Ferguson Peak Trail
Posted By auntie on July 18, 2022

3.25 miles; 673 ft. total elevation gain; Gerton, NC
This was a very serendipitous hike, in that I met a new friend when I went to my volunteer gig at the Botanical Gardens at Asheville, and we hit it off so totally that we made a date to hike together.

Trail Marker
She took me to this short, steep trail in Hickory Nut Gap, part of a larger trail system created and maintained by the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy.

Mountain Bunchflower
In between gasping for breath, and perhaps in order to catch my breath, I noticed this interesting green flower, the Mountain Bunchflower. This is a member of the lily family, endemic to the southern Appalachians, and highly poisonous. Good to know.

The Payoff
Yeah, this was the payoff for doing all that climbing. The view was spectacular. One might almost say breathtaking.
You can find out more about the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy from their website, and more specificaSlly, you can read about the Strawberry Gap Trail here. As always, click the image above for details about this hike and to download the gps track.
[…] unless it’s on a mushroom foray… Today I went hiking with my new friend (she of the Ferguson Peak trail). I’ve been wanting to go to the Dupont State Recreational Forest ever since, yes, a […]