Wild Phlox Hunt at White Oak Sinks

Jeffrey Stoner
Fine Art Photography

Wild Phlox Hunt at White Oak Sinks


Jeffrey Stoner’s Blog can be found at: http://jeffreystonerphotographyblog.com/



The alarm rang at 3:45AM on April 23rd. A few minutes later I was packed and on the road to White Oak Sinks in the Smoky Mountains. It was dark when I arrived at 6:00AM at the Schoolhouse Gap trailhead located between Townsend and Cades Cove. About ten minutes later, it was just light enough to see the trail so I began hiking to the Sinks.

It was a great morning for a hike - 38 degrees, no wind and a clear sky. For the first 1.1 miles I followed Schoolhouse Gap Trail along an old roadbed. I then turned left onto an unmarked path about 100 feet past a well-marked intersection with Turkey Pen Trail.

The pre-dawn light was now bright enough for me to see my way along this smaller footpath for the remaining mile to the Sinks. As I hiked through the woods, I enjoyed the sounds that filled the air: a stream flowing to my left, birds singing, and squirrels scampering along branches overhead. One sound did startle me – a woodpecker that sounded like he was pounding on a kettledrum. It was the loudest woodpecker I ever heard.

I crossed two boggy streams, followed the path uphill, and then descended steeply into White Oak Sinks. White Oak Sinks is a small valley shaped like a bowl with a flat bottom. As I reached the bottom, several paths broke away but I continued on the main path drawn forward by the site of wildflowers covering the valley floor. It was breathtaking. The path wandered around trees and though beds of Woodland Phlox as far as I could see.

The sun was beginning to rise so I took a deep breath, unpacked my camera, and began to explore the wonders of the valley. There are many varieties of wildflowers including Shooting Stars, caves (exploring prohibited) and sinkholes. There is also evidence a community once existed in this valley including stone boundary walls and the foundations of homes. Another fascinating feature is a waterfall that disappears into a cave.

White Oak Sinks is an amazing place I am grateful to have seen and explored. I have a feeling I will be setting that alarm for an early start many more times.

Website: http://www.JWSPhotoArts.com/

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Copper Creek Trestle

Jeffrey Stoner

Fine Art Photography

Copper Creek Trestle

Jeffrey Stoner’s Blog can be found at: http://jeffreystonerphotographyblog.com/

The Carolina, Clinchfield & Ohio Railway completed the Copper Creek Trestle in 1908. The 1,160-foot long trestle stands 167 feet above Copper Creek near where it joins the Clinch River. This bridge was part of a system of bridges and tunnels built by the CC&O to make the transportation of coal from Virginia and Kentucky to the southeastern markets easier and more affordable. Today the bridge is owned by CSX with 18 to 24 trains crossing daily.

Below and to the west of the Copper Creek Trestle is a Norfolk Southern bridge built by the Southern Atlantic and Ohio railroad in 1890. Though CSX and Norfolk Southern are competitors, they allow each other to use their tracks.

There is a great view of the bridges from a parking area on Route 23 approximately 19 miles north of Kingsport TN near Clinchport, VA.

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Recent News:

Morning Reflections, an image taken near the Cumberland Valley Railroad Bridge in Harrisburg PA, is appearing in the May 2009 issue of Shutterbug Magazine.

My image Drifting Along the Appalachian Trail won the Landscape Category in the 2009 Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition. The photography competition images will be on display at Appalachian State University’s Turchin Center through June 6, 2009.

Website: http://www.jwsphotoarts.com/

To subscribe or unsubscribe from this blog please send an email to Jeffrey@JWSPhotoArts.Com