Chilly morning temperatures at 5000 feet did not deter the 28 BRNN members joining our high-elevation wildflower walk on Tuesday May 23rd.  Ably led by guides Lou Dwarshuis, Marilyn Kolton, and Randy Richardson, our gang set off to explore the trails leading from the Pisgah Inn to the site of the former Buck Springs Lodge.  On the sunnier, drier Buck Springs trail we saw the first of the late spring/summer flowers, with highlights including blooming Speckled Wood Lily, Wild Sarsaparilla, Wood Betony, Catawba Rhododendron, Mountain Laurel, Canada Mayflower, Wild Lily of the Valley and Umbrella Leaf.  The shadier, wetter Campground trail yielded the last vestiges of a number of species of  trillium (Painted, Red Wake Robin, Large-flowered, and Vasey’s) including some examples with four and five leaves!  And a small cadre of committed plant nerds stopped along the Parkway on the way home to see the rare Small-flowered Yellow Lady’s Slipper.  
Our group included some keen birders, and they recorded some very interesting bird species, including:

• Hooded warbler
• Blue-headed vireo
• Black & white warbler
• Indigo bunting
• Scarlet tanager
• Northern parula
• Chestnut-sided warbler
• Dark-eyed junco
• Downy woodpecker
• Veery

Selected photos from the outing are provided below:

A lovely, warm spring day welcomed our group of 27 BRNN Wildflower enthusiasts to our annual outing at Big Creek in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Our group featured some of the founders of the Blue Ridge Naturalist program – Jesse Wilder, Scott Dean, and Dan Lazar, as well as no fewer than three current and past presidents of the Blue Ridge Naturalist Network.  Our gang divided into three groups, with Scott Dean and Jim Poling leading wildflower-intensive explorations, and Randy Richardson leading a group on a longer hike to Midnight Hole and Mouse Creek Falls.  While some of early spring wildflowers were past their prime, the Big Creek trails did not disappoint.  Botanical highlights included Yellow Trillium, Fernleaf and Fringed Phacelias, Showy Orchis, Dwarf Crested Irises, and plenty of Fire Pinks.  Selected photos from the event follow: