New Year's Day at South Mountain State Park

South Mountain State Park: It’s A New Year – 1/1/19 – 3 Miles

New Year’s Day, perhaps my favorite day of the year, a blank calendar full of possibilities, and good riddance to 2018. We’ve had so much wet weather lately thwarting outdoor plans, but no rain predictions today and temps in the high 50’s – welcome to 2019!  My friend Holly joined me for a hike at one of North Carolina's finest state parks, South Mountains State Park, an easy drive from Charlotte.  High Shoals Falls is always powerful but should be particularly impressive from the recent rains.

We took the High Shoals Fall Loop clockwise to the falls.

And there she is, 80 feet of awesomeness!

We tackled the steep stairways past the falls, following Jacob Fork River upstream to cross on the bridge. I remember when there was no bridge…and everyone waded. 

After the crossing, my plan was to turn left onto Upper Falls Trail, then right onto the H.Q. Trail to circle clockwise back down to the parking area.  BUT I got a little sideways…I didn’t interpret the map correctly (a little embarrassing because I was the navigator). We turned left too soon and walked thru the Upper Falls Campsites area. Nice sites, BTW.

On the far side of the campsites we came to a wide unbridged crossing of Jacob Branch.  The look on Holly’s face said “nuh-uh” and we turned back, but then I hesitated.  Had Holly ever waded a crossing before?  Nope.  Well, today is a good day to try it!

I told her my rules of thumb for wet (and cold) creek crossings: If I’m going to a campsite with additional days of hiking, I want to keep my boots dry, so I wade in my Crocs or at least just wear socks (with a spare dry pair in my pack). If I’m hiking back to my car in a few miles where dry shoes and socks are always waiting, it’s okay to wade in my boots. Even wet, my feet won’t be cold while hiking. That’s the part that surprises people until they experience it.

Sometimes you have an unexpected crossing that you must take, but today we had a choice to “practice.” Like the good sport she is with all things, Holly tried it – and her delight was contagious!  A new challenge met for New Year’s Day.

 

At the next intersection I realized again that I wasn’t where I intended to be, but more map study told us to turn left onto Raven Rock Trail leading to the River Trail and back to the parking area. Along Raven Rock Trail we passed a family enjoying a group horseback ride.  We would have missed them if we had been on our intended route. 

 

So we hiked a little less distance than we planned, but that’s better than a little longer.  To celebrate our map reading and creek conquering skills, we stopped at Redbone Willy’s Trading Company where they specialize in unusual homemade ice cream flavors. We had Skillet Cake with chunks of pineapple upside down cake and caramel. Jeez Louise!

"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone." ~Neale Donald Walsch

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.” ~ Neil Gaiman

Girl Scouts at South Mountains State Park

Girl Scout Dayhiking Group – 4/10/10 – South Mountains State Park – 7 Miles

South Mountains State Park is one of my favorite places to introduce to novice hikers. Only 1.5 hours from my home in Charlotte, it’s the closest “real” mountains for us flatlanders. It’s off the beaten path and a few miles of rural roads, but well worth the trip. And there are several places to gorge on ice cream at the end of a fun hike.

On this day our group consisted of six teenage girls and four adults, including me. The sky was a marvelous blue, no clouds, and the trees were just beginning to leaf out in pale spring green. After checking on everyone’s water supply and 10 essentials (not everybody is 100% with these yet but we are improving) we started out on the High Shoals Falls Loop. The water was robust after a wet winter and the cascades were gushing as we crossed the creek on bridges. The girls continually stopped to play on the boulders and we had to coax them to get back on the trail. Ultimately, though, they had the right idea to just stop and enjoy where they were at the moment rather than chasing a path through the woods…but this is a hiking group, after all.

High Shoals Falls

We continued climbing to the top of the falls and crossed the creek on another bridge. Here we took a snack break, adults on benches and girls down by the water’s edge. Then we completed the loop back, not the most scenic trail on earth, but we did scope out a few yellow and purple violets peeking out. Back on the main trail, we ate lunch at picnic tables.

Next we checked water levels and, as I suspected, some did not have enough, so the group had to backtrack to the bathrooms for water and a potty break. The girls are resistant to the idea of peeing outside, and in a state park on a Saturday I can see their concern for privacy. Note to Sharon: next time out I need to talk about this some more.

The girls were not enthusiastic about my planned second hike up to Chestnut Knob Overlook and during lunch had studied the map and made an alternate plan on an easy trail. They said they were “tired”, which I translated to be “bored”. I proposed that we go part way up Chestnut Knob and then reassess. The first section is .7 miles and extremely steep, so if they were tired then it would show.

Well, four girls sprinted ahead, leaving the four adults and two of the girls in the dust. The two left behind were understandably put out by this. When we all paused at the next intersection I explained that we should have a plan for splitting up so that everyone knows what to expect, that it’s not a good feeling to be left behind if you haven’t discussed a slower paced group and a faster paced group, that a hiker can go slower but can seldom go faster. Another note to Sharon: keep reiterating trail and group etiquette.

At the waterfall overlook we took another break and decided to split into two groups. Some of the jackrabbit girls and one adult opted for going back to the parking area and playing in the creek. One jackrabbit and the two slower girls (actually, slower is not the right word – they were more reasonably paced) and three adults opted to continue on to Chestnut Knob.

