Monongahela National Forest (West Virginia)

Summit Lake

Spruce and Hemlock

Some rhododendron still in bloom

Cranberry Glades

Pitcher Plants

Scenic Highway

Black Mountain Trail

Yellow Birch

Honeycomb Rocks

Red Spruce Knob Trail

The first week in August I returned to the Monongahela National Forest to camp for a few days after attending the Clifftop Old Time Music Festival in West Virginia. I had been looking forward to returning all year and hope to make an annual visit in years to come if possible. I explored several short trails in the region and also got a better grasp on what I was seeing. Last year, the place seemed like an eastern rainforest, water everywhere, creeks and streams bursting at the seams. Mushrooms bursting all over the forest floor. This year was a little different. Creeks and streams were much lower, there were hardly any mushrooms to be found, overall, things seemed much drier. Still beautiful nonetheless. The colors were still a feast for the eyes.

There were many wildflowers in bloom and butterflies, although even the butterflies seemed a little fewer this year at this time. The weather was warm, with afternoon thunderstorms.

The forest was a treat, and I enjoyed hiking amongst the red spruce and hemlocks, which were at times rather large. I learned this time around that the forest is all second growth. Unfortunately, loggers nearly obliterated the region in the early 1900's. Fires broke out on mountain tops with the heat so intense that even the soils were scorched and nearly destroyed. It will take hundreds of years for the forest ecosystem to recover. I would have loved to have been able to see what the forest originally looked like. Diaries of early explorers of the region burst with giddy excitement at the power and wildness of the original forest. Today, although grateful the forest is returning, you can tell that the power is not quite there yet. However, I was very grateful for the solitude, and rarely saw anybody on the hikes I chose.

Hopefully, next year, I will be able to peel back another layer and explore more of the region...