I also like to know a bit about the land’s human history, about who lived on the land, how they got there, how they prospered — or managed to eke out a living. I’m especially interested in the stories of the first people to inhabit the land. 

Look carefully and the land itself will reveal some of the human story. Some trails piggyback on old roadbeds that were the highways of a century or two ago, the paths people used to get to town, or the nearest mill. Those trails often pass old stone foundations, or rock chimneys, or depressions that were once root cellars, the refrigerators of the pre-refrigeration era. Sometimes you find rock piles seemingly in the middle of nowhere, the result of efforts, often by children, to prepare land for farming. Rows of deep furrows in the ground suggest a cash crop of tobacco. 

The best place to start looking for such signs of the past? Near stately white oaks, which were left by early settlers as windbreaks and protection from the weather.

Human history: Post European invasion

Delving deeper into this more recent history may constitute a visit to the land manager’s website. Each of the 41 North Carolina State Parks, for instance has a History link on its home page. Some go back farther than others. The “History Highlights” section for Umstead State Park in Raleigh, for instance, begins: “Long before the first settlers, the area now known as William B. Umstead State Park was an untamed land. American bison, elk, bobcats and wolves roamed majestic forests of oak, hickory and beech.” There’s brief mention of Native Americans and of the first European settlers, and more about how the park came to be a park. 

If you’re fortunate, a favorite trail network may adjoin a historic site. The Triangle Land Conservancy’s Horton Grove Nature Preserve in Bahama, north of Durham, adjoins Historic Stagville, where you can learn about the massive 30,000-acre Bennehan-Cameron plantation that once enslaved about 900 people. Horton Grove was once part of the plantation, and you can hike past the original slave quarters, a huge barn and the plantation house. With this knowledge, it can be eerie to hike Horton Grove’s peaceful woods and know it’s past.

But if you want to go back much farther, before the arrival of the first Europeans, information is hard to find. 

Occasionally, you’ll find a kiosk that goes into additional detail. And on rare occasion, you’ll find something along the lines of the Occaneechi Village Replica Site along the Riverwalk (a k a the Mountains-to-Sea Trail) in Hillsborough. Here you’ll find a reconstructed 17th century village of the Occaneechi band of the Saponin Nation along the banks of the Eno River. The site is a work-in-progress, but already gives a good feel for life in this fortified village (on the original site) from 300 years ago. Replica ati (huts) and communal features now exist; kiosks explaining the structures and life in the village are coming.

Native Land: Indigenous, ingenious

For the big picture, though, check out the Native Land Digital website. Native Land is a Canadian not-for-profit incorporated in 2018 that, according to the website, “strives to create and foster conversations about the history of colonialism, Indigenous ways of knowing, and settler-Indigenous relations, through educational resources … .” One of those resources: the Territory Acknowledgement Guide, a map showing who the Indigenous people were worldwide, but especially throughout the Americas.

A quick caveat about the map, from Native Lands:  “We do not regard these maps as anything near a legal quality for land claims or disputes, and we do not aim to make any claims as to what territories are ‘correct’ or ‘incorrect’ in this more legal sense.” The maps are a work in progress, and Native Lands acknowledges that mistakes will occur — and be addressed in a timely manner.

How cool is the map? You can enter your address and it will bring up a list of Indigenous people associated with the area. In my case, in Hillsborough, NC, six popped up, two if which I knew (Eno, Occaneechi), four of whom I didn’t (Lumber, Saponin, Cheraw, and Shakori). 

Click on the nation listed and it will take you to the home page for that nation, where you can find recent blog posts involving that tribe or nation, a map showing that entity’s extent, a website for that entity, the Indigenous languages spoken, relevant treaties and more. You’ll also find a link to corrections made to the page and “Changelog,” which lets you submit “your thoughts or fixes.” The latter will, if verified, be incorporated into the site. (The effort to be as straightforward and factual as possible on the site is especially refreshing in the internet age.)

