GSMNP Virgin Forest

“My boss was looking at my GSMNP map a few minutes ago.

"Where are those virgin forest I have heard about in the Smokies. I want to go see them. Something about really BIG trees, never logged?"

Where's he talking about.. Greenbrier?”

“Albright Grove, perhaps?”

“hMm.. could be.. I forgot bout that one.. but there are LOTs of stands of large trees in GSMNP.”

“I hiked through a pretty small patch of virgin cove hardwood forest in the Smokies - very beautiful! (the basswood tree was intriguing with its ring of saplings around the huge trunk)

Sorry, but I can't remember the name or where it is. I'll bet you can find out at a ranger office if you ask about virgin cove hardwood forest. I think it's a rare thing, though.”

“Joyce Kilmer ? ?”

“I'm with bitpusher, I think it is Albright Grove also”

“I didn't know there was any old growth inside the Park Boundries.

Joyce Kilmer is the only standing old growth that I know of in the area. Those trees are REAL BIG for sure.”

“Roam, the Albright Grove area is right off the Maddron Bald Trail. Nice loop to do.”

“I've seen a 140 acre piece of the Monongahela National Forest that is virgin with red spruce and black cherry at about 4,000 feet.

Well, I saw it 20 years ago.
Maybe I should visit again to confirm the tree species.

It seems the timber thieves missed a triangular patch.”

“wow.. black cherry.. mMMmmmm... ;)

where's my portable sawmill.”

“Route 250 west of Monterey, Virginia into West Virginia.....west of Route 28 up, up, up....just past Durbin and Bartow turn right.....north.”

“Big Poplars, Caldwell Fork Trail, about 0.4 mi. above CS#41.”

“Ramsey Cascades Trail has a giant.

"Two themes to notice along this trail are big trees and an amazing variety of exposed roots. ...

About a mile up the trail you walk between two hugh, straight tuliptrees, as majestic as Roman columns. ... Just around the bend is the real giant---another tuliptree with roots like elephant toes. Ahead on the right are several large silverbell trees. ... Though small compared to the tuliptree, they are near record size for their species. Another big tree along this trail is bassswood, or linden, ..."
__Hiking Trails of the Smokies”

“See, you guys are thinking like I do.. virgin forest?.. it's everywhere.”

“See, you guys are thinking like I do.
TownDawg
01:33:37 PM
08/24/04

what a damn scary thought!!!”

“lmao.. u dog.

but i left myself wide open for that.”

“Sections of old growth can be found in the following places:

Maddron Bald Trail (Albright Cove)Previously mentioned....

Ramsay Cascade Trail

There is a color coded map available that shows these areas, and I believe it's available at the park bookstore.

What generally qualifies as "old growth" has a mix of young and old trees, fallen and decaying logs, light gaps, trees in various stages of decline, a wide variety of plant species and no or only minimal past disturbance from logging or agriculture.

90% of the remaining old growth in the eastern U.S. is in the GSMNP.

Baxter Creek Trail (the old growth is 2.5 miles above the Big Creek trailhead)

Laurel Falls Trail (two miles in)

Gregory Ridge Trail

Fork Ridge Trail”

“TownDawg, I've seen mountain sides in the Monongahela of almost pure cherry, 20-30 inches at the stump and over 100 feet tall.”

“Large trees of any kind.. are particularly interesting..

cherry.. or black walnut.. almost magickal.”

“'magickal?' -- WTF is that all about? You a druid?”

“I know little of WV, MarkO. I have driven through it, and a friend lives there, but other than that, only memories of roads missed that caused me to drive nearly completely AROUND the ridge/mountain.”

“Man MarkO, that sounds pretty awesome. I'm going to WV!!!”