Sicily Island Hills Waterfalls

For the first week of March, I headed to the Gulf Coast region.  Sounds a bit crazy, but I was going there to find some waterfalls!  I flew out of RDU on Saturday to New Orleans.  After getting my rental car, I drove north to Natchez, Mississippi and stayed at the Hampton Inn.  Sunday morning, I headed back into Louisiana to JC Sonny Gilbert Wildlife Management Area.  Formerly known as Sicily Island Hills WMA, this unique area is an oasis of hills in a desert of flat.  I took US-425 across the river and into Louisiana to Sicily Island and then followed LA-8 past Leland.  The terrain along the drive could not have been flatter and it seemed remarkable that I would soon be hiking steep hills to waterfalls.  The turn was hard to spot and I initially passed it and had to make a U-turn.  Fortunately, there's not much traffic around here.  On the second pass, I spotted the sign and turned onto a gravel road.  Immediately, there was a fork and I went left where right went to a flea market.  The road was quite steep but easy to drive.  I stopped at the check station to fill out a self-clearing permit and went about another mile to the Rock Falls Trailhead.  A kiosk and shelter make the trailhead easy to spot.  From here, I started hiking the red-blazed trail.  It headed steeply down to the rim of a small ravine and soon I could hear the waterfall and spotted it from the trail.  I scrambled down into the ravine to get some pictures of this small but scenic waterfall.

At 17 feet, it's the highest in Louisiana.

The watershed for this little tributary is very small and I imagine it completely dries up at times.

But it was flowing pretty good today and I knocked another state off the 50 States Waterfall Challenge.

I finished up the surprisingly steep trail back at the road and headed back to the car.  From here, I backtracked to LA-8 and turned left on LA-913 and then again on LA-915.  The turn for the northern entrance was easier to spot and I headed back into the WMA.  In about 2 miles was the trailhead for St. Mary's Falls.  This green-blazed trail is another loop of about a mile.  Almost immediately, there was a split and I went right.  The trail headed steeply down and came to another small ravine with two tributaries.

St. Mary's Falls was visible directly across, so I climbed down to get some shots.

St. Mary's Falls drops about 10 feet and there was a small grotto behind the falls.

I climbed around to get behind the waterfall.

After a couple pictures, I noticed the other tributary that flows into Sandy Bayou also has a small unnamed waterfall just upstream.

It's about a 5-foot cascade over a rock face and had a big pool in front of it.  Continuing on the trail, it followed Sandy Bayou downstream.  Despite the name, the creek was very rocky with some nice cascades and didn't seem like a "bayou" to me.

Then the trail departs the creek and heads back up to finish the loop.  Although well-blazed, there wasn't much of a trail and it was more like a bushwhack.  Back at the car, I drove about another half-mile down the road to the trailhead for Big Creek Trail.  This is the longest hiking trail in the WMA - a 7 mile loop.  The trail split shortly and I went to the left.  For less than a mile, the trail follows an old road then heads into the woods.  The remainder of the trail, if you can call it that, was mostly a bushwhack, but with plentiful blazes, it was easy to follow.

But it was quite steep in places, really surprising for Louisiana.  Initially, it was a lot of downhill, but that means plenty of uphill at the end.  And there were numerous creek crossings, though most were very easy.  Being early March, the wildflowers were not at their peak, but I did see a lot of little violas.

I also saw some pretty yellow wildflowers, some type of ragwort, but I think it's still too early for them to really pop.  Eventually, I got to a swampy area at one of the main tributaries to Big Creek.

Following this downstream, the trail leveled off and soon I was following Big Creek.

There were a couple of really scenic cascades along Big Creek and I stopped at one for lunch.

The trail followed Big Creek for a couple of miles and then follows another major tributary of the creek upstream.  Heading downstream, the floodplain along big creek got more and more swampy.

At one point, the blazes were along submerged trees but I was able to bushwhack along the side and stay dry.

Then I came to a crossing of the tributary where there was no getting across dry.  So I took off my boots and started to wade, but realized it would be at least waist deep so turned back.  I was way over half-way through the loop and didn't want to turn around.  So I bushwhacked up a steep bluff and was able to get around the crossing - should have tried that first!  A little further was another real nice cascade along this tributary and I stopped for some pictures here.

Continuing to follow the tributary upstream, the little creek soon petered out and then trail then started to get really steep heading back up to the start.

