DiamondDoug
09-08-2008, 15:23
Anyone out for a weekend or section hike in the next month and passing over Big Bald, just north of Sam's Gap and I-26, might also be able to chat for awhile with the folks doing a hawk migration study up there. These folks come every fall, set up nets to catch migrating hawks, band them, and then release the birds. They are glad to talk with hikers, and it is not unusual for them to have local school groups come up for a day trip.
They are set up just to the north of Big Bald, on what amounts to a shoulder of the bald, in an area that is both open and wooded and the AT runs right through the middle of their study area. They have signs they put up so you won't walk into the nets, and when they are done next month take down and remove everything. It is a good, educational stop.
The water in the Big Bald shelter spring is running, clear and cold, as is the spring another 4/10 mile north of the shelter down a short blue blazed trail.
They are set up just to the north of Big Bald, on what amounts to a shoulder of the bald, in an area that is both open and wooded and the AT runs right through the middle of their study area. They have signs they put up so you won't walk into the nets, and when they are done next month take down and remove everything. It is a good, educational stop.
The water in the Big Bald shelter spring is running, clear and cold, as is the spring another 4/10 mile north of the shelter down a short blue blazed trail.