July 25 Tot Hill Trailhead gets Spruced Up

Tot Hill Trailhead was looking run down. The fencing had almost all fallen down. Cars regularly back into it in the tight parking area. Last Friday, the USFS put in new fencing. It looks great.

The kiosk was looking worn and was sporting some graffiti. What better way to get rid of the graffiti, than paint it Forest service Brown. Now when someone tags it, we just have to paint over it. 

The old sign got a coat of paint too. It looks new now. It's great to see the improvement here.

And the trail sign got a coat of linseed oil.

July 24 The One and Only

Lilium Michauxii or as we say "Carolina lily" is one of the area's botanic gems. It is the state wildflower of North Carolina. We treasure it for its beauty and deer eat it for its tastiness. 

In the Spring I scoured the property for any of the unusual plant structures. You may notice the whorled leaves above. That makes it easy to spot about 4 months before it blooms. I had located 2 communities on my property, about 1/2 mile apart. Together they total 17 plants. I surrounded each plant with a circle of quartz rocks so they'd be easy to spot and keep track of. Pretty early on, deer browsed 9 of them, an entire community. the other community, being close to the house survived. Last week I was faithfully watching 6 budding plants. Today, I have one bloom. Deer got 4 and knocked over one, which may still bloom. The one and only survivor is a beauty.

There is an interesting side note here. The wildflower is named for the great French Botanist André Michaux. Michaux played a role in a bizarre American history footnote. He was French but spent much of his adult life collecting botanical specimens in the US for himself and European collectors. His base was Charleston SC, where he maintained gardens and spent winters. 1792 found Michaux in Canada exploring to and above the treeline near Hudson Bay. When he returned, a stop in Philadelphia was in order. Michaux had concocted a plan to travel west beyond the mountains we now know as the Rocky Mtns. He presented at the Philadelphia Philosophical Society, such a proposal, seeking funding. Vice President of the society and also US secretary of state Thomas Jefferson loved the plan. Remember, Philly is the US capital in 1792. He and Michaux mapped out a route and objectives. The Mississippi Valley and Louisiana were claimed and controlled by Spain at this time. Jefferson did not want to anger the Spanish by sending a US government supported expedition into their territory, so it would be funded by the a private entity, the society, and its stated purpose would be scientific. Members of the society pledged funds. They wrote their names on a document with the amounts pledged and signed it. This document has survived and is the only document which has the signatures of the first 4 presidents of the US. Plans proceeded into 1793, then something derailed them. The French Ambassador, Genet enlisted fellow Frenchman Michaux to undertake a secret mission on behalf of France. Michaux did not wish to take on this role but he was indebted to his country and did not refuse. Genet wanted Michaux to travel to Kentucky and secretly set up plans to fund a military invasion of the Mississippi Valley and Louisiana. An American Revolutionary General wanted to lead a group of Kentuckians against the Spanish. It was none other than George Rogers Clark. Michaux proceeded to cross Pennsylvania, float down the Ohio to Louisville where he schemed with Clark. We don't know what took place because upon his return to Philadelphia, Genet had been sacked and his replacement knew nothing of the scheme. On top of that, plans for the western excursion were in disarray. Michaux headed to Charleston. France ended up acquiring the Mississippi and Louisiana and then sold it to the US. Jefferson then proceeded with sending Lewis and Clark westward. It could have been Michaux.

July 21 Trail Cam Photos for 1st Half 2020

Bobcat with a dead raccoon

Coon and the moon

Coyote

Graceful jump

Turkey Vulture

Who ever heard of catching an insect on a trail cam?

Another insect

Fox

Dirt bath for a turkey

This bird spotted something

This bird spotted the same thing

June 30 Robust Chanterelle Fruiting

Before the big Chanterelle fruiting, I found this Chicken of the Woods along my driveway. It was quite fresh and tender. I prefer "Chicken" to compliment other food, so a quick glance through the refrigerator shelves was made. How would leftover french fries and "Chicken" be? It was a very tasty breakfast. 

On to the main course. In mid May we had a heavy rain. Our total was 5.5" and some areas got 8". This is just what chanterelles like, a lot of rain to get them started. There was another 2" rain about a week later. Again, just what chanterelle like. In another week, they were peeking through the leaf litter, seemingly, everywhere. For 13 of the next 14 days, I foraged in the Birkhead Wilderness and here at home. I was averaging about 2 pounds a day most of the time. I did hit 7 pounds on the most prolific forage. With a grand total in the 30 pound range, we were eating mushrooms everyday and cooking and freezing every day. I gave away 6 pounds to our friends - The Pandivas. Yes the wives organized a group and called themselves the the pandivas, short for Pandemic Divas. 

Cleaning lasts for a while when you forage this many. I try to clean the mushrooms as much as possible when I pick them. A little dirt will get on many in the basket. Also, don't wash with water. They soak up water like a sponge. I prefer then as dry as possible but obviously you have to pick them full of moisture sometimes. I've read the water content can vary from 60-90%.

A fruiting season this robust does not happen often. I have only experienced this once before. Summer 4 years ago was the rainiest ever. 

With this many, I tried a new recipe for chanterelle paté. It turned out quite rich, since paté is a lot of butter. However, it worked real well with pasta. 

June 20 Uwharrie Trailblazers' Adopt Hiking Trails

The Uwharrie Trailblazers rolled out their trail adoption program earlier this year. The kick off was delayed due to the pandemic's restrictions. Volunteer work in the National Forest was not allowed for a couple months. Finally, that restriction was lifted and we are back working on trails. 

