Panoramic View

Panoramic view of the lakebed, courtesy of Jay Moore

Recent rain and snow has done wonders!

Look at these pictures taken today compared to the pictures that were taken back in October. The lake level is now what it looked like in early August. The lake has received over 2 inches of rain and a fair amount of snow in the past month. The boat that we could once see is now covered back up again and the tree at the far end of the lake is partially covered up. On November 25, I led a group down to the lake bed to look at the small pond and the boat. Now, we'd be submerged in water!

2008 Mt Lake Hemlock Summary

Courtesy of Tom McAvoy from the Dept of Entomology at Virginia Tech:

In 2008 we continued monitoring hemlock woolly adelgid at Mountain Lake. Our monitoring indicated that hemlock woolly adelgid numbers increased since 2007. Therefore, approximately 75 infested trees were treated with imidacloprid using soil injection. These trees were on the east side of the lake between Indian and Lower Jungle Trails. Hemlocks on Blueberry Ridget and around the hotel had no hemlock woolly adelgid. A total of 486 trees have been treated since this program in 2001. While 50 (10%) of the treated trees have died, 12, of the 55 untreated trees that have been monitored have died. This is a 22% mortality for trees that were never treated. Treating the hemlocks has saved a significant number of trees. Most of the mortality has occured along the Indian Trail.

Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt

Our annual Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt was challenging and exciting! Families were given a sheet with a series of questions such as "Who discovered Mountain Lake and in what year?" Families also had to collect different items such as leaves from a coniferous & deciduous trees, rhododendron leaves and sedimentary rocks from the lake bed. They had to identify and take pictures of different animal tracks. The most challenging portion of the scavenger hunt was to hike as fast as you can to the highest point at Mountain Lake and take a picture of the view and record the elevation.

The first family back who had completed all the tasks including the grueling hike to Bald Knob on ice was the Moore family. Below are a few pictures, courtesy of Jay Moore.

Photos of Appalachian Trail Elderhostel

Photos from our Appalachian Trail Elderhostel, courtesy of Matthew Collings from Berea, OH.

The Disappearing Lake

This multimedia presentation was recently published by EARTH magazine. Great explanation on the lake cycles!

Appalachian Trail Elderhostel

November 9-12, we held our first 'Appalachian Trail Hiking Elderhostel.' We had 16 participants from all over the country travel to Mountain Lake to participate in a level 5 hiking program. We hiked the Wind Rock-War Spur loop and McAfee's Knob. Below are some pictures from the program, compliments of Natalie and Norm Smith from Saratoga Springs, NY.

Tina Faris climbing up the rock face

Natalie and Norm Smith on top of McAfee's Knob

Jack Noll from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy talking about the mountain ridges

The famous McAfee's Knob