The map is a cool feature and key to Native Land’s overall mission, which is two-fold, according to its mission statement:

“We aim to improve the relationship of people, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, with the land around them and with the real history and sacredness of that land. This involves acknowledging and righting the wrongs of history, and also involves a personal journey through the importance of connecting with the earth, its creatures, and its teachings.”

One thing we’ve found to be true in 30 years of writing about the land and leading hikes on it: the more people know about the land, the more likely they are to demand its protection.

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Learn more

• For more information on Native Land Digital, visit native-land.ca. 
• For more information on both the Occaneechi Replica Village, and the Occaneechi band of the Saponi Nation, go here.
• Check out the PictureThis app here.

The post Native Land delves deeper into a trail’s history appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Typically, when we think of a leafed-out forest in the Southeast we also think of hot temperatures and muggy air. Walking through the Seven Mile Creek Nature Preserve this morning I was struck by the full onslaught of green and the fact that, with the temperature around 60, I needed long sleeves. Spring hiking weather with the visual benefits of summer. It’s the best, and that’s what this weekend is about: the chance to take a summerlike hike in spring.

Here are 5 hikes we like where the hardwoods will be in full leaf this weekend, but where you won’t build a full sweat to enjoy them. We provide a link to both our guide for the hike and the official website.

Confluence Natural Area

Hillsborough
2.23 miles of trail

Eno River Association

Especially along the East Branch of the Eno River it’s a full-on jungle during full leaf season. On a summer’s day the air is still, the lush woods close. Your tendency is to rush this area and get to the more open West Branch, which is too bad because the flora here is so diverse, because there’s so much to see. When it’s cool out you’re much more likely to pause and appreciate. 

Find our guide here

Fews Ford 7-Miler

Eno River State Park, Durham

7-mile loop involving the Buckquarter Creek, Ridge, Shakori, Fieldstone and Holden Mill trails

So many stretches where a mature forest can be appreciated on this hike, but our favorite is along the most remote run, along the Shakori Trail. The trail spends much of its time in bottomland forest where a variety of hardwoods stand high. The upper reaches of the Ridge Trail head through rich hardwoods as well.

Find our guide here 

Mountains-to-Sea Trail, Day-Hike Section T

Durham

4.1 miles (one way)

From the eastern trailhead off Red Mill Road you’re in sheltering forest from the start. But  bottomland woods a little more than a mile in offer the most impressive show of tall trees and impenetrable canopy. This woods continue to dominate even as you climb out of the floodplain at mile 1.8, follow a bluff, then drop back down at trail’s end, near Old Oxford Road and Penny’s Bend. 

Find our guide here

Sycamore Trail (short loop)

Umstead State Park

Raleigh

4.4 miles

The main trailhead for Sycamore (overall distance: 7 miles) is at the end of the road leading into the park from Glenwood Avenue. But you can get to the heart of the trail — and avoid the crowds as well — by picking up the trail at the bike & bridle trailhead. The heart of the trail: the mile-andf-a-half stretch along Sycamore Creek, which winds its way through floodplain forest. 

Find our guide here.

Knight Brown Nature Preserve

Piedmont Land Conservancy

Stokesdale

3.1 miles of trail

This 189-acre preserve north of Greensboro (pictured at top) is enveloped  by ridges protecting Belews Creek on its peaceful tumble through mature hardwoods, including some especially impressive beech trees. So expansive is the canopy here that it protects the world below like a massive green dome. An especially good Wow! factor: if you’ve got people on the fence about hiking, this preserve will have them hopping down on the side of taking a long ramble.

Find our guide here

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GetHiking! Southeast Podcast

Prefer listening to your trail news? We’ve got you covered, with the GetHiking! Southeast Podcast, a new episode of which appears every Tuesday morning. This week’s topic: Campfire Conversations. Check it out here.

The post GetOut! Spring weather, with the green of summer appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

It’s the journey, not the destination, Ralph Waldo Emerson is often quoted as saying. That’s especially true when you Explore Your Neighborhood.

Typically on outdoor outings the journey to reach the trailhead isn’t so special: an interstate highway, a self-serve gas station, fast food. You’ve seen one burrito supreme, you’ve seen ‘em all. 

