Judy and I were delighted recently to read of a new natural
area within 90 minutes of home. It's not a state park, but Alamance
County leaders deserve praise for their ambitious vision of what
can be done on this beautiful and unique tract of 1,000 acres near
Snow Camp, NC. Most Moore County residents can reach it by
way of Siler City.
As a new facility, we saw it in its initial stages. A 2.5 mile trail
with a shorter 1.0 mile option are the main choices now. But more
trails are planned, as well as an observation tower, which should
be a major draw. On a weekday, we saw only a small number of
hikers, several of whom had read about the site in the Raleigh
News & Observer, as we had.
Join me for a mini-tour.
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| Here's the informational welcome board. Back in 1937 these lands were home to Pioneer Camp, a popular camp for area children in bygone days. |
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| The map shows not only the layout of the current trails, but the comparative altitudes. The highest point is 987 feet, the greatest in our state east of Greensboro. |
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| The park has two picnic tables (and a primitive but well-maintained restroom). We had the requisite lunch of PBJ, fruit, almonds, and more to energize us for a challenging hike. |
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| With spring foliage not yet appearing, we could see great distances wherever we went. The terrain was rolling with moderate difficulty level, but no problem. |
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| At the lower levels we would cross a number of foot bridges to navigate a small creek and later Buggy Shop Branch, a larger free-flowing stream. |
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| This sprouting acorn is a sign of approaching spring. |
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| Judy demonstrates the size of this boulder. This mountain is known as a monadnock: extruded during ancient volcanic periods with softer soils now eroded away. The mountainsides were strewn with boulders large and small. |
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| Rocks too large to throw are still nice to lean on. |
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| I was happy to see one of my favorite wildflowers: Wild Ginger. It was everywhere. |
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| What do you see in this picture? I saw a fierce face warning "Go back!" But we didn't. |
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| The boulders are not just on the surface. This partially uprooted tree reveals small boulders underneath. Such is the composition of this region of Alamance County. |
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| Rocks and trees can peacefully coexist, though the trees have to be pretty creative to survive. |
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| Right in the middle of that boulder was the largest and healthiest patch of Wild Ginger I've ever seen or hope to see. Amazing how it thrives here! |
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| You may see a red trail marker on a small tree. They have an ingenious system with numbered tags every tenth of a mile throughout the trail. In case of emergency, you can tell rescuers your precise location. I wonder if there's cell phone reception . . . |
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| This seems to be near the peak, though it was a very gradual slope. We wondered if this would be the site of the future observation tower, or some other spot we haven't seen yet. |
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| This is apparently the stone where the locals sacrifice the occasional interloper from the Sandhills and other areas. |
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| We could see a long way. We just didn't know what we were seeing. I can imagine this hardwood forest when all the leaves emerge. We want to see it at different seaons. |
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| This was a little further along, but seemed about the same altitude. |
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| Here's another tree that does a pretty good job as "Watchman." Don't want to mess with him. |
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| You'll have to look closely, but this picture has about four examples of another of my favorite plants: Cranefly Orchid. A couple of the leaves are green (the topside) and a could are purple (the underside). They always have just a single leaf and are on a "backwards" schedule, appearing during the winter and dying down in the spring and summer. |
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| This is a specimen of River Birch, a tree which was prevalent in the lower elevations, but some grew even near the peak of our climb. Carrying its leaves through the entire winter makes it easy to identify. I read of some interesting uses by Native Americans and pioneers. |
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| This is Trout Lily, a dainty wildflower Judy and I had also encountered at Occoneechee Mountain at Hillsborough, which is another monadnock (coincidence?). On the eastern side of the mountain these beautiful flowers were abundant and evenly spaced. More flowers will come later in the spring, but can they be more lovely than these? |
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| With many fallen trees (natural causes, mostly), volunteers find creative expressions that are welcomed by leg-weary hikers. Who can resist? |
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| On our downward trek, our path began to follow Buggy Shop Branch, which due to recent rains was loud and bubbly. The trail designers wisely routed our path to follow the branch a good distance, then cross and follow the other side. |
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| The water certainly appeared clean (I didn't taste it-- I know better!) And it WAS cold-- as Judy can testify! |
Here's a relaxing 13 second video of the rippling waters
of Buggy Shop Brance.
We're nearing the end now, but we're not out of oddities.
Does anyone else see a swan here?
A closeup looks more like Donald Duck to me.
We're back in the lowlands now, and as we approach
the parking area we go through the largest and healthiest
patch of broomstraw either Judy or I had ever seen.
That wasn't the only familiar plant we saw.
Anyone recognize this longleaf pine? And we thought
they were only for the Sandhills. This area has been
replanted with them, at least the low elevations. These
hardy pines coexist well with hardwoods if they have
proper soil. And the Cane Creek Mountains are part
of the Carolina Blue Slate belt that goes through large
areas of Moore County. After all, it's less than 50 miles
from parts of our county, so it shouldn't be a surprise
to show some kinship.
Judy and I were so excited to be early visitors to this
new attraction. We're even more excited about the vast
possibilities this natural area holds. Yes, we'll want to
share it with the grandkids-- but I think we'll wait for
that observation tower. But if you want a nice medium
difficulty hike at a new venue, there's no need to wait!
We're glad we took the plunge!
