[at-l] Kudzu---

[lbooher at pure.net (Leslie Booher)]

>I don't think you'll see much of it on the trail though, which is certainly a good thing for trail maintainers ;-)<

Last time I was there, there were huge amounts of it around Cherokee, NC.  It was growing up the sides of the mountains on the SE side of the Smokies.  When we hiked down into Nantahala from the south, we hiked behind a veil of kudzu along the trail.  It had grown up from the trees on the inside of the trail, jumped over to the crowns of the trees on the outside of the trail, and the vines were hanginging down.  Interesting but destructive.  They have purple blossoms that smell like grape Kool-Aid.  I don't know exactly how far north it grows, but you don't want it on your property.  

anklebear

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"You don't have to know anything about the outdoors to hike the A.T.  It's sort of idiot proof."   Emiko Fergusson