High above Randolph County

At 1154 feet Mount Shepherd is the highest point in Randolph County. Add another 110 feet for the fire tower. Now you're above tree and can see Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem. On a clear day, Pilot Mountain and the Saurertown Mountains can be seen too. Look south and the long ridge of Ridges Mountain is just a mile or less away. East is Asheboro and its mountains, Carraway, Back Creek, Daves and Oakey. Just to the right of these is Little Pilot Mountain adjacent to my home.

Birkhead Wilderness - Robbin's Branch

My morning hike along Robbin's Branch in the Birkhead Wilderness of the Uwharrie National Forest was a chilly one. There is a trail bearing the Robbin's Branch name but it follows the creek for only a short distance. At the point where Thornburg Trail reaches the Robbin's Branch Trail, there are a series of 3 rock walls across a draw. They are only 100 feet across and perhaps a hundred feet from one another. I assume these were used to hold water. We had over two inches of rain during the past three days, but there wasn't a hint of wetness behind these walls. Perhaps when this was cleared and used for farming/grazing, there was a different dynamic going on. Or perhaps these walls have some other purpose.

From the point I followed the creek downstream. There was no trail but it was a easy walk. The most striking feature of this area was the carpet of ferns. Nearby, another valley wears the name "Fern Valley" but this was truly a fern valley. About a half mile downstream I located an old road and followed it to the Hannah Creek Trail. Continuing along the creek, Robbin's Branch enters Hannah Creek a short distance after crossing the trail. The creek is a bit more difficult to follow here as it cuts a deeper valley. Finally I got to the point where Cooper Mountain Trail fords the creek. Just a hundred yards to the left up the trail is Cooper Mountain Cemetery. I've visited here a dozen times before but never realized there was a marked grave here. Someone had uncovered Sterling Cooper's metal plaque laying a few inches down in the ground.

Icy Ramsey Cascade

Several days of cold weather have begun freezing Ramsey Cascade, the GSMNP's highest accessible waterfall (actually a cascade). It is an easy 4 mile hike into the falls. The first 1 1/2 miles are along an old motor road. From there the hike steepens and narrows. Two footlogs cross the creek. The upper one is being replaced but it appears mother nature has postponed that job until the spring. Snow covers the upper portion of the trail but if you step carefully it is still an easy hike. I was at the falls in just over 2 hours. It is partially frozen and much of the pools below are frozen as well. The drought has limited the water flow but it still puts on a great display.

Bears stalk me in Sugarlands

There's been a lot of buzz about the mystery stone building in Sugarlands (Great Smoky Mountain National Park). Located off-trail, it was forgotten by most until recently re-discovered. I obtained directions from UT's Colloguy magazine and set out early on Wednesday morning in brisk 21 degree weather from Sugarlands Visitor Center. Old Sugarlands Trail follows the Little Pigeon River on old TN 73. It is well traveled and wide enough to walk two abreast. The directions take me to the CCC ruins. Here at 1.5 miles from the trailhead I turn right and another well traveled gravel two track. After about 1/3 mile, this trail "T's" into a lesser trail. Left leads to the Sugarlands cemetery containing the graves of many Reagans, Ogles, McCarters, Partons, Owenbys and other local names. Turning right goes along and eventually to a former bridge on the river. Directions say to head straight into the woods for 1/2 mile. That is what I do. Just a minute or two into the buchwhack I find myself walking toward a black object, just a shadow I think, as it turns to look at me. I stop, think perhaps I can get this guy to move. I bang my stick on a tree, wave it around and then growl. At that, the bear, an adult male, takes 2 steps closer to get a better look with a face scowling "who the hell do you think you're growling at?". Not a good tactic. Perhaps I should move off and I do, circling around just out of sight. I'm a little unnerved but I'll just have to be mindful when I return through here on my return. I get back on track, heading to the building. Suddenly, in front of me there is lots of movement. Momma and her two cubs are scambering just out of sight. Whoa. This is a little more than I bargained for. I move on a few steps mulling the situation over and decide to live to hike another day. That building's not going anywhere. Turning around, I start back, listening and scanning. I've retraced only a few steps when I spot two yearlings eyeing me from the hillside above. They move around a bit to keep me in view as I move away. I keep turning back and they are still peering at me but not interested in doing anything more. Wow, six bears in one small area. There must be a preferred food here as I've always heard bears are solitary creatures. I suspect there must have been some really good tasting acorns around. I'd had enough and decided they can have all the acorns. I only got one picture and it was a bit shaky using the zoom. Anyone want to accompany me for a return attempt?

The Stone Cube of Greenbrier

Earlier this year, while hiking off trail in the Little Rhododendron Creek area of Greenbrier (Great Smoky Mountain National Park), I ran into some fellows from Maryville, also offtrail. They invited me along on their bushwhack. They seemed to know what they were doing and I didn't have clue what I was doing. We first climbed a hill, singing Amazing Grace, to a small cemetery. Leaving there, we headed down along a branch to a stone structure about 7 feet high and 8 feet wide and long. Not a fireplace, not a chimney, just a cube of stones. No one knew what it was, but there it was.

Fast forward to this Tuesday, I located it again by a different route. This time I GPS'd it and the spot along the Grapeyard Trail to begin the bushwhack. So, what the heck is it? Shown are all 4 sides. It is solid on the top and has no cavities other then normal spacing between stones.

Fish weir located on Uwharrie River

I spent a chilly and windy afternoon paddling on the Uwharrie River with several friends. Three yaks and a tandem canoe bumped along the river bottom for a good 4 hour ride. Even with the one inch of rain during the previous 2 days, water level was lower than I like to paddle on. The river was clear and much of the ride we could see the rocks we were scraping on. We spotted the usual suspects, Kingfishers, Great Blue Herons, and Wood Ducks.


The bumpy river almost claimed a paddle but fortunately it was retrieved and you can view to the left the paddle being returned.


Toward the end of the ride, we floated into an ancient fish weir spanning the river width, bulging in the middle. I've floated over the spot many times before but never identified this fish weir. The low river level revealed it.



The beer we sampled was Lindman's Framboise, a Belgium lambic beer made with fresh raspberries. I had a nice manly porter all set to bring, but we were in mixed company so I had to go with the fruit. Still a lovely choice.