Karen Chávez

kchavez@citizen-times.com

ROAN MOUNTAIN - Greg Rakauskas and his wife Joanne Belanger, of Durham, had guests visiting last week from the Cascade Mountains of northern California. They wanted to impress their friends with the beauty of Western North Carolina.

The first place Greg Rakauskas thought to bring them was Roan Mountain.

“I grew up in Boone and came here a lot as a child,” Greg said as the two couples reached a stunning overlook on Roan Mountain’s Jane Bald last Thursday. “We could have taken then anywhere, but there’s a certain cache about the Appalachian Trail and Roan Mountain. I always remembered this place because of the beautiful vistas.”

Their friends, Katy and Jim Ostrowski, were skeptical that anything could rival their towering mountains back home.

“It’s prettier than I expected,” Katy Ostrowski had to admit, gulping in the endless views. “It’s just beautiful to have these views with not a lot of buildings.”

And that was the sound of music to Marquette Crockett.

“It’s inspiring to me to look out over these lands we protected,” Crockett said. “There’s a lot of love poured in here.”

Crockett, the Roan Mountain Stewardship director for the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, works for that reaction – to protect the thousands of acres of land in the viewshed of Highlands of Roan and the Appalachian Trail, which slips over its ridge tops.

The nonprofit land trust based in Asheville was launched in 1974 to conserve the Highlands of Roan, a 24,000-acre swath of globally rare mountaintop habitat in Mitchell and Avery counties in North Carolina and Carter County in Tennessee, which the SAHC and its partners have helped protect.

On Saturday, SAHC will host its annual June Jamboree, a day of free, guided adventures and social fellowship in the Highlands of Roan, which start to climb from an elevation of 5,500 feet, and timed perfectly to greet the stunning, fluffy, purplish pink Catawba rhododendron blooms that splash the mountainside in color.

“The SAHC got its start because its founders were from the east Tennessee area and hiked on Roan. They were instrumental in getting the Appalachian Trail rerouted across the balds. Before then, it was mostly on roads,” said Angela Shepherd, SAHC communications director.

The founders right away began setting into motion a plan to begin protecting the views from the AT, which was just a ribbon of trail surrounded by privately owned land.

“They put a plan together proactively and started looking across the horizon at places that needed to be protected. Otherwise, we were not going to continue to have these kinds of experiences,” Shepherd said.

“With our stewardship - we’re a nexus that works with the Pisgah National Forest of North Carolina and the Cherokee National Forest of Tennessee, the Tennessee Eastman Hiking and Canoeing Club, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Tennessee and North Carolina state parks and others - we work together to steward the area. The June Jamboree came about as a way to share it with others.

“It’s a hiking showcase and a way to show people what we’re doing as far as conservation. You can see all the pictures, but it’s total different feel when you have your feet on the ground in that landscape. This is our way to connect people to the land.”

That lightning bolt feeling is what happened to Crockett.

“We saw the Perseid Meteor Shower. That was the moment I fell in love with this place. It was magical,” Crockett said.

She worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before taking on the job that touched her heart with SAHC two years ago. The place is not only special for its prettiness, it’s special for its global rarity.

The Highlands of Roan is a showcase of biological diversity within the Southern Appalachians, comprising grassy balds, rhododendron gardens and rich spruce fir forests, Crockett said. Its ecosystem contains one of the richest repositories of temperate zone biodiversity on earth.

The Roan massif supports more federally listed plant species than Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Highlands are home to more than 800 plant species, many of which are endemic species and habitat specialists. More than 188 bird species make their home in the Highlands, because of its rich spruce-fir forest, northern hardwood forest and mountain bald habitats.

The theory of how the balds came to be is “crazy,” she said.

“Was it wind or weather severity? The leading theory is it’s a combination of grazing and climate,” Crockett said. “First, it was grazed by the woolly mammoths and the Pleistocene grazers. Then, after they became extinct, it was the elk and bison. Then, when they were hunted into extinction, the homesteaders from Europe brought sheep and cattle.”

This constant pressure kept these grassy balds free of trees until the Forest Service took them over and grazing was discontinued. Now, blackberry bushes grow rampantly, threatening the globally rare community of plants that rely on the open access to sunshine, Crockett said.

To help maintain the balds, volunteers and Forest Service crews regularly mow the blackberry bushes.

