Hey Mike, Sorry I didn't catch your post until now. Yes, the Cherohala Skyway goes right throught the "hemlock graveyard" portion of the site. There are some whoppers with amazing crown structure in that grove. It's a depressing, morbid site though to see the demise of 40 acres of the finest hemlock forest in the world. It was definitely on par with groves in the Smokies, not in tree size, but in character.
Josh On Mar 7, 7:03 am, Michael Davie <[email protected]> wrote: > Josh, that's really cool. I missed this post and then saw it mentioned > on the Lidar thread. Does the Cherolah Skyway traverse Wright Creek? > Mike > > On Feb 27, 11:50 am, Josh Kelly <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > ENTS, > > > On February 10th, 2009, Brent Martin, Hugh Irwin and I went on an outing to > > Wright Creek in Graham County, NC to investigate a proposed US Forest > > Service logging project there. Across the stream from the uppermost logging > > unit on Wright Creek we noticed some thick-limbed, emergent crowns. The > > riparian area itself had large trees and lacked the cut stumps, skid > > trails and vine tangles that charachterized the second growth forests we had > > seen that day. > > > Crossing the creek, I was impressed with the beauty and elegance of the > > old-growth remnant we entered. With a NE aspect at 3300' in a mountain > > range that gets 80 inches of rain, the green, lush moss on tree trunks and > > boulders was striking. The scattered, huge trees made 2-3 foot diameter > > individuals look small. Canopy trees in the stand include northern red oak, > > tulip poplar, white ash, buckeye, sugar maple and silverbell. > > > The first tree we visited was a 14.2' x127' northern red oak. The straight > > bole of this tree is enough to make any lumberman salivate. The next biggy > > was a 15.7' in cirumference red oak with a lean and a flared base. Upslope > > was a 4'+ dbh white ash that I did not measure. Traversing the slope we > > came to a 14.4' x~150' poplar. I shot straight up into this tree with my > > range finder and got 48 yards, so it is likely a little taller than 150 and > > also the tallest tree in the stand. Within site of the first poplar was an > > even larger one. Within 50 ft. I knew it was in the range of the biggest > > individuals I have seen. Our taping of this tree put it at 20.6' in > > circumference. I did not measure its height, but it was in the canopy which > > would put it in the 20x100 club. It is a massive tree, though more ovoid > > than columnar, and is not in contention for any volume records. > > > Just above this tree was a Forest Service skid trail and the tangle of vines > > and saplings from logging in 1968. This 5 acre patch turned out to be > > the lowest elevation bit of a 130 acre remnant of old-growth at Wright > > Creek. As far as I can tell, everything upstream of 3300' elevation was in > > old-growth condition when the tract was purchased by the Forest Service in > > 1937. In 1967 and 1968, the Forest Service liquidated almost 1000 acres > > of forest that was almost certainly in old-growth condition, most of it > > above a 100' waterfall and gorge that blocked access to the > > gentle topography of upper Wright Creek. Fortunately, a fragment was left > > for the next "entry" into Wright Creek and survives today. The northern > > hardwoods forest and hemlock forest above the falls is just as impressive as > > the rich cove below the falls and includes many large yellow birch, hemlock, > > red oak, and black cherry. > > > The 20' poplar is only the second single stemmer I know of outside > > the Smokies. Both are from the Santeetlah Creek watershed. The one on > > the Poplar Loop has celebrity status while the individual at Wright Creek is > > little known up till now. If anyone would like to visit this spot, I will be > > leading a hike to it on May 2nd. Details atwww.safc.org. > > > Josh > > > IMG_0459.JPG > > 174KViewDownload > > > IMG_0463.JPG > > 171KViewDownload > > > IMG_0468.JPG > > 260KViewDownload > > > IMG_0466.JPG > > 182KViewDownload- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
