Uwharrie Trail - Spring Thru Hike (Montgomery County, North Carolina)

About a year ago, I saw note about a supported backpacking trip in central North Carolina along the Uwharrie Trail. As I had never heard of this trail, it caught my attention and after a little research, I decided that I would like to hike this trail. For a few months, I would occasionally check the Three Rivers Land Trust (TRLT) site for registration to open. This organization is responsible for protecting many of North Carolina's land resources from unnecessary development, and they use this supported backpacking event as a fund raiser. When it was finally available, I signed up and began looking forward to a new trail.

As the first day approached, the TRLT sent a number of helpful emails with maps, gear suggestions, etc. I've done a lot of backpacking, but I've never done a supported backpacking trip and really didn't know what to expect other than the evening meals being provided at our defined campsites. That said, I packed the gear I would normally bring, including a stove and breakfasts. Little did I know how little of this I would actually need. 

Day 1

Wednesday evening after work, I drove about four hours to Asheboro, NC and spent the night in a hotel so that I could get an early start. Waking at 5:00 AM, I took a quick shower and then drove another thirty minutes or so to the Asheboro airport, where I would be meeting some of the organizers and volunteers would be giving me a ride to the starting point at the southern end of the trail and allowing me to leave my car here at the northern terminus. Friendly people all. 

Once my assigned shuttle drive arrived, three other hikers and myself tossed our packs in the back of his truck and climbed in the roomy cab. He had brought his dog along and she was so very excited to meet new people. The drive was uneventful and took roughly thirty minutes. Along the way, we got to talking about the trail and what to expect. It seems many of the hikers have done this trip multiple times before.

Arriving at Wood Run Trailhead, we exited the vehicle, grabbed our packs, and walked over to a table to sign in and get our packs weighed. I came in at thirty-two pounds, which included my food and water. They encourage people to be under forty pounds and even offer a trailer to carry extra gear from one campsite to the next. 

With a "good luck" from the crew, I hit the trail right at 8:00 AM. The trail starts out easy enough and just like any other forest trail. This time of year, the piedmont region with it's rolling hills is coming to life and spring greenery fills every view. The trail is very well maintained and marked by white blazes on the trees. I'm expecting this hike to be pretty easy for me given the terrain, but I want to use it as a training exercise and force myself into a pretty fast pace of around 2.5 mph. 

At just about the two-mile mark, I step on a rock with my right foot and it slides out from under me, rolling my ankle. It's not the worst ankle roll I've ever experienced, but it is pretty painful and I have to watch my steps very carefully to ensure I don't roll it a second time. This slows my pace just a little bit and will require me to be gentle on this ankle for the rest of the hike. What a great way to start.

Soon, I'm encountering and quickly passing other hikers on the trail. They are all friendly and we say a few words to each other while we're in range, but I just seem to have a faster natural pace than most of them, even with the tender ankle. At about the halfway mark, I pass a couple and arrive at today's aid station. Here, volunteers treat us to granola bars, Gatorade, water, bananas, and whatever else you could want. Apparently, I'm the first person to reach the half-way mark. I'm not really racing anyone, but I'm a little surprised given my injury. 

I quickly get back on the trail and continue through a large freshly burnt area. I'm unsure if this was natural or a controlled burn, but I know that it has happened within the last couple of weeks, as there are absolutely zero new plants springing up from the ground in this entire area. 

A short time later, I hit the junction that indicates side-trail to Yates Place Campground, where we will be spending the night. I take the right turn and follow the new yellow blazes until I see an open area with dozens of lawn chairs set up. Apparently this is camp for the night. Again, I'm the first to arrive and the organizers offer me a chair and refreshment. I unload my pack and one of the organizers offers me a beer, only to be quickly corrected by a co-worker. It seems they have had trouble in past years with early arrivals drinking all of the beer before everyone has a chance to get some. I nod in understanding, but soon they change their minds and bring me a cold one. It's a nice way to cap off a day of 9.3 miles on the trail.

After relaxing for a little bit, I find a decent place to pitch my tent and get everything set up before returning to the group area. By now, several other hikers have arrived and it becomes a grand 'ole party. For dinner, the organizers bring out what must have been nearly one hundred pizzas, all donated by a local restaurant. Today also marks the 29th birthday of the TRLT and as such, they serve up some birthday cake. I enjoy a few slices of pizza and a small bit of cake, but before too long, the exhaustion from my early rising this morning catches up with me and soon, I'm in my tent snoozing away. 

