Spring Wildflowers of the New River Gorge: The Rend Trail
As the last snows of winter linger, it�s comforting to know that spring will come and flowers will bloom. And it�s true what they say about spring wildflowers; they sprout up out of nowhere. As chaotic and uncertain as the world seems to be, we can still count on spring wildflowers to carpet the forest floor. The best place to spot spring wildflowers are on the trails that run along the bottom of the New River Gorge. The National Park Service (NPS) maintains many such trails. In this blog I�d like to feature one of these trails and point out which spring wildflowers to look for. Rounded-leaved Ragwort The Rend Trail Hiking the NPS Rend Trail will reward spring wildflower seekers. The Rend trailhead is on the road to Thurmond and is not far from the Stone Cliff trailhead. Directions according to the NPS are as follows: �From U.S. Route 19 north of Beckley, take the Glen Jean-Thurmond exit. Take an immediate left, and go 0.5 miles to Glen Jean. Take a right and follow the signs to T...