In 2017 we ventured onto the Appalachian trail for the first time. We had heard about the bunion, and was curious to see what it was all about. We weren't expecting to fall in love with that trail. We weren't expecting to go back almost every year after that. In all those years, however, 2018 really stuck with us.
That year rain had been plentiful in the park making everything have this magic look to it. A damp Smoky Mountain forest looks like something out of a story book. It's something that fairytales are made of. The dampness some how pops all the green colors of the the moss and leaves. In the three years of visiting the Smokies it's by far my favorite time to visit.
With the rain comes cooler weather. Perfect hiking weather. The year before was so hot that we had to stop and catch our breaths. Stop and get a drink of water. This year it was mainly stopping to get pictures. I welcomed this weather like an old friend. This was my favorite weather to enjoy on the trail.
Walking the first part of this trail was typically when you saw the most people. You see the trail head is where the Newfound Gap overlook is located. People flock there for a tourist hotspot to take a picture saying they were on the Tennessee/North Carolina border. The more adventurous tourist hike about a mile up the trail until they realize that the bunion is four miles away, or just to say they stepped foot on the AT. Either way the herd thins out after a mile up the trail. After that you may see one or two serious hikers, but usually you have the whole trail to yourself. That's what I love about that trail. You have the whole place to yourself to enjoy.
The forest was alive that year that mere humans couldn't see. Only those with some form of biology background could truly appreciate what the mountains had to offer that year. The park was truly living up to being the salamander capital of the world. If you weren't paying attention you would miss the little guys. I was on the look out. The mushrooms on the side of the trail. The different kinds of moss that intermingled with the trees. How the ecosystem changes the further you get up the mountain. The smells. The temperature change. It goes unnoticed unless you pay attention.
The views at Charlie's Bunion has to be one of them most incredible of the mountains. We always have lunch in the crook of the rocks of the bunion. Like our own little hidie spot from the people that conglomerate at the bunion. Some of my best pictures of the Smokies came from being at the bunion. It's always so peaceful even with quite a bit of people that mysteriously are there. Things may have been normal up until this point, but they got weird on the way back.
You are probably wondering by now Mads why is this post called thumping at the Bunion? Was there an earthquake? Did you fall? Did someone play a drum? None of those things. On our way back from the bunion everything was normal. Until about halfway through the hike. That's when I noticed a different sound. One that did not belong.
At first I thought it was just me. Until John asked me if I heard it. It was just us two out there on the trail at this moment when we heard drumming. I thought when I heard it the second time that an elk was behind me charging, and I should brace myself. I didn't look behind me at first. I thought at that point if it was my time to go I don't want to see it happening. John pointed out that it sounded like an ATV. That didn't make sense. ATVs were not allowed to be up here. It wasn't until I heard it a third time that I recognized it.
I shushed John and started looking for who was making that sound. He usually knows that means I heard something of the bird kind. He just went with it and followed me. This could be big for me if I find it. I've never seen one of these only heard of people seeing one. I walked off the path and heard the drumming getting closer. That's when I spotted it.
On a log only feet away from was a Ruffed Grouse. A male Ruffed Grouse attracts a mate by rapidly beating his wings on a surface (in this case a log) to make a drumming sound. That's what we've been hearing. This moment was like a gift from God. The sun shown through the trees on just this fallen log and the Ruffed Grouse atop it. Then for the moment I was hoping for.
He drummed again. Wings beating the log like some crazy professional drummer. I luckily had set my camera to sports mode and watched this all through the lens. It amazed me the movements coming alive in my camera. John stood patiently and recorded a video for me with his camera. After a minute the Ruffed Grouse stopped and stood there. He looked like he was proud of the work he had done showing us that display and hopped off the log. Before we knew it he was gone. Strutting his stuff further in the woods.
I was still dazed at what I just saw. We happen to come upon him at the right moment. It was like he saved his last drumming session specifically for us, and then left. I can count on my hands moments where I was just left in awe by a bird. Where it was just the perfect moment. The lighting was right, I had an SD card in my camera, the view was perfect and I was going to get the best shot I could.
In that trip that was the highlight of my whole trip. I never thought I would ever see a Ruffed Grouse drum. But right there on the side of the mountain we happen to be in the right place. I just happen to recognize the sound from videos I have seen. To this day we have not heard the thumping at the bunion again. We just happen to be lucky for just one time.
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