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.