Stone Mountain State Park: New Year's Day Hike 2017

Stone Mountain State Park – New Year’s Day Hike – 1/1/17 - 9 Miles

I’ve blogged about Stone Mountain State Park several times, so I’ll keep this hike report simple.  The Carolina Berg Wanderers, my local Charlotte hiking club, spent a terrific day celebrating the start of a new year at one of my favorite North Carolina state parks.

Our route from the upper trailhead parking lot: Stone Mountain Loop, Wolf Rock Trail to Cedar Rock, Black Jack Trail, took a brief detour to the meadow to see the base of the rock face, then took another detour out-and-back to Middle Falls and Lower Falls, then completed the Stone Mountain Loop including Stone Mountain Falls.  All together, about 9 miles of chills and thrills to begin 2017!

These first photos are taken as we were walking on the top of Stone Mountain, looking over at Cedar Rock.  Halfway through our hike we looked from there back to here. Very cool, am I right?

 Our intrepid hike leader, Barbara

Wolf Rock moonscape 

Looking at Stone Mountain from Cedar Rock

View from the meadow at the base of Stone Mountain

On the stairs to the waterfall we met Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts, probably looking for a little peace and inspiration for the New Year

 

Stone Mountain Waterfall

First Day Hiking with my sweetie

 

 “We all get the exact same 365 days. The only difference is what we do with them.” ~Hillary DePiano

 

Know Where To Park In The Park

MST – Day 39 - 10/22/10 –Devil’s Garden Overlook to Stone Mountain State Park – 9.9 Miles

Last night Danny and I did the usual car shuffle, leaving her vehicle at the park office of Stone Mountain State Park. At the time we did not suspect that this simple decision would reverberate into the next day. We had a good meal and slept soundly at a little hotel in Sparta.

Devil’s Garden Overlook is significant to us because here the Mountains-to-Sea Trail leaves the Blue Ridge Parkway for good, dropping down into the Piedmont of North Carolina. We have already hiked the bumps of the Sauratown Mountains.
 
The sign that greets us seems old and no longer necessary (the trail to the right is very overgrown) but who’s going to go to the trouble to tear it down? This trail is the kind a completist loves, no great revelations along the way but it’s a trail section on the list and our job is to hike it. The descent is five miles of creaking knees on old and steep forest roads.

One point of interest was this dilapidated house. We walked all around it, taking photos from all sides. How many more years before the forest obscures it and hikers pass by unaware?

Another colorful day for us

Stone Mountain State Park is a great place to visit any time of year

At the bottom of the descent we passed through a parking area and began walking the paved road through Stone Mountain State Park. Danny and I both have been here multiple times. I brought my book club friends here for a frosty hike in January 2010.

After a couple of miles we turned onto the Stone Mountain Loop Trail that passes by the Hutchinson Homestead and along the base of Stone Mountain.

We followed the trail past Stone Mountain Falls, picked up the paved road again and walked to the park office. I was happy to see Danny’s car, knowing we had successfully completed another three days of the trail. Then we saw the piece of paper on the windshield.

Read Danny’s story of the day here and read about the paper on the windshield here. Lots of food for thought.

Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely. ~Auguste Rodin

The Book Club Gals Strike...Er, Hike Again

Stone Mountain State Park – 1/2/10 – Stone Mtn Loop Trail/Wolf Rock Trail/Cedar Rock Trail/Stone Mtn Loop Trail – 4 Miles

No better way to start off the New Year than with a frosty hike! My book club pals (plus Ellen’s sis, Joan) were game for a trip to Stone Mountain State Park. After making sure that everyone had plenty of warm non-cotton clothing, we hopped in Joan’s van and headed north. We pretended not to be intimidated by the dropping temperature and smiled bravely as we pulled into the VC parking area – 22 degrees, not too windy, and blue skies! The Loop Trail was closed because of ice but they didn’t say nothin’ about Wolf Rock and Cedar Rock…so off we went.

 The steepness of Wolf Rock Trail can be daunting, but we needed the warmup and stopped a couple of times to shed layers. I told the group that I wanted them to be mad at me for being too warm, not for being too cold – I think it worked.

There was enough ice and snow on the trails to make us feel adventur- ous.

 An old rock wall on Wolf Rock Trail

I was rewarded with smiles and laughter at the top of Wolf Rock as all agreed the hard work was worth it. Nobody there but us book lovers and the grand view.

Joan, Kathy and Ellen and the tree that split Wolf Rock

Getting close to the edge yet?