Back at the car, I started making my way back towards Natchez.  It was still relatively early, so near Ferriday, I stopped at Bayou Cocodrie National Wildlife Refuge.  Being Sunday, the headquarters were closed, so I hiked the short trail to the Cypress Creek Boardwalk.  This trail was a lot flatter and more like I would expect in Louisiana.

The trail runs through an interesting forest of palmetto along the hike to the boardwalk.  The boardwalk leads out to a viewpoint of Bayou Cocodrie.

The observation deck itself was built around a huge cypress tree and it seemed like a good place to take a rest beneath this ancient giant.

After a couple pictures, I headed back.  I believe there are more trails in the refuge, but it's kind of confusing and the visitor center was closed, so I just headed back to Natchez.  Plus I was getting hungry so stopped for fast food in Vidalia.

After dropping my stuff back at the hotel, I took a walk through Natchez.  There are a number of beautiful old historic homes in town.

It was too late for a tour of Rosalie Mansion, so I followed the winding road down to the river then took Silver Street up.  I walked along the Nature Trail below the bluff down to the casino and then the Bluff Trail above to the Natchez Gazebo.

Heading back, I stopped at Under the Hill Saloon for a beer and sat outside to watch the sunset.

It was a really beautiful one over the river and the bridge.  After finishing my drink, I headed back to the hotel.

First Signs of Spring

Sunday was my last hike along the Mountains-to-Sea Trail in the Triangle.  We parked at the Pleasant Green access to Eno River State Park and hiked to Pump Station and back.  To mix things up a bit, we went right at the splits at Eno Quarry Trail, Cabe Lands Trail, and Pump Station Trail and then took Mountains-to-Sea Trail the whole way back.  Although it's still February, we saw some of the first signs of spring - trout lilies.

There were nice patches of them blooming all along the trail.

Another early spring flower was blooming as well - daffodils.  These ornamental flowers are not natural, but a patch of them indicates a former homestead.

The bulbs come back year after year for decades.  There was a nice patch of them next to an old tobacco barn.

Pat spotted two buildings that I had never noticed before.  The roofs on them appear new, so maybe something for park operations.

Our turnaround spot was the old Durham Pump Station, which had a huge number of trout lilies blooming.

We had a snack here, before heading back.  It rained just a little on the way back, not enough to get wet but kind of refreshing.

Goldsboro Hikes

Saturday, Sandy and I took Alex for a couple hikes out near Goldsboro.  Sandy had to work in the evening so we left early, arriving at Cliffs of the Neuse State Park around 830.  It rained a bit on the drive down and was raining lightly when we started hiking, but fizzled out after twenty minutes or so.  After getting our stuff together, we swung by the overlook of the Neuse River, way down below at the base of the cliffs 90 feet below.

With the rain and warmer temperatures, the river was really steamy.  We started hiking the 350 Yard Trail along the rim of the cliffs.  I found one spot to go out with a view of the cliffs themselves.

Other than that, I think the only way to actually see the cliffs is from a boat on the river.  The trail then headed down to river level and I went out to a fishing spot.

The rain had picked up a bit and I couldn't see much on the river.  This is the the point where Mill Creek and Still Creek flow into Neuse River and there was a Cypress swamp here.

Finishing up this trail, we turned left and took Bird Trail.  At the split, there was a scenic little cascade on Still Creek.

This trail makes a half-mile loop around the creek.  Next we hiked Galax Trail, another half-mile loop and passed another Cypress swamp.

After finishing up this loop, we tried to get on the Lake Trail.  The park map shows a connector between Galax and Lake Trails, but not sure if we actually found it.  It's a short ways and we just bushwhacked down to the lake spillway and picked up the Lake Trail along the shore.  I first crossed the spillway on stepping stones and got some pictures of the lake.

With some fog, it was really beautiful.  Then we headed the other way towards the visitor center.  I spotted some interesting orange mushrooms along the trail.

And for the first time today, we actually saw other people out on the trail as we approached the visitor center.  Next, we crossed the street and took Longleaf Trail to the end and turned right on the Sand Path to the Group Camping site.  Then we made a loop around Spanish Moss Trail.

It's a short loop but rather steep as it goes up a cliff and then loops back around along the floodplain.  I followed a path out to the river.  It was very muddy but the foggy views of the river were great.

There were more cypress trees here - they were such a contrast with the steep terrain just feet away.