From this point the hike was not as strenuous and a well-paced walk. The overlook gave a stunning 270-degree view and we could see Crowders Mountain, where we had hiked the month before. Only one person was ahead of us and he left when we arrived, so we had the place to ourselves, a rarity. We stayed for over 30 minutes and explored the rocks, discovering little trails that I had never seen and climbing higher than I knew we could. The girls were very happy with their decision to continue on and felt a sense of accomplishment, and the adults were pretty happy, too.

 After a quick walk back down to the parking area, we found the picnic area buzzing with families picnicking and enjoying the park. It’s great to see people outside enjoying their public lands.

The “creek” girls were happy, having played in the water and napped on the rocks. One girl told me that she had never played in a creek like that before – now that’s what I’m talking about, giving girls and adults opportunities to explore the outdoors. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!  

Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best. ~ Henry Van Dyke

Excuse Me - Could You Tell Me If This Is Peak Leaf Season Yet?

South Mountain State Park – 9/27/09 - High Shoals Falls Loop and Chestnut Knob Trail to Overlook – 7.3 Miles

My good friend Nora, who has long been a flea market cohort and is fast becoming a hiking buddy, joined me for a jaunt to South Mountain State Park, another gem in North Carolina’s state park system located in the rural region south of Morganton, west of Lincolnton, north of Shelby – well, you get the picture. Our original plan was for Saturday, but a heavy rain convinced us to delay until Sunday. Jacob’s Fork River was still running high and we had blue skies to greet us.

A funny thing happened on the interstate – I got a call on my cell phone from a friend in the Carolina Berg Wanderers hiking group. Why was Ruth Ann calling me on a Sunday morning? Had I forgotten about some hike I had signed up for? Turns out Ruth Ann was driving right behind me… and she was headed for South Mountain! Thank goodness, too, because my memory of directions was sketchy. Ruth Ann and her friends led us all the way to the park entrance. She is a frequent visitor to South Mountain and her group was hiking a different loop than we were.

Nora is a novice hiker who spent time outside before entering the consuming world of parenting. She has lots of enthusiasm and a readiness to re-discover the outdoors, and I am finding an increasing delight in guiding people like her to our terrific NC resources. Maybe in addition to Girl Scouts, I can become a resource for women “of a certain age” who are looking for an introduction to outdoor exploration…

 But first, South Mountain State Park: the attractions here are many, with 20 (count ‘em) backpack camping sites in 6 areas of the park, a primitive family camping area (pit toilets, no electricity, first-come basis – Jim and I camped here with our kids about 12 years ago), group camping facilities (can be reserved) and equestrian camping (ditto). There are horse trails, of course, and mountain bike trails, and all trails are open to hikers – watch out! There are also picnic areas and shelters, free of charge. Less than two hours from Charlotte, I consider this about the closest we can get to the real mountains.

Nora and I visited the main attractions for hikers, first following the H.Q. Trail to the High Shoals Falls Loop, criss-crossing Jacob’s Fork River on bridges and climbing up wooden steps. Like Stone Mountain SP, there are lots of manmade structures to protect humans from themselves! Yellow and brown leaves were sticking to the big wet rocks, signaling fall has arrived here. High Shoals Falls was thundering today, the force of the water blowing our hair back, and the normally dry platform was slippery wet.

We continued to climb past the top of the falls and crossed the wide and calm Jacob’s Fork on a long bridge. Surprisingly, very few people were on the trail (I guess we were sinners skipping church to get here early). As we walked across the bridge, I told Nora about our family visit years ago. I remember that our son Brett was wearing his first backpack, getting in shape for backpacking since he had advanced in the ranks to Boy Scouts. I also remember that our youngest daughter, Laura, was wearing denim overall shorts and she fell into the water – yes, we let the child play in the calm water at the top of the waterfall. Many lessons learned since then…

 Nora and I followed the Falls Loop Trail back to the main trail and stopped creekside for a little snack, then headed for another park highlight – Chestnut Knob Overlook. The Chestnut Knob Trail is 2 miles one-way and fairly steep, so a little bit of a cardio workout. Summer flowers were fading but the fungi and lichen were interesting – in fact, Nora was “likin’ the lichen.” Some interesting finds:

Moss, lichen and fungi - oh my!

Ruffles

Cool fungi and leaf arrangement on the end of a log

Fall colors - is it the peak yet? Nora and I enjoyed belly laughs over people who want to know when peak leaf season is. "Excuse me, sir, is this a peak leaf? If it is, it's beautiful - if not, it's just so-so." BTW, This is a sassafras tree.

Chestnut Knob is a rock outcropping with a wide view out to the Kings Mountain range. We took our front row seats for this peaceful scene, enjoying the rest and another little snack. We heard voices approaching..and here came Ruth Ann and friends. Soon a lone hiker joined us, and as he scanned the horizon he said, “Well, I see the Charlotte skyline.” Sure enough, when I put on my glasses and held my tongue just right, there was the faint outline of Charlotte rising from the horizon just like the Emerald City! (Look about a quarter of the way in from the left side of the photo. See it??)

The descent back to the parking area was quick – along the way we saw these unusual purple leaves. We also saw lots more people, as church had finally let out.

On our drive home we stopped at Red Bone Willy’s, a local country store in Lawndale that sells bits of nostalgia, old-fashioned candies, Grape Nehi’s, moon pies and homemade ice cream. Nora and I got the last bit of pumpkin-apple-vanilla yumminess before who walks in? Ruth Ann & Company once again! A delicious ending to a delightful day!

In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous. ~Aristotle