Jul 21 My Annual Carolina Lily Update

 

This year I will have 6 blooming Carolina lilies. That is the most ever. A few years ago, I identified 49 on the property but only the ones I have enclosed in fencing have ever bloomed. The others get eaten by deer, usually before they bloom. The deer will eat them before, during and after blooming. 

And for good measure, one of my Purple coneflowers with a visiting bee.

Jul 16 Post Helene Catawba Falls

 

The lower falls are a very picturesque series of cascading drops coming together for the final drop into the plunge pool. 

At about the 1 mile mile mark, you reach this spot. The terrain is too steep to build trails on, so a multi million dollar series of wood and steel staircases elevate you alongside the lower falls to the upper falls.

The entire series of waterfalls here comprise Catawba Falls very near the headwaters of the Catawba River. 

The upper falls is the best spot to get wet. The plunge pool almost always has folks cooling off in it this time of year. No exception today. Many folks were cooling off after the hot hike up to here. 

A unique shot of the upper falls without people!

Alongside the lower falls

Start of the stairs

Fresh evidence of TS Helene can be seen in many places along the trail and at the falls. 

There are two dams with concrete building ruins along the trail. I assume these were to generate power.

One of the many Helene scars on the hillside.

Ford of a tributary

The trail from the parking area is a loop culminating at the upper falls, above. The trail is divided into two sections with the River Trail taking you up 1.4 miles plus 580 stairsteps and the Ridge Trail which is 2.1 miles and graded to allow emergency vehicle access. 

Jul 3 Cane Creek Mountain Observation Tower

 

Earlier this year, the observation tower atop Cane Creek Mountain opened. Some inspections closed it briefly, but it is now open again. At 80' tall, it gets you above the treetops with great views especially to the north and east. At 941' (plus 80') you can see Greensboro, Burlington/Graham and Mebane. Views to the west are blocked by the highest point on Cane Creek Mountain at 974'. Microwave, communication and an abandoned firetower are easy to spot atop that high point. To the south, views are impacted by Bass Mountain, a long ridge topping out at 872'. I was able to make out some mountains to the southwest which are in the direction of Asheboro and the Uwharrie Mountains. 

The Lookout Trail accessed from Oak Hill Trailhead off Bass Mountain Road is the trail I choose to hike to the tower. It is also accessible from the Northern Approach Trail. My hike was a 2.5 mile lollipop loop with the tower being halfway. So, it is a rather steady uphill climb to the tower through a mature oak/hickory forest. 

The tower is on a secondary peak of Cane Creek Mountain. The area around the tower is dominated by large Chestnut Oaks trying to eke out a living in very rocky terrain. 

The all steel tower cost a staggering $545,000 to build. It and the purchase of Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area was made possible by North Carolina Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF), and donations to Piedmont Land Conservancy, The Conservation Fund and Alamance Parks.

The structure has a rectangular shaped staircase adjoining a triangular steel structure which supports a triangular shaped observation deck about 140 square feet. The old firetowers with a cabin are much tighter and usually only accessible by 3 persons at a time. You could host a small wedding atop this tower.

Beware if you are not 18 years old, you have to be supervised by an adult. 

Looking west at the highest point of Cane Creek Mountain, the communication, microwave and abandoned firetower can be seen. 

Looking east

This small dam backs up a small creek creating a very small pond. it was used as a swimming hole for the Pioneer Camp nearby. Now abandoned, the camp operated from the 1930s to the 1950s. Many of its cabins and main lodge are in various states of deterioration along the Pioneer Camp Trail, another lollipop loop from the same trailhead as the Lookout Trail. 

Jun 18 Chanterelle Season is in Full Swing

 

This season is one of the earliest starts to Chanterelle season that I can remember. We had lots of rain in mid May which got them started. Periodic rain after that initial glut, helped them immensely. I've had multiple 5+ pound forages already. Sunny and hot weather forecast for the end of June will put an end to this crop. I'll be waiting for the next round of rain, Maybe we'll have another crop or two this summer. 

