20170723 r1a6619.jpg?ixlib=rails 2.1

In The Green River

By Green River Preserve on July 24, 2017

Every session, I’ve been overjoyed to photograph Mentor Hikes on the Preserve. Whether it’s down in the darkness of the Cave or crab-walking down Lower Bald, there’s a real sense that this domain has it’s own unique personality, which I’ve grown to love as a cherished friend. While there seems to be an endless beauty accompanying all aspects of the Preserve, I find myself constantly wanting to photograph hikes in the Green River, itself, as often as possible. The lighting is always interesting and changing. Today, I found myself in the Green River, hiking upstream with a group of 9
campers, our Mentor, Hayne, and one of our
Trail Blazing Expedition leaders, Jason.

On a thoroughly relaxed hike, we found ourselves searching for crayfish, salamanders or any other creatures hidden amongst the rocks. Campers were lucky enough to find a few bright orange crawdads, along with one slippery salamander that took off into the murky waters as fast as possible. Butterflies and blue moths fluttered around the shores, sometimes floating past us as we tried to remain upright on slick rocks—which proved to be the most difficult task of the hike. A small set of deer tracks followed the sandy shore for a time, then we found we’d made our way to the Hemlock Field shelter, where we all enjoyed a quick snack, then returned to the Bus, which took us back a to some well deserved quesadillas for lunch.

Brandon S. Marshall

Green River Preserve
Green River Preserve

Green River Preserve is a non-competitive, coed summer camp connecting children with nature. Located on a 3,400 acre private wildlife preserve in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, this extraordinary natural setting inspires campers to have a greater understanding of themselves, their environment, and their fellow man. Designed for bright, curious, and creative children, our program nurtures character development and fosters skills like perseverance, curiosity, communication, optimism, creativity, and GRIT.