August 22, 2010
Note: This is the 4th in a series that we will be catching up. We started to hike trails last month that follow waterways in the southern mountains. Keep an eye here for Pisgah Water Hike 1, 2 and 3 to be added soon. We will be going on from there with 5 and so on.
Dad B, Bud (Milton) and his girls, Celia & Samantha, hiked out of Turkey Pen to the suspension bridge and then north on South Mills River Trail in Pisgah National Forest.
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Suspension Bridge South Mills River
Bud, Sam, Celia mbi |
We saw lots of great camp sites for future consideration. The river was full from the rain the night before. It was just beautiful from the many views along the way. The heavy flow made the swimming a blast. The fresh waters in these parts are so very refreshing on a hot day. Much fun was had.
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Celia helping Sam to a "toe shower" mbi |
We were surprised to see the reddest crayfish on the trail. Thanks to Celia's sharp eye we didn't pass it unnoticed.
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| "Stay away, this is my trail!" mbi |
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| Bud gave us a good look at the red crayfish. mbi |
Buds sharp eye caught this sight not often seen on a mushroom.
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| Yes that's a snail dinning on the mushroom. mbi |
We lunched on the side of the river
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| What a great lunch! mbi |
Celia and I saw this wonderful ground cover and wanted to know what it was.
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| Partridgeberry / Squaw Vine mbi |
It wasn't in the wild flower book we were carrying so we checked into it at home and discovered that it was Squaw Vine correctly known as Partridgeberry. Partridgeberry is a distinctively Native American plant. Its nickname - squaw vine - was coined by colonists who saw Native American women using it. Although primarily employed in a medicinal capacity, partridgeberry had additional uses among various tribes, including the following: as a love potion, as a ceremonial smoke, and as a food. The fruits were eaten either raw or dried and in sauces, breads, and cakes.
Partridgeberry is an evergreen vine, partridgeberry grows up to a foot long, with a whitish, trailing stem. A ground-hugger, partridgeberry forms "mats" as it grows. Flowers are white and often paired. Fruits are small, scarlet berries.
Partridgeberry brightens the drab forest floor in fall and winter, its mats of evergreen leaves and scarlet fruits hugging the ground. Landscapers often transplant this cheerful creeper to residential yards, where partridgeberry is used in rock gardens and as ornamental ground cover under shrubs, thriving especially in acid soil.
The twin white flowers that adorn the ends of partridgeberry stems merge to form a single fruit, as the name one-berry indicates. The low fat content of the fruits makes them resistant to rotting, so that they stay intact on the branches late into winter and are available to nourish wildlife when other foods are lacking.
The delectable-looking but nearly tasteless fruits are said to be favored by ruffed grouse, birds similar to European partridges-hence the name partridgeberry. Another common name suggests that this creeping plant supplies food for deer.
Partridgeberry is a native American plant, and the name squaw vine comes from its use among the Indians. During the final weeks of pregnancy women drank a tea made from the leaves to ease childbirth, and nursing mothers applied a lotion made from the leaves to their breasts to relieve soreness. English colonists also used the tea as an aid in childbirth and as a remedy for menstrual cramps.
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| Great day on the trail! mbi |
After all these years I finally really get it - being in these mountains is apart of my soul - I really feel it and need it. The more I get the more I want (need). Being with family adds to the feeding of our soul. Dad B
