April 10 Uwharrie Morels

This isn't what I was hoping for -  2 morels and a tick. Better luck next trip. 

Apr 1 Easter Hike at Hammonassett Lake

Finally, I have spotted some blooming Skunk cabbage. Common in Connecticut but I don't see it in North Carolina. The area needs to be wet and this spot was loaded with wet spots.

Hammonassett River was dammed over 100 years ago by the New Haven Water Authority. New haven was a growing community and had overconsumed its water resources. Lakes were built in North Branford and North Guilford to supply its needs. Hammonassett Lake in Killingworth was created to also serve New haven with water. It was connected to a reservoir in North Guilford by a 5 mile underground tunnel, the Genesee  Tunnel. It is likely named for the Genesee Settlement in North Guilford.

 The CT Regional Water Authority now owns the property. You can purchase recreational rights to access the property. My brother had purchased an annual pass, so we headed here to hike.

The main trail winds around the lake. The route we took was probably 7 miles. There were numerous loops and spurs. We started out by going below the dam and crossing the river on a foot bridge underneath the Rt 80 road bridge. 

I've never seen a square woodpecker hole before. 

From the far end of the lake. We saw numerous inlet streams but could not tell which one was the main channel.

Toward the end, we passed by several foundations including this one. There were numerous stone walls here. Some disappeared into the lake. 

Mar 10 Rock Castle Gorge Hike

Scarlet Elf Cup

The 11 mile loop hike at Rock Castle Gorge never disappoints. It has been 2 years since I made this trek. Today was a great day for hiking, with PHOC. As is the PHOC custom, the hike begins at the end of CCCamp Rd and head up right away. No point in saving the steep climb for the end, so lets get it over with right away. Of course, this does string out the group over a long distance. 

I spent extra time looking for blooming Skunk cabbage near the parkway but only saw one leaf just beginning to poke through. It was onward across the cattle pasture and onto the stone structure which has served as a lunch stop every time I've hiked through here.

The hike along the ridge was punctuated with jokes, and catching up with the lives of fellow PHOC hikers. My 2 year hiatus from club activities a topic of conversation as well. 

Above, is an intact chimney near the rock jumble. I always delight in seeing it still standing. 

Blood root was spotted in various places, a harbinger for Spring flowers.

This home had been occupied on a seasonal basis up until about 5 years ago. Now part of NPS property, the daffodils still bloom. 

Mar 23 Congaree National Park

One of the newer parks in the National Park System, Congaree attained that status in 2003. For the 20 previous years it was Congaree Swamp National Monument. Old growth forest makes it special. 11,000 of the 26,000 acres are old growth. It is the largest old growth forest of its kind anywhere; bottomland hardwood. Some of the tallest trees in the East reside here. The tallest known trees of 15 species are found here, led by a 169.5 foot Loblolly pine. Many of the trees have not been measured yet.

How this land remained old growth and not timbered is an interesting story.

From Wikipedia: 

 Resource extraction on the Congaree River centered on cypress logging from 1898, when the Santee River Cypress Logging Company began to operate in the area of what is now the park. Owned by Francis Beidler and Benjamin F. Ferguson of Chicago, the company operated until 1914; subsequently, Beidler and his heirs retained ownership of the area. In the 1950s Harry R.E. Hampton was a member of the Cedar Creek Hunt Club and co-editor of The State.^[3] Hampton joined with Peter Manigault at the Charleston The Post and Courier to advocate preservation of the Congaree floodplain. Hampton formed the Beidler Forest Preservation Association in 1961. As a result of this advocacy a 1963 study by the National Park Service reported favorably on the establishment of a national monument.^[4]

Monument establishment

No progress was made in the 1960s. Renewed logging by the Beidlers in 1969 prompted the 1972 formation of the Congaree Swamp National Preserve Association (CSNPA). The CSNPA joined forces with the Sierra Club and other conservation organizations to promote federal legislation to preserve the tract. South Carolina Senators Strom Thurmond and Ernest F. Hollings introduced legislation in 1975 for the establishment of a national preserve. On October 18, 1976 legislation was passed to create Congaree Swamp National Monument. An expansion plan was introduced by Hollings and Thurmond in 1988, expanding the monument to 22,200 acres (9,000 ha).^[4]

Converting to National Park

Over two-thirds of the national monument was designated a wilderness area on October 24, 1988, and it became an Important Bird Area on July 26, 2001. Congress redesignated the monument Congaree National Park on November 10, 2003, dropping the inappropriate "swamp" from the name, and simultaneously expanded its authorized boundary by approximately 4,576 acres (1,852 ha). As of December 31, 2011, approximately 26,021 acres (10,530 ha) of the park are in Federal ownership.

