Eastatoe Trip Follow-Up

As promised, here are a few more images from my Eastatoe Gorge trip. I look forward to going back in the spring when the wildflowers will be blooming in profusion and the critters will be again.

One of my favorite finds was this fairly old poplar just riddled with sapsucker wells from years past. It was completely scarred from root to canopy on one site with pock-marks.

This trip was also all about the vines and climbers, which seemed to be clinging to every surface.

I brought along my good friend and fellow photographer Alex Garcia as a witness just in case I fell to my death down the slippery slopes of the gorge!

In the end, it was a really nice scouting trip and I can't wait to explore it more in the near future.

cb

Down into the Eastatoe

I just returned from a trip down into the Eastatoe Gorge in Northwest South Carolina. This special place is one of the epi- centers of South Carolina's temperate rain forest and home to some amazing plant and animal life. Most notably, perhaps, is its variety of filmy ferns, which include the only North American location of the Tunbridge Fern (Hymenophyllum tunbridgense) and another species that is only found otherwise in South America. I was able to locate Taylor's Filmy Fern (Hymenophyllum tayloriae) but was unfortunately unable to locate –just yet– the more photogenic Tunbridge. I hope to make another trip down into the Gorge this spring and see if my luck improves.

The day was very pleasant with beautiful, mist-filtered light and the gorge had a very ancient ambiance. Eastatoe is the Cherokee word for the Carolina Parakeet which is now extinct and I couldn't help but imagine what the site might have been like 300 years ago when these colorful birds filled the air. I'm going to be posting more images from this outing over the next few days so stay tuned. It was a great way to start off the new year.

Clay