Our second and final day at Hillsborough, we returned
to the Occoneechee Mountain natural area where we had
hiked the 2 mile loop trail last year. This time we hiked
up the Chestnut Oak Trail connecting to the Overlook Trail.
It was a great choice for a clear, cool fall walk.
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| On the whole, not a lot of leaves have turned at this point. But here are a few early birds. |
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| The chestnut oak is one of my favorites. It is also prolific at Morrow Mountain State Park, but not seen in the Sandhills. |
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| Here's where the trail turned upward, but only moderately. |
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| No, I can't identify this fungus. But it sure stood out. |
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| This mountainside is home to many amazing rock formations. |
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| Many unusual trees abound, too. |
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| Does this look like a black bear climbing a tree to you? |
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| It makes an otherwise ordinary tree stick out in a crowd. |
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| A patch of Cranefly Orchid, one of my favorite wildflowers. |
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| But my number one favorite must be Pipsissewa, my original Camp Cherokee Indian name. |
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| On our Farm Life Nature Trail, we have Jack, Will, and Tom, three trees that grow from a common trunk. How about if we name these "Larry, Moe, Curly Joe, and Shemp"? |
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| More gorgeous leaves as we ascended toward the summit. |
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| This is a caution for Liz Taylor and any other adventurous friends who may take the trail to the overlook some day. |
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| A view straight down, to what was once a quarry. The mountainside is dangerously unstable; hence, no rock climbing. |
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| A view worth climbing for! That's Hillsborough in the distance. |
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| The mountain is not so high, really, but is the highest point in Orange County. What a view, and what a beautiful day for it! |
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| In the very center, you can see the blue of the Eno River. A little misleading, because the water was assuredly brown, but the blue is the reflection of the sky. |
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| Same view, but looking through the branches of a Virginia Pine. This is common only in the mountains and in the northern piedmont of North Carolina. It is rare south of Durham and Orange Counties. |
Near the parking area, we saw this display for Kids in Parks,
a really nice educational program for children. Here's a link
to help you utilize this fine resource. Particularly good for
home school activities, I think, and it's a national program,
so check out other locations that may be near you.
Occoneechee Mountain is a good local substitute when you
can't get away to the Blue Ridge. We loved our visit.
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