My friend Mountainsaver and I went riding and camping in Martins Creek yesterday through today.
Martins Creek is in the head of Peachtree. I’ve been wanting to go there camping for a while to see if there was any ginseng growing there. We camped nearly in the head of the hollow at what used to be a deer camp.
Martins Creek is a deep narrow hollow. The sun shines on the bed of the hollow from about 10 in the morning to around 5 in the afternoon. Being as that is the case it makes the entire hollow a wet hollow which is prime ginseng habitat.
Because it is so dark in Martins Creek, I sat by the fire last night and listening to the night creatures it was easy to imagine myself in any time. The fire was a stubborn one and didn’t cast much light. Nothing could be seen outside the small ring of light. It was a complete dark if that makes any sense. If you forget about the ATVs and the nylon tents, the atmosphere combined with the sounds of the mountains and the seclusion made it easy to sit there and think about the people that first settled these hollows. Sitting there in the deep hollow staring at a small fire and waiting for daylight in order for us to move on, it could have been any time.
I was up and about around 7:30 this morning. I wanted to check and see what kind of plantlife prevailed here. Basically I wanted to see if I was right about the ginseng prediction. One plant in particular I find is a tell for ginseng. In other words, if you find this plant then the conditions are good for the ginseng plant. And that plant is Black Cohosh.
I haven’t always found ginseng in the same area as black cohosh but I always find black cohosh in the vicinity of ginseng. I assume that to be because both plants enjoy the same light and soil conditions.
Another plant is considered endangered in some places but in this particular hollow it is very abundant, Blue Cohosh.
Bloodroot, which also enjoys wet locations, was abundant and they were old plants.
This is probably going to sound a little crazy but I feel a little protective of the ginseng plant. I love to see it growing because with ginseng already endangered and with mountaintop removal coal mining destroying ginseng habitat on a daily basis, it is struggling to survive. I did find ginseng here. It is growing in one of the last untouched hollows in the area.
Why do I fight MTR? Let me count the reasons.
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We stopped on our way through Spring Hollow coming home and checked the game camera I still have there. Turns out the animal highway prediction was a good one. I’m not very happy with the quality of the photos but they show the activity along the narrow shelf.
If I had to guess, I’d say that bear is the culprit who tried to disassemble the other camera.
