F.D. Roosevelt State Park

When you think of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, you could be forgiven for not thinking of Georgia. He was born in New York, which is home to his Presidential Library. But he died in Warm Springs, Georgia, where he had first visited in 1924, built a rehabilitation center in 1926, and then built a house—known as "The Little White House"—in 1931, just before he became the 32nd president of the United States. I didn't actually visit the historic site (perhaps on another trip), instead spending the day in F.D. Roosevelt State Park, Georgia's largest state park and home to the 23-mile Pine Mountain Trail.

I drove into the park past the Liberty Bell Pool to the Park Office and Visitor's Center. 

Both structures—and others in the park—were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and 1940s, using local Hollis Quartzite.

 

 

 

On the advice of one of park staff, I stopped at Dowdell's Knob on the way to the trailhead. The drive through the park itself, was beautiful, lined with trees that were mostly still green, but with little pops of color.

 

Dowdell's Knob is the highest point in Harris County (1,395 feet; 425 meters above sea level), with beautiful views to the south.

 

 

It was also one of FDR's favorite spots to drive out to himself or host picnics, and it is now home to a bronze statue of the man himself. 

 

One of the signs notes: "An avid picnicker, FDR held many luncheons at what he affectionately called 'The Knob.' Here, surrounded by the tranquility and beauty of Pine Mountain, FDR was able to unwind with friends and family. Away from the public eye, he could wear his exposed leg braces, unconcerned and unhampered by his disability."

 

 

Then I drove on to the trailhead: I started at the eastern end of the Pine Mountain Trail, and then took the Beaver Pond Trail, completing the so-called "Wolfden Loop". The entire 6.7-mile loop was very well signed and blazed.

 

One of the main attractions of this loop is Cascade Falls, a lovely spot about 2 miles in.

 

But the trail passed lots of other tiny waterfalls that added a lovely soundtrack to the hike. 

 

 It was the perfect season, with gorgeous fall foliage, especially the Black tupelo, which was bright red and glowing in the sunlight.

 

Pine Mountain Trail is aptly named, as it follows the Pine Mountain Range (the southernmost mountain range in the eastern U.S.), which is itself aptly named, as it is home to at least three different pine species that I saw: shortleaf (Pinus echinata), loblolly (Pinus taeda), and longleaf (Pinus palustris), with a dramatic range of pine cone sizes.

 

 

 

Longleaf pines are listed as endangered. Before European colonization, they dominated the Southeast, but they have been decimated by clear-cutting for timber, as well as fire suppression. Their seeds are dependent on fire for germination. Here are some longleaf saplings, which I think look like floppy mop head creatures out of a Dr. Seuss book.

 

The trail also passed "Ferney" a massive loblolly pine. (I believe it's the tallest known specimen of its species in Georgia.) It's so tall (>150 ft; >45 m) that it's hard to even see the pine needles, with all the foliage of shorter trees in the way.

   

 

Speaking of large seed-related things, the second part of the hike was dominated by oaks, and there were some very impressive acorns.

 

I also enjoyed abundant seeing—and attempting to identify—wildflowers, ferns, and fungi. Not pictured: multiple turkey vultures, about four white-tailed deer, one chipmunk, and countless eastern gray squirrels.

 

Pineland Silkgrass (Pityopsis aspera)

Sphagnum moss, maybe Prairie Peatmoss (Sphagnum palustre)

Gilled Polypore (Trametes betulina)

Some kind of American Aster (Symphyotrichum sp.)

Bouquet Aster (Eurybia mirabilis), I think

Phaeolus tabulaeformis?

Crowded Parchment (Stereum complicatum)

On the whole, a lovely day of hiking and nature. I don't know whether I'll make it back before I leave Georgia, because I'm trying to get to as many of the state parks as I can this year, but it certainly merits a return trip!