Florence Nature Preserve, Blue-to-White Loop
Posted By auntie on October 1, 2020
4.3 miles, 787 ft. total ascent; Gerton, NC
This was a difficult hike [for me], as it was entirely uphill for the first 2 miles. Nothing especially steep, except for the first few 10ths of a mile from the parking lot, but still, a lotta work. Beautiful hike, though. No major waterfalls and no views, which is kind of what I like. I very much enjoyed it.
Old Cabin
There was an old cabin on the first section of this hike. It’s pretty much firewood at this point… barely holding together.
Goldenrod
Still plenty of goldenrod and asters in bloom. We haven’t had a frost here yet, although the predicted low for tonight is in the high 30’s, so I’m guessing I’ll see some frost-killed plants on any weekend hike I do, particularly at higher elevations.
Speaking of elevations, I plan on adding total ascent notes to the little hike intro on each post, starting with this one. I’m finding elevation more and more relevant down here in the North Carolina mountains.
Snake Tongue Truffle Club (Maybe?)
I thought this was Dead Man’s Fingers (Xylaria polymorpha) when I saw it, but it looked more like the Truffle Club photos that I found. Anyways, if it is the Snake Tongue Truffle Club (where do I join?), it is feeding off another fungus, or truffle, buried beneath it, attached by a golden thread. Cool!
Shelf Fungus
No idea what this shelf fungus is, but I liked the composition and the colors.
Indian Cucumber Root
And I’ve seen plenty of these in my travels in New England. I like the colorful bracts with the little blue berry more than the small, uninteresting flowers of this plant.
You can find out more about the Florence Nature Preserve from this Conserving Carolina web page. As always, click the image above for details about this hike and to download the gps track.
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