Hiking Trails Blogs

“What did you guys do for fun when you weren’t working?” I ask the guy.

“Any girls we could find!”

Hoots and giggles fill the Bathhouse at Hanging Rock State Park, where one Dr. Harley Jolley is just about done regaling us with tales of life in the Civilian Conservation Corps, which sent him to Yellowstone during the Great Depression and built the stone structure we’re sitting in for his presentation.

Hanging Rock has been there for a billion years, I suppose, but the park named in its honor is a more recent innovation, dating to 1936. A reunion and celebration of the park’s 75th birthday on Saturday spanned generations of people who built the park and readied it for recreation. Last year more than a half-million people came to Hanging Rock.

This morning I googled Dr. Jolley and found out he’s published a book on the CCC and appeared in a PBS “American Experience” episode devoted to the Civilian Conservation Corps. (Watch it here).

He’s quite a remarkable guy: Pearl Harbor survivor, retired professor of American history, authority on the Blue Ridge Parkway — and deft performer. He knew when to be funny, when to be poignant. He worked the room without a microphone, nobody had any trouble hearing.

Professor Holley, left, with a guy who was posted at Hanging Rock State Park with the Civilian Conservation Corps. Didn’t get his name.

I saw all this after I’d finished an excellent 5.5-mile hike to Moore’s Knob, where the view is always worth the climb if the weather cooperates. It was sunny and pleasant, ideal hiking weather, with splashes of fall color starting to light up the hills.

Here’s how you can tell you’re at a great park: Every time you think it’s as good as it can get, it gets better. I’d done the Moore’s Knob hike at least a half-dozen times, but this time I took a detour around the park lake for some views I’d never seen before.

Then I strolled through the campground, soaking up the aroma of all those open-fire breakfasts, found the trail and huffed to the top of the Knob, marveling at the contrast between the greens, reds and yellows.

Then I came back down, joined the Friends of Sauratown Mountains, and caught a history lesson from one of the people who lived through one of the most fascinating chapters in U.S. history.

That’s within a percentage point or two of perfect.

Let’s see some pictures:

You really get a feel for the fall-color transition here — still lots of green, but plenty more colors coming in.

Here’s a look at the Bathhouse from across Hanging Rock Lake. This is the first time I’ve seen it from this perspective.

These look like holly berries; can anybody help me out here?

If you take the path around the lake, take note: you’ll eventually come out on the park road, which leads to a left-turn on the campground road. You follow the road till it ends — look for the “Trail” signs, first on your right, and then across the road on the left.

This counterclockwise route is the shorter, faster and steeper way to Moore’s Knob. The trail markings intuitively guide hikers on a clockwise route with a more gradual ascent to the top. In theory this makes sense, especially for beginning hikers, but in reality I find it just drags out a long climb that I’d prefer to get out of the way ASAP.

On the other hand, it’s much harder to find your way on the counterclockwise route — it’s easy to miss the turn-off and confusing when you reach the campground. But if you’ve got your park map and feel adventurous, it’s worth checking out.

More pix:

Wanna know the definition of lucky? It’s being able to stand on a place like this, get all “been there done that” for about 60 second, then realize “wow, this really is worth the climb.”

The Sauratowns, a mountain range of our very own.

OK, this shot is better with people in it.

Now, back to the trail:

Color up close.

And from a distance. Standard advice for photography is there should be one object of focus in the image. Great thing about having your own blog: you can ignore standard advice when the urge hits.

OK, that’ll do it for this week.

Links for this hike:

• EveryTrail GPS tracks.
• My previous Hanging Rock hikes
• North Carolina State Parks page.
• “Civilian Conservation Corp” on The American Experience.
• “That Magnificent Army of Youth and Peace: The Civilian Conservation Corps in North Carolina, 1933-1942″

Google map

View 5-15-11 Hanging Rock State Park in a larger map

This’ll be a quick one — a jaunt up to Cook’s Wall at Hanging Rock State Park. While it’s under five miles, this is a pretty vigorous hike with lot of rocky trails and witness-the-earth’s-curvature views on a clear day. I did this hike on a cold, rainy day just after New Years and have wanted to check it out on a day with friendlier weather. Sunday was about as kindly as it gets around here.

The next few weeks will represent the last chances to see the hills around here before the leaves return — buds were very noticeable on the trees if the morning light hit ‘em just right.

I was hoping to stick to my goal of hiking someplace new every weekend but that’s turning into a major cash hog with gas prices climbing again. (Tell all your friends to send me writing, editing and blogging gigs so I can afford more ambitious hikes!)

Finding Cook’s Wall is a cinch–just follow the signs. I started out from the trail by the park lake and took the first left turn just a short way up the trail. The climb is a good workout; the trail up to House Rock Rock ends at the trail to Cook’s Wall, where it’s a right turn and quite a bit more ascent. Plenty of chances to rest and soak in the view along one of the rock overhangs.

