Sodden at Dolly Sods

Bluebird days can’t last forever.  It started raining as we left the campground. We were armed with trail recommendations  from a new friend who dropped off a map and stayed long enough to teach us how to make rope from Milk Bane or Indian Hemp.  Very cool and very kind.
These mountains were once covered with dense stands of Red Spruce and Hemlock with roots down through several feet of accumulated needles and soil.  Once cut, the open heaths could form and create grazing, but too often fires burned the drying vegetation down to the bare rocks. Dolly Sods demonstrates the progression back from bare rocks through high elevation bogs to grassy heaths to Red Spruce. 
Even though it was drizzly and cloudy, we hated to miss the short Northland trail which shows each step.  Again, Maine.  Rocks, slabs shifting underfoot, wet Spruce limbs brushing us, but here, pink Azaleas blooming and Mountain Laurel just ready.
 















Down the mountain, it was less foggy and we returned to the pastoral scenes we have been getting used to in this beautiful state.  We left lots of appealing hikes untried in the Dolly Sods, but we will be back.











HERE IS THE SLIDE SHOW...