Morrow Mountain State Park

Like Landsford Canal State Park in SC and the NC Zoo, Morrow Mountain is one of those "far" places we put off visiting until we could spend the night in the area. But last week, I was craving a mountain hike, so we packed up and took a long drive.

Morrow Mountain is nestled in a curve along the western edge of the Uhwarrie Forest, separated from the forest by the Yadkin/Pee Dee Rivers. It's in the Piedmont where mountains shouldn't exist. But North Carolina has several "little mountains" as the host of Exploring North Carolina called them. Mountains outside of the mountain range. This is due to the fact that NC is made up of strips of land called terranes. In short, the foothills of the Blue Ridge was once the original edge of North America, but additional land masses collided into that edge, forming the Old North State, as seen here in this USGS image:

http://tapestry.usgs.gov/states/northcarolina.html

When things collide, one or both sides buckle, creating folds. Water eroded much of the land in these folds, but erosion-resistant rock remained in some places, leaving behind peaks such as Pilot, Medoc, and Morrow Mountain. Consequently, elevated views exist in the Piedmont.

That erosion-resistant rock is the second reason Morrow Mountain is special. It has (rather, it is) an abundance of rock, including ryolite, rock with grains so small, they're undetectable to the eye.

Natives such as the Pee Dee tribe hauled the resilient rock down the mountain to other locations where they converted the stone into arrowheads or tools. Evidence of that activity still exist throughout the park. In addition to the presence of an ancient quarry, chips and shards litter the mountain side, including the Mountain Loop Trail near a summit that offers a breathtaking view of Lake Tillery.

Morrow Mountain has fourteen trails, three of which are bridle, though hiking is permitted on each at the time of this writing. The trails range from .6 to 9 miles, and from easy to strenuous. A boat ramp is available for those who would like to boat along the Yadkin. Rowboats and canoes are available for rental, as are cabins. Check the park's website for fees and availability.

As we quickly learned, Morrow Mountain is worth the drive. For more information, go to www.ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/momo/main.php

Then and Now: A Cosmic View of NC's Coast

In addition to his waterfall and wildflower books, North Carolina author and photographer, Kevin Adams, has compiled a photo treasure for lovers of all things Carolina. In North Carolina, Then & Now Mr. Adams presents two views of various areas around the Tar Heel State--one from the past and one from the present--by duplicating the location and angle of subjects in numerous old photos. That concept led to the following.

Thanks to my dear husband who read my Christmas list, I recently added The Natural Traveler: Along North Carolina's Coast to my outdoor reference library. It's a fantastic book, one I regret not purchasing earlier this year. I learned more about NC's estuary system from the pages I read than I had in the previous year surfing the net and reading material on my bookshelve. I also learned something that should have been old news--during a 1969 Apollo mission, an astronaut took a picture of North Carolina's coast. Upon reading that nugget, I surfed to Nasa's image library and using their download feature, downloaded the following:


Lake Mattamuskeet is clearly visible just to the left of the center of the photo and above that, the Alligator River and the Albemarle Sound. Knowing hurricanes and other factors have altered the OBX, I wondered how this photo compared to the view today, and then realized I have the ability to find out. Switching to http://www.mappoint.com/, I captured this screenshot:


The angle is a bit different but you can still see the same features. Interestingly, Lake Mattamuskeet is shaped differently, as is the upper curve of the Outer Banks. Zooming in, it's clear a few of the inlets remain the same, but from what it appears (and I could be wrong) the older photo shows more more breaks in the banks.

Viewing the coast from the heavens--and from the past--and comparing it to the present perspective was fascinating. I'll have to add Mr. Adams' North Carolina Then & Now to my library.

I think we're going to need another bookshelf.

North Carolina Habitats and Ecosystem

A discussion on my hiking group list recently turned to the subject of natural habitats. While doing research to augment my poor knowledge on the subject, I came across the following publication. I thought it valuable enough to pass it along to readers of this blog. To access the PDF version of Classifications of Natural Communities of North Carolina, go to:
www.ncnhp.org/Images/Other%20Publications/class.pdf

In this book, authors Michael P. Schafale and Alan S. Weakley break North Carolina into regions (high mountain communities to nontidal coastal fringe wetlands and marine systems) and then list the natural communities such as bogs, mesic pine flatwoods, Streamhead Pocosins and more in each of those regions. They then provide a ton of information about individual communities including soils in the system, rare plants known to grow there, sites, etc. It's extremely informative. Though I can't understand everything in it, I can certainly can learn a lot from it.

In addition to the free online version, you can order a bound copy through the NHP at http://www.ncnhp.org/Pages/publications.html

Also, I recently learned my readership has extended beyond the North American border. To those of you outside the US, welcome to my blog! I hope you enjoy this small peek into the beautiful Carolinas.

Kimberli