Georgia Wilderness Society
Standing Indian Mountain area, NC

After our hike on the Appalachian Trail on Saturday, we decided to take two shorter hikes on Sunday.  The first was to see the Wasilik Poplar Tree.  

This was the second largest poplar tree in the United States, but unfortunately, it is now dead.  All the same, it is still standing and very imposing. 

According to information on the internet, the dead trunk is still 125 feet tall, 27 feet in circumference, and 8 feet in diameter.

Below is a photo of the base of the tree, with the four hikers for comparison
Our final hike was after a short ride up to the top of Alberts Mountain, eleveation 4,997 feet.  We hiked the relatively flat access trail to the Appalachian Trail, then a more steep section to the summit.  There is a fire tower there that gives a spectacular view.  A full 360 degree view is afforded and has beautiful mountain peaks in all directions.  Truly, this is one of the best views of mountians in the southern Appalachians


Below is a mosaic that was created from many individual photos.  It shows the full 360 degree view from the third landing on the fire tower steps.  The photo goes up and down a little due to the lack of a tripod when shooting them, and because of a slight fisheye effect while using the wide angle setting.  You will probably need to scroll your web browser to the right to see the entire image below.
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