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Re: [RC] Headwaters Ride and old growth - Truman PrevattYep it was the Joyce Kilmer I was thinking of but the name escaped me at the time. We went packpacking in the Slickrock Creek Wilderness back in the Late 70's just when the Memorial was first open. We camped one night at "Naked Ground" which is on the ridge line above Joyce Kilmer. The next day we took a day hike down into the virgin forest. It was like decending into heaven. It was cool and dark with the sun blocked by the huge trees.This was what it looked like when the pioneers tried to cross the Appalachian Mountains and you understood why they could only cross at a few places. Then man came with his machines and clear cut the eastern forest - causing massive flooding in the aftermath. The only thing that good tha may have come from the period of time was the creation of the National Forest system to replant manage and conserve this precious resourse. The eastern hardwood forest is unique in its varity. There are more types of hardwood trees in just the Great Smokey Mountains NP than in Europe and Asia combined. You don't realize this varity until you go out west and see the limited varity of trees in the western forest compared to the eastern forest. The hardwood forest are more difficult to reestablish than the conifer forest and there is a long progression that goes into the restoration of the forest. My first hike through Joyce Kilmer was truly inspiring. For someone in the area a drive across the Cherohala to Robbinville and Joyce Kilmer is time well spent. A way to relax and restore the soul. Truman Jim Holland wrote: Ah, Yes....The Joyce Kilmer Memorial comes to mind which is right down the -- "The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. The opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth." Niels Bohr -- Nobel Laureate, Physics =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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