Spring Hike at Raven Rock

Saturday, we took Alex for a spring hike at Raven Rock State Park.  We were hoping to see some wildflowers but it was a little too early.  Parking at the visitor center, we started off on Campbell Creek Loop Trail and went right at the split.  The creek and river were up with the recent rains.

The trail follows the creek down to where it emptied into Cape Fear River.

Looping around, we spotted a snail on the trail.

A little further, we took the split and went down to Lanier Falls.  The water was way up and it was difficult to get out on the wet works, so I didn't go all the way down to the creek.

As the trail looped back around, it passes an unmarked tributary with a small cascade over a rocky ledge.  Normally, there's not much water, but it was looking nice today.

The loop finished up at the bridge and we followed the trail back to the parking area.  Next, we got on Raven Rock Loop Trail.  About a mile in, we stopped at the overlook.

Then we continued to the park's namesake and took the steps down to the base.

It was very scenic down here and we stopped for a snack.

Then we had to climb the stairs back up and finish the loop.

After finishing our hike, we went to Aviator in Fuquay-Varina and had lunch outside with Alex.

Hanging Rock Hike

Saturday, we took Alex for a day hike to Hanging Rock State Park.  Arriving before 8, we beat most of the crowds and hiked up Hanging Rock Trail.  There were only a couple other people here when we arrived and we could enjoy the views.

We had a light snack and enjoyed the views as more and more people showed up.

So we started making our way back down and turned on Wolf Rock Trail.  It was about another mile to the overlook.

There weren't many people here at all and I scrambled around on the rocks.

We finished up Wolf Rock Trail and took Lake Trail back to the Visitor Center.

We then picked up Indian Creek Trail to head down to the waterfalls.  We first came to Hidden Falls, but the lighting was poor.  

We waited for a cloud that never came and then headed to Window Falls.  The lighting was just as bad here.

Since the rocks were dry, I climbed up to see the upper section.

It is basically behind the window in the rock.

Then we headed back to the visitor center and hiked out to Upper Cascade Falls.

Despite the poor lighting, I also climbed down to Tise Falls.

After that we hiked back to the car.

On the way home, we stopped for a late lunch at Oden Brewery in Greensboro.  Alex made friends with a few dogs he met there.

Elkin Waterfalls

Last weekend, we headed to Elkin for a wedding.  We left Friday evening and stayed at the Hampton Inn in Jonesville/Elkin.  The wedding wasn't until the evening, so Saturday morning we headed to Carter Falls for some waterfalls before the wedding.  We started on Carter Falls Trail that descends towards the creek.  It had been rerouted since our last visit and made a wide switchback at the top of the falls.

It was a steep descent to the base of Carter Falls.

The water level was way up and the creek was brown with sediment.  It was rather stinky as well.

After some pictures, we climbed back up and took Powerhouse Trail to continue downstream.

There was a Lower Carter Falls a short ways downstream.

It's only about 8 feet high, but creek wide with a big boulder in the middle.

We then took Powerhouse Trail back to the trailhead.  The Mountains-to-Sea Trail continued from here past the campground and through a pine forest.  There was a footbridge over Grassy Creek.

The trail then ran through some fields and cow pastures.

The trail currently ends at Isaac's Trailhead, here we turned around.

It was still pretty early so we made another stop in Stone Mountain State Park at the Widow's Creek backback parking area.  We hiked Widow's Creek Trail up to the campsites to see Upper Widow's Creek Falls.

The water level was up but the lighting was poor and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.  We had a snack here before making our way back.  There were some trout lilies along the creek.

Back at the trailhead, we made a quick stop at Widow's Creek Falls.

The lighting was just as bad.

After our hike, we went into Elkin and had lunch at Angry Troll before the wedding.