Day 2

My ankle is still a little tender when I wake and seems to be swollen a little bit. The sun has not quite risen yet, but it's getting light outside already. I slept really, really well as the temperature only dipped into the mid-50's. Great camping weather. 

I start packing my gear and soon I'm on the trail for more of the same. I'm told there are donuts at the first aid station (we have two today). I get an early start this morning and my boots are on the trail by 7:00 AM to ensure they aren't all gone by the time I get there. 

This part of the trail is much like yesterday with a few small water crossings and undulating hills. It's very pretty country, but there are few landmarks or points of interest along the way. I maintain a pretty solid pace, even with my swollen ankle and again, I'm the first to arrive at the aid station. The donuts are mine! I take time to enjoy one of them and the sugar rush that comes with it, as well as a diet coke to get my daily caffeine quota. Soon after I arrive, more hikers begin coming in, but as they get settled in for their own sugar rush, I'm moving once again.

Today there is a second aid station, which is supposedly along a county highway, where I'm hoping to have enough cell signal to take hop on an important conference call for my work. Along they way, I pass a box turtle in the middle of the trail. He has a hole in the top of his shell and some red markings on his neck. At first, I think the little guy is goner, but I gently tap his shell with my trekking pole and he pulls his appendages into his shell. Okay, go on about your business little guy and enjoy your day.

A little further, I start seeing a few cicadas on the trees. This year is supposed to be a cicada-apocalypse in some parts of the US, as broods of both the 13-year and 17 year species will be coming out from their long slumbers to break the silence of the forest with their patented screeching. Luckily, they are not harmful to humans (other than the noise). Unluckily, they are a favorite snack of copperheads and so, I go on high alert watching for these ninja-like snakes on the forest floor.

With just a few minutes to spare, I arrive at the second aid station and grab a stinger waffle, water, and an electrolyte packet. I explain to the organizers that I'm going to be here a little bit and on a work call. I grab a chair and pull it a few yards from the group to lessen the annoyance I cause them. My co-workers are a little surprised to see me join the call, but as the topic is an important one for something I'm working on, I wanted to make every effort to attend. It works out and I get some good news about the project.

After about 30-minutes on the call, I return the chair, thank the organizers and start hiking once more. While I was on the call, a number of hikers came through and passed me, but no matter. Again, I'm not racing anyone.

The last section of the day is a bit challenging for me as it is a long downhill with lots of small rocks on the trail. With my ankle still hurting a bit, I take this section very slowly. When I finally reach the bottom and the Jumping Off Rock Trailhead, I'm greeted by more hikers and organizers offering me a chair. Nearby, a sponsor and past-thru hiker is grilling up some chicken tacos and they smell magical. 

I drink down a couple of bottles of cold water and then a beer, before tearing into a plateful of delicious tacos. Mmmmm. . . . that hits the spot. After resting a bit, I head off into the nearby woods and seek out a campsite. I decide to pitch my tent near a fire ring even though I'm sure folks will be gathering around it tonight. I rested well last night and I'm ready to socialize with some beer and new friends around a campfire this evening. Before we do that though, we walk up the road to a noted site called Jumping Off Rock, which has the standard 'lovers leap' legend associated with it. We hang out here for a bit and then climb down to the river below along a steep dirt hill. It's a fun distraction.

Before too long, I'm back at my tent and others have started brining in firewood. As evening approaches, we light it up and start telling campfire stories, which go on until about 10:00 PM. By then everyone has headed to their own camp and I'm left with the campfire all to myself. I check my GPS track and see that I hiked about 11.6 miles today, which is supposedly the longest day. I pour some water and left-over beer over the fire and crawl in my tent. 

As I start to doze off, I seen the fire flaring up again and I'm forced to crawl back out and make a better effort to extinguish it. The concern of course is a stray ember floating over to my tent and burning a hole in it. With the fire really out this time, I fall into a peaceful sleep.

Day 3

The sun is up and start to come back into consciousness. Apparently, a cicada decided to crawl up between the outer mesh wall of my tent and the rain fly and molt right there about two feed above my head. Luckily, it didn't start scream before I woke up. I can't even imagine how my heart would have reacted to being awakened in this way. I shoo him away and crawl out of the tent. 

Quickly packing up, I'm on the trail at 7:25 AM this morning. Just before crossing Poison Fork Creek (which legend has it is a mis-translation of the French word for fish), I decide to take a side trail which someone mentioned last night. The yellow blazes lead up a short, but fairly steep hill to what I came to see. The grave of a young girl is here marked by a tombstone and a single red rose lay nearby. This is what remains of Dania Woodell, who died here in 1911. The story I heard tells of a planned settlement on this hillside. Several families moved here and began building, but for unknown reasons, they changed their mind and the town was never built. Unfortunately, this young lady perished before the plans were changed. She was the first and now only soul to be buried in the defunct communities graveyard. It's rather lonely story, but judging by how well the grave is kept among the encroaching forest and the single rose place don the headstone, I'm guessing someone looks after her.