The club signed a trail adoption agreement with the forest service, adopting all hiking trails in the forest. We divided them up into 18 sections and asked members to adopt them. As of today, we have 17 of the 18 adopted, thanks to a great group of volunteers. Some are long time members and others just joining. 

Today was our orientation event, held at the future Walker Creek Trailhead. Earlier in the week, we had the area mowed since it was waist high and not conducive for such a gathering. We limited the number to under 20 (we had 19) and we established a 10 foot physical distancing guideline. Everyone showed up with face masks. Mine was dangling from my ear during the presentation. 

David Craft kicked things off, asking everyone to say a bit about themselves, where they lived and how they get involved. We had adopters from Angiers to Greensboro to Charlotte, and places between. Some are military veterans, several are involved with scouting, one adopting team is a Christian fathers and sons group, a tax specialist, a cowgirl (maybe that should be an equestrian), a couple of textile guys. an insurance man - and everyone is volunteer minded.

After introductions, I gave an overview of the adoption program. Dave Gardener lectured on trail safety. Finally, Gifford Del Grande showed off some brand new tools and how to use them.  

A short question and answer period added some good discussion. The painted trail blaze vs plastic "reassurance marker" subject was covered. When is the "gap" going to be closed. No definitive answer to that one. Can we use battery operated tools in the Wilderness? No. Seemingly, we covered it all except for the raging Bigfoot controversy. Dave failed to add that to his safety commentary. Just be mindful out in the forest. Especially if you carry candy bars. Bigfoot has a big sweet tooth for Zagat bars.  

Then we headed to the forest. Dave Gardener led a session on lopping. You may wonder why a session on lopping. There is more to it than you think. First off, you need a good lopper. Friskers is the brand of choice for the UTB work crew. Snip branches near the main stem or trunk of the tree to prevent a repeat cut for this season. Cut as if you are carrying a 4x8 piece of plywood through the forest. However, the first couple feet from the ground can be a narrower swath. And those pine trees don't grow back if you cut them at ground level, but other trees do. 

Gifford Del Grande led the other break out group. He demonstrated how to construct a run out. Once you know how it is constructed, you are better able to clear and repair one. Above, the guys and gals are embedding rocks on the lower side of the run out. Then packing soil on it.

After the work was done, Giff and I enjoyed some lemonade in the forest, face masks still partially attached.

Thanks to all our adopters who were able to make the orientation. It really felt like a community of kindred spirits.

Jun 1 Three Sisters Ridge

June 1 was a splendid day for a hike at Hanging Rock State Park. Sunny, low temperatures and low humidity was on the menu. Will and I met at the beginning of Orrell Road to set up our shuttle. Wearing Covid facemasks, we carpooled to the Visitor Center where we stepped on the trail to Hanging Rock itself. The first mile or so was on trail and then we stepped off toward the Three Sisters. We spent much time at the start of our off trail taking in the north and south views.

We had to make the obligatory stop at this cantelevered rock which has been discovered and vandalized with multiple spray paint taggings. The stone furniture here, gets more elaborate each visit.

Next stop was the big cave at the base of the cliffs. Not as "discovered" as the cantelevered rock, it does have some graffiti etched onto its sides. From here, we wanted to find a way back up on top of the outcropping without backtracking. We did find a scramble route up the rock face.

We stopped at this viewpoint to see the Indian face side of Moores Knob. Heading on, we followed the spine of the ridge as best we could, looking for easily traversed forest. The greenbrier covered pathways were behind us now.

It was a gnarley climb up Big Sister. We found this wonderful lookout on top. It continued to be a rough scramble atop Big Sister until we headed to the gap. At the gap with Middle Sister, there is remnants of an old road which crosses from one side to the other. The climb up Middle Sister is much easier, especially if you walk around to the other (East) side and backtrack to the top. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch here.

Little Sister has an old road along one side which some folks use to avoid the climb. I have found the climb easier than battling the Laurel and Rhododendron in the old road. Once on top, there is a long gradual decline down to Sheeprock. We tried to stay as close to the south side of the ridge to look for interesting views and outcroppings. Above is one we took advantage of. Note Will is sitting on top. We also located the keyhole we have seen previously. It is much more obscured with the trees fully leafed out. 

Finally, at Sheeprock, we spotted several patches of Greenland Stitchwort hiding in the rock crevices. Now, it is time to leave the ridge and look for a way down the mountainside. We follow my previous gps track and Will sees an possible route down on Avensa which we take. It was just 5 or 10 minutes of steepness we had to negotiate before we reached the old road with rock wall. I am surprised to see some recent trees chainsawed off the trail. It appears horses are using this old road often enough for there to be some heavy duty sawing.

We follow the old road back to the intersection with an another old road alongside the fields by Mill Creek. We pass several tobacco barns. We are just 10 minutes from the car when we decide to take a loop on old roads which I had a gps track of. These roads were not as easy to follow and we did have to push our way through some tall vegetation at a couple points.

Once we exit the forest, we are in the field with this beautiful chimney. We stopped to admire the rockwork. While there, I noticed a couple pines that appeared to have pink blooms in them. Wondering what kind of a vine that was, we investigated and see that it is Roses which have gone wild and are blooming all over the field. 

Great hike. I did pick up 4 ticks and have some other bites which could be early chiggers. That is my cue to "chigger up" for the summer.