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| Pandapas Pond, VA |
Just north of Blacksburg, Virginia, off of US 460
located in the Jefferson National Forest,
is Pandapas Pond, an 8-acre man-made pond .
The trail around the pond is almost a mile long
and encircles the pond and an adjacent wetland.
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| The trailhead. |
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| Pandapas Pond and Wetlands Trailhead |
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| Above the pond. |
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We began our walk at the bottom of these steps
walking in a clockwise direction. |
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| Fall Asters |
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| Some yellow Witch's Butter and flaky Lichen. |
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| Turtles and Ducks |
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| Cattail seed heads. Can you see the Phoebe on the branch? |
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A clubmoss called Ground Pine,
with yellow spore cases. |
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| Beautiful Autumn Colors |
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| A different clubmoss called Ground Cedar. |
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Some Reindeer Moss (not really a moss; it's a lichen)
growing among "real" moss. |
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| A very tiny mushroom, greatly enlarged. |
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A fungus called
Witch's Butter. |
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| Sourgrass or Yellow Sorrel |
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| Thistle |
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A fungus called
Earth Tongue. |
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| Some neat colors in this Dragonfly. |
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| This is the end of the loop around the pond. |
After we made the loop around the pond we decided
to go a short distance down the Poverty Creek Trail.
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| Click to enlarge. |
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Looks like an Amanita mushroom. |
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| Witch Hazel flowers. |
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| White Worm Coral (fungus) |
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At this point we decided to head back and call it a day.
This trail is about 7 miles one way;
we only went about a half mile. |
You must see Pandapas Pond if you are in the Blacksburg area.
The loop is an easy one mile, and you can extend the walk by continuing along any of the other trails.
Hope you enjoy it.
