I finally got some time to get up to Freezeout to hike Grandmother Mountain. The flowers are out and it’s quite pretty, though it’s not the best year for flowers that I’ve seen. It could be that I got up there a little late. Everything seems to be coming out a little earlier this year than normal. But then, all of the flowers that are out still seem to be in peak bloom. I was especially hoping for a great beargrass year like I got to see three years ago. But even with the lower abundance of flowers, the ones that were there were quite spectacular. I came across a patch of paintbrush on the summit that must have been the best I’ve ever seen, perfect and unblemished and bright and vivid.
Paintbrush on Grandmother Mountain
It’s been a strange summer. Our heat wave came early and has since left for cooler temperatures and rain. Typically by July, we’ve entered the dry spell. But this past weekend it rained pretty hard, letting up just long enough for a hike on Saturday. Since I’ve been to Grandmother Mountain so many times, I don’t have many new photos to share. So instead, I thought I’d try my hand at a video tour of the hike. So enjoy this hybrid blog-vlog post.
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