I joined Jess and Dan in exploring some massive cliffs off the Arkaquah Trail, followed by a trek to a nearby area to search for some wildflowers that are rarely seen in NE Georgia.

Dan gazes up at the massive cliffs.

Jess lines up a shot

Walking along the base of the cliffs.

The lighting was difficult, being in the shadow of the cliffs on a bright sunny day...

More cliffs

Carolina Silverbells   (Halesia carolina)

Looking back on our route We were finally nearing the end of the long line of cliffs...

Vaseys Trillium   (Trillium vaseyi)

Pink Lady's Slippers   (Cypripedium acaule) Terrible lighting, but they were some of the first we'd seen this spring...

Devil's Urn   (Urnula craterium) I had never photographed these; they were pretty cool...

Some type of tiny bladed Moss

Narceus americanus millipede

Panoramic view

Coming to the end of the cliffs, we worked our way up the steep slope to the ridgeline and the Arkaquah Trail. We then headed to another ridgeline to check out some plants that Jess had seen in bud two weeks earlier.

Our main objective for the second part of this trek!

Eastern Shooting Stars   (Dodecatheon meadia)

I had never heard of this species being found in the NE corner of Georgia.

While primarily white, the flowers can often be tinted a light pink or purple.

It was so unusual to find this colony that I took LOTS of photos.

A few more examples follow...

Another nice view...

Showy Orchis   (Galearis spectablis) Not the greatest specimen, but it was growing right alongside the trail.

Golden Alexander   (Zizia aurea)

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