Keffer Oak

Nice hike, heck of a tree, maybe even on land once owned by a relative by my Grandpa Keffer.

I was wondering how I would find the tree, and then I all but walked into it. Wow, what a magnificent specimen! It's towering, with huge, far-reaching laterals. It's sad to see a few of the branches are dead and rotting. None of the old oak trees I know are faring any better though.

One of the biggest White oaks from the original virgin forest of the southern Appalachians. It's mentioned as being a grand large tree in land deeds going back to the 1700s. Like any large tree, it can be damaged by trampling the area around it and destroying the fine roots that help the root system breathe and take in nutrients near the soil surface. So please don't camp and trampled under the tree.

A very large and majestic tree. One of if not the largest tree on the Appalachian Trail.

Short hike, incline going to tree. Pretty cool to think about everything this tree has been through. Great photo opportunities.