Apr 2 Indian Gap Rocks

 

Along the BRP in this area, I kept noticing large piles of boulders capping small peaks. This one called Indian Gap Rocks is located just a short distance off the parkway and fits that profile well. There are numerous social trails leading to them and through the complex. There was also an old railroad grade serving as the main trail to them. It was fun exploring them and I can see that this is popular place to bring the kids.

There were tunnels and cave-like overhangs. A fair amount of graffiti detracts from the experience. 

Apr 2 Fallingwater Cascade

Top of the cascade

At MP 83 of the Blue Ridge Parking in the Jefferson National Forest, I hiked down to this cascade. You can't see the whole thing at one time, it comes in pieces over a steep 1/4 mile trail. I was disappointed that I wasn't able to see its entirety at one time. The walk to the cascade was littered with Bloodroot, not quite blooming with the overcast skies. 

The downward journey begins

A brief glimpse of the middle section of the cascade

Stone stairs help you get through this steep section

Most of the time, this is all you can see. 

 

Apr 1 Golden Club at Betty McGee Creek

 

Off Thornburg trail I spotted these in the creek and again later in the day in Hannahs Creek. It is always a treat to see them blooming.

Mar 30 What's Blooming at Caraway Creek Preserve

 

Spring beauties on Riverside trail

Field pansy

Baby blue eyes

Bloodroot

Little leaf buttercup

Common chickweed

Ground ivy

Yellow Flumewort

Hairy bittercress

Purple phlox

Spring beauties

Redbud

Bluets

Bristly buttercup

Hepatica

Cutleaf toothwort

Rue anemone 

Star chickweed

Blue violets

Yellow buckeye

Trillium cuneatum

Mar 22 FMST @ Jockeys Ridge

 

This is how the day began from our fourth floor oceanfront hotel room. We're at the Friends of the Mountain to Sea Trail annual "gathering" at Kill Devil Hills. The gathering began on Thursday evening with a reception at a local brewery. We crowded onto the rooftop deck and socialized as best we could. It was almost impossible to move there were so many of us. The next day was filled with hikes and a reception at Jennettes Pier in the evening. Friday was the actual annual meeting on at Festival Park on Roanoke Island which ended about 1pm. 

After that meeting, everyone headed over to Jockeys Ridge State Park where the terminus of the MST is located. The MST monument conceived by director Brent Laurenz is located there. After a box lunch at the visitor center, Joy Greenwood, Jockeys Ridge superintend had some remarks and then we were off to the monument. All 250 of us hiked off to the sand dunes, led by Ranger Austin Paul. I recall Austin from his time at Hanging Rock State Park.  

It was quite a scene to see 250 hikers head out and encircle the monument. A group photo was arranged and then the gathering came to a close. 

Mar 21 Nags Head Woods

 

What a gem this place is. Owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy is is one of the largest remaining maritime forests on the east coast. It is starkly different than adjacent Jockeys Ridge. Imagine the sand dunes of Jockeys Ridge covered in forest instead. That is what you have here. It is shielded from the Ocean winds and salt spray by Jockeys Ridge. The green lake above is one of many seen throughout the woods. They are rainwater fed and covered in algae. 

Unlike the maritime forest of Currituck, tall trees grow here. I feel like I'm in the Uwharrie forest, not Nags Head. As we hiked through the forest, we ran into Kevin Zorc and his wife Charlotte, Nature Conservancy employees doing some trailwork. We would run into them again on another day. Kevin pointed out some interesting things to see. 

We accessed the woods from 4 different trailheads, two of which were Nature Conservancy owned and the other two were city of Nags Head parks.  

You can see that this is a sand dune which has evolved into a mature forest. We also walked through a swamp and accessed the sound in two different areas.

One of the trails leading to the sound had an audio tour at about a dozen QR code stops. That was most informative. The very first colonial and early American inhabitants lived here on the sound side. Today, all the development is on the ocean side. The only means of access back in the day, was the sound. Boats could not land on the beach but could on the calmer waters of the sound. So, the sound was the main transportation route. The sound side is also protected from the ocean winds and salt spray. And, it has fresh water. Communities grew up in the protected maritime forests. 

In the 1920s, automobile roads were established and the communities began to die out. We didn't see much evidence of the former homes except a few bricks and metal. However, there are cemeteries hidden in the woods. The one pictured below is still maintained by a family member living nearby.