Rocky Fork Perimeter Hike

[mole]

Had a bit of spare time recently to hike the entire perimeter of the Rocky Fork wilderness - including both the State Park and the surrounding national forest. Due to a fallen tree blocking the main road, this hike ended up being almost 20 miles. Just for fun, I tried using only one lens (A 35-105) on the entire hike (although had several more in the pack). Here are a few snapshots from along the way…

Rocky Fork is rich in flowing water, even along the roadside. One of the benefits of walking up the road is the chance to enjoy the many small waterfalls along the way.

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Here's another small waterfall less than a mile from the trailhead.

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We saw plenty of Black Bear sign along the way. Blueberries were almost ripe, and, judging from the seeds in these scats, it looks like the bears have been eating the near-ripe fruit.

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Red Elderberry was at peak ripeness - not good food for humans, but fine for the bears, birds, etc.

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We saw plenty of salamanders out and about in the damp shady hollows. Here's a leadback and a redback (very close relatives).

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We also saw plenty of Flame Azalea at peak bloom - mostly the orange variety.

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This Spicebush Swallowtail seems to prefer the nectar of the yellow-flowered Flame Azalea.

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Nearby was a freshly-emerged Tiger Swallowtail, drying its wings in the green mid-day light.

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Mountain Sorrel was at peak bloom at the high, cool, damp places.

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So were two "beetle magnet" blooms - Galax (often called beetleweed) and Astibe.