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TOPIC: Pulliam Creek GRGL N.C.
http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees/browse_thread/thread/86e4afd33b1d6fae?hl=en
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== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Jan 5 2008 7:10 pm
From: James Parton
ENTS,
Today I went on a hike down in the Green River Game Lands, which is
located in Henderson and Polk counties in Western North Carolina.
The
forest here is primarily mature second growth. There is without
doubt
a small amount of old growth down in the hard to access Green River
Gorge. The prominent conifers are Eastern Hemlock & White Pine
but
Shortleaf, Pitch & Virginia Pine are found here in considerable
numbers also. The hemlocks are in better shape than many areas I
have
visited being still mostly green, but the adelgids presence is
easily
found. Dead limbed trees and the tale-tale white fluffs can be seen
at
the base of many of the hemlocks " needles ". Without
being treated it
is just a matter of time until all these beautiful trees die. The
hardwoods are dominated by various oaks & Tuliptree with
maple,birch
and Sourwood present also. American Holly is present in the
understory
with the Rhododendron and Mountain Laurel. The trail itself is nice
but a controlled burn a few years back has hurt the look of the
forest
on the first mile of the trail. You can also access the Green River
Narrows from the Pulliam Creek Trail. It is worth the decent and
hard
climb out but one has to be careful! It is a series of rapids &
waterfalls at the bottom of a deep gorge.
Here is a link concerning the Green River Game Lands.
http://www.eco-wnc.org/green_river_brochure.htm
Here are some cbh measurements of some trees taken on today's outing
into GRGL.
7' 2" Eastern Hemlock
8' Oak
7' 1 1/3" White Pine
7' 6 1/2" Eastern Hemlock
8' 11" Eastern Hemlock
7' 7 1/4" Oak
6' 7" Tuliptree
8' 9 3/4" White Pine ( Has reddish bark that reminds me of the
bark
on the " Boog " GSMNP. May be an older tree. All other
white pines I
found in the area have the more characteristic grayish bark. )
7' 9" Eastern Hemlock
Like a moron, I brought my camera but forgot my SD card in the card
reader back home, hence I got no pictures on this outing. : (
James Parton
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