Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge

Most people think of the Outer Banks as a vacation spot, so many may be surprised to learn portions of the OBX are national wildlife refuges. Currituck NWR is located at the tip of the barrier chain, and in the middle, between Oregon Inlet and Rodanthe, you'll find Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. This was our destination a few weeks ago, and you may wonder why given the cold snap North Carolina has been experiencing.

Because it's a great place to see wintering waterfowl!

After donning heavy coats, hats, and gloves, we grabbed our gear and set out on the three-hour drive. One travel option would have been the ferry from Swanquarter to Ocracoke (which would have allowed us to view even more waterfowl), but that particular route comes with a fee, so we traveled east on Highway 64. When we reached Hwy 12 on the OBX, like the birds we sought, we headed south.

From a past attempt to visit the refuge, I knew the visitor's center was located on the right side of the road, just a short distance south of the bridge spanning the Oregon Inlet. It was our first stop, and proved to be our best, for inside we met the Moores, who serve as volunteers for Pea Island. When we walked through the door, they greeted us with voices as warm as the interior of the spacious lobby/gift store, and we spent the next half hour or so talking, listening, and searching for birds they pointed out in the marshy areas of North Pond, located on the sound side of the OBX, through spotting scopes.

During our conversation, I mentioned our ultimate goal for this trip—to find the snow geese that had managed to elude us. With a smile, Neal Moore made us an offer we couldn't refuse: a guided tour to South Pond, just down the road from the visitor's center. By now I'm sure you know what we found:

Snow geese! And of course, Tundra swans:

It wasn't the thousands we'd heard about, but I wasn't complaining. When my fingers could no longer stand the brisk upper-20 temps, we headed back to the visitor's center, where we attempted to walk the North Pond Wildlife Trail, one of the many Charles Kuralt trails we've encountered in eastern NC. I had my eye on an observation platform visible from the visitor's center, and we hit the boardwalk, passing under a low canopy of tangled tree branches before cold air turned us around:

I later learned there are two trails at the refuge. The North Pond Trail, and Salt Flats, on the northern tip of North Pond. Pea Island is an excellent birding area, and the refuge has accommodated visitors while providing shelter for birds who need rest during their long journey south.

Pea Island NWR has over 5,800 acres (not counting water) on a stretch of land twelve miles long. In addition to playing host to migrating waterfowl, Pea Island sees its share of nesting sea turtles in the spring and summer. Oddly, it's also home to the Oriental, a steamer that sank off the shores of the OBX in 1862. Another gentleman at the visitor's center pointed us to a brochure that tells the story of the ship that fell prey to North Carolina's Graveyard of the Atlantic, and invited us to cross the street and traverse the dune to see the boiler which is still visible in the choppy waters. We declined on this trip, but as always, we have an excuse to return.

For more information on Pea Island, go to www.fws.gov/peaisland/ And if you're heading that way, don't forget to take your camera, binoculars, and plenty of warm clothes. A thermos of hot apple cider wouldn't hurt, either.

Our thanks to the Moores, especially Neal Moore, for serving as our guide on this trip.

Stone Mountain State Park Part II

As I mentioned in my last post, Stone Mountain is located at the base of the Blue Ridge escarpment. At the base of Stone Mountain lies the restored homestead of the Hutchinson family, who lived, farmed, and died in the shade of the large granite dome. What's so great about that? Fascinating look at mountain life aside, it's a good place to get a look at the mountain, to walk to its base, and to hop on the Stone Mountain Loop or Wolf Rock Trail.

From the visitor's center, we drove around the loop to the opposite side of the as-yet-to-be-seen mountain, and parked in the Lower Trailhead parking lot. From there, we took an engaging walk that included several white tail deer, one of which opted to obey crosswalk laws:

By this time, we'd walked up and down a few hundred steps at the falls, and the ankle I'd twisted during our waterfall wanderings smarted. Imagine my dismay when we reached the Hutchinson homestead and saw a small parking lot complete with handicap parking. But it was worth the effort, and we ended up spending a good amount of time in this area.

As we neared the granite mountain, we observed two items of interest. First, the rock was fractured in places:

This is the result of water seeping through cracks and freezing during the winter. Over time, the crack eventually widens, says my book and the geology guy standing behind us at the park. Eventually, the rock sluffs off in a process called exfoliation. The ledge of one such instance is shown below:

The rocks then tumble to the base of the mountain:

Which made us wonder how the Hutchingson's survived! The second item of interest was the rock climbers. Climbing is permitted (restrictions and fees apply), and we spotted two climbers during out visit:

An interesting time at an overlooked destination. Thanks to fellow hiking member, Joe, for pointing us in that direction, and for informing us there are two waterfalls at Stone Mountain State Park, not one. A good reason to return.

For more information on Stone Mountain, go to http://ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/stmo/main.php

Stone Mountain State Park

I made a mistake in my Waterfalling in Western NC post. At the end, I said I would discuss one waterfall the Piedmont has to offer because originally, I thought Stone Mountain was a remnant of the Sauretown Range along with Pilot Mountain and Hanging Rock. Its proximity to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Doughton Park was the first clue to the contrary, one I determined to figure out later along with why we couldn't spot it from a distance. But a good look at a map shows Stone Mountain is located in the northwest portion of North Carolina, and, according to exploring north carolina's natural areas, at the edge of the Blue Ridge Escarpment.

