In spite of the beauty and potential for hiking at Crockford-Pigeon Mountain, we hit the road relatively early since we knew rain was on its way. We would definitely return on future trips though to check out more of the area.
On the road, we traveled mostly north to Marion, VA, after stopping early on to charge the car at the Ringgold, GA City Clerk's Office, where there are a couple DC fast chargers. From there we traveled through Knoxville, TN and then eventually into Virginia, arriving mid afternoon.
Hungry Mother Lake is human-made, created by a dam with a spillway, rendering Hungry Mother Creek little more than a wetland downstream from the dam.
We have stayed at Hungry Mother State Park a few times now, mostly due to its convenience to the highway and its 50 amp RV hook-ups which we use to charge the car. Other than those features, it's not a park we recommend. Though it does have natural beauty, it is on a loud road and the campsites are close together. But....it's convenient and no other state parks in the area are up and running this early in the season.
We spotted numerous Hepatica along Lake Trail on the moist trail embankment.
There also were carpets of princess pine in the woods - more than I've ever seen in one place!
Other signs of spring included blooming pussywillow and spicebush.
There were also mosses aplenty - and of course many lichen.
After pitching the tent and making an early supper/late lunch of steamed broccoli and cauliflower with Thai red curry and rice, we set out on the Lake Trail loop. We did not complete the loop, stopping partway around the five plus mile loop to sit and listen to spring peepers, watch some deer, and enjoy the peacefulness of the evening. When we returned, Glen headed to the showers and I headed into the tent.
It was a busy Friday night and, boy, was it loud at the park! But it was the lake spillway and the spring peepers that made the most noise, followed by the road traffic and then the campers. I didn't think I'd fall asleep given the intensity of all the sounds, but one earplug did the trick. Before going to bed, we checked the forecast and set our alarm for 5:30, since thunderstorms were called for very early in the morning....Would we avoid the rain or leave the campground drenched. Tune into our next blog post to find out.
Yes, we saved some snow for you but soon you'll be hearing the Valley Spring Peepers and celebrating the Great Rebirth on the next Enviro Show. Happy Trails!
This part of the trip is the reverse of the start, but it's much warmer now than it was in January. It doesn't feel like we're in such a hurry to get north as we were to get south where it was supposed to be warmer. Now we're enjoying the Spring, the flowers, the sun, and it seems taking it slow, so as to prolong the inevitable end, which is clearly in sight. Just a few more days to go, and while it would be nice to travel as slowly as the season moves up from south to north, that would be a far different sort of trip. For now, we're enjoying the last few sips of a delicious brew…