Crowders Mountain Ridgeline Hike

For President's Day, I took Amaroq for a day hike at Crowders Mountain State Park.  We parked at the Boulders Access Area and took the short spur trail past the picnic area.

In about a quarter-mile, we turned right on Ridgeline Trail and soon came to the first road crossing.

Past here, a short spur led out to the Boulders Overlook.  I didn't climb with the dog but we walked around and got come pictures.

Continuing on, the trail followed the ridgeline with lots of ups and downs but nothing too steep.  In a couple miles, we crossed NC-161 and then Pinnacle Road after that.  It was a pretty steady climb from that point up to the Pinnacle, the highest point in the park.

This area was pretty crowded though we hadn't really seen anyone else on the hike up.  We took a break up here and enjoyed the views then started making our way back.  Back at the start, we continued on Ridgeline Trail to the South Carolina state line as it was less than a mile.

There was a clearing here to denote the boundary and the trail continued into Kings Mountain State Park.  We took a short break and then headed back.

Late Fall Hike at Medoc Mountain

Saturday, I headed east for a couple of hikes in Halifax County.  I left early and first stopped at Brinkleyville Game Land.

The gates were opened and I hiked down some of the open and gated roads.

It was a pretty but cold morning and I went a couple miles before turning back.

By this time, the park was open and I headed to Medoc Mountain State Park.  The day-use area was closed so I parked at the visitor center and hiked the bike trails to Little Fishing Creek.

I took the trails close to the creek, passing the closed area and when the trail approached Medoc Mountain Road, I crossed to head to the equestrian section of the park.  Hiking down the Main Trail, I turned on Pine Connector Trail.

This trail connected with Pine Loop and several other trails to make a couple loop hikes around the area.

Finishing up the bridle trails, I re-crossed the road and finished up the hiking trails to head back to the start.

On the way home, I stopped for a beer at Tar Banks Brewing in Louisburg.

South Mountains Hike

Sunday, we checked out of the hotel and headed to South Mountains State Park to take Harper for another waterfall hike.  After getting our stuff together, we hiked down Hemlock Nature Trail and then took Big Bear Trail.  It ended a short ways at the base of Big Bear Falls on Shinny Creek.

We stopped to get some pictures but soon more people started showing up.

So we hiked back down and took High Shoals Falls Trail up.  The many steps were tough carrying Harper in a backpack but soon I made it to the viewing deck for High Shoals Falls.

The water made a cool breeze that felt really nice.

The trail is closed above the waterfall, so we headed back down and made a stop at a scenic spot along the creek.

Back at the parking lot, I took River Trail to Raven Rock Trail and headed up.  It was quite steep with the humidity.  There was one spot with a nice view.

I went as far as the intersection with Upper Falls Trail and headed back.  I was surprised to see other people making the steep climb up.

As we were leaving the park, we saw several emergency vehicles entering, but I'm not sure what happened.  We drove back as far as Mebane and stopped for dinner at Bright Penny.

Cliffs of the Neuse on National Trails Day

Saturday, for National Trails Day, we took Harper for a hike to Cliffs of the Neuse State Park near Goldsboro.

Arriving around 830, we parked at the visitor center and set off on the Lake Trail.

Here, we took Galax Trail and Bird Trail and went out to the river.

350 Yard Trail climbed up to the overlook and other parking.

There was a nice view of Neuse River from here.

We then took Spanish Moss Trail and Longleaf Trail to finish up the loop.

A toad was hopping just off the trail.

And we saw a variegated fritillary along the gravel road.

Finish up our hike, we were getting hungry so stopped at Wilber's BBQ in Goldsboro for lunch.  Before leaving the area, we made another stop at Old Waynesborough Park for a short hike around the park before heading home.

We saw some interesting wildlife on our hike.

There was a clearwing hummingbird moth on the verbena.

I also spotted a couple beautiful passionflowers.

There was a little passionflower flea beetle on one of them. 

Most of the wildflowers were blooming in the open areas as the canopy had grown in.

After finishing our hike, we made the drive back to Raleigh.

Early Wildflowers at Carvers Creek

Sunday, we took Alex and Harper for a wildflower hike in the Sandhills.  We headed towards Fayetteville to the Sandhills Access for Carvers Creek State Park.  After getting our stuff together, we set out on Longleaf Pine Trail, the main trail on this side of the park.

Alex enjoys the soft, sandy trails on his paws.  In about a mile, we took the short spur out to Little Pond, an old farm pond.

Back on the main trail, we continued another mile to Fox Squirrel Loop Trail and then continued on Longleaf Pine out towards the end.

As the sun got higher in the sky and the temperatures warmed up, we started seeing more wildflowers popping up.

It was a little early, but the irises were starting to shoot up from the forest floor.

There were a couple big patches of pyxie-moss with its tiny flowers along the trail.

And lots of lots of birdsfoot violets.

It was about lunch time when we got back to the car.

Driving out, we stopped for a recreational survey from some NC State Students then went to get some lunch at Phoenix Bar and Grill.  It was in a country club but open to the public and had pretty good food and drinks.

Rendezvous Mountain

Monday morning, we checked out and headed towards Wilkesboro and drove up to Rendezvous Mountain State Park.

Formerly an educational state forest, it was changed to a park in 2022.  After parking, we took Amadahy Waterfalls Trail that descended steeply for about a mile to Purlear Creek.  As the trail started following the creek upstream, we could see Amadahy Falls.

It was a steep bushwhack down the base of the waterfall.

I wasn't expecting much, but was impressed by how nice this one is. 

From here, the trail continued following the creek upstream for a while and then got steep as it headed up to the gravel road.  We followed the road back around to finish up the loop.

We then drove back down the mountain and had lunch at Dooleys in Wilkesboro before heading home.

Winter Beach Day

Friday, we took Alex and Harper to Wilmington for a winter beach day.  It would be Harper's very first trip to the beach.  We drove through Wilmington and stopped at Fort Fisher State Recreation Area.  We first hiked along the Basin Trail to the WWII bunker and overlook at Zeke's Island.  Then we hiked back and headed out to the beach.  There was almost no one here and we had the beach nearly to ourselves.  We first took Harper down to the water to look at the waves then set up a blanket and she took a little nap.  I walked around and got some bird photos, though there weren't a huge number here today.

There were a few terns and sandpipers right along the water's edge.

A couple flocks of pelicans flew overhead.

I also saw a couple cute willets pecking around in the surf.

After Harper's nap, we took her down to the waves one more time to see the ocean.

We were getting hungry at this point, so stopped for lunch at Jack Mackerels in Kure Beach.  Heading home, we made a stop at Smith Creek Park near where I-40 starts.

A 1.3-mile paved trail makes a loop around the small lake.

We had a nice hike around the lake and then made the drive home.