Venture to Baxter Creek and 

Big Creek, Great Smoky Mountains

National Park with Scott Dean 

April 21, 2005

What was scheduled to be a trip to Douglas Falls was moved to the Baxter Creek/Big Creek area of the GSMNP because the forest service road to Douglas Falls was still closed due to storm damage last autumn when the hurricanes visited us. At any rate everyone was amenable to the change of venue and we really hit paydirt for spring wildflowers. On the Baxter Creek trail which we walked in the morning we saw at least 35 species of wildflower in a two mile section, and not just one or two flowers. Yellow Toadshade Trillium, Trillium luteum, was everywhere and entire hillsides were covered with Fern-leaf (Purple) Phacelia, Phacelia bipinnatifida.

We arrived back at the parking area and had lunch before walking up the Big Creek trail where we saw fewer flowers but some we hadn't seen that morning, most noticeably Dwarf Iris, Iris verna and Fire Pink, Silene virginica. The day warmed up enough for the clouds to build up and we were being sprinkled on as we returned to the cars at around 3 PM or so.

With the great flowers, several birds, and quite a few butterflies it was an enjoyable spring day spent in one of the most beautiful places around.