Green River Cove Trail On New Year's Day 2022

Green River Cove Trail – 1/1/22 – 7.6 Miles

Starting with a blank slate, turning the page, hitting the refresh button – New Year’s Day is my favorite day of the year. I don’t make resolutions, per se, but rather a “wish list” of what I want the year ahead to look like. If the things happen, great, and if they don’t, hopefully it’s because something even better happened. I am all optimism on New Year’s Day.

Hiking is always on the list.

Jim and our oldest daughter Megan joined me as we looked for a trail that was new to us, not too far away, and has water and/or a view. Green River Cove Trail checks these boxes and a couple more: it’s Hike #72 of Carolina Mountain Club’s 100 Favorite Trails Challenge AND it’s part of Conserving Carolina’s White Squirrel Challenge.

Green River Cove Road is an adventure in itself, descending from I-26 in a spine-chilling series of hairpin switchbacks. Jim-the-cyclist drove it in slow motion awe. 

We were early enough to grab a parking space in the small pull-off opposite the trailhead. The hike is a straightforward out-and-back following Green River upstream.

Ready to go!

We started off gaining a little elevation above the river, looking down on homes lining Green River Cove Road, then dropped down to river level. Lots to see, blowdowns, reflections, fungi, beavers’ work.

Hope Jim looked before he stuck his hand in

Back up high again, a winter view of the river

At the junction with Pulliam Creek Trail, we stayed left on Green River Cove Trail. The blue blazes kept us on track.

Trail’s end

Beyond the blue blaze is the Green River below the Narrows section where kayakers love to take risks. (Some paddlers keep going past this point but we didn’t see any today.) Huge boulders make beautiful cascades.

As I was making my way across the rocks looking for a place to sit, I slipped and fell towards my left side and onto my butt. At first I thought the only thing injured was my pride, but when I stood up I felt a sharp pain in my left side. The cork handle of my left hand trekking pole became lodged in my side, just below my bra line, and I leaned on it hard as I fell. (Actually, I think this is what pushed me back onto my butt or else I might have fallen forward and done more damage.)

After getting up and dusting myself off, I decided I was good to go. It didn’t hurt to breathe, so no ribs broken, but felt sore for the rest of the hike and bruised for sure. I thought, “Tomorrow is going to be painful,” and I was right. (In fact, it was painful for weeks.)

So let’s have lunch!

Our return hike was easy, no more slip-and-falls, and we were ready for food and drink. At Saluda Station I was delighted to find my favorite cider, which helped the pain go away (Cider Boys - the owner said she likes her cider to taste like fruit.) Happy New Year!

“And now we welcome the new year.
 Full of things that have never been.”
 ~Rainer Maria Rilke

North Carolina State Parks: Carvers Creek & Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve

North Carolina State Parks: Carvers Creek State Park & Weymouth Woods Sandhills
 Nature Preserve – 11/7/21

Taking a scenic route home to Charlotte from Oak Island, NC, I checked out two more North Carolina State Park units. These gems are small but mighty in their roles of preservation.

Carvers Creek State Park
Rockefeller Loop Trail & Cypress Point Loop Trail – 3.1 Miles

Carvers Creek State Park in Cumberland County is an intriguing combination of preserving natural habitat and human history.

Established as a state park in 2005, the park’s original land acquisition was 1,371 acres of longleaf pine forest in the Sandhills habitat of North Carolina, an area between the coastal plains and the Piedmont. Additional acreage adjacent to Fort Bragg was added soon after. Carvers Creek runs through this tract known as the Sandhills Access and there are 10.4 miles of multi-use trails. The only infrastructure is one entrance road to parking and restrooms.

A second tract (13 miles away, not contiguous to the Sandhills Access) was donated to the park in 2010: the 1,420-acre Long Valley Farm. This historic estate was a winter retreat for James Stillman Rockefeller (yes, those Rockefellers) on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition to the main house, there are farm buildings and a 100-acre millpond fed by Jumping Run Creek. There is a park office on the property with plans to renovate the Rockefeller house for a visitor center, exhibits and offices.

Read more here, here and here about the origins of Long Valley Farm and the Rockefellers. For example, did you know that James Rockefeller had the house built in 1938 when he was stationed at Fort Bragg as a lieutenant colonel of the U.S. Airborne Command during World War II? And that he married Nancy Carnegie (yes, those Carnegies) and she transplanted live oaks from the Carnegie estate on Cumberland Island, GA (now Cumberland Island National Seashore) to Long Valley Farm? It’s a small world.

I had time to visit one area of Carvers Creek SP and chose Long Valley Farm. The park office is located there, the human history fascinates me, and there are only two trails that form a Figure 8 so I didn’t have to choose which way to wander – I could see it all!

Park office at Long Valley Farm Access

Beginning at the park office, I walked on the Rockefeller Loop Trail, a sandy road that leads to the house. To the left is a longleaf pine forest and to the right is a grassy meadow. This is called “edge habitat,” where two different habitats meet. Birds, for example, have a variety of food sources, as well as nesting and hiding locations.

The house is surrounded by a wooden fence. There are several information signs giving descriptions of the house and the Rockefeller family’s philanthropic interests. This is the back side of the structure. (The front side faces the millpond.)

At this point, Rockefeller Loop Trail turns left and Cypress Point Loop Trail begins. Before starting down that path, I walked through an opening in the fence and wandered around to the front of the house, which I was a bit surprised to see was in poor shape. (There once were occasional ranger-led tours of the inside, but none were scheduled at the time I visited.)