But with a neighborhood adventure, you can pass a warehouse, walk through an old mill village, hike down railroad tracks, travel an old dirt road that dates back hundreds of years to a time before English was spoken in these parts. I know, because that’s that’s what I did this morning on my way from home to Kings Highway Park, a nature preserve on the west edge of town that’s about as small as they come. But even though it has just 18 acres and only a mile of trail, it offers escape disproportionate to its stats. 

For starters, that ancient highway I took to get there? It turns into part of the trail network; for hundreds of years The Old Trading Path served as the main route from what is now Washington, D.C., to what is now Atlanta, Ga. There’s a stretch of trail that’s a stone’s throw from both the rail line and a frequently traveled country two-lane that’s insulated from both by a thick Piedmont forest. And there’s the Lake Trail, which actually follows the Eno River; the trail gets its name from the fact the river is dammed just downstream, creating a half-mile or so stretch of still water. 

Hiking to Kings Highway Park and back took me about twice as long as the hike itself. The journey was a modern-day Huck Finn challenge, the destination a worthy reward. It’s the type of adventure I think Ralph Waldo Emerson had in mind.

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Kings Highway Park

Hillsborough, N.C.

Address: 1001 Ben Johnston Road, Hillsborough

Trail: 1 mile

Size: 18 acres

Hours: dawn to dusk, daily. 

Facilities: None. 

Learn more about Kings Highway Park here.

Explore Your Neighborhood

“Explore Your Neighborhood”

For more on exploring your neighborhood during these shelter-in-place times, check out our new “Explore Your Neighborhood: A Guide to Discovering the World Immediately Around You,” available in both ebook and paperback. Includes guidance on everything from how to scout your neighborhood for hidden gems to how to execute your neighborhood treks.

And don’t forget to join us weekday mornings at 7:30 for Morning Walk with Joe, about 10 minutes of Joe’s half-hour morning ramble. You’ll find it on our GetGoingNC Facebook page.

The post Explore Your ‘Hood: Kings Highway Park appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Temperatures across the state this weekend are generally forecast to stay in the 40s under mostly sunny skies. Ideal weather, in our view, for getting out and learning a little about the world around us. Courtesy of North Carolina State Parks, we bring you three options for doing just that. (And you can find more at the State Parks website.)

Coast

Carvers Creek State Park is the newest addition to the North Carolina State Park system. Authorized by the General Assembly in 2005, the 4,000-acre park near Spring Lake in Cumberland County currently has few opportunities for public access. So when an opportunity does arise, we like to jump on it.

Sunday’s Rockefeller House Tour is one such opportunity. A park ranger will lead a hike to the old James Stillman Rockefeller winter estate, which includes structures dating back to the early 1800s. A good opportunity to learn about the natural and human history of the area, known for its longleaf pine stand and as home to several endangered and protected plants and animals.

Logistics: Sunday, Jan. 26, 1 p.m. Carvers Creek State Park, Spring Lake. More info and to register for this free event, call 910.436.4681.

Sunday forecast: Sunny, high of 49.

Piedmont

The Geology Hike at Occoneechee Mountain is a GGNC favorite. In large part, that’s because most nature programs focus on plants or animals: this one is about the rock that helps make Occoneechee Mountain unique. For one, at 820 feet, Occoneechee is the highest point in the Triangle. The pyrophyllite rock that is the mountain was once highly valued and, for years, quarried, creating an unusual (for this neck of the woods) cliff face. From near the top you get an unobstructed view north and west. And, the hike is led by a bonafide geologist.

There’s more to enjoy on a hike at Occoneechee, as you’ll discover on this hour-long program.

Logistics: Saturday, Jan. 25, 2 p.m. Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area, Hillsborough. To register for this free event, call 919.383.1686.

Saturday forecast: Clouds, high of 44.

Mountains

The Hickory Nut Gorge area of western North Carolina is quickly opening up as an adventure destination, with addition of more public lands. One of the biggest recent additions: Chimney Rock State Park, a 5,700-acre former private park brought into the State Park system in 2005. With more public lands come more opportunities to explore one of the most ecologically unique areas in the state.

