Mary's Rock - interesting plants on the hike

I do get a kick out the hikes, and sometimes there's a little extra treat along the way. The Mary's Rock hike is interesting for a couple of reasons - the view into Thornton Gap is great, and the construction of the Appalachian Trail in this section is remarkable.

But as I was hiking up, I noticed the vegetation growing along the edge of the path, in the stonework. Here were all these little "hens and chicks" - we have them in the cabin garden, too. I don't believe these grow wild up there, or I'd have seen them elsewhere in the Park.

Earlier, along the way, I'd seen these clumps of ferns, nestled in the stones and showing off some of the lichens that grew there too.

Finally, here's what's known as a BFL, or an "over, under, or around" obstacle.

Mary and I decided, "under" for this one.