Nov 10 Three Sisters Swamp

We're ready for our big day in the swamp, packing the boats up here almost ready to push off. The water is completely still and you can see a perfect reflection in the black water.

All morning we paddle along a river that widens and narrows many times. There are spots where motor boats can operate and places where we barely skim past the sand below. There is one bridge we pass under. We use this opportunity to explore on the blacktop a bit. An old, abandoned home mesmerizes us. Will thinks he recognizes the house from a movie. It is movie worthy of a beautiful old (maybe 100 yrs) structure on high ground riverside with just a faint lightly used two track driveway. 

We slip the boats back into the black water and continue downriver. This next section is not scenic. It is straight with a high sandy bank on river left, sporting a pine savannah. Long Leaf Pine is the dominate tree here. We pass a private boat ramp from which some kayakers use as a starting point through the Three Sisters Swamp. The river becomes a bit more interesting. It is more serpentine, narrow and shallow. Will is armed with directions from master canoeist and guidebook author Paul Ferguson.   We are supposed to look for channels going off into the swamp on river right. At this point it is counter-intuitive, but we are to head off into the swamp instead of following the well defined river. We find such a place and pause. It matches the description and is counter-intuitive. We just sorta shrug and decide to go for it. Immediately we are in maze of narrow channels going different ways. It is a bit intense at first wondering if we are headed into a unpenetrable area. We spend much time looking things over before proceeding. Most of the time we are hung up on a fallen log or too wide to fit between some knees. We are careful not to lose sight of one another. It is very easy to do here. Probably 15 minutes into this swamp session we finally come around and realize we will make it through and we should be checking out the amazing place we are in. It is here the oldest trees east of Rockies reside. BLK 069 as it is known, was core dated to 364 AD. And that was 12-15 feet up from the base. Cypress trees have immense bases, so cores have to be done higher up. There are larger trees than BLK 069 but core samples showed a condition known as heart rot in which the center of the tree rots first and can not be dated.

The Nature Conservancy owns a portion of this swamp and many of the monster trees. The trees grow to a certain height and then seem to grow only in girth. Some are huge at the top and have equally large branches. Like other old thing, they are gnarled and missing tops and limbs. Spanish moss adorns everyone. The knees are unbelievable large, some 7 feet or more in height.

The total paddling distance through here is probably only 3/4 of a mile. The first 1/4 mile was the most difficult. As we worked our way further in, the channels became larger with fewer obstacles. The water level is quite low. It was below the estimated minimum flow needed according to the Ferguson guide. We did have get out of the boats on a couple occasions to pull them over or through something. Will sunk to his knee in sand during one drag. When we found a place to stop and get on firm ground it wasn't quite a firm as it looked. It was easy to sink in 6 inches or so every step if you weren't careful.

Back in the boats we exit the swamp back into well defined river. At this point you can see 3 distinct channels emerging from the swamp to form one river. Looking at an aerial of the swamp you'll see this also. I'm told that is how the name "Three Sisters" was derived. 

Once through the swamp, we begin the search for a suitable campsite. River right is a mass of cypress and knees with no good ground. River left is Cone's Folly owned by Ben Cone of Greensboro. It is well posted and we were sufficiently warned a caretaker patrols it and is never lenient. We saw many suitable spots on the Cone side but each seemed to have more posted signs than the last. We finally stop at a spot on Cone's side. We would have to drag boats over a berm and then camp out of sight. I wasn't comfortable with the situation. Will said he had met Ben Cone once. Will was a mentor of sorts to Ben for a day but Ben probably doesn't remember and Will's phone calls to him went unanswered. We decide to check a little further downriver and paddle back if needed. Will finds a great spot with a wide sandbar just downriver on river right so that is where we camp.

Once set up, I paddled into a cove nearby, surrounded by Cone's Folly on 3 sides. There were a couple monsters (trees) here and some big knees. I also managed to find a nice spot to land and checked out a pine savannah just across the river from our camp. It was a 10 foot bluff so no cypress grew here.

Check out the red tea color of the water above.

This knee is about 6 feet high.

Once again we had a nice campfire. It was dark by 5:30 so it was an early fire too. After a long day I was ready to crawl into the dome early. Sleep came quickly but just as quickly I was awakened by some pesky nocturnal creature. I got up and something ran off which sounded like a deer. Again it was back to sleep. Again, pesky nocturnal creature #2 wakes me. I'm up shinning the light about and spot the bear on the bluff across the river. It just stared back at me as if in a Mexican standoff. Finally it turned and lumbered through the brush. I felt fine, after all there was a river between us. Will pointed out the next morning that river would be nothing to that bear. The river is maybe 50 feet wide and maybe 18 inches deep at its deepest.

Twice more I am awakened by the bear. Once it was making the normal bear sound - a cross between a growl and labored breathing. That time the bear ran off at full speed crashing through the woods, snapping fallen branches as it went. The final time the bear made an odd noise I learned later was a sign of anxiety. It sounded like 2 heavy breaths and then a contented "hmmmmmmm". At this point I figured I never get any sleep but I grew tired of the standoff, crawled in the dome and fell right to sleep, not to wake until daybreak. 

