Wildflowers in Cary

Sunday, we took Alex to go on some short wildflower hikes near Cary.  Our first stop was at Crowder District Park off Ten-Ten Road.  After parking, we hiked the Outer Loop around the perimeter of the park.  Near the pond, some cherry trees were blooming.

Taking the Inner Loop around the pond led to the boardwalk and nice views of Crowder Pond.

The pollen was starting to fall and it was all over the pond and paved trail.

Back around the pond, we took the unpaved Coopers Hawk Trail and connected back with the Outer Loop to finish up.

Next, we made the short drive to Swift Creek Bluffs Nature Preserve.  This would be the sixth and final hike for Alex to complete the #hikeTLC challenge.

Right away, we saw a lot of spring beauty blooming and a couple wild geranium.

Hiking along the creek, there were a lot of wildflowers blooming though the water level was low.

We walked along the creek and then took the Stairway to Heaven up to the top of the bluffs.

There were some bloodroot blooming up here.

We also saw a little snail.

Back down the stairs, we started heading back to the car.  But the going was slow as there were lots of wildflowers along the Swift Creek floodplain.

The spring beauty were blanketing the forest floor in white.

A couple of trout litlies were blooming.

And Sandy spotted a single atamasco lily before we finished.

In another week or so, there will probably be a lot more.

From here, there was one more stop at Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve.  We first hiked the down the East Bluffs.  The steep north-facing bluffs support a population of Eastern hemlock, normally found further west in the mountains.

At the base, we took the Swift Creek Trail around and saw more wildflowers blooming along the boardwalks.  Then we hiked the west loop and took a break at the West Hemlock Bluffs Overlook.  A little Carolina anole was on a tree here.

We continued on the Chestnut Oak Loop Trail and made another stop at Chestnut Oak Overlook.

After finishing, we hiked down the Kildaire Farm Street-Side Trail to Swift Creek Greenway, part of the Carys Greenway system.  The trail followed the other side of Swift Creek and there were more wildflowers blooming here.

At Regency Parkway, the trail crosses Swift Creek on the sidewalk.

There were some eastern redbud blooming along the creek.

We turned around here and started making our way back.  At one point, we saw a water snake just off the trail.

Back at Kildaire Farm Road, we returned to Hemlock Bluffs and headed home.

Haw River Trail

Sunday, I headed to Burlington to hike a section of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail following the Haw River Trail.  I parked at the Indian Valley Drive Paddle Access, the northern terminus of the trail.  The trail followed the river closely then led along Whispering Wind Road and then around the perimeter of a golf course.  After this, it came to Great Bend Park.

The river was really scenic.  Further into the park was the Glencoe Mill Dam, a beautiful old dam just upstream of Glencoe.

I walked the short Island Trail out to the end and then left the park.  From here, the trail led through Glencoe and then back along the river.  Some pretty bloodroot was blooming along the trail.

Past here, the trail crossed two streets and then along the shore of Stoney Creek Reservoir.

After the marina, I followed streets to a bridge over the river just down from another dam.

I got off the road one last time to head into the woods towards the Haw.

The next couple miles were more rural, staying close to the river and away from roads.  After going 6 miles or so, I turned around and headed back.

Pilot Creek Hike

Saturday, we took Alex to get another stamp in his passport at Pilot Mountain State Park.  Since the last time we visited, another trail has opened.  We parked at the Pilot Creek Access off Boyd Nelson Road.  The Pilot Creek Trail leads three miles to the park's campground through the northwest corner of the park.  Right at the start, there were a number of daffodils blooming in an open area.

The trail crossed several little tributaries of Pilot Creek on its way to the main part of the park.

An old dilapidated cabin was just off the trail about half way.

Near the end, we saw the wheels of an old carriage of some sorts.

When we reached Grindstone Trail, I went left and ran to the visitor center to get Alex's passport stamped.

I caught up near the cliffs for rock climbing.  We stopped here for a snack break and to enjoy the lovely views.

After our snack, we continued to the top to the Little Pinnacle Overlook.  Beautiful views of Pilot Mountain and the Saurotown Mountains in the distance.

A couple more overlooks provided views of Pilot Mountain from different perspectives.

Then we made the hike back down the mountain.  It was all downhill from here.  We spotted some trout lilies along the creek.

Finishing back at the car, we headed for home, stopping for barbeque on the way.