Continuing on my weekend of adventure and craft beer in and around Asheville, NC, I arrived at my second destination for the evening, the Cradle of Forestry in Pisgah National Forest. This location preserves the birthplace of American forestry education. The site and associated organizations offer a number of outdoor-related activities throughout the year at this location. Tonight, I'm here to enjoy a twilight hike in search of the semi-mythical Blue Ghost Fireflies.
After checking in with volunteers, I'm directed to an outdoor amphitheater constructed in the nearby forest. Here, I'm joined by many other guests who are also here to enjoy nature's show. Before we hit the trails though, we are presented with a short video. In the video, we are told a folk-tale of the blue ghosts as spirits of the forest seeking to aid lost travelers along their way. The video also provides a little information on the biology and lifecycle of these magnificent creatures. With the video complete and twilight settling in, we hit the paved trails through the nearby forest in search of blue ghosts.
As it gets darker and darker, the trails are very difficult to see and I find myself stepping off of the pavement occasionally. I brought my head lamp and have it set to the red filter setting to help preserve my night vision, but I'm trying to avoid using it as much as possible. We've been asked to stay on the paved trails due to the fragile nature of the blue ghost's environment and the fact that the flightless females of the species inhabit the forest floor, while the males will hover around waist level in search of a mate.
I find a quite area with some low foliage under a tree canopy to wait and observe for a bit. It doesn't take long before I see the first of many greyish-blue lights in the ground clutter and soon a couple of hovering males flashing their visual mating call. I grew up seeing fireflies, but those were mostly yellow and occasionally green. Seeing this species that produces light more like a fluorescent though is unique.
After spending a few minutes here, I move on to another section. All of the guests are behaving fabulously as they keep their voices down and slowly make their way along the dark trails, all of us doing our best to not run face first into each other as we scan the forests on either side in the dark looking for that next grey-blue flash of light. At my next stop, I find a dozen or more of the little fellas showing off their stuff to a few ladies below, who also display the eerie grey-blue glow. It's mesmerizing.
Forty-five minutes or so into my wandering, I find myself back at a juncture and with the fireflies seeming to have mostly bedded down for the night, I decide that it is time for me to head out. I have another thirty miles or so to drive tonight before reaching my hotel and it's already pretty late. This was a fantastic experience though and I'm very grateful to the volunteers and organizers for making it available.
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