Ken Loyd's Eclectic Blog: A New N.C. Piedmont Destination: Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This sprouting acorn is a sign of approaching spring.

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.

Rocks too large to throw are still nice to lean on.

I was happy to see one of my favorite wildflowers:
Wild Ginger. It was everywhere.

What do you see in this picture? I saw a fierce
face warning "Go back!" But we didn't.

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.

Rocks and trees can peacefully coexist, though the
trees have to be pretty creative to survive.

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!

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 . . .

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.

This is apparently the stone where the locals sacrifice
the occasional interloper from the Sandhills and other areas.

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.

This was a little further along, but seemed about the
same altitude.

Here's another tree that does a pretty good job as
"Watchman." Don't want to mess with him.

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.

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.

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?

With many fallen trees (natural causes, mostly),
volunteers find creative expressions that are
welcomed by leg-weary hikers. Who can resist?

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.