With those opportunities come questions about just what it is you’re hiking or climbing past. Sunday is your chance to answer some of those questions at Extraordinary Cliff Dwellers, a program focusing on the endangered and threatened species in the park.

Logistics: Sunday, Jan. 26, 9-11 a.m. Chimney Rock State Park, Chimney Rock.

Sunday forecast: Sunny, high of 43.

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Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below.

The post This weekend: Bundle up and learn something appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

The Triangle is two ramps away from having a 60-mile hiking trail.
Just before Christmas, contractors using a really big crane lowered a steel bridge onto concrete footings spanning Little Lick Creek at Falls Lake. The bridge will join Sections 14 and 15 of the Falls Lake portion of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, and will make it possible  hike undisturbed from Pennys Bend on the Eno River in Durham County downlake to the Falls Lake dam in Raleigh — when it’s completed.
“When it’s completed,” because there’s still the matter of those two ramps. While Little Lick Creek lives up to its name, it’s in a floodplain that is wide. Thus, the bridge’s deck sits about seven feet off the ground, and lead-up boardwalk ramps are required.
“The contractor has until February 10 to install the ramps,” Friends of the MST Executive Director Kate Dixon said yesterday. “But I think it will be done before that.”
Initially, the plan was to save money by having volunteers build the bridge. (Except for more involved projects such as this, the 1,000-mile-long statewide trail, a little over half of which is completed, is being built by an army of volunteers.) But Dixon said they had money left over from the two grants used to fund the bridge — $150,000 from the state’s recreational trails program and $55,000 in Durham open space funds — so they decided to hire the work out.
A formal dedication ceremony is scheduled for May 19.
While the 60-mile trail will be one of longest urban trails in the nation, it’s just over a third of what the trail eventually will be. On its journey from 6,643-foot Clingman’s Dome on the Tennessee border to Jockey’s Ridge on the Atlantic, the MST will spend 150 miles in the Triangle, running from Clayton in Johnston County to Hillsborough in Orange County. That entire 150-mile stretch could be completed next year.
A progress report, from east to west:

• Johnston County. 5 miles. A five-mile stretch of paved greenway, from Clayton to the Wake County line, is under construction and should be completed by spring.
• Neuse River Trail, Raleigh. 28 miles. Raleigh is fast-tracking contstruction of the 28-mile Neuse River Trail greenway, which will run from the Johnston County line to Falls Lake dam. The first 6.5-miles of that trail, from the dam downstream, opened in September; the entire stretch is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
• Falls Lake Trail, Raleigh/Wake County/Durham County. 60 miles. From the Falls Lake dam, the MST currently begins at the Falls Lake Visitor Center and runs northwest to Pennys Bend. The aforementioned Little Lick Creek bridge will complete this stretch. (Dixon says a short stretch of official trail will need to be build connecting the Visitor Center with the Neuse River Trail, though that connection can currently be made with existing, non-official trail.
• Eno River: Pennys Bend to West Point on the Eno city park, Durham. About 3 miles. Land owner issues and surprisingly rugged terrain proved a puzzle for MST planners. Recently, though, Dixon said a deal was struck with the Department of Agriculture to run the trail across land operated under its plant conservation program, and it appears a solution is near on running the trail through Durham’s River Forest Park, also is in the trail’s path.
• West Point on the Eno through Eno River State Park to Hillsborough, Orange and Durham counties. 54 miles. From West Point on the Eno through Eno River State Park, a distance of 14 miles, the trail is essentially done, says Dixon. From Eno River State Park to Hillsborough, officials are working with two land owners on access. One of those landowners has expressed little interest in selling or providing access, Dixon says.

Considering the trail’s growing momentum, aided in large part by Raleigh and Wake County’s move three years ago to fast-track the Neuse River Trail, Dixon is optimistic about the trail’s immediate prospects.
“I think we’ll have a 150-mile trail in the very near future.”

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The post Triangle two ramps shy of a 60-mile hiking trail appeared first on GetGoing NC!.