If you're not familiar with this geological feature, the escarpment is a sudden drop-off of the Blue Ridge Mountains, evident in several areas, including Caesars Head in South Carolina. For a three-dimensional rendering, click here.

Stone Mountain—named such because it's just that, a stone mountain—lies at the base of the escarpment and is unique because its surface is smooth instead of jagged or covered with vegetation. That begged the question: why does a dome as bald as Patrick Stewart's head exist in an area thick with trees?

Shortly after we began exploring the Carolinas, I learned that, to understand these states, one must study the land. Understandably, I put it off. After all, geology is a difficult subject. But our visit to Pilot Mountain dredged up the subject, and recently, I purchased Exploring the Geology of the Carolinas: A Field Guide to Favorite Places from Chimney Rock to Charleston (UNC Press). And in that book, I found one answer.

There's no way I can explain the counterintuitive-weathering-process-of-massive, ie unfractured (which appears to be a significant point)-granite-formed-during-the Alleghanian-orogeny though another source says Acadian-that I think has something to do thrust sheets of opposing terranes, so I'll simply say land collided, forming the mountains, and like other monadnocks, stuff around what is now Stone Mountain eroded leaving behind the granite dome. Let's get back to our journey.

With twenty miles of trout stream and sixteen miles of bridle and hiking trails1, Stone Mountain is a popular destination, and because it's a state park, it offers convenience facilities and maintained trails.

We started at the visitor's center, located just inside the park. After picking up a map and information, we continued down what turned out to be a loop to a parking lot. The trailhead in this area led to both the upper trailhead of the strenuous 4.5 Stone Mountain Loop Trail, and the summit view of the Stone Mountain falls—our goal for this trip.

Note: if you visit Stone Mountain State Park, wear appropriate shoes. The granite trail at the top of the dome, especially near the falls is wet in places, and with the slant of the rock, is dangerous. A fence separates visitors from the falls itself (I can only imagine how many people slipped over the edge before it was built) which I used while walking toward the steps that led to the base of the falls.

Falls at Stone Mountain dives toward the ground at a dangerous angle

Did I say steps? Try towering staircase. It's a tall waterfall, at least 200 feet, which means there's a lot of steps. The photos below, taken during the journey down, should give you a good idea, though not all sections are visible in either photo:

But the view is worth the effort:

Despite the presence of at least a dozen other tourists, we were able to get that photo, but it took some time. While we waited, we sat on a large boulder enjoying a cool spray from the frothy foam.

This wasn't the end of our trip to Stone Mountain, but the remainder is too much to discuss here. I'll cover the rest in my next post. Photos from this portion of the trip, as well as what's to come, are below.

Stone Mountain State Park

For more information on Stone Mountain State Park, to to http://ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/stmo/main.php

1. http://ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/stmo/main.php

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Everything Old is New Again

Please pardon my tardiness in publishing new posts. I've been working on a project I've been meaning to do for a year—update posts written while this was my personal travel journal, Where the Buffaloe Roam. I've been revising some pretty sloppy writing and adding photos here and there, but hope to have the Stone Mountain, NC post up tomorrow or Wednesday. Thanks for your patience, and for stopping by.

Skinny Dips Falls

Before I move on to the next portion of our waterfall wanderings, I thought it best to spend a little more time at Skinny Dip Falls.

The trail to the falls is located off the Blue Ridge Parkway. When I say "off", I mean park at the Looking Glass Rock Overlook, look both ways and cross the street, and enter the trailhead, marked by a small post, at the northern tip of the parking lot. The trail is short, about a half mile according to my waterfall sources, but it's an interesting walk. We encountered this after entering the woods:

Yes, it's every bit as creepy in person.

It's important to note the trail is rocky and wet in places:

In at least one sloping section, we had to pick our way over boulders the size of laundry baskets. Not difficult for us, even with my sore ankle, but one elderly lady we encountered had problems. She and her companions never made it to the falls, and we didn't spot them on the return trip, so they apparently made the practical decision to turn back.

After crossing the trickle of a stream shown above, and ascending the rock steps, we finally reached an observation platform and were delighted by the scene before us. Down a slope and across the stream, a lovely cascade nestled between rocks and rhododendrons spilled into a clear pool of water:

It was far more accessible than I imagined. A set of wooden stairs, somewhat steep, leads to a bridge over the stream, allowing visitors to get a closer look at the falls.

Though, again, it's dangerous to play on rocks around waterfalls. Please use caution while visiting this, and any waterfall.

As we walked down the steps toward the bridge, we spotted a third cascade to our left, located straight out from the falls, spilling over smooth rocks near the bank:

Ahhh, beautiful. If I'd known how attractive this waterfall was, we wouldn't have passed it so many times while heading toward other Parkway destinations. It's a must stop, but be prepared, it's also a popular stop. We were fortunate to snap several pictures of the falls by itself. The rest of our images include both people and dogs.

If you're interested in visiting the falls, and if you haven't purchased Kevin Adam's book yet, Waterfall Rich provides terrific directions on his ncwaterfalls.com website, which include trail details.

Before traveling to the Blue Ridge Parkway, always check the National Park Service's website for road closures. It's frustrating to have your heart set on spending the day at one of the Parkway's hotspots only to encounter a set of barriers blocking the road.