Kevin Adams through his book North Carolina’s Best Wildflower Hikes (Westcliffe Publishers) guided us to the Oconaluftee wildflower hike in April of 2008. Running along the Oconluftee River, the easy hike provided the relaxing sounds of the river along with the beauty of the mountainous landscape in the distance. The markers along the trail supplied interesting Cherokee folklore with mystic illustrations.

Wildflowers can be elusive
For us, the wildflower hike proved a little like a scavenger hunt because many of these little gems are found low to the ground. Once your eyes become accustomed to searching along the trails and in among the rocks, tree trunks and decaying debris, the walk takes on a contemplative pace.

Photograph first; identify later
We found that it was best to photograph the wildflowers with your digital camera and to work on identification after returning to the cabin. Traveling with a laptop made this project doable and allowed us to relive the pleasures of the hike. A few of the flowers we photographed and identified were white trilliums, blue phlox, yellow violets, and squawroot.

Where to look
Numerous websites provide photos to help you with your identification.

Check out Smokies Guide for an alphabetical listing and accompanying photos for more commonly found flowers.
Go to Wikipedia for an overview of the Smokies and additional photos.