Arriving at the aid station, I'm greeted by volunteers with boxes of breakfast biscuits from Bojangles, a southern favorite. I scarf one down along with a diet coke and then I'm quickly on the trail once again. 

After passing through an area that was once mined for gold and now has chunks of quartz scattered all about, I reach the top of King Mountain. There is a hiking shelter built here, very much like those along the Appalachian Trail. There are also some great views of the surrounding "purple mountain majesty". I take some time to take it all in and get a couple of pictures. King Mountain is the highest point on this trail at 1,020 ft and as they say, it should be all downhill from here.

Getting back on the trail, I finish out the day and arrive at the Walker's Creek Trailhead, which is a large open area with a gravel road through it leading up a short hill to our group area for the evening. Looking for a place do erect my tent, I first think about a grassy area near the parking lot, but memories of chigger bites from a couple of years ago quickly convince me to head into the nearby woods.

After getting my tent set up, I had up to the group area for this evenings festivities, which includes a raffle, and a barbequed chicken dinner with all the fixin's. The meal is fantastic and I head back a couple of times for more helpings of the chunky mashed potatoes with cheese and bacon. While I didn't win anything in the raffle, I did get to enjoy a couple of really well done NE-IPAs from a brewer that is right next door to the TRLT and donated all of our libations for the trip. 

With night approaching and me wanting to get a very early start tomorrow, I head back into the woods and crawl into my tent for some shut-eye. Today's mileage was only about 8.9 miles.

Day 4

The alarm on my phone goes off at 5:00 AM just as I had programmed it to do and I quickly rise and start gathering my gear in the dark. By 6:00 AM, I'm fully packed and starting a 3+ mile road walk to the next trailhead.

It seems the originally Uwharrie Trail was broken up at some point in the 1980's and sections of the land sold off to private owners. The TRLT has made efforts to purchase this land over the years and return it to the US Forest Service and restore the trail to it's original route. They've made great strides in toward this goal and now only a single property is preventing the full reconnection of the forty-mile trail. Unfortunately, that one property requires hikers to road walk about a mile-and-a-half along High Pine Church Road and then another two miles or so on Lassiter Mill Road, before heading back into the woods to the Robbins Branch Trailhead. 

The road walk is long and boring, but as it was still dark when I left camp, I stuck my solar lantern in the mesh part of my backpack with the lights aiming out to help passing cars see me. As it turns out, this is a very quiet piece of road and I didn't see a single car until nearly the end and when the sun was already well above the horizon.

At the trailhead, I'm once again the first to arrive and discuss my upcoming Peru trip with the volunteer manning the aid station, while I enjoy a banana and cold water. Before long, I'm at it again. This section of the trail is very similar to everything else along the way, though seemingly more popular as I encounter a large number of southbound hikers. 

There are a few climbs and descents, a few water crossings, and a few campsites that I pass by, but before I know it, I'm at the end of the trail. Several TRLT employees greet me with a cold beverage as I climb up the final hill to the parking area. With the early start and my quick pace, I'm once again, the first to finish the trail. One of the crew offers me a ride back to my car a couple of miles away at the airport and after resting for a bit, I take him up on the offer. I thank everyone for their efforts for such a well-organized event, but I'll be happy to get on the road and bound for home. 

My total distance for the trail was 40.1 miles over the four days. It's a really cool event and if we ever move to North Carolina, as we've been discussing, I may participate again at some point. That said though, I will bring much less gear. With all of the food and support along the way, I could have easily dropped seven or eight pounds from my pack. I'm glad I hiked it though and I'm glad there are organizations out there like the TRLT working to protect our public lands for these types of purposes.

Diamorpha at Arabia Mountain (DeKalb County)

 

It been raining all night and most of the morning as expected. I had cancelled my planned trip to Grandfather Mountain this weekend and was content with the short hike I got in yesterday at Fort Yargo. My plans for were to just do some things around the house given the wetness of everything outside. Last minute though, someone from the Atlanta Outdoor Club (AOC) posted a hike to see the colorful Diamorpha smallii on Arabia Mountain. Having hiked Arabia Mountain a number of times over my years in Atlanta, I thought this would be a somewhat unique experience to visit this endangered species just after a rain when it is at its perkiest. 

