Mar 17 Goose Creek Hike

 

Located where Goose Creek enters the Pamlico River, Goose Creek State Park is a land that was once clear cut as much of the surrounding area was. It continues to return to a natural state having been owned by the state of North Carolina since 1980. 

Along the boardwalk through the swamp, I spotted this most unusual Loblolly. Midway up the truck is a quite dense series of branches with lush needle growth.

There are dozens of tar kilns on the property. They are easy to spot on what would otherwise be perfectly flat land. The kilns were pits dug to boil the gummy, sticky resin collected from Longleaf pines. The kilns converted the resin into tar and pitch which were used to make products used in waterproofing ships.

A lovely swamp is accessed via boardwalk. We saw several Snapping turtles here as well as songbirds and birds of prey.

Other trails in the park offer glimpses of the Pamlico River. 

During the visit, I saw two small cemeteries. All the marked graves had 1882 death dates. The graves are of deceased residents of Pamlico Township across the Pamlico River. It is believed there was an epidemic of yellow fever or diphtheria at that time. Residents buried their loved ones who had succumbed to the disease in this uninhabited area across the river to control the spread of the disease.   

Mar 17 Taxidermy at Goose Creek State Park

 

The is an absolutely fabulous display of taxidermy at the Goose Creek State Park Visitor Center. This is only part of the collection.

Mar 14 Bingham White Pines and Hall/Grissom Cemetery

 

This is an double oak that someone a long time ago, built a ladder on, likely to a deer stand. And then the tree took over and grew from one trunk to the other where the ladder strands were.

Here is another tree that grew over the ladder.

And a third that is still working on it.

Hidden away on part of the Low Water Bridge Preserve is a stand of White pines, not often seen in the Uwharries. I had some help locating them from a friend in the botany world who had a map of them. Still it wasn't easy finding them. I roamed around for a long time looking up at the canopy. Virginia pines look similar up top but the bark and branches differ significantly. When I finally found them, I counted 12, a significant drop from the first observation of about 30 of them. 

Also, in the same vicinity, is this cemetery. There are 17 graves, but only 5 are marked. Of those, 4 are Halls and one is a Grisom spelled with one "s". Most of these are from the 1860s.

Vicey Grisom. Is that a misspelling or is Vicey a real name?

I searched nearby and found a homesite with spring.

 

Mar 13 Low Water Bridge Preserve

 

Uwharre River

Sycamore stump

Coggin Cemetery

Bloodroot among some Carolina blue slate

Well #1

Well #2

Mar 11 GSMNP Cemetery Hikes

 

Today I'm doing a bunch of short hikes to cemeteries in the GSMNP. Some of these are now showing up on Google Maps. My first stop is the Enloe cemetery. It is located right across the road from bus parking area at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. Oconaluftee is derived from the Cherokee village, Egwanulti meaning "by the river", documented by John Bartram during his 1775 travels.

The cemetery is up a short but quite steep hill. I've read that the Enloes and Mingus' were the first white settlers in this area. 

Next stop is an unnamed cemetery I first learned about from a 2013 blog by Jenny Bennett. She blogged about this cemetery and the "secret footbridge" leading to it. It is not along a trail. To find this place, you can park at either Collins Creek Picnic area or milepost 24.61 parking area. Then walk along the road or along Oconaluftee River. Using navigation, try to find where Shellbark and Will Branches are entering the river on the opposite side. At the midpoint between these two tributaries, you'll find the secret footbridge. After crossing, follow a manway to the right for a couple hundred yards.

Tucked away in the wilderness is the cemetery with just a few stones.

Retracing your steps, head back over the footbridge. If you look closely in the above photo, you can see a car traveling along Rt 441. 

Next up is the cemetery where those enslaved by the Enloes are buried. I read that it is a West African tradition to place items on a grave as a tribute to the deceased. I've heard a military tribute to those who have served is to place coins on a grave. Somehow, these traditions have merged to pay respects to enslaved people by placing coins on a grave. 

The slave cemetery is beside the parking area for Mingus Mill. 

Last up is the Carver cemetery, located along a manway off Bradley Fork Trail near Smokemont campground.

It too has a secret footbridge. I'm sure Jenny knew about this one as well.