Montreat Trail System, NC

[bbeduhn]

Larry,
I had a weekend to myself so most of that time was spent in the forest.  I know what you mean about the rhododendron.  It's pretty to look at but bushwhacking through 100 yards of the stuff isn't exactly a walk in the park.  My problem is that there are too many places to visit and not nearly enough time to do it all.  I'm going to work on spending more time and being more thorough at each location because I'm missing quality trees here and there.  That way, Rucker indices will be more accurate.  I still don't get out to as many locations as you do.
Brian

[bbeduhn]

               

                       

                       

Shared yellow birch root

               

               

               

                       

                       

Very old yellow birch

               

               

               

                       

                       

growth rings on very old yellow birch--about 220 in less than 5"

               

               

               

                       

                       

Old chestnut oak

               

               

               

                       

                       

Old chestnut oak crown

               

               

               

                       

                       

Bulbous red maple

               

               

[Larry Tucei]

Brian, That's amazing growth rates on that Birch, 220- 5" unreal!  It must have been in the shadows for decades.  We had one Chestnut Oak in all of Southern Ms that I could find but it passed away a couple of years ago,Chestnut Oak is really cool tree and one of my favorites.  Larry

[lucager1483]

Larry, Brian,

One of the weirdest, scariest things that ever happened to me while in the woods involved a chestnut oak.  I was walking along a mountain trail in Virginia, just minding my own business, when I hear this loud crash right near me, just off the trail.  An old, rotten tree totally collapsed under its own weight as I was walking by and nearly gave me a heart attack.  The oak probably wasn't very old, and not more than about 1' dbh and 30-40' tall.  My first thought was that I had a big bear after me, or maybe a bigfoot, but I soon calmed down and figured out what was going on.  You see downed trees all the time, but this was the only time I've witnessed a collapse firsthand.  The weather was great, I was by myself, and never expected such a thing to happen.  Weird story, but I felt compelled to share it.

Elijah