The near-daily rains have certainly affected my hikes this summer.  Even on days when I didn’t have to cancel, I still had to keep a watchful eye out for surrounding storms.  I remember the month of June being particularly wet and cloudy.  It turned out the rainfall in both June and July were almost identical this year; we received nearly eight inches of rain each month, doubling their average of four inches.

A mostly cloudy sky with distant pockets of rain was a common scene on the trails earlier this summer.

The rain spawned complaints from some gardeners and farmers this season, mainly with stories of early blight, mildew, rotting roots, and topsoil erosion.  I also did not see much paddling action on the muddy rivers and creeks during the first half of the summer.

A positive impact with the excessive rain is that the mosses and mushrooms thrive in the wet conditions, thus leaving some delightful ground scenery on the trails.  I took the following pictures on a variety of trails I hiked throughout the month of July in the Asheville and Blacksburg areas.

Walk Jones Wildlife Sanctuary, Montreat near Asheville, NC

Off Graybeard Trail, Montreat near Asheville, NC

Unknown trail off the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville, NC

Kelly’s Knob near Blacksburg, VA

Kelly’s Knob near Blacksburg, VA

Kelly’s Knob near Blacksburg, VA

Kelly’s Knob near Blacksburg, VA

Sarver Trail near Blacksburg, VA

Sarver Trail near Blacksburg, VA

I took these pictures on the Gateway Trail near Blacksburg during the summer of 2012.