FATHER/DAUGHTER HIKE AT ASC GREENWAY

My daughter, Cassidy, called me to go on another day hike this weekend. She wants to get Beason, her 13 week old beagle, acclimated to hiking. The last time we went on a day hike was the Grayson Highland State Park trip to see the wild ponies. Today started off with a delicious french toast with powdered sugar and cinnamon flavor and scrambled egg breakfast. We then loaded up the dogs, Bailey and Beason, and drove to Anna Springs Close Greenway. The same place I visited last weekend but this time I get to share the experience with my daughter. We parked behind the Dairy Barn, paid our fees, and headed down the Blue Star Trail. I showed her the two 200 yr old cabins. One of them being Billy Grahams grandfathers' cabin called the Graham Cabin. We walked along the historic Nation Ford Rd Trail as I explained the history of it but Cassidy wasn't feeling too nostalgic. Beason and Bailey were enjoying being outdoors and hiking. Crossing the 175 ft swing bridge was a challenge for a short legged pup who couldn't even get up the steps. Beason and Bailey were really enjoying being outdoors and hiking around especially with all the loving and comments they were getting from so many strangers. Several staff members at ASC Greenway were exceptionally friendly including a staff member Don Woods who provided treats for our dogs. Beason, being so short and young, really was doing a great job keeping up. We followed the Blue Star Trail passing the campsites and the Rush Pavillion straight to the Haigler Loop Trail. Nice fall weather with a cool breeze in the shade and warm rays in the sunlight along with spending time hiking and conversing with my daughter makes for a perfect day for me. We lapped the lake and followed the trail back to the parking lot passing once again the Fall Frolic Festival ASCG has every weekend during the month of October. Back at home Cassidy and I dropped off the dogs and ate lunch at Azteca Restaurant for a late lunch and to close out our day hike. Thank you Cassidy for sharing the day with me.

Hike: 3 miles

Cassie and Beason crossing the 175 ft swinging bridge

Haigler Lake

Kayaking on Haigler Lake

Beason

Geese along the Haigler Lake Trail

Geese along the Haigler Lake Trail

Near a primitive campsite along the Haigler Loop Trail

Donkeys huddling in the corner

Sheep napping in the field

HIKING AT ANNA SPRINGS CLOSE GREENWAY

The weather forecast for the weekend was partly cloudy on Saturday and rain on Sunday. Not wanting to pack out from a camping trip in the rain I went online to locate an alternative plan for this weekend and came across somewhere local and interesting. Anna Springs Close Greenway is a 2,100 acre nature preserve in Fort Mill, SC. Opened to the public in 1995 as a non-profit tribute to Anna Springs Close, this nature preserve has an enormous amount of amenities including a 1940's dairy barn, a 125 ft suspension bridge, two 200 yr old log cabins, nature center, a 28 acre lake, four fishing ponds, equestrian, camping, and over 40 miles of trails for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. Only 20 minutes from Charlotte this was my best choice for a day trip. To get to ASC Greenway go down I-77 to exit 88/Gold Hill Rd, turn left and continue onto Springfield Parkway, pass two lights to Old Nation Rd and then turn right onto Dairy Barn Lane. At the parking lot is an informational kiosk with trail maps and an honor system fee box. Fees vary per activity but for a non-member hiker is only $3. After paying my fee, the trail combination I selected started off passing the Dairy Barn, the Faires-Colthrap Cabin, the Graham Cabin, two friendly donkeys, and a 125 ft swinging bridge within the first mile. Bailey was a little wary of the swinging bridge. After crossing Steele Creek the Blue Star Trail takes you up a service gravel road passing the nature center, the Rush Pavillion, and the primitive campsites straight to Lake Haigler. ASC Greenway offers kayak/canoe rentals on a first come bases or bring your own. I then hiked along the Haigler Loop Trail to Billy's Walk and connected onto Muscadine Trail. This horseback/hiking trail goes deep into an isolated hardwood forest. One would assume they can find great solitude in such an isolated place but the low-flying planes, the charging locomotive passing over the trail, and a nearby roadway reminds you that the sprawling suburbs are all too close. At one point the Muscadine Trail, following Steele Creek, sneaks under the scenic Southern Railroad Trestle to a replica of the Webb Grist Mill. If you block the background noise you'll enjoy over 100 species of wildflowers and a large variety of birds and other wildlife along the way. The trails are not easily marked for a first time visitor so I had to pull my map out several times throughout the day. After crossing over Steele Creek on another swing bridge the trail loops back around. At one point the trail parallels the creek on the left and a hidden open field on the other. The Steele Creek trail runs straight into the Nation Ford Trail. The Nation Ford Trail follows the footprint of the historic Nation Ford Road; part of the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road and a pathway that was used by Native Americans, European settlers, Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers, traders and trappers for hundreds of years. Anna Springs Close Greenway provides a lot of history. Nation Ford Trail took me right back to the Dairy Barn parking lot. Spending most of the day at ASC Greenway I only experienced a small portion of what this nature preserve offers. My next visit I will bring my fishing pole and try my luck at Steel Creek, Lake Haigler, Lake Frances, Lake Crandall, or Stumpy Pond. These lakes and ponds are stocked with bass and catfish. Bass smaller than 12" in length must be released but I can keep all the bream I catch. Fishing here is restricted to members only and a SC fishing license is required. Anna Springs Close Greenway is open year-round, seven days a week from 7am to sunset. I definitely plan on visiting ASC Greenway again and again until I've hiked all 40 miles of trails.