Nov 9 Black River

Paddling buddy Will, came up with the plans for this float on the Black River in eastern North Carolina. After a bit of confusion about where the put in was, we managed to find a suitable boat ramp in the community of Ivanhoe. It cut a number of miles off our planned route but under the circumstances was the best choice. The river is shallow. We wonder how much time we're going to spend dragging them. The water is also a red tea color. I'm told this is due to the tannin in the bark of cypress trees which dominate this area.

The coastal plain of North Carolina was an ocean not long ago and thus there is lots of sand. The river bottom was nothing but sand. We saw numerous sandbars. Where the banks of the river rose, it was sand. As mentioned, the tree of choice here is cypress. They need to be either in or very close to water level. These are Bald Cypress and are conifers but lose their leaves every year. The trees are accompanied by cypress knees which appear on the ground or in the water wherever trees are. Most knees we see are small between one and two feet in height. Once on dry ground in a cypress swamp it looks impossible to pitch a tent due to knees being everywhere. The purpose of the knee is not known. There are some hypotheses. Our hypothesis is the knee serves as a counterbalance for the tree. Since Cypress are located in and near water, the ground they are anchored in is not as substantial as typical dry ground. The trees likely require some additional support. Another hypothesis is knees help bring oxygen to the extensive root system. Either way the knees are interesting and add an exotic nature to a cypress swamp. 

Due to our abbreviated day, we set camp early. I placed my tent on a sandbar which worked out nicely. Once camp was set, we took a small paddling adventure up the South River whose confluence with the Black was nearby. It narrowed after a short distance. Will proceeded on up while I just floated.

That evening we heard the eerie howls of coyotes nearby. There were also some Barred Owls trying to locate one another. The other strange night noise was a tremendous splash in the river. We heard it several times, waking me at one point. We later suspected these were beavers splashing the water as a signal to others. 

Nov 5 Building a Trail

Hanging Rock State Park will soon be sporting a new trail, Riverbluffs Trail. Beginning at the park's Dan River access parking area, the trail follows the river upstream and loops back. It is a short trail and designed for all levels of hiking ability. I'm told the trail may be paved as well if it holds up well. That would provide access for folks with mobility disabilities. 

During today's work, we paused at the spot above. If you click on the image for a larger view you'll notice the rock work in the river as well as the tall rock structure almost dead center of the photo. I've learned the batteau boat people did not venture up this far on the Dan River so they did not build these structures. Native Americans built fish weirs on these rivers. The "V" or "U" shaped rock structures were designed to channel fish into a zone where it was easier to spear of net them. I don't know if this structure is such but a portion of it has that appearance. It also could be just a sluiceway built by recreational paddlers. The tall stone structure is built like a chimney. I don't know its significance but suspect recreational paddlers may have built it. Or maybe it was built by recreational smokers.

Today's work on the trail involved "grubbing". We roughly chopped a 5 foot wide trail along the river. It is passable at this point but still needs some final grooming.

Nov 4 Greensboro Greenway

Bicyclists in Greensboro have a very nice greenway to ride on. I don't know its official name. I've been referring to it as the A&Y, but others use its previous name. Today I'm calling it the "Greensboro Greenway" since our route included 3 or 4 named trails. A&Y refers to the former railroad in its final incarnation, Atlantic and Yadkin. The trail follows its former bed. Current plans are to continue extending the route at both ends. Surprisingly, this is still a viable and ongoing project.

Today I rode from the Lewis Recreation Center to Bur-Mil Park to meet with other PHOC riders. We rode to the end of the trail and saw where the construction under Rt 220 was proceeding. Turning around we traveled back to Bur-Mil, picked up additional riders, continued on to do the Battleground Loop, then the Country Day Loop and finally all the way to the end of the trail near Staples on Lanwndale. That last section included the pricey Cone Blvd underpass seen above.

Nov 3 Heartbreak Ridge - Pinnacle Hike

This hike is one of my favorites. It features a spectacular view at the very top. Today was a bit windy but still everyone got a seat at lunch with a view.

The entire route is 14 miles and a great workout going up. Eventually everyone finds a pace they are comfortable with and trudge on. To me it is hardly believable the trail is a a common mountain bike route. There are too many steep drop offs for me to even consider that. 

The single track trail ends at the old toll road. There are some camp trailers located at this spot. I'm told bear hunters use them but it looks like beer drinkers to me. We follow the old toll road a short distance. This was the original route to Mt Mitchell prior to the Blue Ridge Parkway. The route started in Black Mountain or Montreat and charged a toll to travel it.

Today we encountered snow on the last section which is a faintly blazed route on steep terrain. Finally you emerge to an outcropping overlooking Mt Mitchell. From here it is all downhill.

Nov 2 Pizza

The dough I have finally settled on is half whole wheat (red) and half unbleached white. It seems to give the bast taste, texture and is not too difficult to spread. It does tend to bulk up a bit.

For topping today, some of my frozen chanterelles were used along with green pepper, ground beef, tomatoes and bok choy added late.