When: October 18, 2024 @ 4:30 pm
Discover the magic behind autumn colors, and learn the stories of our migrating birds!
During one of the most colorful times of the year, join Mainspring and Wild Remembering for this special Foliage and Feathers collaboration! Together we’ll share in the joys of autumn by birding and leaf peeping along Yellow Face Trail off the Blue Ridge Parkway. This trail winds through a beautiful high elevation forest filled with vibrant mosses, delicate ferns, and proud spruces, and we’ll catch glimpses of sweeping views along the way. As we reach the summit, the forest will open into a mountaintop meadow, where we hope to spot some interesting birds. As we hike, Mainspring’s Conservation Outreach Associate Skye will decode the mystery of fall leaf color change, and help us identify any plants and wildflowers that catch our eye. Wild Remembering Founder Topher will be our bird guide, introducing us to the birds we may hear or see in the forest and summit field. Please fill out the form at the bottom of the page to register for this donation-based event.
Views from Yellow Face Trail
We will meet at the Browning Knob Overlook just before 4:30pm on Friday, October 18th. See map below for exact location. This event should run for around 2 hours, bringing us back to the overlook at 6:30pm. Yellow Face Trail is a moderate 1.6 mile out and back with 500ft of elevation gain and a few steeper sections. This is an unmaintained trail, so may be narrow and overgrown in places but is likely to be more peaceful (and birdy) than the nearby Waterrock Knob trail. There are some sections that involve scrambling over rocks and roots.
This event is beginner-friendly, and extra binoculars will be available for those without their own. Please bring water, sun/bug protection, sturdy hiking shoes, and anything else you may need to be comfortable outside for this hike. This event is donation-based, with a suggested donation of $15-$30. Donations can be made online or through cash at the event. Cash donations will be split between Mainspring and Wild Remembering. Online donations to Mainspring can be made on their website (select “Upcoming Event” from the drop-down menu), and online donations to Wild Remembering can be made through Venmo (@topherwstephens). Please give what you can, but not more than you can. Donations Mainspring protect the special places, creatures, plants, and heritage of WNC. Donations to Wild Remembering support pay-what-you-can naturalist courses and free Birders of the Tuckaseegee Watershed Club meetings!
Meet your guides!
As Mainspring’s Conservation Outreach Associate, Skye Cahoon inspires people to connect with their local landscape and value the conservation efforts that protect it. As a kid, she could often be found climbing trees, hunting for salamanders, or chasing fish at her local swimming hole. Her passion for nature grew with her, and in 2020 she earned her Zoology B.S. from the University of Maine. Integrating her experience in wildlife research with her excitement for the natural world, Skye now strives to make science exciting and accessible. She leads a variety of educational programs here at Mainspring, and some of her favorite topics are fungi and mosses.
Born and raised in Cullowhee, Topher Stephens has been a nature enthusiast since childhood and professional leader of outdoor and experiential education programs for over 15 years. Drawing from his background in conservation biology, mindfulness education, and nature-based mentoring, he brings a reverence for all life and a deep respect for the more-than-human world to his teaching about birds, animal track & sign, and ecological systems. He currently teaches courses in bird identification, wildlife track & sign, and mindfulness-based nature connection through his school Wild Remembering.
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