and so much fun!  I was in sensory overload from the sights, sounds and sensations of the ride.   Kenny is not as keen on wildflowers as I am, but even he was blown away by what we were seeing.  Climbing higher on the mountain we even saw very early blooming flowers like squirrel corn and huge clumps of Dutchman's breeches.    One time today I saw the entire side of a hill covered in nothing but Dutchman's britches.    So pretty! Below are two examples of what we saw.

      Below I am including a video that is a compiling of the highlights of the day's ride.  It is a bit over four minutes long, but the footage spans the entire day. I think I did a pretty good job of capturing the best, most interesting scenes.   I admit I could have done a better job of capturing the scenes of the day, but  I don't go on these trips solely to show them off for others.  Some of the best moments of the day I just wanted to be there and soak it up. 

       Kenny and I both loved riding along the ridges.  We got plenty of that today. We thought these were kind of narrow since you could see from one side to the other in places.   I had no idea what we were really in for.  The trail here was wide and pretty flat and smooth on these ridges.   

Above:  a view shot with the Go Pro out of the windshield.   

Below:  A grandstand view from the ridgeline!  A bluebird day for sure. 

Below:  We began to see white flowered trilliums. The large pink one was beginning to age. 

Below: Pinxter Azaleas were blooming up high. 

    At one point we turned almost straight west and we got a look at the deep blue sky with a bold orange maple with new leaves contrasted against it.   Below is a quick snapshot of that scene. 

   We were working our way toward Mill Creek and its old dam and waterfalls. We were confident today they'd all be even prettier than they were in Fall.  We were really looking forward to seeing them.

We passed a spot going down this particular red trail (red means very difficult/dangerous) where it appears wind ripped down some trees and telephone poles.  I remembered to look for them and got photos today.  I failed to do so in Autumn.  It is weird to be in the middle of nowhere and see stuff like that. 

Below: Look closely. You will see the telephone pole lying on the ground and the wires and insulators still attached. 

  The only reason we took this rough trail is that it is a great short cut. It is the most direct route to the falls.      We began noticing that there was water gushing out of side hollers.  We also noticed that the eroded places which were rough in October seemed far worse now.   It occurred to us both that the trail might be impassable.   It wasn't much further until we came to the point where we could see the bad crossing which was now worse.   Kenny was able to construct and reinforce a bridge of sticks and logs to get across in Autumn.  It is now six months later after a Winter of rain and snow.  Guess what?  It had indeed washed out. The trail is so narrow at this point there is not even much room to turn around. It became necessary to execute a seventeen point turn.   Just before launching into that process we heard a sound of machines approaching from the opposite direction.  My guilty pleasure is schadenfreude.  We were in a slight fix, but so were they.  I figured my consolation prize would be to see their expressions when they realized they weren't getting over.   

   

Above and below : a photo of the bridge of sticks and the wash out as it was in April.  Click the link in the paragraph above to see the video of how it was months earlier.   

Below is a video of the situation as it unfolded this particular day.

What was really funny was  while we sat there two or three other machines pulled up behind us. Now we are hemmed in front, back and right side. The source of water that washed out the trail had also eroded the trail seriously on the right.  Turning meant don't back into the ditch!  

   Thank goodness for Lifetime Maps and the tablet.   It is worth its weight in gold.  We were able to see we had to backtrack, but it really wasn't going to be that bad to go round the other way to reach the waterfalls.    We made our course correction and set off again.  

      Below is a photo of a view we'd not have enjoyed if we hadn't come this way.

 It was nice seeing some different scenery.   We made it to the waterfall on the tributary of Mill Creek. 

It was indeed a prettier spot today with quite a bit more water.   The entire scene was prettier.  

Above: Waterfall on the tributary of Mill Creek.  Video below

    We checked out the old dam as well.   After a short spell we moved on toward Brimstone. 

I was eager to see the larger waterfall with the blue hole of water.   It was a nice ride down Lone Mountain Road.  It was pretty the entire way.  Flowers and cascades and creeks coming down out of the hills everywhere you looked.     It wasn't long until we arrived at the waterfall spot.   It was gushing today by comparison to October.   

Above:   Waterfall on Mill Creek with blue hole of water. Redbuds and tiny pea green leaves around it.

so pretty!  

Below is a video of the falls. It has lots of options for photography.  The sun being bright as it was I got way to the side in the shade.  When it comes to photography in dappled sunlight you do the best you can.  The video really shows it off to its best advantage.   The waterfall has a monaker "Titty Falls", but I am not sure how it came by that name.  All I can guess is some woman got out there and showed her tits?  

   We enjoyed the falls and then went further down Lone Mountain Road to the nice campsite by the creek.    It was a good spot, but not great for flowers.  Very little here matter of fact in that respect. 

We did get a laugh at the commode someone set out there.  This must be someone's idea of luxury camping.   Ew gross, but you know me. My sense of humor runs to the stupid and ridiculous.

Above: Lone Mountain Campsite facilities.  They could use work. 

Below is Mill Creek flowing by.  Click the link if you are interested in watching the short video clip. 

Below is a nice patch of dwarf crested iris that was growing on the creek bank.  

    We motored on toward Brimstone and the Lone Mountain area.  Once there we forded Mill Creek by driving through it.   We saw another gathering of riders.  We waved and made our left onto the trail for the return trip.    It was a good one back in Fall.  I was hoping it would be good wildflowers in Spring. It really wasn't great.   I saw next to nothing.   We finally got onto another trail that began to close the loop we were making today.   We began to see more pretty views, narrow ridges, and wildflowers. 

Below is a view to the south

The mountain is so narrow here. Look at the image below... this is the view toward the north!

Once again while I was thinking this was really cool that the mountain was so narrow you could see from one side to the next I  was in for a great shock the next day. 

    We rounded a bend at one point where a splash of white polka dots caught my eye.   All along this slope far as you could see were white flowered trilliums!  Kenny claimed we'd come this way earlier on the ride, but I don't see how we missed this?   At any rate we stopped and got off the machine and I prowled round just wallowing in the flowers.  Soaking up the scenery and the goodness of the moment. 

The mountain was peppered with white trilliums. Intermingled with those were maroon sweet betsy now and then and some yellow trilliums. Some of the white ones had aged to pink.  I also saw a plant with healthy vibrant green foliage only.  No bloom. It may be false hellebore.  I am not certain. 

I also noticed star chickweed, blue violet, blue cohosh, and spotted mandarin! I turned to start walking back to the RZR and stopped in my tracks. I was watching sharp for poison ivy which was also around my feet.     Right around me were morel mushrooms!  I hollered for Kenny to join me. We used an empty Tupperware to collect enough for a very small mess to cook. 

Below are a couple looks at the slopes with flowers

Below a closer view of the trilliums

       

Below: a view of the mass of trilliums

Above: Dry Land Fish... morel mushroom. Derlicious!  

Above: Spotted mandarin aka Fairy Bells. One of my favorite flowers. 

    We were growing tired and ready to head to the camper.   We enjoyed the evening sun's glow as we gradually wound down the trail.   We passed a tree on the left with a stuffed bear in it!  

He was a cute teddy bear.    All in all it was a fine day and much needed get away for me and Kenny. 

 Below is a photo of the bear in the tree

Below is a video of one of my favorite songs when I was a kid.  Jim & Jesse's Ole Slewfoot