I thought that this contrast really made Cliffs of the Neuse a unique and interesting state park.  We finished back up at the parking and I stopped for one more picture from the overlook as the fog had cleared a bit.

Then we took off.

On the way out, we stopped at the visitor center.  Alex has been having so much fun hiking at state parks, I picked him up a NC Passport!

Then we headed back towards Goldsboro and went to Old Waynesborough Park.  This used to be a state park, but is now managed by the Old Waynesborough Commission.  Waynesborough was the original Wayne County seat.  With the advent of railroad, Goldsboro grew and many homes and businesses relocated.  The last of Waynesborough was destroyed by Union troops during the civil war.  We parked at the trailhead parking and started out on the Orange/Yellow/Blue Trail, hiking through some fields to Cogdell Cemetery.

It's a really pretty old cemetery and the only thing remaining of the original Waynesborough.

Continuing on the trail, we went all the way out on the Orange Loop to an overlook at Little River near the confluence with Neuse River.

Looping back around, we followed along the river most of the way back.

We could see and definitely hear, people riding ATVs across the river.  We also passed by another small cypress swamp before getting back to the cemetery.

Without the steep cliffs, this one seemed a little more expected.  Then we went out to the floating dock with nice views of a bend in the Neuse River.

We finished up the Red Loop and then took the combined trail to the Historical Village to see some of the old buildings.  Right in the woods was an old hay barn.

Then the trail opened up a bit more and there were several more buildings.

They're not from the original Wayneborough, but from throughout Wayne County.

There were a couple of one-room schools, a law office, a general store, a doctor's office and several homes.

It was a cool little village to walk through.

After some pictures of the old buildings, we headed back to the car.

We stopped at Cook Out before leaving Goldsboro to get lunch and a hot dog for Alex and then made the drive home.

Frozen Falls Lake

Sunday, I was continuing my hikes along the Falls Lake Trail.  This week was Section 14 from Rolling View to Little Lick Creek.  It was very cold when we started just after 9 from the trailhead parking just before the entrance to Rolling View Recreation Area, part of Falls Lake State Recreation Area, on Baptist Road.  We followed the blue-blazed spur trail to the MST and then headed westbound.  With the leaves down, we soon had views of the lake from the trail and it was frozen.  After a mile or so, the trail passed next to a small beach on the lake so we headed down to check it out.  And sure enough, the lake was frozen, pretty much solid.

I wouldn't have walked on it, but it looked thoroughly frozen.  George tossed a rock out on the lake and it made a weird echoing sound.  Further along the trail, we passed by a pasture where some horses were grazing.

They were wearing jackets too!  This section of the trail ends at Little Lick Creek where a bridge crosses the creek.  Past the bridge, an elevated boardwalk crosses a normally wet area.

The water level at Falls Lake is so low, this is all dry ground.  We took a quick break and turned around here.  Across the bridge, I went out on the normally submerged area to get a couple pictures of the bridge.

Heading back a little ways, I took an old road down to lake level to get a couple more pictures of the frozen Falls Lake.

I've been hiking here for years and this is the first time I've ever seen it freeze like this.

Snow at Eno River

After the snow this week, most was gone near where I live in North Raleigh.  So on Saturday morning, I took Alex for a hike at Eno River State Park, hoping to see more snow.  We were not disappointed as there was a lot of snow on the trails and river.  We started at the Fews Ford section on Cox Mountain Trail, crossing Eno River on the suspension bridge.  At the split, we turned left to head up the mountain.

The trail has been rerouted in the last year or so.  Before, it was quite steep and headed straight up, but the slope had been reduced by adding switchbacks.  After passing near the summit, the trail heads back down and follows the river downstream.  Although not completely solid, the Eno was pretty well frozen.

I wouldn't have walked on it though.  We continued on the trail and at the next split, went left to follow Fanny's Ford Trail.  This trail passes the campsites and follows the river more closely.  We climbed out on the rocks at one spot to get some pictures of the rocks in the water.

Crossing back over the suspension bridge, we hiked north to Buckquarter Creek Trail and followed that loop.  On the way back, just before climbing some steps at the end of the loop, there was a cascade on the river.

It was flowing pretty well, but all covered in ice and just beautiful.  Almost back at the parking lot, we did a short loop around Eno Trace Trail to see the icy river one more time.

Alex really enjoyed getting to hike in the snow.

He's a husky, but living in North Carolina, he doesn't get to see snow much.