Fall at Bluff Mountain
On Sunday, October 11, the Blue Ridge Discovery Center sponsored a tour hike to the Nature Conservancy's Bluff Mountain Nature Preserve on a perfect fall day. Temperature in the low 60's, light breeze under a cerulean sky, the forest at near peak fall coloration, the group of eleven hikers strolled through some of the rarest ecologies in the Southern Appalachian Mountains.
Bluff Mountain Hike
Doug Monroe, Naturalist for the Bluff Mountain Nature Preserve, guided an eager group of individuals on a special hike through the Nature Conservancy property as part of the Blue Ridge Expeditions Program.
Blue Ridge Expeditions: Hike on Bluff Mountain, Ashe Co, NC
The Blue Ridge Expedition hike of The Nature Conservancy's Bluff Mountain Nature Preserve was smiled upon by the weather gods as the fog lifted as the hike began and the rain fell as the hike ended. Hikers were treated with peak blooms of mountain laurel at Perkins Rock and the mesic glade and indian paintbrush in the meadow. Numerous red efts shared the trail without a single casualty which was a minor miracle considering there were thirty feet finding their way.