Dec 15 Huckleberry Ridge & Moore's Wall Scramble

Ben Harris led today's hike at Hanging Rock State Park. The route which he follows is mostly off trail, offering great views, some scrambling and walking along the base of the massive Moore's Wall. The mileage is only 6 miles but went slowly.

Huckleberry Ridge has many spots like this, offering southern views and a few northern views.

Will chose this windy spot to look north at the Virginia mountains.

Atop the observation tower on Moore's Knob, this is the view west with Huckleberry Ridge in the foreground and Sauratown & Pilot Mountains in the distance. 

After lunch atop Moore's Knob, we dropped down to the base or Moore's Wall and walked next to the wall. Climbers have worn a good trail at the base. We did have to watch for falling ice today. A falling ice dagger would not be nice.

Dec 13 A Chimney Crumbles

Today's hike was out to Bingham's Graveyard and back on Hannah's Creek Trail in the Uwharrie National Forest. I had heard the Ralph Bingham chimney had fallen during the summer. Sure enough, it is a chimney pile now. It was a substantial chimney with 2 fireplaces. I have expected this chimney to come down. It looked very unstable the last couple visits. 

Dec 11 Scott Ridge

David Memory led this PHOC hike in Stone Mountain State Park and Blue Ridge Parkway. We began the 11 mile route at the lower parking area ascending up Widow's Creek Trail. Once we past all the primitive campsites a faintly blazed trail continues up Scott Ridge. A couple sections were quite steep. The trail does not employ the use of switchbacks, so it did work your leg muscles. We stopped for beak by a small stream in what appeared to a former pasture. There were two chimney piles and various other rock structures, like the wall above.

At the high point of the hike, we ate lunch. Not far from our lunch stop is the strange concrete pad seen above. In the late 1960's an aerial tram was built here as a tourist attraction. The view would have been quite nice, but then most views along the nearby Blue Ridge Parkway also offered great views. The ill fated attraction lasted only a couple years

We briefly walked on the Blue Ridge Parkway at the Mahogany Rock overlook. This gap in the ridge is along the hawk migration route and is an active reporting location for the Hawk Migration  Association.  The big day this year for hawk count, was Sept 22. This location reported 4263 broadwings that day, 2666 during the noon hour. That is not quite 1 per second but close.

Stone Mountain looks rather small from up here. It sure looks big when you are standing at its base.

December 8 Joe Moffitt Trailhead Dedication

The fellow who envisioned the Uwharrie Trail and most responsible for its creation, Joe Moffitt was honored today at a ceremony in Ophir and later at a Trailhead dedicated to him. The event was organized by Crystal Cockman and The Land Trust for Central North Carolina. For several years Cystal, the Land Trust and a number of volunteers and other organizations have worked to reconnect the original Uwharrie Trail route. During the 1980's a lengthy section of the trail was abandoned, splitting the trail into two shorter trails, the Uwharrie Trail 20.6 miles and Birkhead Mountain Trail 5.6 miles. The gap is about 11 miles

About 40 people attended the very pleasant ceremony at the Ophir Community Center. Joe Moffitt, at 89 years old, spoke of how he with the help of boy scouts and several others, put the trail and campsites together back in the late 60's. 

When I first moved to the area in 1975, I hiked the trail one weekend, end to end, except for the 2 mile road walk. It is very exciting to see this trail come back together now.

After the ceremony, several of us walked on the first section of newly constructed trail over Little Long Mountain.

Dec 4 Yellow Jackets in December

A wet summer meant a prolific year for yellow jackets. The number and size of the underground nests were more than I can remember in any previous year. The nasty insects occupy previously dug animal burrows. Their home below ground resembles the more often seen paper hornets nests in trees. Levels of honeycombs are built with a protective paper nest structure to keep them from collapsing. I saw no need for so many yellow jackets this year and decided to get rid of the nests along out forest trail and in our yard. One sting was enough to prompt this decision. My initial attempt to eradicate the nests by spraying Wasp and Hornet Killer, did not accomplish the task. Subsequent research indicated another approach might work.  

Early one cold morning, I poured a couple gallons of boiling water down the hole. Next day I checked to see if they were still active. In both cases, the nests were dormant and the innards were strewn about nearby. It is likely a raccoon dined on the boiled yellow jackets. I've learned that consuming them is not toxic - for raccoons anyway. 

Dec 4 Uwharrie Trail - King Mountain

Fireplace at Twin Springs Campsite

Beginning at the tailhead on Thayer Road, right at the Randolph County / Montgomery County line, the Uwharrie Trail continues north. The original trail was constructed in the late 60's and rerouted at least once. The newly blazed and flagged route follows some of the older routes but deviates in many spots. About a year ago, I flagged some of this route and some of what I flagged is being used for official trail now. 

Getting up King Mountain from the trailhead involves following some old roads but more than half the way is just blazes and flagging through the woods with no footpath. There are 2 deer stands right on top of King Mountain. One might be active this season, the other is missing half the ladder. For the next couple miles, the trail follows an old road.

Beware the Doom that came to Eden - Snake Country

It is along this stretch, the trail to Twin Springs campsite can be accessed. This campsite has not seen much activity for years. The old trail to it had completely grown over. The old double fireplace is still in fine shape unlike many of the other campsite fireplaces built in that same era. As an Eagle project, a spring house was constructed nearby. I did not see any water in it but suspect it could be cleared up to be useful again.

An inactive coyote den?

Continuing on the trail, I had a difficult time making my way through a thicket of small trees and uneven rocky ground, trying to follow the fresh blazes. They came to a sudden end near a pasture with an electric fence. I understand the intent is for the trail to continue past here, next to the private property boundary. It is just a short distance to Pisgah Covered Bridge Road at that point.

Retracing my steps I decided to avoid the messy thicket and just angle my way back to where I thought the trail would be. Immediately, I popped out on an old road and suspected it would lead me to where I wanted to go. It did just that and was a delight to walk on. 

I did carry a GPS with me but suspect I walked about 7 miles total.

Who says Black Jack Oaks are drab