Let’s see more pictures from this one:

You know how I am, with my weakness for trees growing out of solid rock.

Morning sun creates great shadow shots.

The trail to Cook’s Wall doesn’t see a lot of hikers, which makes it a nice get-away-from-it-all hike by Hanging Rock Standards. The park tends to get crowded on weekends, especially as the weather improves, but most people don’t venture out this far because it’s an out-and-back, rather than a loop.

More spring color (anybody know what kind of tree this is?)

Views of the Sauratown Range make this hike worthwhile.

Bonus shot of Moore’s Knob, one of the most popular climbing locales at Hanging Rock.

That’s gonna do it for this week; next week I’ve got something more ambitious in mind.

Links for this hike:

• EveryTrail GPS Tracks.
• EveryTrail Guide: Waterfalls of Hanging Rock.
• My previous Hanging Rock hikes.
• Hanging Rock page, North Carolina State Parks.
• Park map (PDF download).

Google map:

View 4-3-11 Hanging Rock- cook’s wall in a larger map

My New Year’s resolution is to hike a new trail every weekend. But coming up with a resolution was about as ambitious as I got Sunday morning, as I was satisfied with a jaunt to trusty ol’ Hanging Rock State Park, where I checked out the Cook’s Wall Trail for the first time.

I set out into a gray drizzle for the hour-long drive up to Hanging Rock, which had one consolation: ideal light for a side trip to shoot Lower Cascades Falls, the park’s best waterfall. That’s it pictured above. I had the rocky area across from the plunge basin all to myself so I had plenty of room to experiment. Get this: I’m still using the digital camera Fedak donated to the blog ages ago — dropped it right on the rocks again today and it’s still working; none of the cameras I paid for were ever this lucky.

The pic above left is Cascade Creek just down from the waterfall. I was tempted to hang around and soak up the scenery all day but I remembered I hadn’t posted a hike here in almost a month, so I set out in search of more serious trail (it’s only a half-mile down to the falls from the parking lot; nice walk but not a hike).

A week ago we had six inches of snow covering all these trails. It rained all day yesterday and by today our White Christmas was a soggy memory. Upside of the rain was the whole forest had a fresh-scrubbed gleam about it.

Here’s one example on the trail down to Lower Cascades Falls.

Even the last few leaves stubbornly hanging in there seemed to have more visual pop.

After my side trip to the falls I headed up to the main section of the park, picking up the Nature Trail near the old bathhouse at the lake. Just up the trail a sign points to a left turn for Cook’s Wall Trail, 2.2 miles distant. First you walk up to a ridge, then follow it for a mile an a half out to Cook’s Wall. For a loop, return on the Wolf Rock Trail to Hanging Rock Trail, hang a left head and back to the parking lot. From there, it’s pretty easy to navigate your way back to the second lot near the lake.

Pictures like this really benefit from using a high-quality camera. Here you can just barely notice the reflection of the countryside in the drop of water; imagine the clarity with a high-dollar Nikon.

The weather worsened continually after I took that shot. It wasn’t so bad on the climb up to the ridge, but the further down the trail I got, the windier and rainier things became. I walked right past Cook’s Wall and walked on till I ran out of trail near a bunch of big rocks and a tangle of wet trees.

Persistent drizzle and a howling wind made a mess of things but my rain gear kept me reasonably comfy. The occasional rainy hike is a nice departure, but I’d just as soon not develop a habit.

The rocks on the Cook’s Wall Trail are awesome. These are near the end of the trail.

Here’s a misty shot of the return hike. It’s striking how color persists in the so-called dead of winter around here.

Cook’s Wall is near here, I believe. I can’t say that I saw the actual wall (usually you just listen for the voices of the climbers calling back and forth up the cliff but none were out today).

One must stop along this hike is House Rock, an excellent series of snags looking out over everything nearby. This is Hanging Rock shot with my tripod on maximum zoom.

Wolf Rock is yet another way-cool formation. Frankly all the best rock outside of Hanging Rock itself is along this section of ridgeline. Most hikers prefer to trek up to the old fire tower at Moore’s Knob, but if you’re into geology (or just like to look at wacky rocks), this is the place to be.

Shiny wet tree on the Wolf Rock Trail.

Sun finally peaked out as I was finishing up. It lit the face of Hanging Rock quite nicely.

OK, that should do it for Hike 1 of 2011.

Links for this hike:

• EveryTrail GPS track.
• EveryTrail Guide: Waterfalls of Hanging Rock.
• My previous Hanging Rock hikes.
• Hanging Rock page, North Carolina State Parks.
• Park map (PDF download).

Google map:

View 01-02-11 Hanging Rock State Park in a larger map

One-word summary of this outing: Wet. Sweat on the way up, rain on the way down. I finished soaked from the top of my Trailspace cap to the soles of my shiny new New Balance trail runners. Yes, I took rain gear; no, it did not keep me dry.

