Was up at Roan Mountain recently, hoping to catch an autumnal sunrise. Valley was under heavy rain, but was hoping that the high places might be above the clouds. Nope - hike was IN the clouds! Plenty of wind, cold & damp drizzle, but also some fine fog-rich scenes.
Roan Mt, like much of the southern Appalachians, holds some corners of temperate rain forest. You can tell by the lush moss that this Spruce/Fir forest gets plenty of moisture!
A young Beech forest is also thriving in the cool and damp - very close to the best Flame Azalea "garden" on Roan Mt.
No Azaleas blooming in November, but there were some very bright blueberry bushes.
Here's another very bright little plant. From the name "cinquefoil," you can guess that most plants in this group have leaves in groups of 5. But there's a rather rare Cinquefoil (only found in two counties in Tennessee) called 3-toothed Cinquefoil, that has leaves in groups of 3! And it sure makes a bright accent to the high rocky places.
Roan Mt is especially well-known for its grassy balds - natural high-elevation meadows rich in rare plants. Here are a few rather foggy views of some of the balds around Grassy Ridge.
This hike was a great test of some new boots and a new raincoat (both worked perfectly!) Also a great chance to enjoy a different view of the high country. Hope you also enjoyed the view, and that you'll share your comments & critique!
Originally posted by mole 
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