Even the sunshine could not keep us warm for long, though, so we continued on our loop. My ears were covered with two layers and we were chattering away, when suddenly I felt rather than heard a noise, kind of a rumbling vibration. At the same time, the women in front of me all stopped, looking to the right with big eyes and open mouths. Can’t see anything…what did it sound like, ladies? They described a vocal animal sound, a large animal. Later Ellen found a website of animal sounds and sent out the one that most closely approximated it: a bear. How exciting! I had assured them that there were no bears in Stone Mountain State Park, especially not in winter. Ah well…

On Cedar Rock we paused again for photos with Stone Mountain as a backdrop, but again we could only swallow a few handfuls of gorp and keep moving. No leisurely lunch today! As long as we were moving we were warm and happy. We met other hikers down in the valley near the Hutchinson Homestead. After checking out the old buildings, we crossed the big bridge back to the Loop Trail.

Along this section is a large overhang with dangling icicles – a great photo op for Leida.

Back at the trailhead we congratulated ourselves on no falls and no injuries and then cranked up the heat in the car. We stopped at the little country store for hot chocolate, sitting around the table in mismatched wooden chairs talking about everything like women will do. As on our September outing, the sense of satisfaction and accomplishment was quite gratifying for everyone, including myself. Our hike was short on mileage but big on fellowship and I thoroughly enjoyed my day. Can’t wait to go out exploring with the book club ladies again!

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

Stone Mountain State Park

8/10/09 – Stone Mountain State Park – 9.5 Miles It’s been probably a dozen years since my family visited Stone Mountain State Park near Roaring Gap. A lot has changed since we followed the white dots up the granite dome face of this gem of North Carolina. Danny Bernstein's book "Hiking North Carolina's Blue Ridge Heritage" has an excellent overview and trail descriptions. Stone Mountain is a great day destination for everyone, with fantastic natural rock formations, lovely waterfalls and Hutchinson Homestead, a mid-19th century farm. So on a hot Monday morning I drove northwest of Charlotte to spend a day in the park. What’s new? Stairways and railings and cables galore. This is a much-loved park, as evidenced by the well-worn trails and multiple shortcuts. The stairways and railings are an attempt to funnel people going across the rock faces on the way to the summit, but there are still plenty of places to wander and possibly fall off the face of the earth. However, on this Monday I would have had no witnesses to my demise. I did a figure-eight hike of roughly ten miles starting from the lower trailhead parking lot and only saw a few other visitors, all near Stone Mountain Falls.

Views begin early on the trail to the summit

Cables seem like overkill here

Remember to look back over your shoulder as you go up!

Looking at Cedar Rock from Stone Mountain - later on I was over there looking back over here

Very impressive tree growing out of the rock

A busy bee on a summer day

Joe pye weed blooming on the slopes of Stone Mountain Falls

Looking up from the base of Stone Mountain Falls (or is this Stone Mountain slip-n-slide?)

After Stone Mountain Falls I made the side trip to Middle and Lower Falls. Middle Falls is kind of so-so, Lower Falls a little nicer destination, good for a snack and a rest. The highlight of this side hike, though, were several deer that watched me curiously as I passed them. I briefly stopped to take photos, but the gnats were merciless buzzing around my eyes and I had to keep moving to stay sane. Insects were annoying me all day long, but on this trail they were nearly unbearable. And shame on me, I think that's why I forgot to look around for the evidence of moonshining as described in Danny's book.

Full view of Stone Mountain from the valley floor

Nearly all the way around the Stone Mountain Loop Trail I passed the Hutchinson Homestead but I continued on to turn left onto the Wolf Rock Loop Trail. (This would take me to the Cedar Rock Trail and then back to the Stone Mountain Loop and back by the Hutchinson Homestead a second time.) Wolf Rock and Cedar Rock are also granite dome faces, in my opinion just as cool as the namesake rock. If you want to be by yourself and wave to the folks on Stone Mountain, go to Cedar Rock.

This mushroom looked like a pedestal cake stand

The cap was the size of a dinner plate

A long low rock wall near the top of Wolf Rock Trail - reminds me of the Smokies

On top of Wolf Rock -the world's strongest tree that split the rock in half!

Beautiful view from Wolf Rock

Looking at Stone Mountain from Cedar Rock On my family’s visit so long ago we somehow missed the Hutchinson Homestead, so today I explored a bit. The buildings are open on weekends during peak season and include a log cabin, barn, blacksmith shop, corncrib, meat house and original furnishings. Stone Mountain State Park has car camping facilities as well as group and backcountry camping, making it a great weekend base to explore. The Mountains-to-Sea Trail runs through it as well. Now that I have rediscovered it, I will return with some of my non-hiking friends (who are becoming hiking friends now!) to watch them gasp at the beauty of this place.

It was my good fortune that today they were paving the main road in the park, so I got to chat with the flag guy as I waited to get around the heavy equipment. He told me that he and his buddies frequently come to Stone Mountain to rock climb, but he's never really hiked the trails for the sake of hiking. To each his own...

If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive. ~Eleonora Duse