After about a forty-five minute drive to the parking area of the Nature Center, I quickly found the small group from AOC and after a quick round of introductions, we hit the bike trail. Soon, crossing the road we started walking along the long (and in my opinion, completely unnecessary) board walk to the southern end of the primary granite outcropping that is Arabia Mountain. 

Six of us in total, it seems most of us have hiked here before. After passing through the southern parking area, we're soon on the granite, where solution pools of dissolved and dissolving granite provide a plethora of minerally goodness for the flora. These pools are where the Diamorpha thrive. We can already see a number of examples of the vibrant red plant life in these lower elevation pools.

We quickly make our way to the highest point and locate the USGS cap. Calling this place a mountain has always been a little erroneous in my opinion, as it is much more of a small hill. The nearly barren landscape though does remind me of places in the Sierra Nevada. The group kind of meanders around taking in the amazing colors of the Diamorpha and other plant life growing on this 'desert in the rainforest'. The reds will fade in the coming days and not be seen again until next year, at least not with this level of richness.

Exploring around the formerly quarried areas, we eventually turn back south and begin making our way back to the southern end of the boardwalk. The rain has made few sections very slippery and we proceed cautiously. Luckily, everyone makes it safe and we follow the boardwalk back to our cars. Total distance as just over 5.2 miles, but seeing the palate of the flora made the trip worth it. I think the leader for organizing and we all say our goodbyes. A short trip, but I'm glad I did it.

Fort Yargo Lake Loop (Barrow County, Georgia)

I had planned to hike Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina this weekend, but the weather forecast was calling for storms and given the rugged and treacherous nature of that trail, it didn't seem like a good idea to be up on the ladders and ridges during a storm or even after one. I still wanted to get some miles in though and decided to head over to nearby Fort Yargo State Park, which is only about twenty minutes from my home. I've hiked in this park with one of the Meetup groups a couple of times in the past and found it satisfying enough for another visit. As long as I get my miles in early, I should be well head of the storm.

After parking near the visitors center and getting my bearings a bit, I decided to hike the loop around the lake. At least right now, the weather is just about perfect, with sunny skies, moderate temperatures, and nice breeze blowing. I can already see a number of kayakers out on the lake. The hike starts just behind the visitors center with a little patio offering a view of the actual fort, for which the park and lake are named. Fort Yargo was built in 1793 as a defense against the Cherokee and Creek. On past visits, I have explored the area in around the fort itself and opt to just see it from a distance today.

Next, the trail follows a well-constructed and long walking bridge across one of the fingers of the lake. It's wide and allows for both foot traffic and bikes. The trail then leads into the wood with a couple of options. I decided to take the Rock Garden path, which follows the shoreline of the lake much more closely and includes some very basic rock scrambling. I think the other path runs parallel, but avoids the rocks. The two paths rejoin after only about a tenth of a mile.

From here, the trail follows fairly closely to the lake shore, darting in and out of the woods. The trail itself is maintained really, really well. I even encounter a young man with a leaf blower clearing the fallen leaves and pine needles from the soil. The one thing I do note though is an abundance of poison ivy lining the sides of the trail. It appears to be kept under control and off the actual pathway, but should you wander off the trail, be prepared for an itchy good time. 

Hitting the southern end of the lake, I cross another wooden bridge just past the boat ramp where a couple of kayakers are getting ready to launch. I think to myself that this would be a great place to put my kayak in on my next visit. After this bridge, the trail goes through a camping and yurt area of the park, where a number of visitors appear to be going about their daily routines. 

The trail then leaves the shoreline and heads a little deeper into the woods. It's still very easy and I pass a few other hikers and mountain bikers as I finish the last part of the loop. Arriving back a the visitors center, I check my app and see that my distance is almost exactly 6 miles. Not a bad day and with the beautiful weather, this was a great alternative to the long drive to North Carolina.

Partial Solar Eclipse over Atlanta (Gwinnett, Georgia)

Solar eclipses don't come around very often and in eons past, scare the living daylight out of people (literally and figuratively). I had originally planned on flying up to Niagara Falls for today's eclipse and enjoying totality, but schedules didn't work out and I ended up staying home and just watching from my back yard using the proper eye ware. 

As our maximum of ~82% approached at 3:04 PM, my mother, my wife, and I gleefully stared up at the astronomical wonder and tried our best to cover our phone camera lenses with filters and snap a few shots. We got a couple that were okay. I've seen total solar eclipses before and it's somewhat eerie, even with a full understanding of the mechanics of the alignment. It's still quite the spectacular thing to experience though.