Cedarock Park

Cedarock is a "municipal" park but is a very unusual municipal park because of its size of 414 acres, which makes it one of largest in the state and its location which is 6-miles from any town.

For my night owl sons, being ready to go hiking at 8:30 in the morning is quite an accomplishment. We will be picking up two more friends and cramming all of us in my Jeep along with picnic stuff.

Rock Creek Trail is the first trailhead we found, and that's the trail we hiked. We did a little wandering around the park looking for where the trails were and came across a park map that showed us this trailhead was near shelter #3.

One of a couple bridges that cross Elmo's, Creek.

A rock outcrop along a small tributary that of the three boys I had with me Aaron the only one that felt the need to climb upon.

We walked along and crossed over several small creeks. I'm not sure if it was the same stream or a series of tributaries.

 From left to right, Nick, Logan, and Aaron. Rock Creek Trail was marked with a turquoise diamond with an arrow pointing the way. 

Some ferns and the beginning of an Iris flower along the path.

On another rock outcrop that the creek went around and under. Here is the whole crew, Nich, and Gypsy, Nick's mother Suzanne, Logan and Aaron.

Elmo's Creek.

The rock dam and millpond at an old mill site was a nice ending to our hike.  

Johnston Mill Nature Preserve

Johnston Mill Nature Preserve is a 295-acre tract of land along the New Hope and Old Field Creeks that's sandwiched between the Mount Sini and Turkey Farm Roads. It wasn't too hard to find because the preserve is a short drive after we exited Interstate 40. Before we started our hike, we went down NC Hwy 86 into Chapel Hill.  The part of the city I drove through seemed ritzy appearance.

Thanks to the Triangle Land Conservancy this prime real estate was preserved from development. 

Aaron is enjoying doing some rock hopping at this small rapids. Gypsy look on in fascination.

We started our hike at the Turkey Farm Road parking area and followed the Robin's Trail to here.We then traveled the Beech Loop Trail.

From the Beech Loop and Old Field Bluff  Loop Trails, we enjoyed some scenic views of the New Hope Creek and Old Field Creeks while taking a rest on several wooden and wrought-iron benches scatted throughout the preserve. 

All the benches were in memory of someone. This bench was in memory of a family who died in a plane crash on July 19th which happen to be Kelly's Birthday.

We crossed the creek several times on plank bridges like this on.   

Ouch! I told him that log looked slippery 

A cave in a tree. Aaron, please don't stick your head in there.

He has never been a good listener.

The Bluebird Trail is an open meadow created unfortunately by a powerline.

 Aaron is always adventurous. 

From the parking area a short distance down Robin's Trail on the Turkey Farm Road side of the preserve we walk on this boardwalk.  We started our hike at 3:02  and was back to the Jeep at 5:20. We walked approximately 3.5 of the 4.1-miles. The only part we didn't hike was the Bluebird Trail and the section of the Robin's Trail that leads to the Mount Sini parking area. 

Hanging Rock State Park-Moore's Wall Loop Trail

The Moore's Knob Fire Tower and the cliffs surrounding it are the reason you huff and puff yourself vertically nearly 800-feet to an elevation of 2572-feet.

From the observation platform of the fire tower, you get a spectacular 360-degree view.

On the same rock to the right of the people with the husky dog, Aaron is doing his "on-top-of-the-world" pose.

We pass through some boulders on our way to the knob.

As we neared the top, the climb on the Moore's Wall Trail became steeper and rockier.

Part of the trail followed near a stream, and this boardwalk went through its flood plain.

I keep Gypsy near me at all times around the cliffs.

This is called Balanced Rock. It looks like a teeter totter. Aaron climbs on everything, and there he is to the right.

Aaron is taking a rest by laying down in this small cave. We have been hiking steadily uphill for nearly an hour. 

Gypsy may be my dog, but she sure loves her little boy and does not like him getting out of her sight on our hikes.

We wish sometimes we could be like Gypsy and take a refreshing drink from a mountain stream. If we purchase that Life Straw from the backpacker's catalog then will be able to. 

Some of the many views you'll see. We spent about an hour on top of Moore's Knob. This is the highest point in the Sauratowns.

The Moore's Wall Trail begins from one side of the campground and end at the other.  Aaron decides to call his mom to let her know what an exciting time he had with his dad at Hanging Rock State Park. He picked an appropriate place to call on his cell phone.  

Carolina Beach-Freeman Park Camping

 I made a reservation online and took the first available campsite which was site 4. When I took a walk down the beach for more than a mile, I discovered there were 87 total locations.  The next camping trip I will go further down where it's less likely we will have any neighbors.

The view of our campsite from the front and back, The site were spacious enough to have room for a family size tent and two vehicles.

Aaron wanted me to bury him, so I did. He soon realized this is a vulnerable position to be in when two Sea Gulls were eyeing him.

The sandcastles you find are the best especially when you didn't have any tools to build one yourself.  

While Aaron spent most of his time in the ocean, Gypsy and I chilled out on the beach occasionally taking a dip. Gypsy dug a hole behind my chair and used that for shade. The damp sand in her hole aided in keeping her cool.

The perfect dinner. We would eat a military  Meal Ready to Eat (MRE) at 5 pm when it was too hot to cook by a campfire. Later on after the sun set at around 8:30 we roast Johnsonville sausages. In this plastic bag, there is your main course which you don't need a fire or hot water to cook. Pour an ounce of water in a heating pouch and put it back into the cardboard box for 30-minutes and it cooks itself. Included with this meal are a flavored drink mix, M&Ms, chocolate fudge bar, vegetable crackers,  coffee, creamer, sugar, salt, pepper, and a plastic spoon.

Sunrise our first morning.

  While I was packing up our campsite, Gypsy sat at the edge of our campsite boundary looking out at the ocean sunrise taking it all in. Not sure if dogs can consciously appreciate beauty, but it seemed as Gypsy was. 

I often wondered if having a 4-while drive in North Carolina was worth it, but I now know it is. No vehicles were allowed on the beach if they weren't four wheels and that was understandable. The couple SUVs who's 4-wheel drive wasn't working right became stuck. 

This camping trip was one of the most memorable. I alway dreamed of what it would be like on an ocean beach and fall to sleep by the sound of the surf, and now I know.  Camping here was our first time, but won't be our last

Fort Fisher-Basin Trail (aka The Hermit Trail)

At the South side of the Fort Fisher State Recreation Area's visitor center, you will find the trailhead of the Basin Trail.

A few hundred yards down from the trailhead we entered this canopy of yaupon and wax myrtle. The receptionist at the visitor center asked if we brought bug spray? I replied we were from Northern Michigan, and a few mosquitos weren't  going to bother us. Oh my goodness. I haven't ever encountered such a thick concentration of mosquitos as I did going through this thicket. It didn't matter if you had a shirt on they drilled their needles through your clothing to get your blood. 

We were glad to get out into the open for at least awhile. This 75-yard boardwalk took us through a salt marsh. It was low tide when we began our hike, but notice a significant amount of water on our return trip. The sun's heat and humidity were intense in the vast wide-open area  

This WWII bunker wasn't much to look at, but its mysterious history was fascinating. 

This memorial plaque of the hermit that turned this bunker into his home was just as difficult to read as it is in this picture. You can read about "The Fort Fisher Hermit" here

The end of the line is at this observation deck 1.1-mile.  A good place to set awhile to bird watch or view the container ships make their way out of the Wilmington port.

If we could do this all over again, we would do this hike in a cooler time of year. We took shade behind stunted cedar trees.