www.ascgreenway.org

Hike: 7 Miles

FAIRES-COLTHRAP CABIN

DONKEY

HISTORIC NATION FORD ROAD

TABLE AT CAMPSITE

LAKE HAIGLER

BAILEY RUNNING LOOSE ON THE MUSCADINE TRAIL

SOUTHERN RAILROAD TRESTLE

A SMALLER SWING BRIDGE

SOUTHERN RAILROAD TRESTLE

GRAHAM CABIN

JOYCE KILMER MEMORIAL FOREST

Before heading home from our family camping trip to Campsite #4 at Rattler Ford Group Campground I talked my family into a short hike. Tucked away deep in the Nantahala National Forest is a living national treasure. Of the 17,013 acres of the Slickrock Wilderness Area, a 3840 acre tract have been dedicated as The Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. This Memorial Forest is a living memorial to Joyce Kilmer, an American poet and a patriot of World War I. He penned the infamous nature poem "Trees":
                                          
                                                       “I think that I shall never see
                                                        A poem lovely as a tree
                                                        A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
                                                        Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;
                                                        A tree that looks at God all day,
                                                        And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
                                                        A tree that may in Summer wear
                                                        A nest of Robins in her hair;
                                                        Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
                                                        Who intimately lives with rain.
                                                         Poems are made by fools like me,
                                                        But only God can make a tree.”
                                                                 
                                                        Joyce Kilmer.
                                                        December 6, 1886-July 30, 1918.

Open to the public in 1936, Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest is a sanctuary protected and preserved under the Wilderness Act. This particular forest is supposedly virgin to logging and motorized machinery. If a tree must be cut the U.S. Forest Service uses hand powered log saws or even blown away with dynamite for a more natural look. This unmarred and natural setting along with its' old growth and massive trees was the draw for our hike. Within the parking area there's a few amenities like picnic tables, grills, and a restroom. The trailhead to the more popular Joyce Kilmer Memorial Trail is just beyond the informational Kiosk where I mindlessly left my Nalgene water bottle. Other well-used and easily accessible trails in this old growth forest are the Naked Ground Trail, Jenkins Meadow Trail, and the Stratton Bald Trail. Once we passed the wooden footbridge over Little Santeetlah Creek, a nice wild trout stream for fly-fishing, we ascended into the thickets. The forest, kept in its' primitive and natural state, was comprised of enormous poplars, red oaks, and hemlocks. The well marked and heavily worn trail is a two mile figure-eight. The first loop ascends into the cove passing several stumps blown apart by dynamite, a graveyard of fallen trees, and plenty of wild flowers. At the junction of Joyce Kilmer Memorial Trail and Poplar Cove Trail is the biography of Joyce Kilmer engraved on a bronze plaque within the face of a strong boulder. Both trails are sprinkled with a few small wooden trail bridges over streams of water and crevasses. The Poplar Cove Trail, upper portion of the figure-eight, has the distintive honor of showcasing a plethera of mature yellow poplars stretching over 100 ft tall. With a circumference of 15 to 20 ft., these towering trees are beautiful, mysterious, and awe inspiring. These ancient statues reach and even surpasses the maturity of nearly 400 years. Trying to grasp the magnitude of these trunks we, as many others have done, reached hand in hand around the base for a count of family members it takes to hug these massive trees. Three adults and two kids was the count. A thick layer of ferns and decaying tree trunks victims of desease or insects blankets the ground. Back at the trailhead and the info kiosk lies my Nalgene water bottle and once again instills my faith in strangers. This small two mile hike gives great insight to the stately grandeur of the creations provided by mother nature. Being ingested by the forest is soothing to my soul but sharing that with family is my salvation from the monotony of a common life.

