Neuse River MST Hike

Saturday, we took Alex to get another hike for #mst40hikes, this one local in Raleigh along the Neuse River Trail.

We parked at the Buffaloe Road Canoe Launch and started hiking south along the trail.  Soon we passed by Buffaloe Road Athletic Park.

The trail then crossed over to the other side of the river.  Since Milburnie Dam was removed, the river has restored to its natural state and many of the artificial wetlands upstream of the dam have dried out and grown over.

After about 2 miles, we crossed back over to the other side on the largest pedestrian suspension bridge in North Carolina.

It was about another 2 miles to Milburnie Park, the terminus of this hike.  I went a little further to see what became of the dam.  There was an overlook to the rapids on the river, now called Milburnie Falls.

From here, we made the hike back to the car as it was getting quite warm.

Buffalo Mountain Wildflowers

Sunday morning, we checkout out of the hotel and headed to Buffalo Mountain Natural Area Preserve.  We started out on the Oak Trail that went through an area with a tremendous amount of wildflowers.

We also spotted a little snail along the trail.

There were a lot of trillium as well as rue anemone.

Wild geraniums were flowering in large patches.

It was a really scenic trail as the leaves hadn't popped out so we had nice views.

There was some Virginia saxifrage flowering along the trail.

At the top, we went left on Barrens Loop Trail to head to the summit.

Some birdsfoot violets were flowering up here.

The trail was roped off to keep visitors on the trail to avoid trampling sensitive vegetation.

The views from the summit, highest point in Floyd County, were beautiful.

From the top, it was a short scramble down to make the loop and then we headed back down the Ridge Trail, spotting more wildflowers along the way.

We spotted some mountain timbleweed.

And some star chickweed.

There were lots of trillium, but only the white and rose species, I didn't see any red trillium.

We saw bloodroot along the trail, but all were done flowering.  Near the end we finally spotted a flowering bloodroot.

Then we finished up the hike back at the car.

From here, we started making our way home along US-58.  We made a quick stop at Fred Clifton Park next to Lover's Leap.

There were two overlooks here with really nice views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and valleys.

Continuing east on US-58, we got off in Martinsville and parked at Gravely Nature Preserve.  We started off on Jones Cliff Trail and passed an old tobacco barn next to the parking lot.

As we headed into the woods, we started seeing a fair number of wildflowers.

Geraniums and may apples were flowing on the forest floor.

In about a quarter-mile, we got on Rhododendron Trail and started heading down towards the river.  There were even more wildflowers as we got closer to the river, but the trillium were done.

Along the river, we found a nice bench with a view to take a short break.  A water snake was enjoying the nice weather as well.

Continuing on the trail, there as a lot of rhododendron along the steep slopes, but it was too early for blooms.

There were a number of spots to go out and get a view of the river.

The trail then headed back up and ended near the parking area.  Finishing our hike, we next went to the Marrowbone Creek River Access just up the road.  It was a short walk to Eggleston Falls or Fishers Dam.

Although it's not a natural waterfall, it was rather scenic.

We got a few pictures and then headed back.

It was just 2 hours back to Raleigh from here.

Rock Castle Gorge & Mabry Mill

Saturday, we took Alex to Virginia for a weekend of hiking and wildflowers.  We left early and arrived at the lower trailhead for Rock Castle Gorge Trail in Rocky Knob Recreation Area.  With a light rain, it wasn't too crowded when we arrived just after 9.  Rocky Castle Gorge Trail is a loop, but we were only hiking the part where we expected to see the most wildflowers along the fire road.  Near the start, we saw a little red eft newt along the trail.

There were a lot of striped cream violets along this lower part of the trail.

There were a lot of irises, but most were well past peak.  We did spot a a few jack in the pulpits.

The may apples were flowering as well.

After a mile or so, we crossed Rock Castle Creek on a footbridge and then passed by the Austin House.  There were two more creek crossings and then we stayed on river right side for the rest of the road.  In about 2.5 miles, the trail crossed a tributary at Rock Castle Cascades.

Even in fairly high water, the stream was too small to make much of a waterfall.  It's pretty high but the upper section is very overgrown.

Near the waterfall, some blue violets were flowering.

The trail split off from the fire road and crossed the creek one last time.  We hiked as far as Bare Rocks about a half-mile from the split.  Some beautiful showy orchis were flowering along this section.

This short section has some of the best wildflowers, with hillsides of trillium.

There were a lot of wild geranium blooming near Bare Rocks.

There were a few patches of fire pink.

But the trillium really steals the show!

On the hike back, we stopped some large-flowered bellwort.

The hike back was all downhill and went quickly.

From here, we took VA-8 up to the parkway and made a quick stop at Rock Castle Gorge Overlook.

Then we continued a few more miles to Mabry Mill.

The old mill was really beautiful in the spring.  We took turns checking out the inside as pets are not allowed in.

Then we toured around the grounds to see some of the other historical buildings and artifacts.

The lumber drying racks were used to dry wood produced in the mill.

The millraces that channel water to the mill and power the waterwheel snaked all throughout the property.

We really enjoyed our visit, despite the light rain.  In fact, the rain made it even more photogenic and kept the crowds away.

From here, we made our way to Floyd.

After checking in to the Pine Tavern Lodge, we went to Mickey G's Italian for dinner.  Back at the room, we watched a nice sunset from the back porch.