Sandy Mush

I got to feeling an old timey urge to go hunting on Monday, so I grabbed a shotgun and went to Sandy Mush. Some people are going to get all bent out of shape at me being a Nature lover, tree hugger and environmentalist and actually HUNTING (GASP!), but I will beg you to remember that Aldo Leopold was a waterfowler, and had this to say: “That he is already overfed in no way dampens his avidity for gathering his meat from God.” Not that I gathered any meat - I am really an indifferent hunter, especially since my "accident", but if I went out only to hunt, I would certainly be poor specimen. I was also birding (Red Shouldered Hawk, Turkey Vulture, among others), botanizing, and sightseeing. Plus, I did some Geocaching, a game where people place a cache, or "hide", posts it on the Internet at Geocaching.com and people use their GPS receiver to find it. Sometimes it is not all that easy...

Sandy Mush is an area of old fields, woodlots, and farmland that the state of North Carolina bought up and began managing as game habitat, particularly dove. Most of it is very pretty (except the Bear Creek section, which is ugly), and has some of the most stunning views I can think of in Buncombe County. The elevation is just enough, at anywhere from 2200 to 3000 feet, that when you are on some of the ridges there, you have a near 360 degree view of the surrounding mountains. Monday they were covered in a light coat of snow or a heavy coat of rime (hoarfrost). They gave one of the most heartstopping views I have ever seen of the mountains. I urge everyone to go out there and check it out, even if they don't hunt. As it is only a 3 day a week area for hunting (Monday, Wednesday, Saturday), and is pretty much managed as "multiple use", it is ideal for a day hike. I plan to be out there in the spring and summer, to look for wildflowers. Hope to see you there