Ten pound day

Chanterelles form on the rootlets of host trees. You can clearly see the mushrooms along a tree root in the photo. 

Jun 17 Andrews Bald

 

Today's hike is on the Forney Ridge Trail from the Clingman Dome parking area. It is, again, an early start before 8am. It is in the mid 50s and breezy. Very few cars are in the parking area but I did note on the drive up that Alum Cave parking areas were already maxxed out at 7:37 am on a Tuesday. 

Just after getting on the trail, there are these shapes in the rock face. I think they are naturally occurring but they are intriguing. I saw some in Andrews bald as well.

Round trip today is only a bit over 4 miles. The trail to the bald loses about 500 feet in elevation and there is some uphill along the way. 

Purple Fringed orchid

Spring (almost Summer) beauties

Once you enter the bald, a number of magenta colored Rhododendrons greet you. They were putting on a show. Some had already dropped a lot of pedals creating a pink carpet. I was expecting to see many Flame azalea here but they were just coming along, it being 500 feet higher that Gregory Bald. 

British Soldiers in battle formation

Hay scented fern

Narrow boardwalk through the bald

After a 30 minute jaunt through the bald, I retraced my way back, passing many many hikers on their was to the bald.

Carrion Flower

It was quite misty. There was no view at the bald today although I think one opened up for many of the hikers I passed on their way to the bald. I got back to the parking area at 10:45. There were a few of the 167 parking spaces open. As I drove back to the main road on the 7 mile spur road, I passed about 60 vehicles, most of which were not going to be able to park.

Jun 16 Gregory Bald

 

I got an early start on the Gregory Ridge Trail. There were 6 cars in the parking area at 7am. The forecast was for some rain coming through late morning so I carried rain gear. The 13 mile roundtrip prompted me to load extra water and quick energy snacks. This is my 7th trip to Gregory Bald. I really expected more people to be hiking today but the blooms weren't quite at peak. My guess is that the weekend would be peak and quite crowded. 

The trail, initially, follows Forge Creek and crosses it a few times in the first mile. At about the 2 mile mark, I passed by campsite 12. There was one tent set up but I did not see anyone. It would be a long hike and the 3300 feet of elevation gain was going to be tough. I stopped about every 30 minutes to hydrate and catch my breath. 

At 4.9 miles, I arrived at the junction with Gregory Bald Trail and knew I was just a half mile from the bald. That last leg, starts up steep and ends steep but in between in a nice easy walk. It was here that I encountered the first hikers of the day. There were 7 of them and they had stayed last night at campsite 13, now headed down the way I had come. 

Prior to entering the bald, I put on my snake gaiters. The bald has lots of tall grass and I knew I wanted to meander about and didn't want to have to worry about snakes. Rattlesnakes are often encountered here but I have never seen one. 

I spent an hour in the bald, trying to see all the azalea bushes. There was one bush in particular I wanted to find. It was the candy-striped one. I never found it but did find all the other colors I knew to be there. Take a look at the various colors and shades. Notice that several bushes were just budding. More were budding that declining.  

I began to run into hikers, not many, but a few. I ate lunch with a couple guys from Farragut TN. While there, 3 rangers on horseback with a mule hauling fuel passed by. I later spoke with them while they ate their lunch. They had come up hauling fuel so they could mow pathways for the expected crowds still to come. They have a couple mowers hidden up there. They are self propelled and had been walked up years ago. These guys came up from Twenty-Mile Ranger Station which is the only access open to horses. As they crossed the bald, a rattlesnake buzzed them. I'm glad I missed that during my walkabout. While I was speaking with them, one of the horses was getting stung by some bees. So, there is that hazard up there too. 

Walking down, I joined the Farragut guys for most of the way. There were probably 40 hikers headed up on my return hike. Three of them were ranger gals headed up to address an issue somewhere other than the bald. They did not say what that issue was. I was just about at my limit when I stepped into the parking area. Great Hike!! Maybe I'll do it again.