Georgia Wilderness Society
Shining Rock, NC

Eight GWS members headed for the hills in August of 2003 in search of blueberries.  Although we did find some, the bulk of the wild blueberries were not ripe yet.  We still managed to have a great time hiking all over the Shining Rock Wilderness Area, just off of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Participants are shown below, left to right:

Bud Queen, Niki Queen, Kathy Stege, Tom Payne, Marty Dyche, George Thomas, and Billy Fox.......also Chris Bryson, who was taking the photo.

There are lots of photos, so rather than taking up lots of space with them all full size, there are thumbnails of each below.  Click on them to see the full size, then use your BACK button.
Almost ripe blueberries
Chris Bryson on the trail
pauses for a picture
Flat Laurel Creek as viewed from Bud and Niki's tentsite
Ferns galore were found around our tents
Pink Earth is the common name of the fruiting body of the lichen Dibaeis baeomyces
Rosebay Rhododendron
Rhododendron maximum
Posing for the camera while on the trail to Shining Rock Mountain
Turk's Cap Lily dripping in the morning dew
Lilium superbum
We finally made it to Shining Rock Mountain's peak.  The white quartz behind us is how it got it's name.
Ground Pine
Lycopodium clavatum
Joe Pye Weed
Eupatorium purpureum 
Bumble bees were hard at work, although this one seemed like it was asleep
Kathy Stege waits on a rock for the rest of the hikers to catch up
Chris Bryson is gingerly perched on the very top of the quartz outcropping of Shining Rock Mountain
The only snake spotted on the 10 mile hike was this one
Of course, the views were wonderful