It was a day of views. The weather, particularly through mid afternoon, was perfect and the trail climbed and followed a couple high ridge lines with numerous rocky viewpoints. I took pictures at one after the next, until it just seemed redundant. Then I’d just stop, look, and hike on.
In the early afternoon I came along a man and boy on the side of the trail. As I got close I noticed the boy was assembling some kind of hand saw. I asked if they were maintaining the trail and the man said they were about to cut a downed tree that was partially on the trail. I told them the trails in the area were spectacular and thanked them for the job they were doing.
Then I came to an area marked off with measuring tape and two people on the ground working. I had noticed over the past few days some type of monitoring points in the forest.
There were many of these devices where the two were working. I asked what the monitors were and what they were working on. The guy said they were US Geological Survey employees and were collecting and counting Shenandoah salamanders. The monitors record temperature, humidity, etc. They spent two weeks here collecting data in the spring and two weeks now. They share the results of the project with the Park Service which helps them decide how to manage the wildlife in the park. The park also has a cabin nearby where researchers are allowed to stay for free while doing projects in the park.
I asked if this was the same orange color salamander that I’ve seen in various places along the AT. He said they are all related but each area may have a special species of it. The orange colored ones are “newts” that are juveniles and live on land. They later turn into the brown salamanders and return to live in water as breeding adults.
And I came across more deer today foraging right along the trail. They hardly bother to look up as you pass…