Blue Wall Weekly December 10, 2018

To view the Blue Wall Weekly as a web page, click here.

[Gmail messages are clipped. Click link on bottom left corner to view entire newsletter.]

Greetings

Welcome to the Blue Wall Weekly, your source for what's going on outside along the Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment. Feel free to share your own photos, videos, and adventures along the Blue Wall, and we'll do our best to make you (locally) famous!

Walking the Dog

It’s 36 degrees, and raining, with an occasional snowflake mixed in. Mica is giving me the brown-eyed stare down, because rain or not, she wants to get out of the house. I clamber into rain gear and we head to wet woods where numerous creeks shed through ravines, their banks covered with exceptionally bright green mosses. Turkey tail mushrooms -- and false turkey tails, too -- grow in orderly rows along the length of fallen trees. Wet weather has brightened the color of these fanned fungi and made them plump and pliable. Mica plunges through the creek and leaps over fallen trees while I shake water off my hat and try to find a warm place for my fingers. ~K

Turkey tails

SPECIAL EVENTS

WITH JOCASSEE LAKE TOURS

JOCASSEE ADVENTURE CAMP!

December 29: 12:00--4:00 PM Book Now

FIRST SUNDAY EXPEDITIONS w/ Patrick McMillan

January 6: 11:00 AM--3:00 PM Book Now

CALL OR BOOK ONLINE TO RESERVE SEATS

864-280-5501

www.jocasseelaketours.com

OUR NEW JOCASSEE LAKE STORE

IS OPEN ONLINE!

VISIT TODAY!

WEEKLY EVENTS

WITH JOCASSEE LAKE TOURS

EVERY WEDNESDAY TOUR

December 19: 12:00 PM--3:00 PM Book Now

EVERY SATURDAY TOUR
December 22: 12:00--4:00 PM Book Now

EVERY SUNDAY TOUR

December 23: 2:00--5:00 PM Book Now

BOOK YOUR PRIVATE HOLIDAY TOUR OF LAKE JOCASSEE TODAY!

GIVE THE GIFT OF JOCASSEE

with JLT GIFT CERTIFICATES!

Lake Jocassee, Dec. 8

THIS WEEK!

December 10

STATE PARK EVENTS

Oconee Station State Historic Site

January 1--December 31

Saturdays & Sundays: 1:00--5:00 PM

Historic Building Tour

Come discover Oconee Station's place in Oconee County history with interpretive ranger and local historian Scott Alexander.

MEETUP EVENTS: WHAT IS A MEETUP?

GNHA Hiking Club

December 15: 8:30 AM--4:00PM

Sassafras Up and Down

Starting on US 178 just past Rocky Bottom, we will hike the Foothills Trail up Sassafras Mtn. (highest peak in SC) and have lunch at the viewing platform. Return the same way.

GNHA Hiking Club

December 16: 10:00 AM--4:00 PM

Foothills Trail: Sloan Bridge to Whitewater Falls - a Shuttle Hike

Beginning at Sloan’s Bridge Access on Hwy. 107, hike follows the Foothills Trail crossing the SC-NC state line moving from Sumter National Forest into Nantahala National Forest. The trail goes along the north side of the Chattooga Ridge and over the Grassy Knob as we hike toward Upper Whitewater Falls. Nice views of Lake Jocassee and Bad Creek Reservoir.

GNHA Hiking Club

December 16: 12:00--6:00 PM

Rocky Bottom/Chimney Top Gap to Sassafras and Back

Starting at Chimney Top Gap Access just above Rocky Bottom, SC, hike follows the Foothills trail to the summit of Sassafras Mountain. This hike is mostly uphill to the top of Sassafras. We’ll enjoy a beautiful view. This will be a downhill stroll back to the cars.

OTHER OUTDOOR EVENTS

Mushroom Mountain

December 12: 2:00 PM

Mushroom Mountain Tour

All tours of Mushroom Mountain include an introduction to fungal ecology and life cycles, laboratory tour and research overviews, and the fruiting room. Many aspects of mushrooms, including medicinal properties, cooking, and mycoremediation to soil creation will be discussed along the way!

Hagood Mill Historic Site & Folklife Center

December 14: 10:00 AM--9:00 PM

Holiday Market at Hagood Mill, Food Truck Friday

Come Eat Before the Christmas Parade! Various Food Trucks, Artisans/Vendors with Handmade Goods, Tree Decorating in the Barn and more. Join us again after the parade for Entertainment, Sing-Alongs around the Bonfire and Refreshments.

