The bars are closed in NC during Phase 1 of reopening, so are the mines. A sign warns you not to commit tresspass. Tress is the Latin word for beyond.
We started with an exploration of the Russell Mine area. I had never been to the area referred to as the Big Cut. We made our way to the area with the barred off shaft above. You could feel the cool air coming from it. To get to the Big Cut, we headed off on some old roads.
The first thing we saw, was another barred off shaft which resembles a culvert opening. Then we made a detour around a huge depression, possibly the Big Cut.
Giving up, we headed on an old road and came upon this hard to miss structure. There was a vertical drop off just beyond this barred off area. The exclosure is roughly square and quite tall and large in area. It's a great place to grow vines.
Next stop is an unnamed mountain which I am going to call "Russell Dome". That is the name I saw on a geologic map of the area back in the mining days. It was a bit of a trek to get to the base of the dome. We followed a graveled Forest Service road until we saw a 4 wheeler track going up. It was really steep but only about 200' TEG. Not much to brag about on top. No open area, no view. Just a bunch of grape vines taking over from the last timber cut.
After a brief rest on top, we head back down. Now we head toward the Uwharrie River and walk toward Big Creek for a look see off the confluence. Then it is back to the gravel road abd back to the Russell Mine. While here, it is hard not to visit the massive rock structure that housed the mining operation.