“We feel we have a responsibility to maintain the balds and the aesthetics of the place,” she said.

Most of the work the SAHC does on Roan Mountain is habitat protection, she said.

“The grassy balds and spruce fir forests are at the tip of their existence here. This is as far south as you’ll find them. We only have them because the elevation is so cool and it’s so wet. That makes it concerning with climate change. This will be some of the most climate sensitive species.”

Species that rely on the Roan Mountain environment are the saw-whet owls, wellers salamanders and golden winged warblers. Federally endangered species include the Carolina flying squirrel and the spruce fir moss spider.

“What we can do to make them more resilient is to preserve big tracts of land, with no barriers like roads,” she said. “Anything we can do to increase the connectivity of land will make them more resilient.”

Crockett speaks with passionate concern as she stops to point out wildflowers, trees, birds and rocks along the trail that have been given nicknames. The enormity of what has already been accomplished – buying outright or placing conservation easements on miles of muted mountains untouched by development far into the horizon – and what still needs to be done can seem overwhelming.

“All of the landowners have different priorities and ways of managing the land,” Crockett said. “My role is to try to coordinate all the agencies so we’re managing Roan as a connected landscape. That’s the most important thing we do.”

Want to hike?

Hike No. 1 Carvers Gap to Grassy Ridge: SAHC Roan Stewardship Director Marquette Crockett and former Field Ecologist Chris Coxen lead this classic and rewarding hike atop the highest elevation balds in Highland of Roan, widely considered among the most spectacular scenery along the Appalachian Trail. Grassy Ridge is the highest point near the AT, reaching 6,189 feet in elevation. Enjoy a natural, unobstructed 360-degree view, blooming rhododendron, flame azalea and more. Easier Hike Option: hike to Round Bald or Jane Bald to enjoy the flowers and expansive views. This moderately strenuous hike will depart from Carvers Gap at 9 a.m. and end about 2-3 pm.

Hike No. 2 Roll n' Stroll: The Rhododendron Gardens on top of the Roan should be blazing with color. SAHC Executive Director Carl Silverstein will lead hikers across gentle terrain with stunning views of the Roan landscape to learn about SAHC’s land protection projects that can be viewed from the gardens. The family-friendly hike is designed to provide people of all abilities with an opportunity to get outside and enjoy benefits of SAHC’s conservation work. The trail is paved and wheelchair/stroller accessible. This easy hike will take place at the Rhododendron Gardens, beginning at 11 a.m. and ending about 1 p.m.

Hike No. 3 Yoga in the Roan with Kris Moon: Kris Moon will lead an uplifting breath- and alignment-based yoga class in a beautiful meadow by a stream at a conservation property in the Roan. The session will start with warm up poses and include a comprehensive sequence of postures, breath work and meditation. Open to all levels. Afterward, enjoy lunch and admire the seasonal wildflowers. No prior yoga experience is required, but bring a blanket and yoga mat and wear comfortable, stretchy clothes. The easy hike and yoga session will depart at 11 a.m. and end about 1 p.m.

Hike No. 4 Challenge Hike: Cloudland Hotel Site to Big Rock Creek: This 9-mile hike will begin on the Appalachian Trail at the site of the historic Cloudland Hotel near the Rhododendron Gardens. Hikers will follow the AT steeply downhill for more than 3 miles, descending to an elevation of 4,140 feet at Hughes Gap, and then climb about 2 miles to the top of the ridge to see views of the Tennessee side of Roan. The route will continue off-trail through National Forest land down to SAHC’s Big Rock Creek property, finishing the day descending a mile along steeply graded trails. Hikers should expect some very steep sections and a chance to see a variety of wildflowers, rhododendron and other blooms. This very strenuous hike will depart from the Cloudland Hotel site at 9 a.m. and return about 3 p.m.

Following the hikes, participants are encouraged to enjoy a drop-in afternoon social at SAHC’s Big Rock Creek conservation tract from 1-4 p.m. for light refreshments and beverages and to learn more about the land trust’s history of conservation and habitat management in the Highlands of Roan and beyond.

Upon registration, participants will receive more information and directions. The weather in the Highlands of Roan can change suddenly, so be prepared for conditions that may be sunny, rainy, windy or cool. To register, visit www.Appalachian.org or contact Haley Smith at haley@appalachian.org or 828-253-0095 Ext. 205.