Blue Ridge Fen

There's an extensive wetland complex (including a fen) on Blue Ridge Mountain (~2,900 ft) in the Green Mountain National Forest in the town of Chittenden in Rutland County, Vermont. I visited this place on June 15, 2024. It was a difficult hike but well worth it.

Here are a couple of maps that illustrate where this place is:

The first map shows the larger picture, with landmarks and (and a subset of) parking areas. The second map shows a close-up of the fen, where the green dots indicate some of the plants I found. Both maps are centered on the fen.

To reach Blue Ridge Fen, I followed an old woods road up the eastern slope of the mountain. The road ended about halfway (as shown on the first map), at which point I bushwhacked the remaining stretch of slope. Question: Is there a trail up Blue Ridge Mountain? What is the best path to Blue Ridge Fen?

Observations

Posted on June 19, 2024 11:30 AM by trscavo trscavo

Observations

Photos / Sounds

What

Large-leaved Avens (Geum macrophyllum)

Observer

trscavo

Date

June 15, 2024 01:20 PM EDT

Description

Blue Ridge Mountain in the Green Mountain National Forest (Chittenden)

Photos / Sounds

What

North Wind Bog Orchid (Platanthera aquilonis)

Observer

trscavo

Date

June 2024

Description

Blue Ridge Mountain in the Green Mountain National Forest (Chittenden)

Photos / Sounds

What

Green-keeled Cottongrass (Eriophorum viridicarinatum)

Observer

trscavo

Date

June 15, 2024 02:15 PM EDT

Description

Blue Ridge Mountain in the Green Mountain National Forest (Chittenden)

Photos / Sounds

What

White Bog Orchid (Platanthera dilatata)

Observer

trscavo

Date

June 15, 2024 02:19 PM EDT

Description

Blue Ridge Mountain in the Green Mountain National Forest (Chittenden)

Comments

Thanks for your awesome journal posts, as always!

Posted by micholoko 8 days ago

You're welcome! :-)

Posted by trscavo 8 days ago

@nsharp @dlnarango @kpmcfarland can you comment?

Posted by trscavo 8 days ago

There is no trail. We did a bunch of work there for the GMNF a few years ago and we hiked up the stream on north side (many times). We put most (prob all) of our observations into VAL project on iNaturalist.

Posted by kpmcfarland 8 days ago

Thanks @kpmcfarland I can't find the VAL project, can you give a pointer?

Posted by trscavo 8 days ago

Oh, perhaps you mean Vermont Atlas of Life?

Posted by trscavo 8 days ago

Oh, sorry for the acronym. Yep, Vermont Atlas of Life (VAL).

Posted by kpmcfarland 7 days ago

I love orchids!

Posted by optilete 5 days ago

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