CAMPSITE #4 AT RATTLER FORD GROUP CAMPGROUND

For more than 40 years my family has been going to Santeetlah, camping and fishing. Miraculously this place has never changed. We have camped at numerous primitive campsites along the Santeetlah River, at Horseshoe Campground, along Snowbird River, near Stewart Cabin, at Rattler Ford Group Campground, and at Lake Santeetlah. But there's one campsite that has always eluded us all these years. Everyone has stated multiple of times about the allure of staying at campsite #4 in the Rattler Ford Group Campground. Last weekend we finally camped at site #4. For a family and friends camping trip my sister had made the appropriate reservations on the only weekend that site #4 was available. Just past Robbinsville, Rattler Ford is about 3.5 to 4 hours away from Charlotte depending on how you drive. After leaving early from work I arrived around 5:30. My dad and brother-in-law Paul were pitching one tent while Pat and Steve Steinbrueck, family friends, were making fresh avocado dip. My sister along with my two nieces, Owen and Barrett, would arrive an hour later. This campsite has all the important amenities like several picnic tables, tent pads, lantern hooks, nearby restrooms with showers, a really nice fire pit, and my favorites like being excluded from the other sites and being located right next to a mountain stream. Hamburgers and baked beans were on the menu for supper. After hours of glaring at the flames and casual conversations the group slowly dwindled one at a time while everyone retreated to the tents. Eventually it was my turn but instead of retreating to a tent I had strung up ENO hammock between two healthy trees near the open fire. The weather would be perfect fall weather with sunny days in the upper 70's and starry nights in the upper 50's. Bailey, my dog, was in the hammock with me radiating a great amount of heat that kept both of us warm. Morning came early as to a few family members getting up and stirring at 6:15am. When camping, the best part of the day for me is at an early morning fire eating a hardy breakfast. Some would say with a hot cup of coffee but I lack the addiction. After breakfast, Dad and I suited up and bombarded the stream with our tackle. Within the first hour I caught two wild spotted brooks and dad had one. By lunch the tally was four to one, all spotted brook. Changing the venue up a little, Dad and I took my nieces, Owen and Barrett, out on Lake Santeetlah in the canoe for more fishing. We needed about two more fish for everyone to have a good trout dinner that night. As far as fishing on Lake Santeetlah, and watching a fishing pole slowly sinking out of sight and from our grasp and battling the canoe against the current while fishing I would say the canoe trip was a failure. But as far as spending quality time with the nieces, the canoe trip was successful. Once we returned to Campsite #4 I tried my luck downstream. With three more in my creel and at my limit of 7 for the day I had to stop and hike back to camp. This meant we would have trout and a Satterwhite tradition of fried potatoes and onions for dinner. Feeling stuffed, everyone then gathered around the roaring fire sipping wine, exchanging jokes, having some good conversations, and squeezing in a Smores or two. The moon was piercing through the trees while the stars dotted the skies. Then next morning we all reluctantly pack up and head out of Campsite #4 to Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. Campsite #4 had definitely exceeded the expectations I placed on it.

FISHING OFF THE BANKS OF LAKE NORMAN

I had a weekend in between my AT hike to Mt. Rogers trip and my family Santeetlah camping trip. So, I decided to try my luck at lake fishing off the shore of Lake Norman State Park. Lake Norman is one of the larges lakes in NC with over 520 miles of shoreline. With a large stock of striped bass, largemouth bass, crappie, catfish, spotted bass, and bream, I was confident I would catch tonights supper. Behind the facilities at the picnic area was a trail leading into the woods to a nice little fishing spot. This spot was perfect on paper with coves on the left and right, some laydowns nearby, and plenty of shade overhead. It was a gorgeous day, sunny and warm with a light breeze. Once I established my spot I started off fishing on the bottom using earthworms for striped bass, a popular fish near the shoreline of Lake Norman. NC fishing regulations are still in effect at the state park. NC Wildlife Resources Commission Fish Size and Creel Regulations for Lake Norman are the following: Crappie has an 8" minimum size with a limit of 20, Largemouth is 14" and 5, Smallmouth is 12" and 5, Striped Bass is now 16" and 4, while catfish and bream has no restrictions. After about 4-5 hours of fishing, soaking in the sun, and only catching a few small sunfish, I packed it up. On the way back to the parking lot I passed a small field with a lone deer staring at my every move. No fish for dinner so I guess tacos instead.