I picked up the Cypress Point Loop Trail and followed it as it narrowed to a point jutting out into the millpond. The water was quite high after recent rains, no pond bank at all. You could walk straight into the pine needle-covered water if you weren’t paying attention.

Looking across the millpond to the front of the Rockefeller house

Such a serene setting, still waters mirroring cypress trees
 with wide bottoms and tall straight trunks

I followed the Cypress Point Loop back to the Rockefeller Loop and turned right to continue clockwise to the boundary line, walking behind a row of houses separated by a screen of pine trees. I met a few locals walking their dogs on this stretch and a father with two small children. Together the kids were hauling a fat branch for some important purpose. Kudos to Dad for not directing their job of being kids.

From Long Valley Farm I drove about 25 miles on rural roads through Fort Bragg to my next state park destination.

Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve
Lighter Stump Trail & Pine Island Loop Trail – 2.5 miles

As a nature preserve, Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve in Moore County is not intended for recreation in the traditional sense – you won’t find camping or mountain biking here. Instead, we can all enjoy quietly wandering among the longleaf pines in this area that was protected from logging in the early 20th century. In 1963, 403 acres was donated to North Carolina as the first natural area in its parks system. More land was acquired and the preserve is at 903 acres today. Read all about it here.

The preserve is comprised of three separate tracts – Weymouth Woods, Paint Hill and Boyd Round Timber Tract. Weymouth Woods has a Visitor Center and 7.3 miles of hiking/equestrian trails.

[Boyd Round Timber Tract is an old growth forest of longleaf pines, many that are between 250 and 450 years old. That includes the oldest known living longleaf pine in the world – THE WORLD, Y’ALL – dating back to 1548.]

I’m always drawn towards water, so my lollipop route today from the Weymouth Woods parking area included a few crossings of James Creek via Lighter Stump Trail to Pine Island Trail (a loop), returning on Lighter Stump Trail.

Lighter Stump Trail trends gently downhill through open longleaf pine forest,
 a dry and sandy path carpeted in pine needles

After crossing the creek on a wooden bridge, the forest changes to hardwood swamp
 with a rooty, soft dirt floor and occasional wet seeps

Choose your direction on Pine Island Trail and stay alert at intersections (signage is very good)

James Creek, still and sedate today

Back to Lighter Stump Trail

High mountains, thundering waterfalls, expansive views, and Atlantic Ocean shorelines – what an amazing state I live in! And the in-between places are magnificent in their own way. Any path in the woods is an opportunity for walking meditation, observing, listening, and staying open to what is before me.

I am exceedingly grateful for the North Carolina State Parks system, its partners and its supporters that preserve and protect places like Carvers Creek and Weymouth Woods. 

Millpond at Long Valley Farm, Carvers Creek SP

“I go to nature to be soothed and healed,
 and to have my senses put in order.”
  ~John Burroughs

Raven Rock State Park

Raven Rock State Park: Raven Rock Loop Trail - 11/4/21 - 2.8 miles

When planning travel that doesn’t include hiking at the destination, I peruse the map for opportunities en route, especially if I’m driving alone. Book club weekend at the beach? There must be a state park somewhere along the way…kind of.

Raven Rock State Park in Harnett County, NC is unique and deserves more time than I set aside for it on my way from Charlotte to Oak Island. The park is divided into separate trail sections for hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians (whew, no dodging mountain bikers!). High bluffs jut out over the Cape Fear River that flows through the middle of the park (no crossing from one side to the other, though, you have to drive.) There isn’t a boat launch within the park but there is paddle-in camping (also accessible by foot). There is a small front country campground and camper cabins.

Raven Rock SP was not exactly “on the way” to my destination on a chilly November morning, 42 degrees and spitting rain. Not the park’s fault, though, and I resolved to have a good attitude. I was the first person to enter the Visitor Center that morning, and the cheery greeting from the young ranger as I stamped my NC Parks passport made me glad to be there. 

Can I just say how much I love meeting and talking with park rangers, particularly the first-year newbies, and double particularly the women? Learning about their outdoor experiences growing up, how they chose their profession, what influenced them, and thanking them for their commitment to public lands – so important!

With just a couple of hours to spare in my travel day, I decided to hike the Raven Rock Loop which starts from the picnic pavilion (an empty parking lot today). From the cliff top to the water’s edge, this trail offers a lot in less than 3 miles!

I didn’t have my rain gloves with me and opted not to use my hiking poles so I could keep my hands warm in my pockets. [Hindsight tip: never take rain gloves out of your daypack.] Even as an experienced hiker, I sometimes underestimate short trails. This one started out gently, but I encountered enough spots with slick wet roots on the heavily trafficked terrain that I missed my poles for stability. 

Curious to get down to the river first, I tackled the loop counterclockwise. At about the one-mile mark, I took the right turn side trail and descended an impressive set of wooden staircases (also slippery!) to the edge of Cape Fear River and the base of Raven Rock. Knowing that on a sunny day this park is filled with people, I enjoyed exploring the area in solitude, walking both directions from the stairway and poking in crevices between the rocks.

Back up the stairs and continuing counterclockwise, I walked about half a mile to the overlook. The sky was overcast and fall colors were past their peak, but there were still touches of orange and yellow mixed with green. A peaceful place, reminding me that although us humans may not like rain, nature is always perfect.

Exquisite stonework

The rest of the loop was a cushy pine needle footpath, and the rain started up again so that I hurried to my car. Another 2.5 hours of driving to Oak Island, but I was glad I took the scenic route to see this unique NC state park. Maybe a little canoe trip next time?

“We are children of the Earth and not separate from the soil,
 the forest, the rivers and the sky.
We share the same destiny.”
~Thich Nhat Hahn