Backstory on this one: Hanging Rock State Park is the best place to hike within 30 miles of my front door. I’d hiked almost all the trails except a stretch of Indian Creek Trail up to the Dan River in the far northern section of the park, where the Piedmont Hiking and Outing Club hiked a few weeks back. I got up Saturday morning in no mood for a long drive to the Blue Ridge, so I decided to follow in their footsteps, adding a quick jaunt up to Hanging Rock.

Hanging Rock has glorious views of the nearby terrain. The most sensible way to get there is to park at the visitor’s center and take the one-mile trail to the rock. It’s steep and rocky in the last quarter-mile; doable but not crazy-difficult. Getting there from Dan River via the Indian Creek Trail is another matter: five miles one way with nearly 1,400 feet of ascent, complicated by suffocating heat on the way up, the risk of a lightning strike at the top, and the likelihood of hiking back in a thunderstorm.

The hiking club had the right idea: Take Indian Creek Trail up to Window Falls and Hidden Falls, pause for lunch at the park lake and go back the way they came. I arrived sweat-drenched and foot-sore at the end of Indian Creek Trail, but it was only another mile to the vistas of Hanging Rock. How could I not go?

OK, let’s see the pictures:

Here’s the Dan River, practically begging you to launch a canoe full of beer.

How to find the trail: if you stand in the parking area with the river to your right, the trail will start at the edge of the timber over to your left.

Only notable wildflowers I saw on the entire hike. All the rhododendrons bloomed a few weeks back, apparently.

First thing you learn on the Indian Creek Trail: It’s very hard to keep your feet dry on the first couple crossings within the first half mile. This is fine on the way in: it helps keep your feet cool; bad news is you’ll probably come back to the car with wet feet.

After about a mile the trail opens to a broad overlook of the nearby terrain. Watch your step, those are real cliffs over there. Hiking is very pleasant: shady, with a mild upgrade. The trail tracks a ridge up above the creek, then returns to creek level after about another mile.

A tobacco barn about two miles up the trail. Not far from here, you cross the paved road going into the park and pick up the trail on the other side (look for the orange “cable warning” post over to your right).

The trail gets steeper and prettier on the other side of the road. Occasionally a bend in the trail will enter a very shady section where a breeze blowing over the water feels like somebody turned on the air conditioning.

The steepest parts of the trail are near the waterfalls. (Last seen in my post describing Hanging Rock’s waterfalls).

This is the stone window at Window Falls. Lots of fun scrambling here, just keep in mind your shoes will lose most of their traction if you get them wet.

Note when you get back on the trail after visiting the waterfalls: You’re coming up a steep hillside with very little breeze. Typically this a very manageable climb, but after almost four miles of high humidity and 90-degree temperatures, I was nearly tapped out.

After the waterfalls I paused for lunch in one of the large shelters along the trail, not far from the visitors center (fortunately nobody was using it at the time). This shelter has a water faucet and fountain, great places to refill water bottles.

From here it’s a short jaunt to the visitors center parking lot; Hanging Rock Trail is just down to the left. It starts out downhill, oddly enough, but soon starts climbing. Steepest part starts when you hit a series of wood stairs.

Couldn’t resist shooting this hole in a fallen tree limb.

At the top, finally. Views were awesome.

Those clouds were so pretty before they turned into a thunderstorm.

The rock up here is most excellent.

Within minutes of turning back, I noticed the wind pick up speed. By the time I passed under Hanging Rock on the way down, skies were already getting stormy.

I dashed back down Hanging Rock Trail as fast as I could manage. I must’ve passed a dozen people marching upward into the storm, oblivious to the First Commandment of Avoiding a Lightning Strike: Avoid high, exposed rock.

I turned back onto Indian Creek Trail just as it started sprinkling. I stopped at the shelter where I lunched earlier, refilled my hydration bladder and headed downhill. It rained for most of the last 3.5 miles of the hike. I put on my trusty rain poncho and immediately realized its limitations — it felt like a sauna under there.

Still, there is something magical about a forest in the rain. If the trees had faces, they’d be smiling. It was pure hiking bliss till I got to the overgrown parts of the trail, where wet vegetation drenched me from the knees down. The rest was a soggy slog back to the car.

Would I do this hike again? Probably, but not in summer if I can help it. Better attempted in the fall with the colors, or late winter before the trees fill in again.

If I’m feeling frisky, I might try to do it as an epic peak-bag: add the Wolf Rock and Moore’s Knob trails for a 16-miler that covers all the park’s high points.

Links for this hike:

• My previous Hanging Rock hikes
• EveryTrail GPS tracks
• Park map (PDF download)
• North Carolina State Parks page

Google map:

View 6-12-10-Indian Creek Trail, Hanging Rock in a larger map