Today Norris and Cheryl went up the Blue Ridge Parkway to hike while the wild Catawba Rhododendrons are blooming in the area around Craggy Gardens. There are many acres of rhodos like these in bloom, although its appears the bloom peak might still be a week or more away. This area is about 6000 ft in elevation, so the bloom season comes late to these plants.
This clearing (known as a bald in the mountains) provides a nice view of the blooms and the surrounding peaks, although it was a little hazy today.
Some parts of the trail are really tunnels through thickets of Rhodos. This is what it looks like hiking through the understory of the Rhododendron trunks.
There are also many, many wild ferns thriving in the understory as well.
This view from the top of Craggy Pinnacle captures a nice view of the rolling Blue Ridge Mountains.
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