A hike worth repeating.

Some hikes are finished, marked off a list and largely forgotten.  Some hikes are finished and likely to be repeated.  Then there are those hikes that are repeated year after year.  One of my favorite hikes in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the man way to White Oak Sink during wildflower season.  The 2014 version of this hike for us was not as spectacular as it was in years past, but it was still a beautiful hike.   

We began at the School House Gap trailhead.  At the junction with Turkeypen Ridge trail we found a large number of Dwarf Iris.  The area around the junction was carpeted with them.

We stopped to check on a Yellow Lady Slipper that we knew the location of from a previous hike.  We found it rather frost damaged, but any lady slipper sighting is a treat.

We found lots of purple phlox blooming in the Sink, but not as many as in years past.

The Shooting Stars were putting on quite a show this year.  It was probably the best showing for them that we have seen thus far.

There were a few Pink Lady Slippers blooming along the circuitous trail around the Sink. 

Little Brown Jugs are a much less showy flower, but still fun to find. 

Large White Trillium was near peak, as well as a few off colored, near pink ones.

This dwarf iris appeared to me making an attempt at tree climbing.

I have yet to take a photo of Showy Orchis that even begins to show the beauty of this small orchid.

The shooting stars were quite popular with the bees.

A few Columbine were blooming above the bat cave, though it took a bit of climbing to find them.

As we headed home, we stopped at the Wye to hike the first bit of Chestnut Top to see the what was in bloom there.  Stonecrop was in bloom and very popular with the honey bees.

A spring trip to White Oak Sink is always a fun glimpse of wild flowers for a few fleeting days.  The most challenging part of this hike is knowing when to take it in the hopes of catching the flowers at peak.  Luckily there exists such a variety of flowers there that something is bound to be at peak.