Foxfire Night Hike - Anna Ruby Falls (White County, Georgia)

 

Every late May and into June, the forests of a few select places in the southern US are home to strange and feint blue specs of light. This is orfelia fultoni (commonly known as dismalites). These carnivorous fly larvae are bioluminescent and attract prey with their eerie blue glow. One of their homes is the valley leading up to Anna Ruby Falls near Helen, GA. The group Find Outdoors leads a night hike up the corridor this time of year to allow guests the opportunity to see them. I was able to do this hike a couple of years ago and enjoyed it so much, I thought I would do it again.

**Note - photograph courtesy of Google

It's been raining all week and I'm not sure this is going to work out, but after watching the forecast very closely all day, I think there is going to be a window at just the right time and I so, I decide to drive up to the falls. After listening in on a conference call for work, I arrive at the park and wait outside the gate to be let in. I'm pretty early. Soon, one of the employees walks by my car and checks me in. With that, they open the gate and I drive up to the parking area. This NPS-managed site is generally closed to the public after dark, but we have special permission for this event. 

I remain in my car for a while to listen to an audio book and to avoid the drizzle, but as the start time approaches, I walk up to the visitors center and meet up with the guides and other participants. We're given a quick history of the area and description of the night's events, and with that we're off. We've got a bit before dark and it should provide a great opportunity to photograph the twin waterfalls, which are one of the most beautiful in the state.

The trail is paved and fairly steep, but I'm feeling pretty good these days and arrive at the top well ahead of anyone else. This gives me a great opportunity to get some great shots of the waterfall in the fading light. Many of them are out of focus due to the low light conditions, but a couple manage to be passable.

After viewing the falls, I find a seat on the observation deck and wait for darkness to engulf the area. It doesn't take long, maybe twenty minutes, before I need to use my red-filtered headlamp to ensure I don't trip on a step or rock. Because of the very wet conditions, the guides ask us to move down to the area by the lower deck before starting our search for the blue specs of light. As I scan the wet rocks and foliage of the funnel-shaped valley, they begin to come into view. First one, and then a pair, and then dozens as I continue to move back down towards the parking area. 

In addition to the dissimilates, we are also able to see a few specimen of the "blue ghost" firefly, which also generates a blue hue'd bioluminescence. I can only image what a first-time visitor to this area before the modern age might have been thinking when seeing these strange blue lights in the woods. While they are very feint, the color is so unique in nature that one can't help but be awed. 

As I head back down towards the car, we see patch after patch of the blue specs on the ground and floors of the small valley. It really is a spectacular thing. I'm forced to use my head-lamp (with the red filter) in some places, while the three-quarters moon lights the path in other sections. Eventually, I'm back at the visitors center and start my journey back home, but this little adventure is always well worth the drive.