Beginning at the Visitors Center, there is a 2.4 mile elevated boardwalk loop. Much of the land is wet and several times a year it is underwater. Today, Butterweed was beginning to bloom. Zebra swallowtails were making their way from flower to flower

Initially, we were in a Cypress swamp but after leaving the boardwalk to a muddy Weston Lake Trail, we began to see more hardwoods. When we reached Cedar Creek and walked alongside it for a mile or more, Cypress were on our right and hardwoods to our left. 

Some, like this Red oak were worth getting my picture next to. The height of the trees amazed me and the overall size of many did as well. I was particularly fascinated with the size of the American holly trees.

Cypress knees are everywhere in a Cypress swamp. It is thought the knees and trees are intertwined in a massive root system, which gives stability to the trees which only grow in or within a foot of elevation of water.

Zebra Swallowtail on Butterweed

Cedar Creek, a popular paddling venue

Mar 19 Ararat section Of Pilot Mountain State Park

One of the recent additions to Pilot Mountain State Park, is this tract which borders both the Ararat and Yadkin Rivers including the confluence. After acquiring the property, this unmarked cemetery was discovered. There appear to be about 6 graves with unmarked stones as head and foot stones. The size of these graves appears to be adult except one. Speculation is that this is a slave cemetery.

Not far from the cemetery are the remains of a home. It is just beyond the park gate and occupies a level spot with a commanding view of the large field below. The bricks I saw appear to be extruded so this home would not have been less than 100 years old. 

An active railroad crosses the property. One train rambled through during my visit. I assume, the company dredging sand from the river on the adjacent property, would transport sand by rail. 

I was able to pass under the railroad at this bridge which crosses over the Ararat just upriver from the confluence. However, the sandy banks are steep and there is virtually no walkable shoreline along the Yadkin. I did look downriver to see the sand dredge. Two workers paddled their way out to the dredge in a flat bottom Jon boat. They revved up the dredge engine and then departed. 

Looking up the Yadkin at the confluence

After that little excursion, I walked through the upper field to a spot at which I could make my way down the much larger lower field. This field borders the Ararat and appears to have been planed in corn 2 or 3 years ago. I followed it along the river until the field ended and then I continued into the woods along the Ararat. After a few minutes, the bank got quite steep and full of Mountain Laurel, so I turned back. 

There is an old farm road which leads from the park gate down to the lower field. It would be possible to develop this for access to the Ararat. Doing that would give the park a put in which could be combined with an already existing access on the South side of the Yadkin, for a river outing within the park.

Lower field bordering the Ararat (on right)

Park gate at end of road. Homesite is next to the cedar.

Feb 3 Birkhead East Ramble

Early morning at one of the Rush Pits

Not much of a plan for today. Hike starts at NCWRC access on High Pine Church Road. It was a bit muddy on the walk in but an easy stroll. I was soon in the forest headed to camp 3. Turned at the spur and checked over the campsite and spring box. Everything looks like it should and no litter. I continue up the camp 3 trail from here and visit the Rush mine pits before deciding to follow a drainage back to, hopefully, the Bogg homesite. I came out on the Camp 3 trail near the Doud Mines and immediately saw some recent flagging. I followed it through the lower end of the Doud area until it deadended about 10 minutes in. Scratched my head and turned back to follow it out.

I did make it eventually to the Bogg homesite where I headed offtrail to follow north prong of Hannah Creek drainage. Not far from here I spotted 3 piles of rocks by a side drainage. See below. Scatched my head and continued on. It was a good 30 minutes before I walked into Fern Valley. Checked on the campsite. Someone has been cutting live Holly trees here. I've seen the same elsewhere in the Birkhead Wilderness. I don't have to scratch my head on this one. Idiots are everywhere.

It was about a 45 minute ramble out of the woods from here. I saw many Red Oaks having fallen recently. 

Feb 1 Birkhead Plane Wreckage

Newspaper article from the High Point Enterprise describes the crash. 