Greenville County Bird Club

December 15: 8:00--10:30 AM (Shorter Walk)

December 15: 8:00 AM--12:00 PM (Longer Walk)

Lake Conestee Nature Park

Hagood Mill Historic Site & Folklife Center

December 15: 10:00 AM--9:00 PM

Holiday Market at Hagood Mill, Celtic Celebration

Celtic music and dancers, Handcrafted Vendors, Tree Decorating in the Barn, Lighting of the Yule Log, Community Christmas Sing-Along and Santa’s Parade Back North.

SC Botanical Garden Events

More events coming soon!

THIS WEEK ON LAKE JOCASSEE

December 10, 2018

LEAVING? That’s the plan, taking our winter vacation this coming week, heading to the South Carolina coast, leaving one paradise for another. The problem is the loons. They are always a problem for me when I need to go somewhere this time of year. I mean by that even to the nearest Ingles. It’s a problem. I ran a short errand this morning only the find an ongoing loon/ring-billed gull feeding frenzy frantically underway right beside the dock at Devils Fork when I returned. It is likely that the lake is full of loons today, as migrating loons get down and out of the way when big weather confronts them, such as this weekend’s predicted snowmageddon. I want to sneak out at first light tomorrow morning, hopefully it will be snowing, to see just what our loons do on such mornings. So leaving? I’m not so sure about all that. ~B

COMING SOON!

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER

STATE PARK EVENTS

Jones Gap State Park

January 1: 10:00--11:30 AM

Hospital Rock Waterfall Hike

Gorges State Park

January 1: 10:00 AM--12:00 PM

First Day Hike

Table Rock State Park

January 1: 10:00 AM--12:00 PM

First Day Hike- CCC Lakeside Trail

Devils Fork State Park

January 1: 11:00--11:30 AM

First Day Family Fun Run

Oconee State Park

January 1: 11:00 AM--12:00 PM

First Day Hike- Lake Trail to Chestnut Loop

Devils Fork State Park

January 1: 1:00--2:00 PM

Ranger Run 5K

Devils Fork State Park

January 1: 1:00--2:30 PM

First Day Hike-Guided Nature Walk

Oconee Station State Historic Site

January 1: 1:00--3:00 PM

First Day Hike- Station Cove Falls Wildflower Walk

Caesars Head State Park

January 1: 1:00--4:00 PM

First Day Hike-Raven Cliff Falls Hike

Devils Fork State Park

January 1: 2:00--2:30 PM

Loon Lunge

Keowee-Toxaway State Park

January 1: 2:00--3:00 PM

First Day Hike- Natural Bridge Nature Trail

MEET UP EVENTS: WHAT IS A MEETUP?

GNHA Hiking Club

December 22: 8:00 AM--5:00 PM

Bad Creek to Hilliard Falls

Foothills Adventure Club

December 22: 9:45 AM--2:00 PM

Loons, Eagles and Waterfalls. A Winter Tour on Lake Jocassee

Greenville Outdoor Club South

December 22: 9:45 AM--2:00 PM

Loons, Eagles and Waterfalls. A Winter Tour on Lake Jocassee

GNHA

December 22: 10:00 AM--4:00 PM

Raven Cliff - Dismal Loop

GNHA

December 30: 10:00 AM--6:30 PM

Long Creek - Opossum Creek Falls & Dinner

OTHER OUTDOOR EVENTS

Jeanne Malmgren Silent Hikes

December 22

Ramsey Creek Preserve, Oconee County

SC Botanical Garden Events

December 22: 5:30--7:00 PM

Full Moon Hikes-Snow Moon

BORROWED GLIMPSES

False Turkey tail mushrooms, lined up on a log.

Witch hazel, blooming now in a wild place near you!

DID YOU KNOW?

Like many mushrooms, the Turkey Tail mushrooms offers a variety of support for overall health and natural immunity. Unlike many other medicinal mushrooms, Turkey Tail mushrooms grow abundantly all over the world. In fact, they are some of the most common mushrooms on the planet. Scientists are now researching Turkey Tail more than any other medicinal mushroom for its ability to boost immunity and fight cancer. ~dailynutra.com

ABOUT THE BLUE WALL

Spanning three states (North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia) and encompassing 859,000 acres, the Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment, known as the 'Blue Wall' by Native Americans, contains some of the highest natural diversity of rare plants and animals found anywhere in the world.