CAR HIKING !

A Lazy Botanist's Dream Come True !

What is ‘car hiking’? As a botanist I define ‘car hiking’ as the concept of driving along interesting roads and stopping to explore plants. However, I have heard rumors that the concept of car hiking is also practiced by birders, geologists, and other outdoor enthusiasts.  But whatever your interest, the concept is basically the same. Once you spot something of interest you stop, walk, explore, return to the car, drive, and repeat! The benefits of car hiking are:

• You can cover a large distance in a relatively short period of time
• If you don’t see much of interest where you are it is easy to go somewhere different
• You can carry many items of luxury in your car: cooler, food, drinks, extra clothing, field guides, heavy camera equipment…..
• You get the false sense that you are actually exercising and burning calories
• It allows and encourages you to explore new roads and areas
• You can see a large number of species in one day

To do car hiking properly you need at least two people. One person is the designated driver (for safety purposes) and the second person acts as a spotter and yells, “STOP”. Once “STOP” is yelled there is much frantic activity to find a suitable parking site as quickly as possible. This may require turning the car around several times on a section of road (usually very curvy and narrow) until the desired ratio of walking distance and safety are achieved.  For many years I have successfully car hiked with my friend Emily. She volunteers to be the designated driver (apparently I swerve wildly when pointing to plants) and with my botany background I am the spotter. Over the years I have actually gotten quite good at identifying plants at 45 mph and Emily has developed a sixth sense that alerts her to my potential cry of “STOP” (probably my frantic arm waving, forward craned neck, and animated sounds of oooh, oooh, oooh!).

Emily Whiteley, my designated 'Car Hiking' driver!

One of our favorite places to car hike is the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP)!  The Blue Ridge Parkway is a 469 mile scenic drive that connects the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. The road mostly follows the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountain portion of the Appalachian Mountains.1 

View of the Blue Ridge Mountains from the Blue Ridge Parkway near Mount Mitchell  State Park. Notice the blue haze that gives the mountains their name.

The BRP passes thru a variety of plant communities ranging from low elevation Oak Forests to mid elevation Cove Forests to high elevation Spruce-Fir Forests. By driving from south to north, or from a low elevation to a higher elevation, a botanist can follow the bloom of spring ephemerals for several months.  Also, the large range of plant communities allows for a great diversity of plant species. I have posted some samples of flowers I have seen along the BRP. 

Wake-robin Trillium - Trillium erectum seen at  

Crabtree Falls Campground at MP 339.5.

Catawba Rhododendron - Rhododendron catawbiense

commonly seen along the BRP at higher elevations in 

June, especially Craggy Gardens at MP 364.6.

White Campion - Silene latifolia seen in
June at Licklog Gap Overlook at MP 435.7.
 

Flame Azalea - Rhododendron calendulaceum is

a common sight all along the BRP in late spring.

Turk's Cap Lily - Lilium superbum a 

common sight along the BRP in July.

Pale Touch-me-not - Impatiens pallida commonly

seen all along the BRP during the summer and early fall.

A Gentian flower species at 

Wolf Mountain Overlook at MP 424.8.

Mountain Ash - Sorbus americana berries in
late fall near Pisgah Inn at MP 408.6.

Here are a few roads in Western N.C. you may want to explore by car hiking:

• Pearson Falls Rd, Saluda, NC (best in early spring)
• Forest Service Road 74 through the Big Ivy area near Barnardsville, N.C.
• Any of the forest service roads in the Wilson Creek area near Morganton, N.C. 
• US 441 - Newfound Gap Road from Gatlinburg to Cherokee N.C. 
• "Old NC Highway 105 " from Linville Falls to Lake James - you may need a 4-wheel drive vehicle (best in late summer and fall)

I hoped I have inspired you to try car hiking and explore North Carolina’s rich botanical heritage!

Resources:

1. "America's Favorite Drive." National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. 23 June 2017. <https://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/directions.htm>.