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More Explorations - December 2018 Shoal Branch Vicinity Southern Nantahala Wilderness Area |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2018) |
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More Explorations - December 2018 Shoal Branch Vicinity Southern Nantahala Wilderness Area |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2018) |
| Recovering from some surgery, I was ready for my exploring season (i.e. the cooler months after the leaves have fallen) to begin. I had done several easy-moderate treks to work myself back into shape, and was primed for more strenuous climbs. 1 - Early December, 2018 Back in the mid 1990s, a friend and I had visited the old Garrett Amethyst Mine in the Wilderness Area. I wanted to revisit the mine, and look for a Native American site reputed to be nearby. The area had grown up tremendously since my visit 20+ years earlier, and I was unable to locate the mine. But the day wasn't wasted, as I came across a pair of fallen logs with an interesting selection of colorful fungi growing on them. |
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| Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) - top |
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| Oyster Mushroom - bottom |
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| Ascocoryne sarcoides |
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| Possibly another Ascocoryne species |
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| Phlebia radiata |
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| Phlebia radiata - close-up |
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| Bisporella species |
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| Old Trichaptum biforme - top |
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| Very old Trichaptum biforme - bottom |
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| Trametes betulina, formerly Lenzites betulina - top |
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| Trametes betulina - bottom |
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| Possibly Fuligo septica(?) |
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| 2 - Five days later, after examining an old marked-up paper topo map from my '90s visit, I returned to the Shoal Branch area for another search for the old amethyst mine: |
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| Near the grown-over trail, I passed a pair of old rock piles of unknown origin |
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| Rockpile 2, with a huge tree rising from the middle |
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| Nearby, I noticed a group of aging Puffballs. |
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| Site of the Garrett Mine... I finally refound the old amethyst mine. I never would have recognized it from my visit almost 25 years earlier! At that time, there was a 20x20 inch shaft cut into the pit bottom, descending at a 45 degree angle. With dirt walls and no shoring - it was extremely unsafe to enter, even for me! Either the shaft had collapsed or was covered by the USFS, but I saw no sign of it. |
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| Section of the Garrett Mine cuts, from the opposite side. I wish I had taken photos of the mine when we visited in 1994 / 1995, but back then we didn't have a camera (phone!) with us at all times. |
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| I wasn't far from the logs with the unusual fungi pictured at the top of this page, so I walked up to see if I'd missed anything before. Looking very closely, I found this small, unusual fungi: Metatrichium vesparium |
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| Further up, I came across an old camp site, with fireplace & a collapsed lean-to. |
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| Camp fireplace |
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| Climbing a little further, I came across another huge boulder, that favored an animal head... |
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| Moving to the next drainage basin, I encountered a series of old rock piles along the creek branch. |
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| Rock pile 2 - I photographed seven piles aligned in a row before moving on. |
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| These beg the usual question asked of N. Georgia rock piles / mounds - historic or prehistoric? |
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| Rock pile 4 |
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| Rock pile 5 |
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| Rock pile 6 |
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| Rock pile 7 |
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| Not long afterwards, I came across two more, larger, rock piles in a draw near a seasonal branch. |
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| Rock pile 2 |