On the Road with Ken and Judy: Hanging Rock State Park

Last Friday Judy and I headed off on one of our famous 36 hour excursions.  I can't call this one a gypsy trip because we knew our destination before we left home.  It had been about 20 years since our last visit to Hanging Rock State Park and we were ready for some hiking and scenic viewing.  Established in 1936, the park is celebrating its 75th year.  Just 30 minutes out of Winston-Salem, it is a great getaway, like most of North Carolina's parks.

Judy had packed us a PBJ picnic with lots of "extras."  We picnicked in a shady area just beyond the new visitors center, which had been constructed since our last visit.  From this nearby observation deck, you can get just a glimpse of the famed Hanging Rock, far above us (and partially obscured by us).

Along the 1.3 trail to the summit we would see many fascinating sights.  Some will appear in today's blog; others will be shown in two additional posts to follow.  Here is a tree that reminded me (some of you) of Jack, Will, and Tom on the Farm Life Nature Trail.  This one would need a couple of additional names.  Maybe Marcel and Clovis (after Jerry Clower's Ledbetter friends).

We had been trudging for a long time when we came to this stairway of timbers.  More than 100-- Judy counted.  We thought we were surely near the top, but the trail only got harder.  It had been designated moderate difficulty (some other park trails were strenuous), but Judy and I wondered if someone had miscalculated.  We would certainly not recommend it to anyone not in fairly good shape with lots of stamina.

We still had a long way to go when we got this great view of our goal.

As you can see, the Hanging Rock is not just one rock, but an array of jagged, projecting rock formations.

Part of our trek would lead us under this colorful rocky ledge.

One of my other posts will feature plants, animals, and oddities we observed, but I simply must show you a sample of the beautiful and abundant rhododendron, which was at its spectacular peak.

This was the view we had climbed for and we were not disappointed.  You'll notice we are much higher than the surrounding area.  Hanging Rock is not part of the Blue Ridge Mountains which are just a few dozen miles away.  Along with the better-known Pilot Mountain, it is part of the ancient Sauratown Mountains, named after the Saura Indians who once dwelt here.

And yes, those are people out on that precipice.  I went nowhere near there and neither did Judy.

Here is the marker embedded in the stone by researchers with the North Carolina Geodetic Survey in 1973.  Note that they call it Hanging Bluff.

Some people say "You've seen one view, you've seen 'em all."  I respectfully disagree.  In fact, I've seen no two alike.

We noted the widely varying shades of green, partly due to the variety of species, and partly due to the interplay of clouds and sun over the ridges and valleys.

Even with a healthy fear of heights (especially those with steep drop-offs), these are some of my favorite mountain views.

Just to prove I didn't get all these cool photos off the internet, I set the self-timer for one shot of us two ridge ramblers before we began the downward journey.  What a beautiful day, pleasant and cool.  By the time we had returned to the welcome center we had hiked 2.6 miles (moderate, not strenuous, they say).  We had much more hiking ahead for this day, so the air conditioning of the center was welcome indeed.

In the next blog I'll share what we learned of places like the Rock Garden, the Upper Cascades, and Tory's Den Cave and Waterfall.