Altimeter Error Possible In Crash That Killed Two WRECKAGE OF LIGHT PLANE IN WHICH TWO PEOPLE DIED ( S t a f f Pholo by Sonny Hedgecock) Fifty or 100 more feet, and Robert V, Bain would have made It Into the rain : and fog- shrouded Asheboro Municipal Airport late Sunday afternoon. Instead, the Piper Cherokee plane the High Point attorney was flying crashed into the side of Burkehead Mountain about two miles from the runway. The crash killed Bain, 31, president of the High Point Jaycees, and Miss Gloria Jean Norman, 23, also from High Point, a passenger in the light plane. Their mangled bodies were found in the wreckage of the plane Tuesday afternoon. The discovery brought to a close an intensive air search over two days for the missing airplane. Bain was last heard from at 12:30 p. m. Sunday when he left Myrtle Beach, S.C., to return to the Greensboro-High Point-Winston-Salem Airport. He had departed from the regional airport on Saturday. No flight plan was filed by Bain for his return to the Greensboro-High Point airport and he was not reported missing until 2:30 p.m. Monday. The air search by the Civil Air Patrol was hampered most of Tuesday by strong winds. The search was concentrated over the northern portion of Randolph County because of reports from numerous persons who had heard a low-flying airplane over the area late Sunday afternoon. The wreckage was spotted first from a plane piloted by George Lyles of High Point, who was assisting in the search. Lyles was coming in over Burkehead Mountain in a landing approach to the Asheboro airport when a passenger in.his plane noticed the wreckage in the;.trees just below the crest of the mountain. When he landed, Lyles reported the sighting, and he and several other persons from the airport headed for the mountaintop in a truck. Meanwhile Bill Cleland, Another pilot participating in the search made positive identification of the wreckage. Cleland, from Greensboro, circled his plane over the site until the wreckage was reached by the first rescue party. This was about 3:45 p.m. Tuesday. According to Enterprise photographer Sonny Hedgecock, who was among the first to reach the scene, the plane crashed in a heavily wooded area just below the crest of the mountain. It appeared to have been flying on a direct line of approach to the Asheboro airport, The field can be seen clearly from mountaintop, according  to Hedgecock, The fuselage was lying on its right side among the trees. One wing was torn off. The area was roped off until it could be inspected by officials from the Federal Aviation Administration. Both bodies were discovered in the front seats of the plane, which has seats for four persons. The first rescuers on the scene removed the bodies, from the wreckage. Bain was identified by papers in his wallet. Identfication of Miss Norman was not made until about 7 p.m. yesterday. Randolph County coroner Julian Brady said multiple head and body injuries apparently were the cause of death, which he believed came almost instantly. The bodies were removed from the scene by members of the Ash-Rand Rescue Squad. The removal was made difficult because of the rugged terrain. Rescue workers had to leave their vehicles on a narrow logging road at the foot of the mountain and then climb slopes that seemed to rise straight into the air. It was 6:45 p.m. before rescuers reached the foot of the mountain with the bodies. Rescue workers said that if the plane had been flying slightly higher, it would have cleared the mountain and had a clear path into the Asheboro airport. Weather in the Asheboro area Sunday afforded practically no visibility, according to a pilot with the CAP. Witnesses reported seeing the airplane flying as low as 100 feet Sunday over Glenola, Archdale, the Asheboro airport, and over Midway Airport, between Thomasville and High Point.. The airplane was equipped with a radio and also with equipment for instrument flying. Bain, who had 150 hours of flying time, was not fully qualified for instrument flying, according to Lt. Col. Erwin Roberts of High Point. Deputy chief of staff for emergency services for the North Carolina Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, Roberts was in charge of the air- search for t he missing airplane, it appears that he was either making a final pass or trying to get away," Roberts said. "The ridge there is high, and he might, have had his altimeter set a 'little too low;" That Bain failed to make radio contact with anyone after leaving Myrtle Beach was also an unexplained mystery," Roberts said, "He was completely equipped." According to Roberts, the CAP searched over 2,475 square miles in seeking the missing plane. About 133 persons and 39 airplanes took part in the search, Roberts said, "We could fly only about one-third of the daylight hours available because of adverse weather conditions Tuesday," Roberts said. At one time, because of the weather, the CAP had only 19 planes in the air. The other 20 planes available were too light for flying in the high winds. "But I want to thank all of these people personally for their work in this effort," Roberts said.

Les, Don, Mike and myself, visited this debris but Mike said the crash happened way up at the top of Coolers Knob Ridge. How the wreckage got down where we were is not clear. Mike remembered the rescue effort. A truck with a winch and cables was used to haul the fuselage up. We searched for an impact crater but found none.

After our futile search, I became separated from everyone (Mike had left at this point)and decided to just head to the next spot we had planned to explore - Frank Bingham's homesite. I reached it and was wondering where the others were. I heard some voices nearby and headed in that direction to find Less and Don at a chimney none of us knew was out there.

I found a number of hand formed bricks in the chimney debris. What was odd to me, is there was no other visible signs of this being a homeplace. No other foundations. No road to it. No cedars. It was just there in the woods.

Continuing, we decided the Frank Bingham homesite was the most likely spot labeled as Camp 2 on Joe Moffit's map of the Birkheads. The Bingham homesite had all the accouterments of a homesite that were lacking from the nearby chimney.

We messed around trying to find old roads but couldn't find any which might have provided access from here to camp 1b. My time was up, so I left the fellows and made my way out.